Item - 2019.CC9.4

Appointees' biographies:

Etobicoke York

Laura Alderson

A long-time community activist, Laura has served on the Boards of UrbanArts, Farmers' Markets Ontario, the Clean Train Coalition (Finalist, Green Toronto Award, 2012) and the Weston Village Residents' Association. An EDCO Award winner for Innovative Marketing Practices for the Film Resource Guide "Lights...Camera...York!", she currently sits on the Artscape Weston Common Steering Committee, is a member of the ABC Residents' Association and a Director of the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas.

Danny Bellissimo

Danny Bellissimo's interest in the relationship of people to buildings and open space started in the School of Architecture in Toronto with a focus on sociology and community development. As a Community Improvement Planner for the City of Toronto, he oversaw numerous Neighbourhood Improvement Plans which included community facilities, public square, streetscape, and public art. He also initiated the City's Commercial Facade Improvement Programs in numerous City neighbourhoods.

Michael Clark

Michael Clark has resided in the City of Toronto for 35 years. He graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1983 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1985. As an executive and in-house lawyer, Michael has over 25 years of experience in real estate development and property management. He was first appointed to the Committee of Adjustment for the former City of York in 1994 and subsequently served on the Midtown and Toronto/East York panels following amalgamation from 1998 to 2006.

Douglas Colbourne

Doug Colbourne has extensive experience as an arbitrator and mediator through years of conducting hearings for Municipal, Provincial and federal Governments, Boards, Commissions and Committees. He has extensive experience involving Ontario Provincial Planning Act policies and procedures as well as City requirements. He has a background in the construction and real estate business and as a Certified Professional Accountant.

Stan Kumorek

A life-long resident of Toronto, Stan is a recently retired manager of real estate and facilities from the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto.  He holds a degree in Urban Planning and Public Administration and is a former Metro Toronto Hydro Commissioner and former board member of the Toronto Parking Authority. He is active in a number of community organizations and boards and is currently a local leader with Scouts Canada.

Michi McCloskey

Michi McCloskey has a background in urban planning and interdisciplinary design. As a Planner, Michi has worked on complex development and policy projects across Ontario and has assisted with the design and facilitation of numerous community engagement initiatives. Michi has worked in both urban and rural municipal settings, where she has gained valuable insights on community visioning, land use policy, zoning, and real estate acquisition and expropriation processes.

Neil Palmer

Neil has been active in the planning industry at both the public and private sector since 1990.  He has unique experience in dealing with Committee of Adjustment matters at the Ontario Municipal Board, processing active appeal cases at the Board, ensuring relevant material was before the Board for hearing, representing clients at the Committee of Adjustment while employed at a law firm, representing his employer before Committees of Adjustment for minor variances, severances and easements.

Donald Taylor

Don retired in 2017 after 43 years in public service.  Hired by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing as a planner in 1974, Don went on to become a Chief Negotiator with the Ministry's Municipal Boundaries Branch.  In this position, Don successfully led major municipal amalgamation projects, including London/Middlesex and South Simcoe County. Don joined the City of Markham in 2005, where he served as Manager, Executive Operations in the office of the Chief Administrative Officer.

North York

Nazila Atarodi

Nazila Atarodi is an architectural and urban design professional with over 14 years of Canadian and international experience. Nazila received her Master of Urban Design from the University of Toronto, where she was a recipient of the Gordon Cressy Leadership Award. She also holds a Master of Architecture from Tehran Azad University. Nazila works as a Director of the Architecture and Design Department at C-Living Inc.

Giuseppe Bartolo

Giuseppe Bartolo holds an undergraduate and master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Waterloo and is a reserve army officer in the Canadian Army.  He has resided in Toronto for the past five years and wants to improve his community through the dedication of time and effort.  He has managed many construction and development projects for the private sector and brings a strong professional background to the role. His desire is to ensure strong community-led and sustainable development in Toronto.

Denise Graham

Denise Graham is a Registered Professional Planner who retired from the City of Toronto in 2011. She was a Senior Planner in the City Planning Division and holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Applied Geography) from Ryerson. She is a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and Ontario Professional Planners Institute. Denise continues to serve her community as a member of the Board of Directors of the Fairlawn Neighbourhood Centre and co-coordinates a lunch program for seniors.

