Each year, the School of Planning hosts a Planner-in-Residence, an expert who teaches and conducts seminars. The program gives students and professors the opportunity to interact with professionals who are leaders in their field. The Planner-in-Residence program is funded by the University of Waterloo Planning Alumni of Toronto.
2024-2025: Jason Thorne
Jason Thorne Planner-in-Residence for 2024-2025
A proud urbanist and accomplished city-builder, most of Jason’s career has focused on working at the interface between planning, architecture, urban design and landscape in regions, cities, and neighbourhoods. He is a Registered Professional Planner with over 25 years of professional experience in consulting and in various public and not-for-profit sector roles.
Currently, Jason is the Urban Places Sector Lead for Canada for the global consulting firm Stantec. In this role, Jason brings together the firm’s planners, urban designers, engineers, architects, landscape architects, and other practitioners to tackle complex urban challenges for public and private sector clients across the country.
Prior to joining Stantec in 2024, Jason spent 10 years leading the Planning and Economic Development Department at the City of Hamilton where he was responsible for leading the City divisions responsible for land use planning, development approvals, transportation planning, economic development, municipal land development and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Jason’s work and experience in the planning profession is widely known across Canada. While working for the Province of Ontario, Jason was one of the original architects of the award-winning Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the “Big Move” Regional Transportation Plan. As a partner at the Toronto-based planning, urban design and architecture firm planningAlliance, Jason led a multi-disciplinary planning practice that worked across Canada and in Latin America and West Africa.
Jason is a professional planner who loves cities and who believes strongly in the positive impact that city planners can have on the livability and sustainability of cities and neighbourhoods. He is looking forward to sharing and collaborating with the University of Waterloo’s planning students as the 2024-2025 Planner-in-Residence.
Previous Planners-in-Residence
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Martin Quarcoopome , Vice President, Weston Consulting
- Becca Nagorsky, Vice President of Stations Planning, Metrolinx
- Jay Pitter
- Rob Horne, Senior Advisor, Overlap Associates - Public Lecture Presented by Rob Horne
- Ann Joyner, Strategic Planning Advisor, Dillon Consulting
- Dana Anderson, Partner, MHBC Planning, Burlington Office
- Lee Anne Doyle, former Executive Director & Chief Building Official, City of Windsor
- Bill Green, GSP Group
- Paul E. Johnston, Johnston Litavski Ltd.
- Dan Leeming - The Planning Partnership
- Aristotle Christou - The Christou Group
- Lori Martin - Senior Cultural Affairs Officer, City of Toronto
- Glenn R. Miller - Vice President, Canadian Urban Institute
- Paul Puopolo - Associate, IBI Group
- Ian MacNaughton - President MHBC Planning
- Paula Dill - Commissioner of Urban Development Services - City of Toronto
- Bob Lehman - President of Meridian Planning Consultants
- Brian Tuckey - Commissioner of Planning and Development Services - Region of York
- Daniel Burns - Public Policy Consultant - Government of Ontario
- Ray Simpson - Senior Consultant - Hemson Consulting Ltd.
- Antony G. Marcil - Senior Policy Advisor
- Marilou McPhedran - Director, International Women's Rights Project
- Cameron Kitchen - Senior Consultant
- John Farrow - Consultant
- Helen Cooper - Municipal Consultant
- Ron Farrow - Former Special Advisor for Policy Development
- Henry Stewart - Planning Consultant
- Gardner Church - Consultant
- John Sweeney - Former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing