When Yoni Preuss (MPA ’26) was awarded the Alex Yerkey Memorial Scholarship from the Southwest Section of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA PA SW) in recognition of his commitment to the field of urban planning, it marked the next step in a journey he traces back to a summer spent studying in Berlin, Germany. 
“I studied political science with a concentration in comparative politics in undergrad and went to Berlin planning to learn more about the United States–EU relationship,” he said. “Taking the U-Bahn and S-Bahn or biking to class, I became fascinated with land use, specifically how we take it for granted, but also how we can change the built environment through policy to improve quality of life, housing, accessibility, and socialization.”
Preuss carried that curiosity back to Pittsburgh, where he enrolled in Pitt’s 4+1 accelerated graduate program at the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA). The program allows students to transition seamlessly from undergraduate to master’s-level coursework beginning in their senior year and complete both degrees in just five years. Preuss, who will graduate in May with his Master of Public Administration with a concentration in urban affairs and planning, credits the upper-division coursework, SPIA faculty, and hands-on experiences for helping him explore his new passions and supporting his shifting focus from comparative politics to urban planning, transportation, and land use policy.
“Professors at SPIA have opened my eyes to different academic and career paths in the land use and planning sphere, shown me ways of thinking, and connected me to great experiences,” he said. “This past summer, I was a Transportation and Thriving Communities Intern at Smart Growth America, where I focused on federal policy, repair and congestion reports, state DOT transportation projects, and wrote several blogs. I am currently Policy Intern for the Institute of Politics here at Pitt, where I work on local government financing and infrastructure and support the policy work of a great team.”
Throughout these experiences, Preuss has had opportunities to learn from and collaborate with a wide range of leaders, including officials from the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, nonprofit executives, city commissioners, and council members. To further strengthen his professional development and network, Preuss joined the APA SW PA Mentorship Program in fall 2025. Now in its fifth year, the program connects students with experienced practitioners in planning and related fields through one-on-one mentorship and regular discussions about career paths and industry insights. His engagement in the program, combined with his academic and professional experiences, led the mentorship board to select him for the Alex Yerkey Memorial Scholarship.
The scholarship was established in honor of Alex Yerkey, an APA SW PA member and Pitt graduate whose career in transportation planning was cut short by his passing in March 2023, and supports emerging planning professionals as they gain experience and advance in the field. Preuss will use the scholarship to attend the American Planning Association’s National Planning Conference in Detroit this April, where he hopes to continue learning from practitioners, expanding his professional network, and exploring ways to use planning and policy to improve communities.
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