Lisa Schweitzer, URP alum, has received the ACSP 2016 Margarita McCoy Award for advancing women in planning. She is an Associate Professor in the Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. The award is given by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Faculty Women's Interest Group to women working in planning at colleges and universities for their contributions in advancing women through service, teaching or research.

Schweitzer's research focuses on analyses of social justice, environment and transport and has been published in many scholarly journals, as well as being funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health.  She was nominated for her "exceptional work mentoring junior faculty, as well her scholarly impact and innovation, including being among the first to econometrically estimate the equity impacts of toll-road financing," USC Price Dean Jack Knott noted. See the full story.

While at the University of Iowa, Schweitzer simultaneously completed Master's degrees in Urban Planning and Economics. She shares her current thoughts on sustainable urbanism on her blog.