Garry Cooper

Dr. Garry Cooper, FAICP is a retired professor of community and regional planning. He was a practicing planner for over 35 years and a mentor trainer and TOP(r)-certified (Technology of Participation) group facilitator. His planning experience began in the military where he was a career Army officer who worked as an installation planner, a real estate manager, and a water resource planner for a five-state geographical area in the southeastern United States. Garry began teaching at the...See more

Dr. Garry Cooper, FAICP is a retired professor of community and regional planning. He was a practicing planner for over 35 years and a mentor trainer and TOP(r)-certified (Technology of Participation) group facilitator. His planning experience began in the military where he was a career Army officer who worked as an installation planner, a real estate manager, and a water resource planner for a five-state geographical area in the southeastern United States. Garry began teaching at the university level after retiring from the Army. As a practicing planner, he facilitated a variety of workshops and meetings and worked with local governments on planning projects that included public involvement programs, analytical studies, comprehensive and strategic plans, and implementation and action planning activities. Most of his work involved small towns, rural communities, and non-profit organizations. Three plans that he prepared for North Carolina communities received state awards for planning excellence from the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association. In addition, he was, for several years, a member of a town planning commission. Garry received a doctoral of environmental design degree and a master of urban and regional planning degree from Texas A&M University in 1979 and 1976. See less