Integrated Community Sustainability Planning

Each city will be asked to prepare information in advance to answer the following questions: a) describe what long-term plan you have done?, b) What framework(s) have you used?, c) Did you develop indicators/end state goals?, d) Did you use consultants?, e) Was your process guided by the Canadian "ICSP" process?, f) Did you get funding?

The discussion will look at the challenges and joys of implementing a long-term sustainability plan and what are the best practices that can be applied to cities in Canada and around the world.

Ann Dale, Moderator

Ann Dale is a professor with the School of Environment and Sustainability, Faculty of Social and Applied Sciences at Royal Roads University and holds a Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Community Development (crcresearch.royalroads.ca/). She chairs the Canadian Consortium for Sustainable Development Research (CCSDR), a consortium of all the heads of research institutes across Canada, and is active in the Canadian environmental movement. Dr. Dale chairs an organization she created, the National Environmental Treasure (the NET) and is the Executive Co-ordinator, Research and Public Policy for the Canadian Biodiversity Institute.  From 1998-2000, she led an energy efficiency program on behalf of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges. Previously, she was an Executive with the Federal Government, and was one of the two public servants behind the creation of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE).

Dr. Dale is a Trudeau Fellow (www.trudeaufoundation.ca), as well as a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Sciences. She is also a Board member of the World Fisheries Trust, and the Advisory Committee to the Montreal Institute for the Environment. Dr. Dale holds degrees in psychology and public administration from Carleton University, and a doctorate in Natural Resources Sciences, McGill University. Current research areas include governance, social capital and sustainable community development, biodiversity policy, and deliberative electronic dialogues (crcresearch.royalroads.ca/edialogues). She is a recipient of the 2001 Policy Research Initiative Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Policy for her book, At the edge: sustainable development in the 21st century.

Nola-Kate Seymoar, ICSC
Nola-Kate Seymoar is currently the President and CEO of the International Centre for Sustainable Cities, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. She has a Masters in Community Development and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and has worked in sustainable development at the international level since the late 1980s. In addition to her responsibilities as CEO of the Centre, Dr. Seymoar serves on a number of academic boards and committees, including UBC's Advisory Board to the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and SFU's Advisory Council for the Urban Studies Program. She recently taught a course for SFU's City Program - "Sustainable Futures, A Bootcamp for Long-term Planners", chaired the Arbutus Lands Advisory Council and sits on a number of Boards including the Canadian Landmines Foundation, and Global Urban Development (formerly The Prague Institute). In addition to acting as keynote speaker and lecturer, Dr. Seymoar has authored and edited a number of articles and books on community and sustainable development and taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in North America. She received the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 2002.

Nina Gales, Town of Olds, Alberta

Nina Gales is the Manager of Corporate Affairs for the Town of Olds. The Town of Olds has recently completed an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan following the Alberta Urban Municipalities Guidebook. Nina has acted as the primary advisor for the project process, steering the Olds Advisory Group for Sustainable Living through the complex integrated concepts and multiple disciplines required for moving toward sustainability. The Olds Strategic Sustainability Plan can be accessed at www.olds.ca/sustain.html

With graduate degrees in Resource Management and Education, Isabel Budke has eight years of professional experience in the fields of sustainable development, community planning, Aboriginal and treaty issues, and intergovernmental relations. As a planner and project coordinator, facilitator, advisor, and researcher, Ms. Budke has worked with representatives of all levels of government, non-governmental organizations, First Nations, universities and the private sector. For nearly five years, Ms. Budke worked as a Policy Advisor with the British Columbia Treaty Commission, where she facilitated treaty negotiations between the federal, provincial and First Nation governments. She also spearheaded initiatives on community planning and intergovernmental relations, working closely with the Hon. Mike Harcourt. Ms. Budke then focused her attention on comprehensive community planning, working with First Nations and Indian and Northern Affairs. As a Senior Associate of the International Centre for Sustainable Cities (ICSC), she led their small and Aboriginal communities initiative. In 2007, she spent four months in Iqaluit, the capital city of Nunavut, developing a citizen-driven sustainability planning process. Currently, Ms. Budke is managing the Smart Planning for Communities initiative with the Fraser Basin Council.

Dominica Babicki, District of North Vancouver

Dominica Babicki is the Supervisor - Sustainability Planning Research and Community Consultation at the District of North Vancouver where she oversees a small group of designers and researchers. She works on strategic sustainability projects such as the 100 Year Visioning exercise with the City of North Vancouver, the review of the District OCP and the corporate and community climate change action plans. Prior to joining the District in 2007, Dominica was a Senior Associate with the International Centre for Sustainable Cities where she was responsible for developing and implementing practical demonstration projects related to urban sustainability in Central and Eastern Europe as well as working with the Partners for Long Term Urban Planning (PLUS) Network. She also has extensive project coordination and research experience through her work as a research associate and lecturer at the Centre for Urban and Regional Ecology (CURE) at the University of Manchester and researcher at National Round Table on the Environment and Economy. Dominica has a Masters of Arts in Political Economy from Carleton University and a Masters in Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University.

Ms. Graham is responsible for the development, prioritization, integration, and management of the Vision 2015 program. She was the manager of the City's successful public consultation that resulted in a long-term vision, goals, and sustainability principles and it currently leading the development of an Integrated Sustainability Community Plan for Saint John. Past positions for the City include Operations Manager, Public Safety Communications Centre, and System Manager Management Information Systems. Ms. Graham's educational background includes a Certificate in Local Government, Dalhousie University; Bachelor of Science in Data Analysis, University of New Brunswick; and Bachelor of Science, University of New Brunswick.