Planning Commission Members
Devanshi P. Patel, Chair
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Devanshi Patel was appointed to the Planning Commission in 2019. She is a native Arlingtonian and graduated from the Arlington Public School system. Devanshi earned her B.A. in Government and International Politics from George Mason University and her Juris Doctor from the Howard University School of Law (HUSL). Devanshi has co-founded both a law firm and a non-profit in Arlington County. Devanshi also serves as an adjunct professor at the Howard University School of Law. Devanshi's professional work focuses on creating community conditions necessary for all youth and families to thrive.
Devanshi has served on a number of commissions, boards, and groups, including the Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families, Police Practices Group, Joint Facilities Advisory Commission, the Whole Child Working Group, and Community Advancing Resilience and Readiness Together. Devanshi previously served a term as the Vice President of the John M. Langston Civic Association and was a facilitator for the County’s 2018 “Big Ideas” roundtables.
Reappointment: January 31, 2023
Term Ends: January 31, 2027
Sara Steinberger, Vice-Chair
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Sara Steinberger (Shapiro) was appointed to the Planning Commission in 2019 and has served on the Arlington Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) since 2016. She was recently the Vice Chair of the Arlington County World War I Commemoration Task Force which completed its service in December 2018. Sara holds a JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law and earned her BA in political science and classical studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Sara and her husband, Jared, have lived in the Ballston neighborhood since 2014. Sara previously lived in the Courthouse neighborhood.
In her day job, Sara manages a portfolio of contracts for a large government contractor based in northern Virginia.
Reappointment: January 31, 2023
Term Ends: January 31, 2027
Denyse “Nia” Bagley
1052 N Monroe Street
Arlington, VA 22201
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Nia is a 30-year resident of Historic Monroe Courts (1938 rowhouses) in Virginia Square where she maintains a Certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat. Her godchild Emily was born and raised in the house next door and attended Taylor, Swanson, and W-L. Nia was born in Buffalo and raised in Michigan. As a child, Nia’s parents were actively involved in the community and inspired her to ‘make a difference’. She served four terms as president of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, one term as its vice-president, and six terms as its treasurer. Before getting involved with BVSCA, she and a small group of volunteers organized SaveQuincyPark.org to preserve Arlington’s ‘central’ park when it was threatened by a proposal to build a new high school on the site. She is a life member of the University of Michigan Alumni Club (she is a second generation grad; her parents met there) as well as the University of Michigan Alumni Marching Band (clarinet). She pursued post-graduate work in public relations at The American University. Nia currently manages the Arlington office of a large residential real estate company (after serving many years as its regional marketing for D.C., Maryland and Virginia) and is licensed in Virginia and Maryland.
Reappointment: July 18, 2023
Appointment Term Ends: July 31, 2027
Eric Berkey
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Originally from the Cleveland area, Eric Berkey moved to Arlington in 2007. Before his appointment to the Planning Commission in 2023, he served on the Housing Commission for seven years, including serving as Chair from 2020 to 2022. He also served on the Douglas Park Civic Association Executive Board, including two terms as President, during which time he led the update to the civic association’s Neighborhood Plan. Additionally, he served on the South Arlington Working Group for a new Elementary School (Alice West Fleet Elementary) and the Civic Federation Board of Directors.
Eric holds a JD from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and a BS in political science and journalism from Miami University. Eric has lived in Douglas Park since 2012 with his wife Rachel and their three children.
Appointment: May 16, 2023
Appointment Term Ends: May 31, 2027
Elizabeth Gearin
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Elizabeth Gearin is a former member of the Arlington County Park and Recreation Commission. She has lived with her family in the Yorktown Civic Association neighborhood since 2003. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and has worked as both a community development planner and as a housing coordinator. She holds a PhD in Urban Planning and Development from the University of Southern California and has taught in the USC Price School of Public Policy and the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Reappointment: December 15, 2019
Appointment Term Ends: December 31, 2023
Karen Guevara
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Karen Guevara was appointed to the Arlington County Planning Commission in 2023. She grew up in Arlington and graduated from Wakefield High School. Having resided in Arlington for many years, she has seen considerable changes in the county’s approach to commercial and residential development. Karen is actively involved in her community and recently served as Vice President of the Leeway-Overlee Civic Association.
Ms. Guevara is an international security and foreign affairs practitioner. With a diverse career in government, nonprofits, and the private sector, Ms. Guevara has spearheaded capacity building programs around the world. Her experience includes overseeing a law enforcement reform programs in Bamako, Mali; United Nations Peacekeeping program in Fiji; and conceptualized capacity building programs for the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Mexico, and Kenya, among other countries. Karen completed her academic studies at both Georgetown University and the University of Oxford.
