2023/2024 Council

President

Khalid Mohammed, RPP

Khalid Mohammed, is a professional planner with over 20 years of experience in strategic long-range planning and big picture policy development, advocating for building great, smart and sustainable communities. Khalid is a true believer in innovation when it comes to creating policies and initiatives that facilitate building inclusive and viable communities.  Khalid is a non- believer in solutions that are based on ‘one size fits all’, but rather subscribes to the idea that initiatives should be tailored to the community, and is always willing to take the risk of intelligently challenge the “status quo” of traditional planning. Khalid brings an extensive experience in regulatory land use and policy planning, community and urban growth management, teaching, and public consultation. Khalid in his current role as Manager of Planning and Development for the Town of High River, has not only supervised and mentored staff in the provision of current and long-range planning but also, with Council support, has initiated and lead major transformation in the planning spectrum of the land use and policy planning, which help to guide the community move away from traditional land use planning to a more innovative and creative regulatory land use planning that is based on form-based land use planning which lead to establishing High River as a led by example in the planning world. 

Past President

Jeff Chase, RPP

Jeff Chase (he/him) is currently the Director of Partnerships at the City of Calgary. In his current role he leads a range of portfolios and relationships across a spectrum including affordable housing, arts and culture, sports, and recreation. Jeff brings 15 years of experience leading planning, economic development, and sustainability related portfolios and programs in both the private and public sectors. Prior to his current role, Jeff was the Branch Manager of Economic Investment Services at the City of Edmonton. He has spent time as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Mayor in Calgary, and time in Vancouver and internationally working in urban development. Jeff leads with optimism, and his approach is focused on the intersection of team work, innovation, creativity, collaboration, and risk taking. Jeff is committed to the critical work he and the planning profession need to do in the spirit of active reconciliation and decolonization, and the need to work towards communities that honour diversity and inclusion through deliberate anti-racist practice and change. Jeff holds an MA in Planning (UBC) and a PhD in Human Geography and Politics (Newcastle, UK)

Councillor

Peter Ohm, RPP

Peter Ohm is a Registered Professional Planner (RPP, MCIP) whose career spans over three decades. Upon his retirement from the City of Edmonton in late 2019, Peter was Edmonton’s Chief Planner where he led a number of integrated teams to develop and
implement urban policies and programs to help build a livable, inclusive and resilient city. The diversity of Peter’s leadership experience includes policy development at the city-region scale to design and policy implementation at the site-specific scale.

Passionate about building great communities, Peter worked with a team of planning leaders to advance positive change, improve processes, and support creativity and innovation. Peter was honored with the Edmonton City Manager’s Award of Excellence for Stewardship and is an alumni of Alberta Venture magazine’s “Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People” award. As Chief Planner, Peter and his team of planners, engineers, ecologists and technicians took the strategic lead to plan for great places that are well designed, livable and green. This effort served to shape the appearance and function of the city in the short and long term by promoting best practice land use planning, transportation policy, and urban design to establish a more compact, resilient and vibrant city.

A lifelong resident of Alberta, Peter obtained undergraduate degrees from the University of Alberta with a focus on geography, political science and history. He currently sits on an advisory committee to the School of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Alberta. Through the course of his professional planning career, Peter has developed a strong interest in municipal government and finance, organizational development and process improvement, regional planning, growth management, and policy and development planning.

Councillor

Margaret Kralt, RPP

Margaret has been a Registered Professional Planner with APPI since 2012, prior to that provisional member since 2007.  Located in Yellowknife NT, she is currently a Partner with Dillon Consulting and the National Operations Lead for Dillon’s Planning and Design Group responsible for the development and overall functional team health of the National team.  This gives her a broad understanding of the planning issues in most jurisdictions in Canada.   

In her 15 years of practice, she has been involved in community planning in the North and Alberta, working with many of the small communities in the Northwest Territories and most recently for the City of Yellowknife.  Margaret enjoys the beauty and remote wilderness of this region of Canada.  Her career as a Northern Planner has taught her to be flexible and to apply a unique lens to problem solving.  She has a strong understanding of the planning legislation in the NWT and the planning issues that communities face in the North.

Councillor

Matthew Boscariol, RPP

Matt Boscariol is currently serving on the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) at Rocky View County as the Executive Director of Community Services. In this role, he leads a diverse portfolio including planning, economic development, business development, building code services, fire and emergency services, enforcement services, parks, recreation and community support services, and family and community support services (FCSS). He has over 10 years of senior executive municipal and governance experience in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. 
 
