John Swanson
Executive Director, Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission

John Swanson was appointed as the third Executive Director of the Northwestern  
Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) in August 2004.  He directs overall  
planning and operating activities of NIRPC, which serves as the council of governments and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties in Indiana.  The Commission has responsibility for long-range planning and programming in the areas of transportation, environmental management, and economic development.  Mr. Swanson previously served on the staff of the comprehensive regional  planning agency for the Chicago area, the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC), from 1973 – 2003 and was its Deputy  Director at the time of his retirement.  He received his B.A. summa cum laude from DePaul University in Chicago and masters’ degrees in political science and public policy and administration from the University of  Wisconsin – Madison.  He serves on the boards of the Quality of Life Council, the Indiana Association of Regional Councils, the Northwest Indiana Forum, Chicago Wilderness and the executive directors council of the National Association of Regional  Councils.  He has been married for 39 years to Mary Kay and has four grown children  and five grandchildren.  He is a resident of Beverly Shores, Indiana.