PIBC's Planning Practice & Reconciliation Committee

Sarah Atkinson RPP, MCIP (Chair)

Sarah lives on the unceded and ancestorial territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.
 
Sarah started Vesta Consultants in 2015, providing development consulting services delivering affordable and supportive housing for non-profits throughout BC. 

Sarah is committed to the work undertaken by the PPRC because she believes, as Canadians, we are not doing enough to repair colonialism's harmful effects, right the wrongs of the past, and decolonize ourselves and our institutions. She wants to be a part of this change in whatever small way she can as a planner and co-create a new planning relationship with First Nations colleagues that respects and is guided by Indigenous planning.

Robyn Holme RPP, MCIP

Robyn lives and works on the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation (KFN) in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, BC. Robyn has worked as a planner for over 15 years in local government, but has focused on regional planning policy for the last 7 years, working on projects ranging from coastal adaptation planning to indigenous relations. Robyn is committed to developing new planning practices that recognize reconciliation and UNDRIP in transformative and meaningful ways. 

Isha Matous-Gibbs

Isha grew up in the territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən People, and now lives in the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation (KFN). She is a Social Health and Well-being Planner with Urban Matters, proud graduate of the VIU Masters of Planning Program, and a UVic Alumni from the School of Public Health and Social Policy. Prior to planning, she worked on the front lines of homelessness in Victoria for 5 years.

Isha believes that planning practice and community wellbeing are deeply connected, and that our profession has an ethical responsibility for the work that we do and its impacts. This includes understanding the role we have played in colonization and deep consideration of how we undo and prevent harms associated with our work.

Angel Ransom RPP, MCIP

Angel Ransom is from the communities of Nak’azdli Whut’en and Fort St. James, BC. She now lives in Prince George in the Lheidli T’enneh Territory.   

She is a proud UNBC Alumni with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Planning, specializing in the unique field of Indigenous Planning. Much of her work is focused on community development, natural resources management, and impact assessments of major projects.

Angel is pleased to a member of the PIBC PPRC and brings her personal Indigenous roots and worldview, along with her professional Indigenous Planning knowledge and experience background to the table.

Bob Sokol RPP, MCIP 

Bob is honoured to live, work and recreate on the unceded, ancestral, traditional lands of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nations. He is a planner with over 25 years of municipal planning experience in the Portland, Seattle and Vancouver regions.

One of the many exciting aspects of his most recent role as the Director of Planning and Capital Projects for the Squamish Nation is that Bob had to embrace the concept that he was an "outsider" to a much greater extent than at any other time in his career, with a need to listen and learn much from those in his community. While he feels he has much to share and contribute, he also feels he has even more to learn.

Even in the limited time thus far working with the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nation, Bob has learned much about how the Indian Act, colonialism and the planning profession have shaped and continue to shape the lives of Indigenous people in BC. This knowledge, along with his experience as a planner, assists him in serving as a member of this Committee with the goal of guiding PIBC's response to the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Jennifer Poole (Student Intern)

Jennifer Poole is living and learning on the traditional unceded territory of the Lheidli T’enneh in Prince George, British Columbia. She is completing an undergraduate planning degree at the University of Northern British Columbia, majoring in northern and rural community planning. With over fifteen years in project management of private-public partnerships (P3), Jennifer is excited to add a planning degree to her skill set and to be a part of the Planning Practice & Reconciliation Committee.