Sustainable Suburbs - List of Speakers
Key Speakers:
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John Sewell,Urban Activist and
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Kerstin Åkerwall,Head of Planning Department,
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Thomas Brink,Vice President,RTKL |
Bill Bryck,President and CEO,Parc Downsview Park Inc. |
Adam Vaughan,Councillor, Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina,City of Toronto |
Hear from these leaders
Adam Vaughan, Councillor, Ward 20,
Trinity-Spadina, City of Toronto
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Adam Vaughan is serving his second term as the City Councillor for Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina. Before being elected in 2006, Adam Vaughan worked as a political journalist at CityTV, CBC Radio and TV, CKLN, and has also written for various publications such as Toronto Life, the Toronto Star, and Eye Weekly. Adam and his family live in downtown Toronto.
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Ann Marie Carroll, Manager, Operations, York Region Transit
Audrey Bennett, Director, Provincial Planning Policy, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
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Audrey Bennett is the Director of the Provincial Planning Policy Branch of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Province of Ontario, Canada. This branch administers the legislative and policy framework for the land use planning system in the Province of Ontario. Audrey has worked at both the municipal and provincial level on development approval and policy development. She also co-ordinated several environmental protection and land use planning initiatives including a legislative framework to facilitate Brownfield redevelopment, and legislation and plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt. More recent initiatives include a review of the planning system in Ontario to align with growth management objectives and sustainable development. Audrey has a Bachelor of Applied Arts Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Ryerson University. Audrey resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is a registered professional planner with the Ontario Professional Planning Institute (OPPI) and Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP). |
Bill Bryck, President and CEO,Parc Downsview Park Inc.
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My. Bryck entered the real estate industry as Controller for Markborough Properties Limited, and in 1984 he joined Enterprise Property Group (EPG) serving as its Vice President, Finance, and within two years became a shareholder/partner and a significant contributor to its rapid growth. In 1989, Mr. Bryck and a partner acquired the company and substantially grew its national portfolio to 50+ million square feet. In 1993, EPG assisted ProFac Management in winning a major facilities outsourcing contract, following which Mr. Bryck was appointed President of ProFac and completed the successful account transition and implementation. In 1998, EPG was acquired by O&Y Properties, subsequently known as O&Y Enterprise, and Mr. Bryck was appointed President of the Ontario Commercial Division managing landmark properties, including First Canadian Place, Scotia Plaza/Toronto and Place de Ville/Ottawa. During 2000, in response to a developing market need, O&Y CB Richard Ellis was formed to service the corporate real estate requirements of major Canadian corporations. By 2006, then known as CBRE Management Services, the company became the dominant corporate real estate services provider in Canada. Mr. Bryck was the founding President of O&Y CBRE and was instrumental in its successful and explosive growth. Most recently, Mr. Bryck served as Acting Vice Principal, Operations and Finance of Queen's University in Kingston, ON. Mr. Bryck holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University and is a chartered accountant. Bill, his wife Catherine and their family reside in Toronto, ON. |
Bruce Bachen, Director of Drainage and Wastewater Quality Division, Seattle Public Utilities
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Bruce Bachen is Director of the Drainage and Wastewater Quality Division of Seattle Public Utilities. His responsibilities include oversight of Seattle's municipal stormwater permit, inspection and enforcement of water quality compliance within Seattle, creek restoration, and implementation of Seattle's green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) projects to reduce impacts to receiving waters. Bruce works closely with the City's departments of Planning and Transportation in developing stormwater code requirements and approaches to GSI that integrate stormwater management with transportation and other community benefits within the public right of way. Bruce has a Master's Degree in Fisheries from the University of Michigan, and has worked for 18 years in Alaska as the operations manager of a salmon enhancement organization, and well as holding other responsible positions at Seattle Public Utilities. |
David Anselmi, Senior Vice President, Development and Sustainability, Parc Downsview Park Inc.
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David Anselmi is Senior Vice President, Development and Sustainability for Parc Downsview Park Inc., the federal Crown Corporation overseeing the development of Downsview Park in Toronto. David joined PDP in June of 2003, as Vice President, Park Development. David is responsible for the overall planning, design, and implementation of all aspects of the Downsview Park development, and the execution of Capital Projects throughout this 572ac. site and its 1.7 million sq. ft. of existing buildings. David is a Past- President of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects serving from 1996 – 1998, and a fellow of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. As well David is Chair of the City of Toronto Public Art Commission, and a member of the Nathan Phillip Square Revitalization Public Advisory Committee and the City of Mississauga Urban Design Advisory Panel. David was an Associate Professor at University of Toronto, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design from 1990 – 1997. |
David Premi, Principal, david premi Architects inc
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david premi Architects inc (dp.Ai) was established in Hamilton in 2005 as an architectural practice focusing on sustainability, urban renewal, and strengthening of community through design excellence in the built environment. The firm recently received a 2011 Ontario Association of Architects Design Excellence award for the renovation of the Hamilton Farmers' Market and Public Library in downtown Hamilton. dp.Ai maintains a strong focus on design of public renewal projects as an catalyst for community growth, and believes that adaptive reuse is an important vehicle to preserve history while supporting change in our urban areas. David Premi is an architect, educator, community leader, and advocate of sustainable development, and has 25 years' experience as an architectural practitioner. David has developed and delivered courses on sustainable design and construction at Mohawk College and McMaster University. He currently serves as a board member on the Hamilton Arts Council, and is chair of the Advocacy committee for the Hamilton and Burlington Society of Architects. David lives in Hamilton with his family. |
Edward Sajecki, Commissioner of Planning & Building, City of Mississauga
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Ed Sajecki is the Commissioner of Planning and Building for the City of Mississauga, Canada's sixth largest City, where he has overall responsibility to provide professional advice on matters of planning policy, development applications and building construction. Prior to that, he was Assistant Deputy Minister with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing of the Province of Ontario, responsible for land use planning, building and housing, and previously provincial-municipal relations. Mr. Sajecki has wide ranging senior executive experience in urban planning, development and management with local governments and served as Commissioner of Planning and Economic Development for several cities within the Greater Toronto Area. Mr. Sajecki is a civil engineer and professional planner. He has international experience related to local government in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean and has provided advice to governments on strategic planning and economic development. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) and a past president of the Association of Ontario Land Economists. |
Greg Christenson, President, Christenson Developments
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Greg Christenson is President and Co‐Owner, with Peter Dirksen, of Christenson Developments ‐ one of Edmonton's leading developers of Active Adult Condominiums and innovative Urban Villages. Greg's focus and vision is to create sustainable communities while also building lasting relationships and strategic partnerships with governments, not for profit groups and like‐minded developers. Currently, Greg is the incoming President of the Canadian Home Builders Association – Alberta, and recently chaired the Strategic Planning Committee for CHBA. Nationally Greg still serves on the Planning and Development Committee of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, and has participated recently on the housing committee of the Capital Region Growth Plan, and on the Downtown Arena Feasibility Committee. Greg is past President of both the Edmonton and the Canadian Home Builders Association, and served as the Chair of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce. A graduate in Civil Engineering from the University of Alberta, Greg followed his father, Lloyd, into business in 1979 – designing and building over 1,000 rental units as Chris‐Con Builders. When Alberta real estate had its downturn, Greg went into the property management of foreclosed and investor owned properties. Christenson Property Management currently manages over 3,000 units. In 1989, Greg and Peter formed Christenson Developments to create new adult bungalow and apartment communities. Christenson Communities is a leader and owns and manages over 800 new homes in aging‐in‐place retirement communities throughout the Capital Region. Christenson Developments has a long term philosophy and believes in sharing best practices through industry associations and with other businesses, not‐for‐profit groups and government agencies. Christenson Developments was honored to be the Edmonton Multi‐family Builder of the Year from 2001 - 2009. Award winning communities include Creekside, Railtown, and Devonshire Village in Edmonton, Centre in the Park in Sherwood Park and Citadel Village in St. Albert. Greg makes his home in the Christenson community of Creekside, on the Mill Creek Ravine in central Edmonton. |
Ian K. McCallum, Managing Associate, Dialogue Partners
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Ian earned a Master of Arts in Public Administration with concentrations in Public Management and Innovation, Science and Environment. He brings a vast skill base to his projects in the public arena, such as development and issue resolution between and within communities of interests. For the first 15 years of Ian’s career he worked for various politicians at different levels, concluding with 7 years in the Mayor’s Office at the City of Ottawa. As the Managing Associate for a growing public engagement firm with an international reputation and work load, Ian wears many hats including Chief Technology and Communication Officer and CAO. Dialogue Partners has been using social media and a wide variety of online engagement tools and technology over the last 6 years, including recent working with technology partners to build mobile apps and modify tools to support public engagement processes. Dialogue Partners is public engagement and stakeholder relations firms specializing in areas of high emotion, complexity and controversy. When not working, Ian can be found on the bike trails and ski hills in Gatineau Park with his wife and four kids. |
Jennifer Keesmaat, Partner, Dialog
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Jennifer Keesmaat is one of Canada’s leading voices in urban planning and design. As a Principal in the Toronto studio of national multidisciplinary design firm DIALOG, Jennifer has a distinct interest in the processes that shape cities, communities and places. Jennifer integrates strong management skills with a collaborative approach to project development that recognizes the strategic importance of consensus building and stakeholder engagement. Her portfolio of national and international work includes economic development planning, policy development and review, municipal planning and has garnered multiple Canadian Institute of Planners Awards of Excellence and other accolades. In addition to her work with DIALOG, Jennifer writes about a broad range of urban issues. Her essay “Towards Cultural Urbanism” was published in the book, Rediscovering the Wealth of Places. Jennifer is currently leading five major planning projects across Canada. |
John Sewell, Urban Activist and
former Mayor of Toronto
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John Sewell was a member of Toronto City Council from 1969 to 1984, and was Mayor of Toronto 1979 – 80. He has engaged in politics in Toronto as a community activist, city councillor, journalist, writer, housing administrator, and entrepreneur, and chaired the Royal Commission on Planning and Development Reform in Ontario, 1991 - 93. He has written ten books, mostly about urban issues, including two books about planning in Toronto; `The Shape of the City', 1994, and `The Shape of the Suburbs', 2009. His most recent book is `Police in Canada, the real story.' He was awarded the Order of Canada in 2005. |
Karl R. Walsh, Director of Community Design,
Planning Design and
Development Department,
City of Brampton
Kerstin Åkerwall, Deputy Director and Head of Planning Department , City Planning Office, City of Malmö, Sweden
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Kerstin Åkerwall is Head of Planning Department for the City of Malmö, Sweden's third largest city with 300,000 inhabitants. The department has about 40 employees, architects, civil engineers, landscape architects and societal investigators. The responsibility includes all development planning and sustainability for the future. Kerstin is responsible for the city's comprehensive planning, planning investigations and local and detailed planning. Prior to her current position, Kerstin worked County Architect at the County Administrative Board, County of Scania. Kerstin Åkerwall graduated from The University of Lund, M.Sc Architecture. As a practicing architect, she has been actively designing buildings in Malmo for over 20 years. She is also a professional planner with professional planner with international experience from Tangshan City, China. Furthermore, she represented Malmö and Sweden in Shanghai Expo 2010: Better Cities Better Life, invited by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Sweden. |
Kevin Curtis, Manager, Strategic Policy Development, Region of Waterloo
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KEVIN CURTIS, PhD, MCIP, RPP is the Manager, Strategic Policy Development for the Region of Waterloo and has been a professional planner for almost 30 years. His previous experience includes working for the Town of Oakville, the City of Kitchener, operating his own consulting firm - Curtis Planning Inc., and teaching planning related courses at Brock, Waterloo, Wilfred Laurier and York universities. Kevin’s areas of specialization include regional planning and economic development, growth management, strategic planning and evaluation, downtowns, and transportation planning. Kevin was the project coordinator for the Region of Waterloo’s Growth Management Strategy which garnered an Ontario Professional Planners Institute (OPPI) “Excellence in Planning” award in 2004 and the Region of Waterloo’s new Regional Official Plan which was approved in 2010. Kevin has been a volunteer with OPPI on several occasions and is currently a member of OPPI’s Government and Legislation Working Group. |
Michael Whelan, Vice President,
Development, Build Toronto
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Michael Whelan is a result-oriented senior real estate executive with 30 years of experience throughout North America in all aspects of real estate, including construction, development, operations, leasing, asset management and investments. During his career he has been involved with some of the largest and most complex projects and transactions in Canada. Most recently Michael was the Managing Director of the Delan Group Inc., a real estate consulting organization serving top tier real estate organizations across Canada. Previously he was Senior Vice President with The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited, one of North America's largest real estate organizations and responsible for all aspects of the Greater Toronto Area Portfolio. He has also worked with the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board where he was responsible for the Canadian Real Estate Portfolio, as well as CN Real Estate where he played a leading role in the development of the Toronto Railways Lands. Michael holds a B.Sc in Civil Engineering from Queen's University and is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario.
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Rowan Faludi, Partner, urbanMetrics inc.
Thomas C. Brink, Vice President,RTKL
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Tom Brink is a Vice President of RTKL, the international architecture, planning and design firm, and co-director of the practice's residential group. In a career that has spanned more than two decades, Brink has emerged as a recognized expert in the planning and design of residentially driven mixed-use developments. Drawing on his knowledge of and experience in multiple commercial building typologies, Brink has been a guiding force in several iconic projects that blend retail, residential and other uses to create viable, sustainable communities. Among his award-winning projects are Addison Circle, Legacy Town Center, the 30-story Monarch, the Domain and Paseo Colorado. Brink's portfolio crosses borders and cultures, and, in addition to his experience throughout the United States, he has been responsible for a wide range of work around the globe. This has included projects in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Brink's work consistently wins industry awards (more than 30 to date) and peer recognition for its ability to blend urban design, architecture, interior architecture and environmental graphic design into experiential, branded urban environments that resonate with a sense of place and community. Whether working on a LEED-certified housing scheme in his home state of Texas or a multi-million-square-foot mixed-use district in China, Brink relies on a strong design sense as well as an enlighten urbanism that considers issues of context, density, mass transit and sustainable design principles. He has been a frequent contributor to industry publications and a speaker and panelist at ULI, CNU and other industry conferences. |
Todd Litman, Executive Director,
Victoria Transport Policy
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Todd Litman is founder and executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transport problems. His work helps expand the range of impacts and options considered in transportation decision-making, improve evaluation methods, and make specialized technical concepts accessible to a larger audience. His research is used worldwide in transport planning and policy analysis. Mr. Litman has worked on numerous studies that evaluate transportation costs, benefits and innovations. He authored the Online TDM Encyclopedia, a comprehensive Internet resource for identifying and evaluating mobility management strategies; Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis: Techniques, Estimates and Implications, a comprehensive study which provides cost and benefit information in an easy-to-apply format; and Parking Management Best Practices, the most comprehensive book available on management solutions to parking problems.
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Trevor Boddy, Architecture Critic + Consulting Urbanist, Vancouver
Vince Graham, Founder, I'On Group
Warren Price, Senior Associate, Urban Strategies
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Warren Price, an Urban Designer and Senior Associate at Urban Strategies, is trained as an architect and is the author of numerous, award winning, downtown, campus and new community master plans. Warren's experience encompasses a substantive variety of urban and rural settings, across North America, the UK and Asia. He is adept at positioning development initiatives within the economic and political context of these places. His breadth of experience allows him to critically asses and integrate new ideas with established development formats. Warren's new community planning and design has focused on sustainable best practices and includes Sustainable Halton, the Region of Halton's growth plan. Currently, Warren is leading the Cornell Centre Precinct Plan, in Markham, Ontario. This plan synthesizes a number of competing development proposals and aligns them with the direction established in the community's secondary plan. A key focus of this work has been the location and design of the commercial development within the town centre, as well as the design and function of the transportation and parking infrastructure that supports this centre. Warren has also prepared master plans for the Mayfield West new community in Caledon, Ontario and for Employment and Innovation Parks in Clarington, Ontario. Warren has prepared master plans for the urban centres of cities across the USA, the United Kingdom and Asia including, Guiyang, China, Hartford, Connecticut, St. Paul, Minnesota, Sheffield, UK, and Charleston, South Carolina. These plans focus on creating opportunities for growth and reinvestment while supporting a traditional urban environment. In Canada, he recently led the design of downtown plans for Port Colborne, Ontario and St. Albert, Alberta. Warren speaks regularly at conferences and has been a sessional lecturer at the University of Toronto and George Brown College in Toronto |
12 CORE Learning Hours
