Nicki van Vonno worked for Martin County for 35 years, starting out as a planner in the Growth Management Department and serving as the department’s Director for 20 years. She led a team of highly qualified professionals in representing the county’s best interests in all aspects of growth management. Areas of expertise include comprehensive planning and community development, planning studies, land development regulations, impact and mobility fees, and housing.
Nicki has a passion for the arts, culture and literacy to help people in the communities she serves. “I’m a firm believer that both the natural environment and the built environment have to be valued and work in harmony to create a quality place where people want to live,” van Vonno said.
Van Vonno holds a bachelor’s degree from Marshall University in West Virginia and a Master’s in City Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. As a resident of Huntington, the home of Marshall’s Thundering Herd, she witnessed firsthand the trauma a horrible disaster has on a community. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and a founding member of the County Planning Division of APA. She has spoken at national training events and provided expert testimony during administrative hearings on land use decisions.
Currently van Vonno is a Board Member of the Martin Arts Council and a Board member for the Barn Theatre in Stuart. She is a member of Women Supporting the Arts and a contributor to the Stuart High School Arts Center Project. She is a member of the Florida Writers Association, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Abraham Lincoln Association.