Bhavani potharaju
ASSociate PLANNER
Bhavani has strong background in architecture from India. She has worked on designing many single family residences, multi-family residences, and educational buildings. She has great organizational skills and is highly skilled in graphic representation, report design and GIS mapping.
Bhavani is currently working as an Associate Planner with the Cities of Palo Alto and Atherton. She provides current planning services and helps clients navigate the permitting process. In the recent past Bhavani worked thru M-Group as a consultant with the city of Milpitas serving as a current development planner and assisting customers at the public counter.
Prior to joining M-group, Bhavani worked as an Intern at the County of Santa Clara, and as a Sustainable Land Use Intern at the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter. She also worked with the City of San José on the East Santa Clara Urban Village draft plan where she assisted in researching the existing conditions of land use and mobility, and created maps and graphics to foster public input at community meetings.
Bhavani obtained her Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from San Jose State University, with certification in Community Design and Development. For her Master’s thesis, she proposed design guidelines for public plazas to enhance social interaction in communities. She is interested in learning and exploring the intersection of architecture and planning, with her training in architecture contributing immensely to her design-oriented approach to planning. She is inspired by public spaces and creating vibrant interaction in communities.
Outside of work, Bhavani enjoys spending time with family and friends, especially while watching movies. She loves listening to music and exploring new places.