Click through the tabs below to learn about my current position and some of the roles that I've taken on in the past.
McElhanney
McElhanney provides planning, engineering, geomatics, environmental and landscape architecture services to clients ranging from municipalities to private landowners. I work remotely out of the Canmore office but there are offices are all over Western Canada.
Jan 2024 - Present
- I am drafting policy and creating graphics for Municipal Development Plans and Area Structure Plans.
- I am processing planning applications for development permits and rezoning.
- I am performing background policy research for a range of various master plans.
- I am preparing materials for and facilitating engagement sessions for public open houses and Council workshops.
Oldman River Regional Services Commission (Municipal Internship Program)
The Oldman River Regional Services Commission (ORRSC) is a quasi-municipal commission offering planning, subdivision and GIS services to 39 municipalities across southwestern Alberta with an office located in Lethbridge.
May 2023 - Jan 2024
- I processed and reviewed development applications, and presented reports with recommendations to Municipal Planning Commissions in 2 municipalities.
- I prepared Records of Proceedings for Subdivision and Development Appeal Board hearings.
- I wrote road closure bylaws and prepared application packages to be forwarded to Alberta Transportation.
- I conducted and wrote reports for Housing Needs Assessments in 3 municipalities.
- I prepared and amended Land Use Bylaws, researched best practices and applied those practices based on municipal context.
- I wrote annexation reports to highlight why a municipality needs more land.
University of Calgary
December 2021 - December 2022
- I carried out a research project where I was studying expressions of urban informality in Calgary, and comparing those expressions to what you would find in the city of Kumasi, Ghana. This work was published in "Informality: A Visual Essay Project".
- I interviewed 40 random people around Calgary to research perceptions of the city for a project called "Street Meet".
- I managed 3 NEXTCalgary social media accounts (Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn), which is an online community of people passionate about Calgary. Its aim is to spread knowledge and encourage community development in the city.
Simon Fraser University (Remote)
December 2021 - December 2022
- I led and managed 7 Team Members in this fully remote temporary research project, in which we researched youth attitudes towards and interactions with their cities and how those have changed since before COVID-19.
- I created and facilitated up to 10 training sessions weekly, presenting to as many as 50 different Team Leads and Team Members over Zoom.
- I was the sole Team Lead for Lethbridge, whereas other larger Canadian cities had numerous Team Leads. This created quite the unique challenge of making sure I was representing Lethbridge as accurately as possible and being the only contact point for numerous inquiries.
- This project changed often and quickly, so it required a high degree of adaptability and comfort with unfamiliar circumstances.
Mount Pisgah English Academy (Remote)
February 2018 - August 2020
- I taught English at this Korean academy to children as young as 6 years old and youth as old as 16 years old, while reporting monthly on reading, writing, and speaking abilities.
- I created and presented weekly and monthly lesson plans with clear learning objectives.
- I conducted some classes through Zoom, often at very late notice due to the fast-paced changes during the pandemic.
- I helped plan and coordinate many different fun activities, such as Christmas concerts, summer education camps, and Halloween parties.
Alberta Ministry of Culture and Tourism
May 2017 - September 2017
- I worked at a provincial visitor centre, assisting incoming local, national, and international visitors with a wide range of requests and inquiries.
- I created approximately 50 unique itineraries daily for each visiting group according to individual interests, often securing desired reservations and bookings at very short notice
- I worked with and boosted visitor reservations and bookings to over 250 destinations, experiences, attractions, and events all over Alberta.
- I helped market and plan several events to attract visitors, such as a large Canada Day festival that tripled the number of visitors to the centre for that day compared to the year before.
- I collated and entered visitor statistics into a spreadsheet for operational and marketing analysis.