Halff’s Matt Bucchin Inducted into AICP College of Fellows

AUSTIN, Texas — Halff’s Places and Communities Solutions Leader Matt Bucchin, FAICP, LEED Green Associate, was inducted into the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) College of Fellows.

Induction into the College of Fellows is the highest honor AICP bestows upon a member. Fellows of AICP are nominated and selected by their peers to recognize their outstanding contributions as professional planners. The outcomes of their individual efforts have made demonstrably significant and transformational improvements to the field of planning and the communities they served. All Fellows are long-time members of AICP and have achieved excellence in professional practice, teaching and mentoring, research and community service. Out of the 40,000 active planners in the APA, only about 60 were selected for this two-year cycle.

Based out of Halff’s Austin office, Bucchin has nearly 30 years of public and private sector experience at the city, state and special district levels of government. He has expertise in climate adaptation and mitigation frameworks, with a focus on building adaptive capacity to respond to both chronic stressors and acute shocks such as flooding, extreme heat and sea level rise (SLR). Over the last 14 years, he has worked as a planning consultant and project manager on comprehensive, park, environmental, corridor, active transportation and downtown master planning processes, and zoning and land development code projects.

Additionally, Bucchin is heavily involved with professional organizations. He has stepped into leadership roles for several American Planning Association (APA) initiatives, including serving as the past Chair of the Sustainable Communities Division and project manager of the Smart Cities and Sustainability Initiative. Bucchin also co-authored APA’s 2022 Climate Mitigation and Adaptation PAS Report (#601) and contributed to influential policy guides on climate and green infrastructure, demonstrating applied knowledge of how planning frameworks can drive systemic resilience. In 2023, Bucchin attended the White House Summit on Building Climate Resilient Communities, which brought senior officials from more than 15 federal departments and agencies, and practitioners from 25 states, territories and tribal nations together to discuss needs and opportunities for future climate resilient communities.

About the Firm

Halff is an award-winning, employee-owned full-service infrastructure consulting firm with more than 75 years of expertise. Established in 1950 by Dr. Albert H. Halff, the firm continues to advance his vision of creating resilient communities through thoughtful design and technical excellence.

Today, Halff operates from more than 30 offices across Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Our firm works together to provide comprehensive services from our Mobility, Places and Communities, and Water and Environment solutions. Our professionals remain committed to delivering smart solutions that improve lives and communities by turning ideas into reality.

Since 2021, the firm has earned more than 100 project awards and continues to rank as an Engineering News-Record Top 100 Design Firm and a USA TODAY National Top Workplace. Halff supports communities across its footprint through the Halff Community Initiative (HCI), having contributed more than $1 million to nonprofits and thousands of employee volunteer hours since its inception in 2017.