Alberta
Dr. Jeff Birchall – PhD, RPP, MCIP
Dr. Birchall is an Associate Professor of Local-scale Climate Change Adaptation/ Resilience, in the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP), University of Alberta, where he serves as Director of the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Lab, Associate Director of SURP, and Lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Local-scale Planning for Climate Resilience. Dr. Birchall has broad research and teaching experience in climate/environmental change, planning, disaster risk reduction, and specific expertise in local governance and sustainability.
Session: Building Climate-Resilient Communities through Adaptation Planning
Ontario
Michael Gage – GISP, CPT
Michael is passionate about GIS, cartography, and sharing knowledge with others. He completed Fanshawe College’s GIS & Urban Planning Co-op Diploma in 2026, following a Graduate Certificate in GIS Technologies from Algonquin College and an Honours B.A. in Physical Geography and History from Nipissing University. His diverse experience includes teaching, environmental conservation, municipal planning, federal GIS, critical habitat mapping, and working closely with First Nations communities.
Michael enjoys translating complex spatial data into clear and compelling visualizations, with a particular interest in the relationship between urban environments and natural systems. His work has earned BeSpatial Ontario’s 2025 Best Traditional Map Award and the Canadian Association of Certified Planning Technicians 2025 Geomatics Award for his work focusing on urban rooftops. This roofscape case study used LiDAR analysis and GIS to identify the potential of urban rooftops for food production, stormwater management, and solar energy generation, with the work subsequently published in the Fall 2025 edition of Y Magazine by the Ontario Professional Planners Institute.
Session: Aligning Human-Built Environments to Synergize with Natural Environmental Systems: Utilizing GIS to Model the Benefits of Capitalizing on Urban Roofscape Potential
T. Scott Peck – B.A., MCIP, RPP, CMMIII
Scott is currently the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer/Director, Watershed Management Services with the Hamilton Conservation Authority. Scott has 35 years experience working for the Long Point Region Conservation Authority as an Assistant Resource Technician, Hamilton Conservation Authority as an Environmental Planner and Senior Planner and with Norfolk County as a Senior Planner. Scott’s experience includes policy development, program management, urban, rural and agricultural land use planning, floodplain management, environmental and watershed planning, property acquisition, regulatory compliance and sustainable development. Scott has a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Geography) from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Diploma in Public Administration from the University of Western Ontario. Scott is a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and is a Registered Professional Planner
Session: Saltfleet Conservation Area Wetland Restoration Project
Ontario and Prince Edward Island
Dr. Luna Khirfan – PhD, MA, MA, BSc
Dr. Khirfan is a Professor in the School of Planning at the University of Waterloo. Her scholarship advances theoretical and practical debates in urban planning and design by linking socio-ecological planning, urban governance, climate justice, and urban form. Her research focuses on climate adaptation through nature-based solutions, particularly urban stream daylighting, ecological design, and ecosystem services. She served as a Lead Author for the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, co-authoring the chapter on Cities, Settlements and Key Infrastructure, and contributed to UN-Habitat’s World Cities Report 2024 as the author of the chapter on urban planning and design for climate action.
Session: Finding Space for Water: A Planning Technician’s Guide to Climate-Ready Urban Form