Ron Hunt

Ron Hunt is a University graduate with over 35 years of land development experience. He has had extensive experience with quasi-judicial committees in the areas of municipal appeals to Zoning By-law decisions and the resolution of disputes regarding property-related issues and is an objective and well-reasoned contributor to tribunals.

Asif A. Khan

Asif Khan is a retired Civil Engineer who was employed for 28 years as a Senior Building Official with the City of Toronto and former City of Scarborough. He has extensive knowledge on By-laws, zoning, planning and other building development issues. Asif has gained community service experience at the Municipal, Provincial and Federal levels including as chair of the Committee of Adjustment, Property Standard, Advisory Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship. Asif is recipient of Ontario Medal of Good Citizenship.

Paul Kidd

Paul Kidd has lived in Toronto since 1963 and ran a land surveying business in downtown Toronto until his retirement in 2018. He graduated from the University of Toronto with Bachelor of Science degree with a specialty in Land Surveying and has certification in GIS. He has also been an active neighbourhood volunteer.

Thomas Klassen

Thomas Klassen earned a MSc in Urban and Regional Planning, University of Toronto. He has worked for the Ontario Ministry of Housing and was member of the Canadian Institute of Planners. He is currently a professor of public policy and administration at York University. He has lived in Toronto for more than 40 years, and currently resides in North York. He has been involved in community organizations for many years, particularly in co-operative housing.

Isaac Lallouz

Mr. Lallouz is a professional engineer who previously led the Department of Engineers for a national insurance corporation. He has experience conducting committee/commission hearings in the City of Toronto as well as at the provincial level. He has sat on the boards and contributed to fundraising for charity organizations, and is a member of numerous professional organizations including the Professional Engineers of Ontario and the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators.

Nadini Sankar-Peralta

Nadini has worked in both federal and provincial governments in senior positions advising and negotiating on policy, programs and government resources. Nadini is also an experienced, multi-lingual accredited mediator in good standing with the ADR Institute of Ontario and the Ontario Association of Family Mediation. She has a Masters Education and volunteers within her community, serving as Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for the a local Community Health Centre and mediating youth justice cases.

Allan Smithies

Allan Smithies graduated from Sheridan College's Transportation Planning program in 1978, and was employed by the former City of Etobicoke in a number of positions including Transportation Planner and Manager of Transportation Planning. Most recently, Allan served as Manager of Traffic Planning/Right of Way Management for the City of Toronto from 1999 until his retirement in March 2014.

Scarborough

Amy Emm

Amy is a MCIP, RPP Senior Planner with over 12 years of private and public sector professional planning and development experience. She provides a full range of planning services working towards the securing of approvals for land development or redevelopment. From the due diligence stages to the final registration of plans, she offers expertise in all applications under the Planning Act.

Hena Kabir

Hena Kabir is an architectural graduate and a Registered Professional Planner with almost 20 years of professional experience in architectural design, urban planning, urban design and municipal management. She is a strong advocate of citizen participation in city and community building and believes residents should have the opportunity to engage with and contribute towards creating beautiful and livable neighborhoods. Hena is passionate about City building and making neighborhoods safe and attractive to live, work and play in.

Anne McCauley

Anne McCauley is a professional land use planner with over 40 years of experience of working in the municipal sector.  She has also been involved in numerous advisory committees, associations, and community initiatives.

Gary McKay

Gary McKay is a lawyer with many years of experience in municipal, planning and land use law.  He has conducted many hearings before Administrative Tribunals throughout Ontario. He holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto, and a law degree from Queen's University in Kingston.

Muhammad Saeed

Muhammad Saeed has been involved for over fifteen years in project management, group facilitations partnerships and community engagement. He has worked on different positions and has strong skills in proactively managing important and time sensitive projects, developing innovative solutions to critical problems, balancing stakeholder’s expectations and working collaboratively with the team members for achievement of desired goals. He has Master’s in Public Administration.

