Breaking Down Barriers: Communicating the Benefits of Brownfields

Date: April 4, 2024
Time: 12:30 - 2:00 pm EST / 1:30 - 3:00pm AST / 10:30am - 12:00pm MST / 11:30am - 1:00pm CST / 9:30-11:00am PST
Location: Virtual
Cost: Members $25  | Non Members $45

Breaking Down Barriers: Communicating the Benefits of Brownfields

Overview

Join us for an informative webinar on communicating the benefits of brownfields, that will include:

- from a grassroots perspective

- from a development perspective

- from a municipal perspective

If you are a practitioner or stakeholder that wants to dig deeper below the surface of brownfields redevelopment, this webinar is for you. Topics will include ‘how-tos’ for innovative community engagement, using storytelling techniques to effectively pitch your project, convincing politicians on the benefits of brownfield community improvement plans and tailoring your outreach strategy. This webinar will help you reimagine your brownfields roadmap and overcome opposition and move your brownfield program to success with transferable and timely approaches. This webinar will use case studies to explore how municipalities and the private sector are working together to deliver affordable housing while supporting the reuse of brownfield properties, addressing two important public policy objectives. The lessons learned will benefit the spectrum of stakeholders working to deliver affordable housing, as well as, brownfield practitioners, including municipal leaders, developers, and the range of consultants that collectively work to achieve the desired outcomes. 

Presenters

Meggen Janes, P.Eng., Executive Director, Canadian Brownfields Network
Meggen Janes is a Principal Environmental Engineer based in Ontario with more than 25 years of environmental consulting experience focused on forensic analysis, risk assessment, soil and sediment management, permitting, remediation, and the brownfield sector. Prior to joining Geosyntec in 2021, she was the Director of Soil and Groundwater Management and Brownfield Approvals at Waterfront Toronto. She spent six years on the Board of Directors of CBN prior to being named executive director. She served the Board in a number of roles, including the past four years as the co-chair of the conference committee.  

Judy Lam, M.B.A., CMA, CPA, Manager, Commercial Districts and Small Business Economic Development - City of Hamilton

Judy Lam is the Manager of Commercial Districts and Small Business Section within Economic Development at the City of Hamilton. Judy joined the City in 2012 where she leads her team focussed on the revitalization and development of properties within Hamilton’s six downtowns, commercial corridors, and 11 Business Improvement Areas throughout the whole city. She and her team also administer the ERASE (Environmental Remediation and Site Enhancement) Community Improvement Plan which provides a comprehensive framework for the improvement and enhancement of financial assistance programs designed to improve economic opportunities and environmental conditions throughout Hamilton. Judy also oversees the Hamilton Business Centre which is a one-stop source for business information, guidance, and professional advice on starting and running a successful business – for both start-ups and growing businesses. Judy is the Co-Chair of the Government Relations Committee for the Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN) as well as a Committee Member of the Development Committee for CBN. She also volunteers as a Loan Committee Member for FedDev’s Southern Ontario Fund for Investment in Innovation (SOFII) loan program.

Liam McClellan, MSc, Planner 2/Brownfield Coordinator Economic Investment Services Branch, City of Edmonton 

Liam McClellan is a Principle Planner with the Economic Investment Services Branch of the City of Edmonton. He manages the City's Brownfield Redevelopment Grant Program (BRGP). The BRGP offers property owners financial incentives in exchange for testing, remediating, and redeveloping former refueling sites. Prior to this role, Liam was a Principle Planner working in industrial development, focusing on land use planning, development regulations, and sustainable infrastructure solutions. Liam is interested in using brownfield redevelopment incentives to help achieve the City's growth and sustainability goals. He has earned a bachelor's degree in Urban and Regional Planning at Ryerson University and a master's degree in Urban Management and Development from Erasmus University. 

Mira Shenker, Director, Communications and Public Engagement, Waterfront Toronto

Mira Shenker is the Director of Communications and Public Engagement at Waterfront Toronto. She leads communication and consultation for Port Lands Flood Protection, one of the most ambitious and unique brownfield remediations worldwide. Prior to her role at Waterfront Toronto, Mira worked as a journalist, covering topics from small business to infrastructure development. She was the executive editor at Actual Media, publisher of ReNew Canada and Water Canada magazines.

Donovan Toews, RPP MCIP., Managing Partner, Landmark Planning & Design Inc.

Donovan Toews, MCP, MCIP, is the managing partner of Landmark Planning & Design Inc. based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Donovan has worked extensively for both public and private sector clients in the land use planning, land development and public engagement sectors, creating effective, successful land and infrastructure projects to fruition through strategic processes and negotiation. Donovan is a practiced and proven effective facilitator and natural negotiator and has applied those skills to complex, multistakeholder, often controversial projects successfully.  Donovan has been responsible for negotiating and presenting at public hearings and has an extensive knowledge of municipal and Provincial statutes and regulations concerning land development. Donovan has spent his career collaborating with engineers and his public sector peers to bring projects successfully to fruition.  He is a past President of the Manitoba Professional Planning Institute and the past Vice President of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

Moderator: Andrew Macklin, Media and Public Affairs, WSP in Canada

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