SLOCOG Director receives national recognition
–San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) Executive Director Ron De Carli has received national recognition for transportation planning and community planning initiatives that contribute to a high quality of life in San Luis Obispo County. De Carli was presented with the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) Walter Scheiber Award at its annual conference in Orlando last Wednesday for significant impacts made at the local, state and national levels.
“We are excited to celebrate the achievements and leadership of our members and nominees this year,” said NARC President Bob Dallari, Commissioner of Seminole County, Florida. “Their hard work is on display throughout our communities, as they strive to meet challenges in innovative and effective ways. We thank all of our regions for their dedication to excellence, and our leaders for their personal efforts – and can’t wait to see the progress they will surely make going forward.”
De Carli serves as Executive Director of SLOCOG, the regional transportation planning agency for all of San Luis Obispo County. His leadership has been instrumental in connecting communities through strategic transportation and land use planning, investments in regional and local transportation systems, mobility improvements and a long list of community enhancement projects.
Some of the projects and programs overseen by De Carli during his tenure include:
- Multiple updates of the Long Range Vision Plan for Transportation, resulting in a strong, balanced and interconnected multi-modal transportation system;
- Creation of public transit systems serving all communities;
- Funding and construction of major highway improvements countywide;
- Plans, programs and funding to create bike, pedestrian, boardwalk and downtown street and boulevard improvements in – and connections to – every community; and
- SLO Regional Rideshare program development and Safe Routes to School improvements.
De Carli has been a very active NARC member, serving on NARC’s Executive Director Council, advocating for funding and effective programs at the national level, as well as at the state level, on the California Association of Councils of Government (CALCOG). He says he is most proud of partnerships working with federal, state and local representatives and stakeholders to improve transportation and the quality of life in SLO County.
De Carli will retire this September after thirty-eight years of service at SLOCOG, the past twenty-eight as Executive Director. This year also marks SLOCOG’s 50th anniversary.
Other NARC leadership award winners included: Jack Steele, Executive Director, Houston-Galveston Area Council; Teresa Rochetti-Cantrell, Mayor, City of Mayfield, Kentucky; Nelson Wolff, Judge, Bexar County, Texas; and Dennis Smith, Executive Director, Maricopa Association of Governments.
