This elite group, comprised of experts in the field, personally nominates all invitees and develops the Agenda, which forms the basis of our discussions.
Forum Overview
Dates: November 28 - 29, 2024
Location: Cambridge, ON
The Steering Committee welcomes 48 select Ontario municipal and private practice planners and lawyers, as well as a few architects and other experts in the industry, to meet, share challenges, and exchange ideas. This 3rd Generation Forum is part of the Cambridge Forums ‘Land Use Planning’ series. It is geared towards practitioners who are emerging leaders in this field and have between 10-19 years of experience.
Using candid, seminar-style discussion at this annual meeting, the group shares experiences from every perspective. Participants are able to engage in meaningful dialogue about the most pressing issues facing their clients and build valuable networks of like-minded peers.
2024 Steering Committee
Committee Co-Chairs
Geoff is the Director of the Planning and Development Services Department. He provides overall leadership and innovative strategies to ensure that the management and delivery of services are aligned with the Town of Ajax strategic priorities in the areas of: planning policy development, development application evaluation and processing, transportation planning, economic development and tourism, engineering approval and building permit issuance and building inspection. Prior to his current position, he was the Manager of Planning and was the primary planning project coordinator for the Town of Ajax. In this capacity, he provided leadership and project direction on development review, policy planning, and heritage planning projects. With almost 20 years in planning, Geoff has also been a planner with the City of Pickering and Municipality of Clarington. Geoff has a Joint-Honours Degree in Geography and History from Trent University and an Honours Diploma (Municipal Planning & Development Technician) from Mohawk College.
Committee Members
Adrian leads Planning Services for the Town of Newmarket; a vibrant and growing Town of over 90,000 people located in the heart of York Region. Adrian oversees all policy and development planning in the Town, and is specifically focused on establishing the policy framework to increase economic competitiveness and create vibrant, complete communities. Adrian founded and chaired Ontario’s first Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, and is now a member of OPPI’s Planning Issues Strategy Group. Prior to joining the Town of Newmarket, Adrian had spent many years in the private sector leading development approval projects on behalf of numerous developers and landowners throughout the GTHA.
Patrick practices with the City of Hamilton with a focus on land use planning and development, as well as expropriations, heritage, and building code matters. He regularly appears before the Ontario Land Tribunal as well as development implementation in the City. Prior to joining the City of Hamilton, he articled and practiced with Cassels Brock in Toronto. And prior to that, he worked in the film and television industry, which for some reason most people are far more interested in asking about than the intricacies of section 50 of the Planning Act.
Bronwyn is a Registered Professional Planner and a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners with 19+ years of experience working in the municipal sector. While starting her career on the development review side of municipal planning, she quickly found her niche in the realm of policy planning, specializing in long range planning projects, secondary plans and growth management exercises. As the current Director of Planning Policy for the Town of Halton Hills, she leads a diverse team of professional planners, heritage experts and planning analysts through the everchanging land use planning framework in Ontario.
Graig recently joined Batory Urban Planning and Project Management following over 15 years as a planner in the public sector, including 12 with the Toronto City Planning Division. A skilled communicator and collaborator, Graig has a considerable range of development planning, project management, policy development, tribunal, consultation, and mediation experience.
In his role with the City of Toronto, Graig led a diverse number of development applications and policy initiatives. Graig led the City’s review and facilitation of several transformative projects, including the Honest Ed’s and Mirvish Village site, the revitalization of the Quality Meats Abattoir site at 2 Tecumseth Street, as well as the nearby Stackt Market, and the 18-acre Alexandra Park and Atkinson Housing Co-op Revitalization in the city’s downtown.
Graig has also coordinated some of the City of Toronto’s key housing policy work as the lead on the city’s Laneway Suite initiative – ‘Changing Lanes’ – and most recently as the coordinator of the Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) initiative. Graig was also responsible for creating a more supportive regulatory environment for Toronto’s craft brewers as lead of the ‘Cask Force’ initiative.
Graig is a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP) and a Registered Professional Planner (RPP) in Ontario. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Waterloo.
Forum Directors
Caity is an MBA graduate from the Schulich School of Business in Toronto.
Prior to joining Cambridge Forums, she worked for the Government of Canada in various communications, website and research analyst positions. She has a passion for continuous learning, strategy development and relationship building.
In her spare time, Caity enjoys hiking, being in nature and spending time with her Australian Shepherd pup.
Emily holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Queen’s University. Before joining Cambridge Forums, Emily spent ten years working as an event manager; from leading full-scope event production of gala fundraisers in Toronto, to travelling the world as a destination wedding planner, managing each event from concept to onsite execution.
Armed with deep expertise in relationship management and event logistics, Emily looks to deliver standout participant experiences as a Forum Director.
Outside of the office, Emily can be found scouring Spotify for new music, hosting dinner parties for her friends and family, and perfecting her golf swing.
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