Aster Penney
Aster Penney is the Partnerships Assistant at the Future Cities Institute, working to expand the FCI’s vast network of collaborators, identify funding opportunities, and assist drafting proposals. He brings a diverse range of expertise in research, writing, and data analysis from their educational background in Health Sciences. He has previously worked in research, communications, and advocacy, and volunteers regularly on campus. Aster is excited to expand their knowledge and work alongside the passionate team at the Future Cities Institute!
Ben Kroeker
Ben Kroeker is a Partnerships Assistant at the Future Cities Institute. His work involves supporting and managing grant proposals and reports, highlighting FCI project outcomes and impacts. He maintains partner databases and supports internal documentation and record-keeping. Majoring in Environment, Resources and Sustainability, Ben brings a comprehensive understanding of environmental policy and sustainability, further informed by his completion of a certificate in Renewable Energy Techniques and ongoing studies in Environmental Policy, Politics, and Governance.
Frank Le
Frank Le is the Communications Assistant at the Future Cities Institute, where he contributes to sharing the organization’s voice across multiple platforms. He supports communications initiatives that strengthen the FCI’s brand presence, build meaningful audience relationships, and amplify the institute’s community impact. With a background in Global Business and Digital Arts, Frank brings a foundation in design, an interdisciplinary mindset, and a human-centric perspective to his work. He is excited to grow with FCI and to bring fresh ideas, energy, and creativity to the team.
Samuel Partington
Samuel Partington is a Research Assistant and Coder at the Future Cities Institute, where he is developing the FCI's growth management tool. This tool help municipalities and developers make informed decisions about city land use and urban growth through data-driven analysis. Sam is pursuing two degrees in mathematics with a minor in computing, combining strong math and data skills with programming expertise. He is eager to apply his skills to solve complex challenges in urban planning and sustainable development.
Len Dizdar
Len Dizdar is a Research Assistant and Software Developer at the Future Cities Institute, where he and his team are creating a tool for city planners and developers that promotes data-driven decision making in municipal growth management. With a pre-existing passion for walkability and sustainable transportation, he is delighted to be working with diverse organizations spanning the field. He is eager to apply his background in Data Science to solving complex problems in modelling, simulation, and data visualization, all while broadening his horizons with the FCI.
Leah Versluis
Leah Versluis is a Partnerships Assistant at the Future Cities Institute, where she works on a variety of research projects, including researching Welcoming Cities. A 4th year Environment, Resources, and Sustainability student with a minor in Urban Studies, Leah is passionate about ensuring the sustainability of future urban spaces. With previous co-op experiences in environmental planning and urban microclimate research, she is excited to apply her skills and creativity to this role, while continuing her learning with the FCI.
Toby Stewart
Toby Stewart is a research assistant at the Future Cities Institute, supporting projects such as BUILD NOW Waterloo Region, and CivicInquire. As a planning student, he utilizes his knowledge base and past work experience to further FCI's goals in building healthy & prosperous cities. Additionally, working with FCI has given him a greater insight into how planning and housing policy directly impacts communities. He is excited to dive deeper into the application of municipal policy and work on the FCI team.
Weixi Zhou
Weixi Zhou is a Research Assistant and Coder at the Future Cities Institute, where she contributes to the development of the Growth Management Tool, a multi-lens platform supporting data-driven urban planning decisions across transportation, carbon, economics, and infrastructure systems. As a Data Science student at the University of Waterloo, she combines strengths in statistical modelling, machine learning, and full-stack development to translate complex data into practical planning insights. Weixi is interested in using quantitative methods and thoughtful design to support more transparent, sustainable, and future-ready communities.
Aakifah Husnain
Aakifah Husnain is a Research Assistant at the Future Cities Institute. She is exploring opportunities to streamline and optimize housing development application processes across Ontario municipalities to combat Canada’s housing crisis. As an Environmental Engineering student, she brings a systems-thinking and data-informed approach to improving development approval processes. She is enthusiastic about further connecting her engineering background with sustainability, housing development, and urban planning through her research at FCI.
Praveena Chenthooran
Praveena Chenthooran is a Student Developer Intern at the Future Cities Institute, where she contributes to the development of AI-driven tools that support community and economic development initiatives. She works on building scalable, production-ready artificial intelligence systems that move beyond experimentation and into real-world application. As a first-year Systems Design Engineering student, she has a strong foundation in systems thinking, software development, and applied machine learning. Her technical interests include end-to-end AI pipeline development, data engineering workflows, model deployment, and retrieval-augmented systems. She is eager to apply these skills to interdisciplinary projects that create meaningful, data-informed impact and is excited to continue growing within the collaborative environment at the Future Cities Institute.