Walking into the home of Claudia Hanson, one would never know they are walking into the home of a woman who is one of the key players in changing the face of Reno. Claudia and her husband Nate have called Glenshire, a small community situated on the Truckee River between Truckee and Reno, their home for the past 8 years. It is warm and inviting place; the sounds of children playing echo from the upstairs and a fire is burning in the wood stove. Claudia’s life may not be filled with exciting scandal and uproar, but she is a bright woman who has a story worth telling.
Claudia Hanson was raised in Marin County, outside of San Francisco. After graduating High School, she attended California Polytechnic, more commonly known as Cal Poly, and majored in Architecture. Following her graduation from Cal Poly she had a quick stint in the Peace Corps and upon returning from overseas she started working for the City of Reno and has been there almost consistently ever since. Claudia began working for the City of Reno as a Junior Planner working mostly with zoning and special use permits. Over the years, she has seen many changes, most notably in the size of her staff. When she first began in the planning divisions there were 21 staff members, today, there are only 8. Just like every other town in America, The City of Reno has faced numerous budget cuts and layoffs have been abundant. When asked about the most significant milestones in her career, Claudia jokingly remarks, “Not getting laid off in the past three years.”
Today, her official title is Planning and Engineering Manager. On a daily basis, you will find her proofing and editing staff reports, working on current [housing] developments, ordinance developments, creating parcels, adjusting boundaries, reviewing bonds, securing agreements, and presenting staff reports-just to name a few. She is extremely hard working and passionate about her job, a sentiment that often reiterated by those who are part of Claudia’s life in both a personal and professional capacity.
When speaking to Claudia’s husband Nate, it is clear that not only is Claudia a wonderful wife and mother, she also does phenomenal work for the City of Reno. When questioned about what Nate thought of Claudia’s choice in career, he emphatically replied, “She does one hell of a job. It’s a tough one.” The couple celebrated their 12-year wedding anniversary this past year and are very supportive of each others professional endeavors. Nate finds the most interesting aspect of his wife’s career, “her ability to quickly rise into a leadership role.”
Other than not being laid off in the past three years, Claudia is most proud of the work she has done introducing mixed-used developments to the city, “It’s good for gentrification, is more centrally located and allows for the less sub-division developments.” A fairly new concept in the Reno area, mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Brining more mixed use areas into downtown Reno could bring many positive changes to the area and make downtown a much more efficient area.
In addition to be a hard worker, another attribute Claudia embodies which is echoed by her friends, family and co-workers is her kind nature and gracious tendencies. Claudia’s best friend Michelle Prestowitz, whom she met at a dinner party in 2003, is a champion of Claudia both personally and professionally. Michele also works in the public sector for the Truckee River Watershed Council. In addition to having children that are the same age, Michele remarked that she was, “attracted by Claudia’s combination of wit, intellect, enthusiasm for the outdoors, and ability to call it like she sees it.” Michele’s high praise for Claudia continues when she speaks of Claudia’s ability to thrive in a male dominated industry and notes that Claudia is, “Just a really impressive person; someone who understand herself and stays true to her values- someone you feel can really get things accomplished, but not too big for her britches.”
Donald Naquin worked under Claudia as a landscape architect for the City of Reno until last year, when in lieu of recent cutbacks, the city laid him off. Although Donald is still slightly resentful about his early termination, when he speaks of Claduia, there is a clear change in his tone. During their time working together, Claudia and Donald operated side by side on a wide array of projects including all the major commercial and industrial projects developed in the city including Summit Sierra Shopping Center, ReTrac Land Use, and Cabelas. He still has fond memories of his time working with Claudia that date back to some of their first meetings together, “When I first met Claudia she and some other planners took the time to put me in a car and take me around the city to look at past, present and future projects. The entire time asking my opinion on what I thought and what I might have done differently to improve the look of the projects. As a new employee it made me feel that my opinions would be valued and that I was welcome.” Even though being loosing his job was tough for Donald, he made sure to note that to this day he and Claudia remain great friends.
The last time Claudia was interviewed, she was being questioned by a Reno Gazette Journal reporter about “risqué” strip club signage in Downtown Reno. While unfortunately this issue appears to still be in the press, there is no doubt that the work Claudia is doing for the City of Reno and her passion for making the city a better place is a much more deserving topic. Strip clubs and casinos aside, Claudia is helping to develop Reno in to a thriving city, one building at a time.
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