Join a group of like-minded placemakers and storytellers looking to shape passionate, inclusive dialogue about our built environment.
Our goal is to assess and audit the current methods of placemaking. Speakers will
share their stories and identify the most relevant challenges we all face today.
Melissa Higgs
Principal, hcma
Melissa is passionate about creating innovative public buildings and spaces where communities can come together. She has focused on designing recreation facilities and arts and culture projects and sees each design project as an opportunity to create spaces that foster social interaction and create potential for meaningful connections.
Josh Vanderheide
Founder of Many Things, Field House Brewing
Josh is a passionate entrepreneur and creative professional with 15+ years of brand and design experience. He is passionate about finding ways to help communities realize their cultural potential and creating opportunities for the teams and stakeholders he works with.
Joseph Fry
Principal, Hapa Collaborative
Landscape architect, urbanist, cultural placemaker: committed to building places that linger in public memory and are built to last, that ebb and flow with daily life and therefore become beloved by the people they serve; and that reveal stories otherwise unseen.
Ken Bautista
Partner, Make Space Group
Startup founder, tech entrepreneur and community builder. Developed over a million square feet of innovation spaces for modern creators and consumers. Currently building The Public Food Hub Co., a marketplace connecting food lovers and makers through online and neighborhood retail.
Jess Reno
Founder, Nemesis Coffee
Growing up, we didn’t have much but we did have our times in the little neighbourhoods and cafes, spending hours as kids, enjoying the people, energy, and feeling that sense of community. These were my fondest memories. I want any project I’m tied to, to have the same positive impact on the people and the neighbourhoods we find ourselves in as these places that had on me when I was younger.
Don Williams
Co-Founder, Free Agency Creative
As a co-founder of Free Agency Creative, I've spent the last 20 years advocating the power of brand design and it’s ability to transform businesses. I believe that in order to create meaningful change in our urban fabric, we must first change the mindsets of the organizations that build them.
Darrell Mussatto
Former Mayor of the City of North Vancouver
Born and raised in North Vancouver, Darrell Mussatto was the Mayor of the City of North Vancouver from 2005 to 2018. After retiring he dedicated his time to municipal government with an emphasis on becoming a more environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive community.
Susanna Haas Lyons
Civic Engagement Specialist, Susanna Haas Lyons Consulting
Susanna creates opportunities for people to share their perspectives, listen to others' experiences, and then collaborate on a shared future. She's delighted when that shared future becomes a public space for connection and celebration.
Jordan MacDonald
Founder, Fabric Living
Jordan founded fabric living on the premise of building more than just physical spaces. Place making for fabric is rooted in the intentional process of creating spaces that enhance the interconnectedness of people and their relationships with one another. Simply put, people make great places.
Jessica Borich
Principal Strategist, Prism X Strategy
Jessica bridges the worlds of design and business to create meaningful experiences and products. She looks for opportunities to disrupt the way business is conducted through social innovation, collaboration and inclusivity.
Clare Warner
Manager of Placemaking & Public Spaces, Downtown Van
Clare is dedicated to advancing the urban experience for those who live, work and play in Downtown Vancouver. Originating from Ireland, her personal mission is to design and program public spaces that are conducive to spontaneous and heart-warming moments through public art, live music and beautification.
Ginger Gosnell-Myers
Principal, Ginger Gosnell-Myers Consulting
Rooted in her Nisga'a and Kwakwaka'wakw ancestry, Ginger has been an advocate for Indigeneity in urban centres for 20+ years, connecting research, policy, and urban planning, while weaving Indigenous values into urban landscapes, promoting cultural resilience and equitable representation for Indigenous communities.
Dave Algra
Partner, Algra Bros. Development
Nate Sabine
Director of Business Development, Blueprint
Mari Fujita
Associate Professor, University of British Columbia
Matthew Thomson
Principal, Matthew Thomson Design
Andrea Picollo
President, Prado Cafe
SPEAKERS: Joseph Fry (Hapa Collaborative) Darrell Mussatto (Former Mayor of the City of North Vancouver)
PANELISTS: Melissa Higgs (hcma), Mari Fujita (University of British Columbia & Fubalabo Design Corp), Susanna Haas Lyons (Susanna Haas Lyons Consulting). Matthew Thomson (Matthew Thomson Design)
COLLABORATORS: Ryan Savella (Arcade Original), Mackenzie Page (Mackenzie Page Design), Amanda Oster (Provoke Studios), Geoff Hunt (Tiny Vikings), Andrew Emmerson & Joey Stevens (GBL Architects), Taizo Yamamoto (Yamamoto Architecture), Calum Srigley (Placemaker Design)
SPEAKERS: Josh Vanderheide (Field House & East Abby Hospitality Group), Dave Algra (Algra Bros. Development)
SPEAKER: Ginger Gosnell-Myers (Ginger Gosnell-Myers Consulting)
PANELISTS: Ken Bautista (Makespace), Andrea Piccolo (Prado Cafe), Clare Warner (Downtown Vancouver BIA), Jordan MacDonald (fabric living)
SPEAKERS: Nate Sabine (Blueprint & HVA Chair), Jessica Borich (Prism X Strategy)
After the symposium, attend a private dinner reception at Nemesis Coffee’s Great Northern Way location – just steps away from the Reliance Theatre. Mingle at the open-seating style dinner as you enjoy an array of options from our harvest table, raw bar, and yakitori grill prepared by the visionaries behind Nemesis Coffee and their fine-dining experience, Word. The meal will be accompanied by a curation of wine and locally crafted beers provided by our UEA members. Jess Reno, Founder of Nemesis Coffee, will puncuate the evening with an exclusive talk on the concept behind Nemesis Coffee’s Great Northern Way location and how they’ve fostered community and culture in the emerging neighbourhood.
Our Alliance Members
- CRAIG STANGHETTA
Ste. Marie - JOEY STEVENS & ANDREW EMMERSON
GBL Architects - JOSEPH FRY
Hapa Collaborative - JESS RENO
Nemesis Coffee - ANDREA PICCOLO & SAMMY PICCOLO
Prado Cafe - KEN BAUTISTA
Make Space Group - JORDEN FOSS
Steel & Oak Brewing - ADAM MILLS
Four Winds Brewing - JOSH VANDERHEIDE
Field House Brewing - CHLOE SMITH
Townsite Brewing - JANAY KOLDINGNES
Edit Studios - TAIZO YAMAMOTO
Yamamoto Architecture - MELISSA HIGGS
hcma - ANDREW LAING, ADAM KRAHN
& MIKE SIMPSON
Quarterhorse - RUFINA WU
Perkins & Will - GINGER GOSNELL - MYERS
Ginger Gosnell-Myers Consulting - MICHAEL DOVE
Downtown Van - MATTHEW THOMSON
Matthew Thomson Design - JESSICA BORICH
PrismX Strategy
- MAXINE JAKUBKE
PUBLiSH Partners - RYAN SAVELLA
Arcade Original - RACHEL BEYER
Rachel Beyer - TYLER LEMERMEYER
Lemermeyer Illustrations - ADAM BLASBERG
Adam Blasberg Photography - GEOFF HUNT
Tiny Vikings - ALEX BEIM
Tangible Interaction - TIM NG
AdHoc - AMANDA OSTER
Provoke Studios - BEN CHICK
Ben Chick - MEGAN HYMANYK
Scribe Communications - STEVEN COX
Cause and Affect - ALBERT LAW
Albert Law Photography - JAMES HARRY
James Harry Art