Meet ISG Planner Danielle Propst, AICP

Growing up, ISG Planner Danielle Propst, AICP knew she wanted to follow a career path that would allow her to create solutions promoting equality amongst communities. As an achiever, Danielle feeds off a fast-paced environment, juggling multiple projects all while gaining satisfaction from crossing tasks off of her ever growing list.

When she’s not planning for the future, she’s jamming to The Weeknd and other artists at concerts, reading mystery novels, and spending time with friends. Let’s get to know Danielle.

What are some skills that have helped you succeed in Planning?

You have to be a good writer, researcher, and listener. Sometimes my writing has to be cut and dry, while other times it can be creative and visionary. It’s not just about the planning part, but you have to be able to put plans into words that are understandable for the client and community. As a recent ISU grad, it’s really been rewarding to use my schooling experience to help communities and cities plan, and take action on important growth efforts.

Being a planner can be challenging because we use a multi-disciplinary approach to figure out a plan of action. There are so many different solutions, so it’s about figuring out what works best.

What would your utopic community look like?

I had the fortunate opportunity to travel to South Africa for a study abroad trip in college. Their community that was once vibrant in culture shifted to one that was sad and lacking character because the people were forced out due to availability of resources. Those who still lived there didn’t restore much of the culture due to oppression. That experience really made me reflect on the need for equitable communities, and social justice.

In my utopic community, everyone would have an opportunity to thrive and succeed. All residents would have equal access to resources, jobs, and transportation – and planning efforts would help guide and support such solutions.                                  

What are the top three things on your bucket list?

I would like to travel to Morocco because I took Arabic in college and would love the opportunity to practice it, although I’m not fluent in it. I would also like to earn my AICP certification. Getting more involved in the Des Moines community by volunteering with low-income housing programs is also a top desire of mine.

Danielle received multiple awards while attending Iowa State University, which recognized her for her hard work and dedication to anthropology and community/regional planning, and now is an employee owner at ISG’s Des Moines office.

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