CIP’s Board of Directors

What are your hopes for the future of the planning profession?

I hope that the planning profession continues to be a brave and bold advocate for positive change in communities across Canada, especially for Indigenous communities in achieving self-reliance. What other profession gets paid to be both dreamers and implementers?

What are a few of your favourite places?

Fan Tan Alley in Victoria, the Pearl District in Portland, and the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.

Which person has most inspired your work in planning?

Larry Beasley and Ann McAfee for laying the groundwork in the City of Vancouver, and every elected official who has had to wrestle with competing values and interests in order to make the tough decisions needed to move their community forward.

Anything else we should know about you?

It’s been a few years now, but I used to don a kilt and play the snare drum in a pipe band. Maybe once again in the near future …

Paul has worked in both the public and private sectors, first as a community planner at the Red River Planning District and is currently a Project Director and Senior Planner at Narratives Inc in Winnipeg. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts, advanced major, in global political economy from the University of Manitoba (2014) and a Masters of Planning at Queen’s School of Urban and Regional Planning (2017) with a focus on knowledge-based economies and the impact this shift is having on urban development. His first foray into community planning started in his undergrad studies, exploring alternative community models and structures such as the Totnes Transition Town and community energy planning. This early work as inspired a lifelong interest in alternative approaches to planning and development.

At Narratives Inc., Paul’s work primarily focuses on equitable community development, land-use planning, and community engagement. Working almost exclusively with Indigenous Communities, Paul frames his work around the cultural, spiritual, and environmental aspects of a community to expand capacity and capability through inclusive engagement and planning processes. For Paul, facts and figures only tell part of the story, but our connections to the land and each other reveal the whole story, and that story should shape how our communities are developed.

As a former member of the Manitoba Professional Planning Institute Council and the Chair of the Public Outreach Committee, Paul successfully saw outreach increase over his two years on the board.

Expression of Interest

The opportunity to join the CIP Board of Directors at this exciting time for our profession is important to me. I am interested in lending my voice and experience to the strategic direction of CIP as we explore where our sector is going. As planning professionals, we are facing unique challenges in so many different areas – the climate crisis, political shifts, pandemics, and new technologies. We are uniquely positioned to tackle these issues as we are immersed in them every single day. As the truths of what happened at the Residential Schools in Canada continue to be revealed, planners have an important role to play in supporting the healing needed for Indigenous peoples, families, and communities. I want to join the Board of Directors to contribute to these discussions and work with planners across the country on the challenges we face.

Beate Bowron is a former Director of Community Planning for the City of Toronto with over 30 years’ experience in urban planning.  She is the President of Beate Bowron Etcetera, a small consulting company with extensive experience in participatory community planning, municipal management, local economic development, consensus building, and climate change adaptation. She works both in Canada and internationally.

Ms. Bowron is a seasoned facilitator and trained mediator, whose practice emphasizes consensus building to avoid costly litigation and tribunal processes. As a Director of Community Planning in the City of Toronto (1998 – 2003), she was responsible for all community planning functions in the ‘old’ City of Toronto, including a large variety of contentious development projects. She also headed the Municipal Mediation Pilot Project in the Office of the Provincial Facilitator in 1993/94. More recently, Ms. Bowron has been the project manager and public participation lead in a number of municipal ward boundary and Trustee Area reviews in Ontario.

As part of the Canadian Institute of Planners’ groundbreaking work in climate change adaptation planning, Ms. Bowron was responsible for climate change adaptation planning projects in the Atlantic Region and Nunavut, Canada’s Arctic. Her international experience, in a variety of consulting roles, spans China, Guyana, South Africa, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Philippines, and Ukraine. Projects have focused on public involvement, strategic planning, climate change, tourism development and sustainable, and resilient cities and regions.

Lesley lives and works in Whitehorse, Yukon. She has worked in communities in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northern Ontario, Northern Quebec, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. She has completed plans with the federal, provincial and territorial governments, First Nations, Inuit and Metis, municipalities, private industry, and countless community groups through her work in both the private and public sectors. She has an intimate understanding of the specific challenges faced by remote Northern communities and works to support decisions focused on long-term sustainability and resiliency.

In 2022, Lesley was honoured to be selected as a Fellow of CIP for her work with northern and Indigenous communities. Lesley has demonstrated consistent professional leadership, and in particular through her work with Indigenous people. She was a long-term Chair of the Yukon Land Use Planning Council and understands the importance of regional planning for the implementation of modern-day treaties and inherent rights. Over the course of her career, Lesley has provided formal and informal mentorship to many developing professional planners. She has been involved for many years in the Yukon Chapter of the Planning Institute of BC and served as the organization’s President 2019-2021.

