May 28, 2025 – The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Emerging Planner Award: Byungjun Kang LPP, MCIP and Teunesha Evertse RPP, MCIP.

This prestigious award recognizes early-career planners who are already making significant contributions to the profession. It honours individuals with less than ten years of professional planning experience who demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation, and impact in their work.

“On behalf of CIP, I am thrilled to congratulate this year’s Emerging Planner Award recipients,” said Deborah Morrison, CEO of CIP. “Planners shape the communities we live in every day, often behind the scenes. The work of Byungjun and Teunesha is helping to bring planning to the forefront through creative solutions, dedication, and a results-driven mindset. With leaders like these, the future of our communities is incredibly promising.”

Marta Farevaag RPP, FCIP, Chair of the 2025 Honours & Awards Jury, added: “The selection process was both inspiring and challenging, given the calibre of this year’s nominees. Byungjun and Teunesha stood out for their bold vision, collaborative spirit, and measurable impact in their communities. We are excited to recognize and celebrate their achievements at this stage in their planning careers.”

As the national voice of the planning profession, CIP is dedicated to supporting its members throughout their careers, promoting an inclusive and diverse planning community, and advocating for the role of planners in shaping Canada’s future. Together, we are building stronger, more resilient communities that Canadians are proud to call home.

Teunesha Evertse RPP, MCIP

Teunesha is a dynamic community planner with a strong background in both public and private sectors. She earned her Master of Community Planning degree from Vancouver Island University, where she demonstrated leadership by founding various student-led organizations/roles and receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship for her thesis on community involvement in land use planning in Belize. 

Professionally, Teunesha began her career development consulting for a social enterprise that develops affordable housing throughout BC, she then moved on to be a municipal planner in a fast-growing community in Greater Victoria and eventually returned to development consulting for the private sector. Today, Teunesha is an Owner and Principal at Westplan Consulting Group where she works on development approvals, with a focus on master-planning and Indigenous collaboration.

A strong advocate and ally for women’s and LGBTQIA2S+ equality, she mentors young planners, sponsors student interns, and contributes to educational initiatives such as the ADAPT Toolkit, demonstrating a lasting commitment to both her profession and her community. Teunesha would like to dedicate this award to her late father, who would have been so proud. 

Byungjun Kang LPP, MCIP

Byungjun Kang is a senior planner with Halifax Regional Municipality who has significantly advanced the planning profession through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and community engagement. He has led key projects, including drafting a secondary strategy and land use by-law in Lunenburg and advancing regulatory changes in Halifax to support equitable housing and density under the Housing Accelerator Fund. Byungjun has also trained dozens of emerging planners, creating a 120-page guidebook to help them write and interpret land use by-laws in plain language, fostering an informed and inclusive profession. Regionally, he hosts lunch-and-learn sessions, sharing insights like “Lessons Learned from the Housing Crises in Seoul” with LPPANS. Externally, he mentors urban planners through Planuyemo Razom and guest lectures at Dalhousie School of Planning. Byungjun is also the founder of PLANifax, a student-run non-profit dedicated to planning education, which won the Atlantic Planners Institute’s Public Outreach and Communication Award for its impact on public engagement.

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For more information or to request an interview with an award recipient, please contact:

Lauren Murray (she/her)
Manager, Communications
800.207.2138 x 207
communications@cip-icu.ca

About the Canadian Institute of Planners

The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) works on behalf of over 9,500 diverse planning professionals and has served as the voice of Canada’s planning community since 1919. Planners safeguard the health and well-being of urban and rural communities by addressing the use of land, resources, facilities, and services with consideration to physical, economic, and social efficiency.