SNELLVILLE – City officials are proud to announce the hire of new City Planner Austin Shelton.
Shelton has bachelor's degree in Sociology from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga. and a master's degree in City and Regional Planning (MCRP) from Georgia Tech.
For the past year he's been a GIS and research analyst at the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Before graduating from Georgia Tech, he worked in real estate and marketing for a real estate team in Chattanooga, Tenn.
"I've always been fascinated with history and architecture, and I loved looking at buildings and towns and learning about who built them and how places got started and grew up," Shelton said. "I first got into planning after working with affordable housing and LEED construction developers and being involved in some historic preservation projects in my neighborhood while working in Chattanooga. I started wondering how people got jobs working on cool projects that help shape cities."
Shelton was born in Columbus, Ga. and lived in Cataula, just outside Columbus, until he moved to Chattanooga for college.
"Like the rest of Gwinnett, Snellville is growing and changing," Shelton said. "My goal is to help guide the city's growth by helping it better connect to the rest of the metro area and stand out as a welcoming and exciting place for individuals and families to live and work."