Lesley is an experienced board member. She is certified by the Canadian Institute of Corporate Directors from the Rotman School of Business, is the Chair of the Yukon Energy Corporation and a Board member of the Chu Niikwan Development Corporation (Kwanlin Dun First Nation). Lesley also sits on Stantec’s National Inclusion Diversity and Equity Council.

Expression of Interest

I want to bring a northern perspective to the Institute. Northern communities are at the front lines of climate change, affordable and adequate housing, reconciliation, opioid crisis, and healthy communities. We as planners embrace these challenges yet we are not always aware how these challenges are amplified in the north. They are small, often remote, with poor internet and cell services and limited resources to deal with the big challenges that are facing their communities:  climate change, energy and food security, housing, loss of sense of place and culture, reconciliation, and economic opportunities. I want Canadian planners to tilt their eyes and heads north and include a northern perspective when considering our profession and all we can be.

Our Institute has some work to do around the competencies. I want the Institute to facilitate robust and inclusive discussion and collaborate with all PTIA’s and our Universities to get to agreement on planning competencies. I have enjoyed being on the PIBC Board for the past 8 years and would like to contribute nationally.

Jason Ferrigan, RPP, MCIP, MScPl is an award-winning planner with 25 years of progressive experience in the public, private, institutional and non-for-profit sectors.  His work has taken him across Ontario and into Quebec, Alberta, the United States and the Caribbean, where he worked on a wide range of assignments. Jason’s efforts have been recognized for excellence and innovation at the provincial and national levels.

Jason is a proven leader who believes strongly in creating high-trust environments that empower and drive conversations, innovation and action.  He is motivated to achieve balance between competing interests, deliver results and create positive change.  Jason is a Principal Associate and Chief Planner with J.L. Richards & Associates Limited, where he leads the Planning Team and advises public and private clients on projects across Ontario.

Jason is actively involved in the community and planning profession.  He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners’ Governance Committee and the Health Science North Long Range Planning Committee.  He also mentors several planners on their path to professional certification.  He was a member of the Rotary Club of Sudbury for several years.  He also served on the Council for the Ontario Professional Planners Institute for 8 years, including President-Elect (2015-2017) and President (2017-2019).

Laura Hartney is a graduate of the Regional and Urban Planning Program at the University of Saskatchewan, with more than 30 years of diverse professional planning experience. Laura worked as a planning consultant, providing community planning services to municipalities and First Nations; as a planning director for a rural municipality in a rural-urban fringe; and as part of a provincial team that developed amendments to provincial planning legislation. Most recently, she worked for an urban municipality, leading teams that were responsible for planning the future growth of the city, working with regional partners to develop and implement a regional plan, and working with First Nations to facilitate the creation of urban reserves. Throughout her career, Laura has valued opportunities to take a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to serving clients and communities, create partnerships, and bring together diverse interests and find common ground. In 2021, Laura received the Fraser-Gatrell Award from SPPI and the James Pooler Award from the University of Saskatchewan for distinguished contributions to planning.

Expression of Interest

I would welcome the opportunity to represent planners and serve the planning profession as a CIP Director. I believe planners are well-positioned to help address complex issues in Canadian society such as reconciliation, equity, housing, and climate change – to name a few. We are trained in holistic approaches, recognizing that solutions to complex issues require the work of multiple disciplines. We are trained in rights-holder, stakeholder and community engagement, recognizing that the best planning is done with, not for, the communities we serve. While we have much work to do, CIP’s new Strategic Plan provides focus and a roadmap, and I would welcome the opportunity to bring my diverse planning experience, and the perspectives that come with it, to the table, and to learn from others there.

I am a first year Masters student of Planning at the University of Waterloo. As a candidate for CIP’s Student Director, I aim to critically engage with CIP and Canadian planning students regarding the roles and responsibilities of planners in shaping human and natural relationships, as well as equity through space. I have experience in several student leadership roles including as the Accessibility Representative for undergraduates at the University of Manitoba, and as a Sustainability Representative, Accessibility Representative and Treasurer within faculty student groups. These leadership opportunities provided me with experience communicating with students on the many and varied issues they faced. I presented and discussed these topics with those in positions of power within the university structure, in efforts to move towards spaces that addressed both the needs and interests of students. I have had employment experiences with a variety of organizations where I have sought out opportunities to learn form both people and spaces I am seeking to better understand through active listening and engagement, which I would continue if chosen to represent students on the CIP Board of Directors.

