515 Howard Avenue, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17602, United States
Ideas Collective/Think Tank, Strategic Planning
About Us
Values
Community
Community
Select your values -- and how important they are to you.
Select the businesses and services that are in line with those Values.
Community
Community
Community
Join Communities of Influence (COI's), where your actions are combined with those of others;
Where you can build common interests and coalitions that support your values.
Impact
Community
Impact
Leverage your actions and those of others to affect policy, improve the environment, take political action.
Through Praxis Values you can Change the World!
Who Are We?
Stephen Campbell, Owner
Stephen Campbell is a skilled and dedicated capital project manager, who has developed the Sustainable Initiative Management system through numerous works with not-for-profit organizations and community groups.
He earned his Bachelor of Architecture at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1979, and his Master of Architecture in Urban Design at Harvard in 1981. He opened his own architecture office in upper Manhattan, practicing architecture and community development in Harlem and the South Bronx. In 1990 he entered public service in New York City’s Department of Design and Construction, and rapidly rose through the ranks to become a Deputy Assistant Commissioner, over capital construction for the public service agencies of Health, Human Services, Fire, Children, Aging and the Homeless.
In 1996 he returned to the private sector, reconstituting his office as a sustainability and infrastructure development consultancy.
In 2004, with a growing interest in development in the Middle East, he moved to Beirut, Lebanon, teaching Architecture and capital planning at the American University of Beirut. In addition, he worked at the international engineering firm, of Dar Al Handassah’s Planning Department, where he worked on master planning efforts in Erbil in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, in Oman, establishing areas of historic and natural heritage, and in Northern Jordan the strategic planning for a logistics hub.
Shortly after returning to the States, in 2008 he reentered public service at what is now Washington, DC’s Department of General Services. There, he created the Planning Office of the Department of General Services, where he served to elevate the role of integrated planning and strategic development within the District. The Planning Office led the effort to create Short Term Family Housing in order to close the DC General Family Shelter consistent with the Mayor’s Homeward DC initiative to end homelessness in the District. DGS Planning was involved in transforming industrial sites into state-of-the-art sustainable public works facilities; and DGS’ Planning office instituted a data-driven, agile project management information system.
In January 2020, Mr. Campbell joined the Government of the City of Lancaster, as the Director of the Department of Public Works (DPW). He worked closely with the leadership of DPW to reorganize the department to focus on Vision of the City in the natural environment, and DPW has distinguished itself as a Vision Zero[1] City, has accelerated the Active Transportation (bicycle infrastructure) network, elevated the Green Infrastructure (stormwater management) program, shifted to effective and efficient self-performing construction and operations of the City’s built infrastructure, and developed the first long term capital plan for the City of Lancaster. It continues to fulfill its motto of being Dedicated to Quality of Life of the people whom they serve.
[1] Vision Zero is a traffic safety initiative that aims to eliminate all traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries by the year 2030 through a combination of safer road design, policy changes, and public education.
