Bloustein Alumnus Ian Lefcourte Receives Prestigious Barbara Grace Award from the Washington State Chapter of the American Planning Association

Ian Lefcourte, AICP, a 2014 graduate of the Bloustein School’s Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) program, has been honored with the 2025 Barbara Grace Award. Presented annually by the American Planning Association’s Washington State Chapter, this award recognizes a mid-level planner who exemplifies dedication to public service, professional excellence, and commitment to creating great communities.

Over the past decade, Lefcourte has dedicated his career to building “Communities for All” through his expertise in housing, human services, environmental stewardship, and economic development. His work spans non-profits, private consulting, county governments, and now the City of Redmond, where he serves as the city’s sole Housing Planner.

A steadfast champion of affordable housing, Lefcourte has led projects, code amendments, and Comprehensive Plan updates. His leadership on Redmond’s housing strategy, including expanding mandatory inclusionary zoning and multifamily tax exemption programs, will create more than 1,000 cost-controlled affordable homes in the city’s Overlake neighborhood alone. These cost-controlled affordable homes are vital to Redmond, a high-cost community in the Seattle metropolitan area and home to Microsoft’s global campus.

Since earning his MCRP from Rutgers University, Lefcourte has demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing equitable planning initiatives across the state. His career as a frontline planner demonstrated excellence from quantitative analysis to warm community engagement in positions with non-profits, private consultants, counties, and now with the City of Redmond. Lefcourte’s professional conduct and his work are inclusive, equitable, resilient, sustainable, and transformative. Known for his community collaboration and innovative problem-solving, he has consistently elevated the standards of professional practice in the planning field. The Bloustein School congratulates Ian on this well-deserved recognition and celebrates his ongoing contributions as one of the profession’s rising leaders who continues to “Make Great Communities Happen.”