With gratitude and humility, I am a second generation Canadian born and raised on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples now known as the City of Vancouver. I reside in Vancouver with my partner and daughter.

I have an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For 20 years, I have worked at the forefront of transportation and land use planning and policy in Metro Vancouver, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles County.

My personal mission is to use public policy, partnerships, and advocacy to improve the conditions of cities for all residents, particularly those with lower incomes or who are systemically disadvantaged. My passion is evidence-informed planning and policy development, with a particular interest in making transit-oriented communities be more equitable.

Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), Mrs. Pantelimon is a Registered Professional Planner in Alberta and Quebec with 15+ years of city planning and management experience across Canada.

Olimpia has been recently recognised by the Institute of Public Administration Canada (IPAC) for excellence in government policy for her leadership on the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board Training Regulation and program. As Senior Planning Advisor with Municipal Affairs, as chair of the CIP Healthy Communities Committee, expert advisor to the Metropolis International Institute, and member of the US Green Building Council LEED for Cities and Communities Working Group, Olimpia has drafted, facilitated and enabled policy and programs development in synergy with federal/provincial departments and agencies. As expert Peer Reviewer for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Green Municipal Fund (GMF), Olimpia has evaluated, and reported on Sustainable Affordable Housing plans, capital projects, and other GMF programs. Olimpia’s expertise, built on superior systems thinking, political acumen, grit, excellent editing skills, technical knowledge and leadership was effective translated in practice while managing interdisciplinary teams to success.

She served on the CIP National Affairs Committee, and as Chair Healthy Communities Committee she facilitated the development of the 2018 Healthy Communities Policy fostering vibrant environments and active lifestyles for all Canadians, and, continued to support the planning community as member and chair of the CIP Awards for Planning Excellence Jury, the CIP Planning Student Trust Fund Jury, the APPI Events and Journal committees, and as Healthy Communities representative for APPI and OUQ.

Allow me to introduce myself! I began my planning career in 1982 with the City of Edmonton. I am a MCIP, RPP, kinda-retired parks planning specialist (35 years and counting), former director of Parks Planning with the City of Edmonton, and former APPI board member. Currently I am sessional lecturer at the University of Alberta Urban Planning Program, a parks vlogger (Parks are Like Icebergs on Substack), and board member on the North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society.

I was the primary lead responsible for the development of the Edmonton 2006-2016 Urban Parks Management Plan – an award winning policy plan/master plan (i.e., Alberta Recreation and Parks Association). That plan was the first parks plan in Edmonton that formerly accommodated natural areas and community gardens. I was Parks Planning Director when the Riverview Area Plan was negotiated and approved, while simultaneously overseeing 20 staff, and managing multi-million-dollar capital budget development and implementation processes.

Over time I have presented at multiple, local, provincial, and national urban planning, and parks and recreation conferences, and an international academic conference (i.e., American Association of Geographers).

In 2019 I successfully completed a PhD at the University of Alberta at the age of 63! My dissertation used institutional theory to analyze parks decision-making in Edmonton in the 1960-2010 period.

I am an avid traveller/parks nerd who has visited parks across Canada and parts of Europe (Italy, Turkey, Germany, Netherlands). My wife and I have two very compassionate adult offspring!

What are your hopes for the future of the planning profession?

I want our profession to embrace diversity as we continue to develop reputations as leaders in community building and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

What are a few of your favourite places?

Any place with snow, especially if it is ski-able, snowboard-able or skate-able,.  At the other extreme, my heart also lies in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana.  My roots to my family home, Port Hood Island in Cape Breton Nova Scotia, are also particularly deep.

Which person has most inspired your work in planning?

Michael Hough, who wrote the book, Cities and Natural Process on the integration of urban ecology into planning and design, that I studied at university and whom I had the honour and challenge to work with following graduation.  His approach to systems thinking and respect for natural processes continues to profoundly influence my practice.

Anything else we should know about you?

I am an avid skier, snowboarder, and sailor. I am a committed postal historian with a strong interest in Port Hood and Botswana.  These hobbies connect me to my favourite places. Check out my website at postalhistory.ca or my Instagram account #stampgraphics.