Faculty

About Pam: I am interested in: 1) how we shape the human experience in communities; 2) how we can advance human/nature connections; 3) how to engage people in the decisions that impact their every-day lives; and 4) ensuring that the role of planners goes far beyond facilitation, to places where we are responsible for achieving the utopian and practical principles that define our profession. 

Lindsay works as the Director of Planning at Saanich and is a PhD candidate at UVic in Geography. MCP courses taught: Plan 503 Theory and Ethics (she has been teaching this one since the program started!) and Plan 622 Topics in Municipal and Regional Planning.  She has also taught Research Methods in the past.

About Mark: Mark is well-known in the world of planning, as he worked for the City of Vancouver and ultimately founded the City’s Sustainability Office (this, in the city that strives to be the greenest city in the world). He then co-founded two nationally recognized consulting firms before beginning his own – Holland Planning Innovations – of which he is currently the President. He has professional degrees in both community planning and landscape architecture, and has been awarded numerous honours, including BC’s Planner of the Year (2010) and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013) for his contributions to the field of sustainability and planning. 

Sonal works with the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute (MABRRI) at VIU as the Planning Projects Coordinator. She also serve as a planning consultant to the Huu-ay-aht First Nation Government for their multiple community-led initiatives.

Jessie Hemphill (Tlali’ila’ogwala, or “Bridge Between the Worlds”) is from the ‘Nakwaxda’xw, Ligwitlda’xw and Métis nations, and was raised in rural Port Hardy, BC, on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Her love for her community has led to her to a career in community planning and facilitation, working with First Nations and organizations all over Canada through her company, Alderhill Planning Inc. She has a Master of Community Planning degree from Vancouver Island University. 

Pat has been a professional planner for 45 years, worked in multiple provinces and the NWT.  She recently moved to Nanaimo from Gabriola Island (via Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto), has four grandchildren on Vancouver Island and a daughter who is a planner.  She is currently on the Board of the Planning Institute of BC, sits on several national committees through the Professional Standards Board, mentors many young planners, and teaches a  course on writing the Professional and Ethics Exam.

About Graham: Graham Sakaki is the Research and Community Engagement Coordinator of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute (MABRRI), and an instructor in the VIU Master of Community Planning Program. He is also a member of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Roundtable, Canadian Institute of Forestry, Canadian Institute of Planners, Planning Institute of BC, BC Truck Loggers Association, and BC Lake Stewardship Society. His academic background includes a diploma in Forestry, an undergraduate degree in Natural Resource Geography, and Master’s degree in Community Planning. His main research focus is working on reconciliation issues with local First Nations, and his major project through his academic career was to assist Snaw-Naw-As First Nation design, fund, and construct a garden of Spiritual Healing adjacent to their community Health Centre. A secondary focus for Graham is public engagement and community capacity building. He works with many of the local municipalities, NGOs, and environmental stewardship groups in the surrounding region on projects relating to environmental, social, cultural, and economic sustainability.

Beth often teaches PLAN 507: Research Methods. She is a true academic with a fascinating research history! 

Karin is the Parks & Planning Supervisor at the Strathcona Regional District. In the past she has taught PLAN 601: Citizen Participation and Consultation.