Matt is passionate about professional development and building teams up by working collaboratively and strategically. Over the years, he has learned from many different professionals in and out of the planning field, who have refined his passion for strategic thinking and planning to deliver the best results for communities and people.
 
Matt has obtained undergraduate degrees from the University of Ottawa and the University of Victoria. He holds a Masters of Environmental Studies in Planning from York University, two Advanced Certificates for the University of Alberta, and multiple public participation certificates from the IAP2. He is a full Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners, a Registered Professional Planner (RPP), and a Certified Local Government Manager (CLGM). 

Secretary

Nabil Malik, RPP

Nabil has established a dynamic and rewarding career as a Senior Planner with the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in Fort McMurray, which is located within Treaty 8 Territory, the traditional lands of the Cree, Dene, and the unceded territory of the Métis. He is a progressive and creative contributor to the cultural and social fabric of his community and the province. Big picture thinking and a strong governance perspective is reflected in his many efforts in supporting the social profit and arts sector within Alberta through serving on boards and committees of organizations such as the Alberta Foundation of the Arts. Nabil is an advocate for the vital role the arts play in placemaking, creating vibrant communities, and fostering a sense of identity and belonging. 

In addition, Nabil has extensive experience working to transform organizations into more equitable and inclusive systems including those within the planning profession. He was recently the Co-lead for Policy Development for the CIP Social Equity Committee, which developed the framework for CIP’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Roadmap. As well, he has supported the work of the Ontario Professional Planner’s Institute’s Taskforce for Anti-Black Racism in Planning as the sole non-OPPI member and has supported the work of several other organizations including APPI to become more equitable and inclusive. 

Councillor

Courtney Laurence, RPP

As a Community Planner / Engagement Strategist with ISL, Courtney provides professional planning and community engagement services to municipalities, Indigenous communities and organizations, and developers across Canada. She brings ten years of experience as a planner and she has a particular interest in land use policy development, housing policy, social policy planning, and public and stakeholder community engagement. Courtney’s passion is working with citizens and community members at a local level to help them articulate and identify their needs and aspirations for the communities they live and work in. She has completed courses from the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) and holds a BA in Psychology and Criminology (SMU), a MA in Criminology (SFU), and a Masters of Planning (U of C).

Councillor

Nicholas Kuhl, RPP

Nicholas is a Calgary-based planner with O2 Planning & Design and brings both public and private sector experience to APPI Council. As an active and engaged volunteer within the planning profession and his local community Nicholas has served on the Canadian Institute of Planners and Calgary Parking Authority board of directors in addition to volunteering with the United Nations Habitat Professionals Forum and his local community association. Nicholas takes a pragmatic, outcomes-oriented approach to governance, and looks forward to supporting the continued good work of APPI.

Treasurer

Connor Smith, RPP

Connor has been a consulting planner for over 10 years with Al-Terra Engineering Ltd. and has worked extensively throughout the Edmonton region specializing in Area Structure Plans, subdivision design, public engagement, and transportation planning. With a wide range public and private clients, Connor expands public support for innovative development, brings policies to life, and confidence to clients.

Educated in Urban Studies at the University of Calgary, Connor broadly embraces opportunities to share and grow knowledge in all facets of planning. A committed volunteer with APPI and CIP including numerous climate change initiatives and with extensive further education in design and engagement (IAP2), Connor brings high-level policies to the ground and takes pride in thoughtful policy development, forward-thinking design, meaningful collaboration, and effective implementation. 
 

Public Member

Marilyn Hooper

Marilyn Hooper was most recently Executive Assistant and Outreach Co-ordinator to Mayor Don Iveson. She retired June 2016 after 10 years with the City of Edmonton. She has had a long history working in the public sector and feels she still has some public service left in her. She served as Outreach Coordinator for the NDP Opposition from 1998-2004 and Constituency Assistant for 2 years before that.  She spent two years as Instructional Assistant with the American Sign Language Training Program at Grant MacEwan College and one year as a freelance sign language interpreter. Marilyn holds a diploma in Counselling Women from the U of A Women’s Studies Program.  As a passionate music lover, she is an active volunteer for CKUA Radio Station.