Appointment: April 25, 2023
Appointment Term Ends: April 30, 2027
James Lantelme
2806 Key Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
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Jim Lantelme and his wife are 30-year residents of Arlington. He has watched the Clarendon area adjacent to his neighborhood change from used car lots and Sears to the current mix of stores, restaurants, offices and apartments. Their daughter attended Arlington Public Schools and was in the neighborhood 4th of July parade every year. Jim is a native New Yorker and holds a J.D from Georgetown University and a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a former president of the Lyon Village Citizens Association and was active in the Arlington County Civic Federation.
Reappointment: March 23, 2021
Appointment Term Ends: March 31, 2025
Tenley Peterson
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Tenley Peterson was appointed to the Planning Commission in 2019. She lives in the Court House neighborhood with her husband and three children. Previously, Tenley served on Arlington County’s Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission for eight years, 3.5 of which she chaired the commission. Additionally, she was an appointee to Arlington County’s Audit Committee, acted as moderator for Arlington’s FY2020 budget town hall meeting, and was a facilitator for the County’s 2018 “Big Ideas” roundtables. Tenley is a senior strategist at a local digital marketing agency. She grew up in Massachusetts and has lived and/or worked in Singapore, China, Australia, and London. She graduated summa cum laude from Bryant University with a bachelors in business administration. She graduated with a masters in Asian studies from the University of Hawaii.
Reappointment: July 18, 2023
Appointment Term Ends: July 31, 2027
Peter Robertson
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Peter Robertson was appointed to the Planning Commission in 2023. He previously served for more than seven years as a member of the County's Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission, the last two years as its Chairman. During his more than 40 years in the national capital area, Peter has has served in both the federal legislative and executive branches, in the non-profit sector and in the private sector. Peter served during the Clinton Administration at the US Environmental Protection Agency, first as chief of staff to Administrator Carol Browner, and then as Deputy Administrator. In prior government service, he worked for seven years on Capitol Hill, including service on the Committee on the Budget in the House of Representatives. More recently, Peter was senior vice president in a corporation and previously served as the Senior Vice President for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at a trade association of independent natural gas producers. Peter also served as a member of the County's Public Spaces Master Plan Implementation Advisory Committee, the Stormwater Utility Community Advisory Group, and the Water Pollution Control Plant Solids Master Plan Advisory Committee.
Appointment: June 13, 2023
Appointment Term Ends: June 30, 2027
Leonardo Sarli
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Leonardo Sarli grew up in São Paulo, Brasil, and Toronto, Canada, before arriving in Arlington, via the Midwest. Living in Barcroft since 1999, Leo has enjoyed participating in the Public Art Committee, Arlington Commission for the Arts, Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Complete Neighborhood Streets Commission. Along with commissions, Leo served in the Four Mile Run Joint Citizens Task Force, Enriching Lives: Arlington Arts and Culture Strategy, and the Cultural Facility Task Force.
Leo is a principal at LAB, an architecture and planning firm in Arlington. Over the past 20+ years, his design and planning experience has covered a broad range of project types in both private sector development and public sector planning, including mixed-use development, community buildings, historic preservation, design guidelines, and transportation planning.
Leo received his B.Arch from Andrews University in Michigan.
Appointment: April 28, 2020
Appointment Term Ends: April 30, 2024
Tony Striner
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Tony Striner was appointed to the Arlington County Planning Commission in 2023. He is employed at the Government of District of Columbia in an agency budget office. In this work, he manages a large portion of the District’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and works extensively with urban planners, engineers and project managers to execute the district’s city-wide planning initiatives. Additionally, Tony earned his master's degree in public policy from George Mason University, right here in Arlington County at the Mason Square Campus. During his time at George Mason, Tony completed projects related to regional transportation operations, public finance and large-scale energy infrastructure projects.
Tony has lived all over the United States. From Virginia to Florida to Arizona and a few other states in between, Tony has seen how different cities and towns have developed over the course of his lifetime and he can bring this unique perspective to Arlington. In his time in Arlington, Tony has been a resident of the Radnor-Fort Myer Heights and Crystal City neighborhoods.
Appointment: May 16, 2023
Appointment Term Ends: May 31, 2027
Daniel Weir
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Daniel Weir moved to Arlington in 2007. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Barcroft School and Civic League. Before moving to Barcroft, he lived in Dorchester Apartments in Columbia Heights for five years. He has served on various commissions and working groups, including the Transportation Commission and the Thomas Jefferson Working Group.
Daniel holds a JD from the George Mason University School of Law and an MA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. He earned a BA in Political Science from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. He and his wife Laurel have lived in Barcroft since purchasing their first home there in 2013.
Reappointment: March 23, 2021
Appointment Term Ends: April 30, 2025