Jenna has worked in collaboration with and for local governments, academia, as well as private sector entities, for over twelve years, and has demonstrated expertise with development and policy planning, strategic planning, project management, urban resilience, equity, climate change and public engagement. In her current role as Senior Social Planner she is part of the Community Planning and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion offices and leads various projects including those focused on climate and equity, childcare, and accessibility.
In her previous work as a development and policy planner she led many projects including an 8-community local area plan; award nominated mixed-used masterplans in established communities; extensive land use applications for Transit Oriented Development in new communities; and complex multi-residential inner-city affordable housing projects. As Research Coordinator for the School of Public Policy she co-authored a highly acclaimed paper on office vacancy and adaptive re-use and led a major research project on regional government.
As an advocate for equity and inclusion in urbanism she contributes to global planning efforts through volunteering for the Commonwealth Women in Planning Network and leading research on various topics including Feminist Planning and Urbanism. As a co-leader of the Urban Resilience Dialogues global community of practice she helps cultivate a community of professionals who experiment with approaches and solutions for adapting our cities to the increasing effects of climate change.
She holds a BA double major in Urban Planning and Anthropology from Concordia University, and an MA in Community Development from the University of Victoria.