IAP2 BC and Yukon 2023 Board

I am delighted to serve as the incoming President of the IAP2 British Columbia and Yukon Chapter in 2022. As an Engagement Specialist with External Relations at Metro Vancouver, my role is to understand ways in which construction of drinking water infrastructure could impact surrounding communities, and work with technical teams to reduce those impacts.

I’m excited to hear from our membership and collaborate with my colleagues on the Board to build on the membership experience and enhance the P2 practice.

I’m looking forward to a bright 2022 and beyond.

I’m pleased to serve the IAP2 BC/Yukon Board in the role of Vice President. Over the past six years, I’ve lead and supported dozens of public engagement initiatives from small-scale infrastructure projects to large-scale projects in the Central Okanagan and the Lower Mainland. I’ve demonstrated leadership, creativity and innovation to engage residents and stakeholders. I intend to bring these same principles to the IAP2 organization to help achieve the vision and goals set out in the IAP2 BC and Yukon Chapter’s strategic plan.

My vision is to grow the community of P2 practitioners, create opportunities for professional development in the field and advocate for inclusive practices.

I look forward to connecting and engaging with you.

My passion for public participation stems from the desire to advance the standardization of engagement practices that are fully accessible, inclusive, and have a focus on reconciliation. I’m honoured to help lead this shift in focus that IAP2 has been championing, while learning and growing alongside the team. I’m incredibly grateful for the skills I’ve learned, and continue to learn, through IAP2 that have advanced my practice.

I am interested in helping the BC and Yukon Chapter with providing great service for membership. My vision is to increase Indigenous practitioners involvement with IAP2 and helping chapter members with their learning journey.

I live with my family in Smithers, B.C., on the beautiful unceded traditional territory of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. I work for the provincial government as a Community Engagement Specialist and have been a member of iap2 Canada for three years. I took my Foundations training in 2018 and have been a big fan ever since! When the opportunity to join the BC and Yukon Chapter board came up, I put my name forward in order to meet more P2 practitioners and to support the great work this organization does. I’m really looking forward to connecting with members and learning more about how we can best serve your needs and goals for engagement.

I am passionate about IAP2 training and implementation of IAP2 planning principles for all engagement projects. Adoption of IAP2 core values and planning principles provides teams across organizations, as well as public with a shared understanding of what engagement actually is, how it is planned and implemented, and what the project team’s commitment is to the public and other stakeholders.

My vision for the BC and Yukon Chapter is to expand reach:

• in communicating what IAP2 stands for
• in explaining the role of IAP2 globally
• in increasing awareness of what IAP2 principles of planning are
• in making training more accessible and less centralized
• in achieving new levels of transparency around how public participation professionals can achieve professional designations
• and diversifying IAP2 membership

Stephanie is a sustainability and engagement practitioner with over 10 years of experience working in the resource development and agriculture sectors. She strongly believes in the power of dialogue to foster connections that accomplish more by bringing people together than we could on our own. Her engagement practice is founded in empathy and active listening, and is committed to the search for common ground while exploring and respecting new ideas and perspectives.

Stephanie’s engagement practice has profoundly benefitted from the learnings and connections offered by the IAP2 network. Since becoming a member of IAP2, she’s gained valuable knowledge and practical tools that have effectively supported the design and implementation of inclusive and participatory engagements. The valuable insight and breadth of knowledge she has gained from IAP2 has motivated her to contribute to the growth and participation of young professionals interested in entering this field, or looking to growth and further develop their network and engagement and public participation practice.

As a member of the board and as the Youth Coordinator, Stephanie is committed to supporting a growing network of young IAP2 professionals. She will bring energy and enthusiasm to advance best practice in public engagement and participation and will work to amplify the participation and perspectives of young IAP2 members and practitioners in the BC/Yukon chapter.

For the last decade, I have worked as a public engagement professional – most recently with Metro Vancouver. I look forward to giving back to this community by volunteering on the IAP2 BC and Yukon Chapter Board.

It is an interesting time to work in the P2 profession. Global events have altered the way we do our work and will have a lasting impact on how we engage. This new era presents new collaboration opportunities and I look forward to participating in these discussions at the Board level.

I want IAP2 to continue to be an invaluable resource for public engagement practitioners by creating more opportunities for professionals to connect, learn, and share their experiences and expertise.

My vision for P2 is a profession that centres on diversity, equity and inclusion. I look forward to creating more opportunities for the IAP2 membership to learn from one another as we evolve our practices.

I am a public engagement manager and a professional planner by training.

My vision is to bring P2 colleagues together to learn from and support one other, and especially welcome the opportunity to explore potential barriers and supports to increase diversity within our field. I am also humbly grateful to be part of IAP2’s learning journey around reconciliation and equity, and am excited to extend that line of critical thinking to how we can do a better job of engaging with equity-denied groups.

I see many opportunities to improve and grow meaningful engagement practices in the Metro Vancouver region and across BC. As we continue to face big challenges as communities and a society, I believe we must seek out ways to foster respectful dialogue, collaborate on solutions, and find ways forward together. IAP2 offers a solid framework (core values and planning process) for approaching this work. Also, I value opportunities to learn, collaborate with others, and share engagement best practices.

I would like to see the Chapter consider taking a bolder, more focused approach to equity, diversity, Reconciliation, anti-racism, inclusion – both in terms of development opportunities for members, but also in outreach and relationship building with demographic groups that are seldom seen in the field of P2.

I’m excited to join the Board as a Director-at-Large with this group of dedicated and enthusiastic practitioners. My motivation for joining this year was to not only further my connections and networks in this work, but also to play a part in creating those connections for those of us working throughout BC and the Yukon. I’m passionate about supporting Truth & Reconciliation and sharing and learning from colleagues to further the diversity, equity and inclusion lens to the work we do. I’m looking forward to supporting the board’s strategic leadership, and getting to know P2 folks around the region.

Since January of this year I have been the Civic Engagement Manager at the City of Coquitlam, with a team of two staff. I am most proud of the recent unanimous adoption of the City’s first-ever Community Engagement Framework. I’m looking forward to participating on this board because I am keen to grow relationships with my local peers in the P2 community. I also want to contribute to growing and shaping this rapidly-evolving practice and the work of the BC/Yukon chapter.

I have more than twelve years of experience in communications, marketing and community relations for complex projects, primarily with public engagement. I see public engagement as a fast evolving area of specialization with the potential to offer high value to municipalities for better decision making and building public trust. I am excited to be on the board to help guide best practices and identify emerging trends for practitioners.