Toronto and East York

Zaheer Bhyat

Zaheer Bhyat has served as a teacher and Administrator with the Toronto District School Board for over 20 years. He entered the University of Toronto and York University where he completed his BA, B.Ed., M.E.S, M.A. and Doctorate degrees. He has also been an entrepreneur, Urban Planner in Alberta, and CIDA in Lesotho. His eclectic background and experiences have afforded him a global perspective. He brings leadership, entrepreneurial and educational skills, and strategic thinking. He currently practices as a mediator.

Yim Chan

A member of the Ontario Architects Association since 1995, Yim has a portfolio of a large variety of projects, ranging from residential to institutional, health-care, large-scale theme parks and high-rise commercial towers. She has in-depth knowledge of City Planning, construction principles and practices including project management, the Ontario Building Code, and regulatory approval process. She is an active member in the community and has been doing volunteering work for many years.

Aaron Cheng

Aaron Cheng is an architect and founder of C& Partners Architects Inc. which designs and provides architectural solutions to clients primarily in the healthcare and childcare sectors. Aaron has also been involved in numerous community boards and committees.

Larry Clay

Larry Clay was Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ontario Growth Secretariat. As Assistant Deputy Minister, Larry oversaw the Places to Grow Act and Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, designed to guide and shape growth across the entire Greater Golden Horseshoe. Prior to joining the Ontario Growth Secretariat, Larry was Director of the Central Municipal Services Office at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing where he oversaw municipal service delivery, governance issues, and land use planning approvals in the Greater Toronto Area.

Donald Granatstein

Donald L. Granatstein is an investigator with ADR Chambers Banking Ombudsman, a mediator with ADR Chambers, and practices law full-time. Don has a LLB and BA from University of Toronto, an LL.M. from Osgoode Hall and certificates in Dispute Resolution from Harvard Law, University of Toronto, the LSUC and the University of Windsor. Don has appeared before courts at all levels and before many tribunals.

Carl Knipfel

Carl is a creative architect, planner and marketing expert with extensive municipal planning experience. He has been involved in the design of housing , education, recreation  and government projects. He has authored municipal urban design guidelines, official plan design policies and worked on the redevelopment of the core areas of many Ontario municipalities. He assisted with initiating design partnerships for OCAD University.

Kathleen Larsen

Kathleen Larsen moved to Toronto from Vancouver BC in 2017 where she was employed as a Development/Heritage Planner for 27 years. She has an educational background in urban planning and design and a wealth of experience in municipal government planning.  Ms. Larsen is passionate about the planning process and since arriving has enthusiastically familiarized herself with Toronto’s many diverse neighbourhoods, and policy and planning framework.

Bruce Mullock

Bruce Mullock has served on the City of Toronto Committee of Adjustment since 2015. Formerly, he was appointed to the Borough of East York Planning Board, prior to municipal amalgamation. Bruce holds a B.A. from York University. He advanced through a full-term career in Toronto with Ian Martin Group. There, Bruce worked in close relationship with government and industry clients, providing engineering staffing services. He brings broad governance experience, having served on executive teams and on the boards of industry associations.

Nancy Oomen

Nancy is an accomplished government and community-relations professional who spent almost two decades with the City of Toronto where she worked with diverse stakeholders to achieve objectives using solid judgement and effective mediation. Nancy has been involved with her local ratepayers' association for about 30 years and she has served several terms as president. She is a highly effective project coordinator and chair of the "Blossom" fundraising event which raises funds for local charities.

Peter Reed

Peter Reed is an urban planner with more than 15 years experience in the public and private sectors, having worked extensively in Toronto, throughout Ontario, in the United States and overseas.  He most recently directed the Land Use Planning group at Infrastructure Ontario, an agency of the Provincial government, in protecting and enhancing the value of public land and building assets.  Peter now raises his three young children full time in Toronto’s west end.

Nimrod Salamon

Nimrod Salamon is an urban planner with 30 years of experience who retired from the City of Toronto as a Senior Planner in 2015. He has worked as an urban planner with experience in community planning, development review, policy and Zoning By-law review.

Lisa Valentini

Lisa Valentini is a lawyer and long-time resident of the City of Toronto. She received her undergraduate and law degrees from Queen's University before articling in Toronto and being called to the bar in 2000. Her professional career has been exclusively with provincial and municipal governments, including significant experience advising municipal councils, departments and committees during her nine years as an in-house lawyer for municipalities in and around the Greater Toronto area.