By JEFF CLEMETSON

Del Cerro resident Justine Nielsen was was born and raised in Bakersfield, California and moved to San Diego after high school to attend SDSU for college where she graduated with a degree in Political Science and minor in Philosophy.

Following SDSU and knowing that she wanted to make San Diego her “forever home,” Nielsen attended law school at Cal Western, where she became interested in the legal practice of land use. Since then she has become an accomplished attorney in her field, served on the board of the Navajo Community Planners, Inc. and most recently was named chair of Urban Land Institute (ULI) San Diego-Tijuana.

The Mission Times Courier recently caught up with Nielsen to learn more about what inspires her to be a difference maker.

Tell us a bit about your work. What would you consider some your major accomplishments?

I am a partner at Procopio (San Diego’s largest law firm) and chair of the firm’s Land Use Practice Group. I represent developers and companies in all facets of the land use approval process in San Diego and have worked on many regionally-significant projects in the housing, mixed-use, and life sciences sectors.

When did you get involved with ULI? What attracted you to that organization? What roles have you played in that organization before becoming governance chair?

I became involved in ULI in 2009, initially as a Young Leader member. I became the co-chair of the Young Leaders Group, and have also served on the Management Committee and Advisory Committee.

I was interested in joining ULI because it was focused on education and best practices in real estate and land use. As a global organization, it offers a wealth of information about these topics. In addition, the local San Diego-Tijuana chapter in particular offers invaluable networking opportunities for all types of real estate and land use professionals and locally-focused programming events.

Describe the work that ULI is doing in San Diego-TJ. What are the important issues ULI is working to solve? What do you hope to accomplish in your new role as governance chair?

The mission of ULI SD-TJ — the only bi-national District Council in the global ULI network — is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in our communities.

More specific to our region, we have been focused on creative solutions to the enduring problem of housing, as well as best practices for the thoughtful redevelopment of transit-oriented areas and land use opportunities to enhance the Cali-Baja mega-region.

As governance chair, I hope to continue to raise ULI SD-TJ’s profile as a trusted and unbiased source of real estate and land use information while continuing to expand our diversity and equity inclusion efforts.

You were also a representative for Del Cerro on the Navajo Planners. What did you look for in projects to deserve a recommendation vote?

My term on the Navajo Community Planners ended in March of this year, but during my four years on the board, my prior focus in evaluating projects was ensuring the projects were consistent with the Navajo Community Plan, but perhaps more importantly, were thoughtful and sensitive to the particular nuances and unique features of the Navajo community.

Any final thoughts, you’d like to share?

On a semi-related note, I was recently appointed to the city’s Redistricting Commission, representing Council District 7 which includes the Mission Valley, Navajo, Serra Mesa, Linda Vista, and Tierrasanta communities.

The city’s Redistricting Commission’s role is to adopt plans to specify the boundaries for the city council districts based on data received from the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, council district boundaries and land use issues and decisions are inextricably related.

The Redistricting Commission is dependent on feedback from community members to help inform its decision so I strongly encourage District 7 residents to attend and participate in the commission’s public meetings over the next several months. [For more information, visit www.sandiego.gov/redistricting-commission].

— Reach editor Jeff Clemetson at [email protected].