2009 Fellows
Tom Becker FCIP
Over his 30-year career as a consultant, Tom has been especially influential in the creation of official community plans and zoning bylaws for dozens of local governments in B.C. and Yukon, and in working collaboratively with First Nations communities on community plans and other consultations. He is manager of planning for the B.C. region at AECOM, and an active member of the Planning Institute of B.C., as well as a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Urban Development Institute, and the Urban Land Institute. Through his work, he has influenced the shape of development across the Province while supporting younger planners, encouraging colleagues, and mentoring councils and communities. Tom has been nominated for his outstanding professional work and his commitment to community service.
Robert Buchan FCIP
Robert has already won many awards for innovation and excellence in the planning field. He is credited with helping the City of Langford, B.C. make its mark in the areas of downtown revitalization, affordable housing, trail planning, and greenways. He is also noted for his award-winning work on Interface Fire Hazard, designed to address the risk of fires in B.C. communities, and on translating LEED Green Building requirement to a Canadian context. He has published and presented numerous papers, mentored planning students, and conducted research in the area of understanding urban and rural sprawl. He is in demand as a speaker on his areas of expertise and helped develop the Municipal Administration Training Institute’s training program outlining the planning profession for local government officials. As an active member of the Planning Institute of B.C., he chaired the conference committee for the Institute’s 2005 conference in Victoria. Rob has been nominated for high achievement in professional practice, teaching, research, and community service.
Gordon Harris FCIP
Gordon has worked both in the public sector and as a private consultant specializing in strategic planning services and market analysis and is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of the Simon Fraser University Community Land Trust. He has lectured to students at the University of British Columbia School of Community and Regional Planning, at Simon Fraser University’s City Program, and at Capilano University’s Business Administration program. He has also carried out many research projects, working with researchers at the Urban Futures Institute, the Centre for the Study of Commercial Activity, and the Canadian Urban Institute. Gordon has long been involved with the Planning Institute of British Columbia, particularly its membership and professional practice committees, and he is considered a leader in the Metro Vancouver community, where he has served on many community boards and organizations. With his wide-ranging interests and experience, he has been nominated for leadership in all aspects of the planning profession.
Dan Leeming FCIP, RPP
Dan is one of the founders of the Planning Partnership, a multi-disciplinary consultancy that practices across Canada and internationally. Over three decades of professional practice, Dan has emerged as one of the most influential planners of his generation. As the author of countless plans, design guidelines and policy documents, his reputation extends well beyond Ontario, in part through his participation in the Urban Design Working Group, and the creation of the Council for Canadian Urbanism. Dan has volunteered his expertise on design review panels for professional organizations, government agencies, and municipalities. He is co-chair of the Canada-wide group reviewing the LEED-ND credit system to develop an appropriate rating system for Canadian use, and serves on the Board of Active Healthy Kids Canada. He has published numerous articles in the Ontario Planning Journal, given countless presentations on his areas of expertise, and taught at the University of Guelph, the University of Waterloo, and the University of Toronto. He has been nominated for his longstanding contribution to the profession.
Mark Seasons FCIP, RPP
Mark is the Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) and an Associate Professor at the School of Planning of the University of Waterloo. He has worked as a practising planner in New Zealand, Calgary, and Ottawa. He became a professor of planning at the University of Waterloo in 1998. Current and former students have commented on the quality of his teaching, his mentorship abilities, and his personal style of relating to faculty, students, and practitioners as colleagues. He is known internationally for his research on indicators, evaluation and monitoring in planning, and served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Waterloo Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He was President of CIP for 2000–2001, and has been chair of the CIP Policy Committee since 2007. In addition to his considerable contributions to the work of his local affiliate, OPPI, he has contributed to membership courses for the Association of Professional Community Planners of Saskatchewan. He has been nominated for his remarkable career spanning professional practice, teaching and mentorship, research, and service to the profession across Canada and internationally.