Smart Planning for Communities Staff and Sustainability Facilitators
Meet the members of our team below, or download our Smart Planning for Communities contact sheet .
Maureen LeBourdais
Program Manager, Smart Planning for Communities
T: 250 392-1400
E: mlebourdais@fraserbasin.bc.ca
Maureen LeBourdais has over 15 years experience in community economic development and capacity building in British Columbia, managing a range of environmental, economic and social planning initiatives. She has facilitated labour force development and training related to forestry, cultural tourism, and agriculture, and has worked with Fraser Basin Council for the past 10 years. Before joining Smart Planning, Maureen was Coordinator of the BC Rural Network, a coalition of provincial and regional organizations formed to enhance the capacity of rural British Columbia to develop responses to rural community issues.
Donnella Sellars
Program Coordinator, Smart Planning for Communities
T: 250 392-1400
E: dsellars@fraserbasin.bc.ca
Donnella Sellars is from Xats’ull (Soda Creek) First Nation and has been involved in the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw Treaty Negotiations for the last 10 years. She brings an excellent understanding of negotiations, First Nations culture, administration and coordinator skills to the Smart Planning for Communities Program. She has been involved in the Cariboo Regional Visioning process with the Federal, Provincial, Local and First Nations Governments, various line ministries and industry, funded through UBCM. During this time she has strived to assist the communities in relationship building and working together.
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Sustainability Facilitators
Joan Chess, BA, MA, MCIP
Northern Interior Office: Prince George
T: 250 612-0282
F: 250 564-6514
jchess@fraserbasin.bc.ca
Joan is a registered planner with 25 years experience in community and regional planning, mostly gained in BC’s northern interior. She has worked with provincial, local and First Nations governments and was the Manager for the Fraser Basin Council’s Upper Fraser Region for 14 years. Whether dealing with a watershed or a small site, Joan brings a practical approach to combining sustainability principles and planning processes, with skills in research, analysis, group facilitation and urban design for small communities. She and her family have lived in their R2000 energy efficient home for 25 years.
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Laurie Cordell, MCIP
Kootenay Office: Cranbrook
T: 250 489-4860
E: lcordell@fraserbasin.bc.ca
Laurie Cordell brings to the Smart Planning team 10 years of planning experience at the federal, regional district and municipal levels. With a strong interest in sustainability, Laurie has extensive experience related to planning processes, public consultation, facilitation and mediation. She has conducted many local workshops and enjoys working with people. Laurie appreciates the communities and natural beauty of the Kootenays where she lives in an off-grid, solar house.
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Angela Evans, MCIP
Vancouver Island Office: Victoria
T: 250 858-6209
E: aevans@fraserbasin.bc.ca
Angela Evans is a planner with over 20 years experience in the private and public sectors. She worked for many years as an Environmental Planner with the District of Saanich, and more recently as a consultant focusing on sustainability issues. Her interests in the area of sustainability planning are diverse and include policy and bylaw harmonization, food security and green buildings, as well as innovative water, sewage and rainwater technologies.
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Peter Ostergaard, MCIP
Province-Wide Energy Specialist: Victoria
T: 250-888-3030
E: postergaard@fraserbasin.bc.ca
Peter Ostergaard joins SPC as a province–wide Sustainability Facilitator with special expertise in community energy planning. In his previous role as an Assistant Deputy Minister in the Electricity and Alternative Energy Division of the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, he was responsible for many community energy, energy efficiency, transportation, climate change, remote community and building code policies and initiatives. Peter also served for six years as Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the BC Utilities Commission.
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Susanne Theurer, MCIP
Southern Interior Office: Penticton
T: 250 809-6549
E: stheurer@fraserbasin.bc.ca
Susanne Theurer has been involved in community planning and development for more than 20 years in a number of communities on the west coast and in the interior of British Columbia. She brings with her a background in landscape architecture and practice as a registered planner in local government at the municipal and regional levels. Sustainability principles, and a particular interest in policy development, consultation and engagement, continue to guide her work.
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