As Principal and Director of Planning & Urban Design at ZGF, Nolan Lienhart is known for his strategic ability to bring together clients with community stakeholders and the diverse disciplines that are critical for the successful planning of major district-scale developments, as well as site-specific projects.

Nolan’s background in politics in Washington, D.C., gave him a perspective on the role of public policy in supporting livable communities and the complementary relationships among public, private, and institutional sectors. Over the past decade, Nolan has gained a depth of experience in transit-oriented development, master planning, and urban design, which includes riverfront development, mixed-use neighborhoods, and campus planning. This experience includes work for Oregon Health & Science University, Portland’s South Waterfront District, Stanford University, the Portland Development Commission, and Denver’s Regional Transportation District.

Civic leadership is an important part of Nolan’s work, which has led to his national recognition by the Design Futures Council’s 40 Under Forty, and Engineering News Record’s Top 20 Under 40 in the Northwest. He has served as Board President for 1000 Friends of Oregon, is a member of the Portland Development Commission’s Central City Budget Advisory Committee, and is on the Inclusionary Housing Panel of Experts for the Portland Housing Bureau. He is also on the Board of the Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Nolan received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Geography from Colgate University and a Master of City Planning and a Certificate of Real Estate Design and Development from the University of Pennsylvania.