Our People

Pinna's Staff

Denni Clement, B.A. (she/her)
Director - Indigenous Engagement

Denni Clement is from ʔAq'am, a Ktunaxa Nation community located in the Kootenay region of BC. She is a facilitator, planner, researcher, writer, community engagement, and sustainability specialist. Denni led the creation of ʔAq'am’s comprehensive community plan from 2009 to 2011, and has contributed to ongoing planning efforts since. Denni’s facilitation style is grounded in Ktunaxa teachings from ʔAq'am Elders and Knowledge Holders. She is able to understand diverse Indigenous protocols and has created safe, creative engaging spaces for Indigenous peoples for over 10 years. She has worked for the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy’s Climate Action Secretariat and the BC Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation supporting innovative engagement with Indigenous peoples on climate change. She is a contributing author for the BC chapter of the national assessment on climate change titled “Canada in a Changing Climate”. Denni holds a Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of Victoria and is a dancer performing regularly with Indigenous women’s groups in Victoria. 

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Tamsin Mills, M.Sc, RPP (she/her)
Director - Climate Resilience and Adaptation

Tamsin is a Registered Professional Planner with over ten years of experience as a planner, project manager, facilitator and sustainability specialist with municipal and provincial levels of government, First Nations and the private sector. Her experience ranges from watershed-level sustainability planning with First Nations to urban development planning. Tamsin has developed an internationally recognized expertise in climate change adaptation and natural hazard risk management and communication.

Tamsin led the development of the first Climate Change Adaptation Strategy in Canada that follows the ICLEI framework – the City of Vancouver’s Adaptation Strategy http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/climate-change-adaptation-strategy.aspx. As project manager and author of the strategy, she has also been responsible for implementing the strategy and monitoring progress. Development and implementation of the Strategy relied on strong project management skills and relationships throughout the organization and with partners. Tamsin has a large, international network of adaptation colleagues, climate scientists, and adaptation subject matter experts.  

Tamsin’s experience includes development planning providing a valuable background in how cities are built and in structured decision-making, an important element of all planning initiatives.

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Courtney Crichton, MsC Marketing and Business Analysis (she/her)
Associate - Engagement 

Courtney is a research and project management professional with vast experience meaningfully engaging a variety of stakeholders and project partners, and over ten years of experience designing, implementing and managing quantitative and qualitative research projects. She holds a Master’s degree in Marketing and Business Analysis from the University of Edinburgh and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Victoria. Her passion for sustainability was ignited with a course on business sustainability in her undergrad and she has layered sustainability into her career ever since.

Courtney has a proven ability to collaborate respectfully and effectively with project partners, including municipal and provincial governments, local businesses, global firms, not-for-profits, and academia. She takes great care to ensure projects are produced to a high standard and are delivered on time. She is adept at survey design, with deep consideration to ensure accurate and unbiased results, and is highly skilled in conducting meaningful engagement with external stakeholders through individual outreach and organized events.

Prior to joining Pinna, Courtney worked as a research manager at the Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC). In her eight years at VEC she worked on a variety of research projects focused on areas such as ESG; the circular economy; business GHG emissions; decarbonization; Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) for new immigrants; Indigenous economic prosperity; and traditional economic development. 

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Ayla De Grandpre, MA, PhD (candidate) (she/her) 

Sustainability Associate 

Ayla is a sustainability professional with a background in geography, sustainability, and community-engaged research. She has over 4 years’ experience leading and supporting research and community-orientated projects addressing areas such as climate adaptation, assessing research impact, rural resilience, sustainable food systems, environmental communication, and watershed stewardship and sustainability. Ayla holds a Master’s degree in Sustainability and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Community Engaged Research from the University of British Columbia. She is an interdisciplinary researcher with qualitative and quantitative skills, which she has used to foster innovative, effective and locally-appropriate solutions to a broad range of complex sustainability issues. 

Ayla has worked with diverse communities, both locally, in British Columbia, and Internationally in Italy and Finland, and demonstrates cultural sensitivity and a strong ability to adapt her approach to local contexts. Her ability to distill complex ideas and concepts into accessible language is demonstrated in her publications, and has also established her as a science and environmental communication speaker. Ayla’s sharp organization, analytical, and critical thinking skills have contributed to the success of large projects aimed at building sustainability and resilience in communities with limited capacities. 

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Kirsten Bradford, MRM (she/her)
Sustainability Associate 

Kirsten Bradford is a researcher, facilitator, and interdisciplinary scientist driven by her passion to (re)connect communities to local stewardship and resource management decision making. Kirsten brings over a decade of sustainability research experience to her work at Pinna, and holds a Masters of Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University. Kirsten’s strength lies in her ability to understand complex ecological processes, paired her ability to facilitate and guide community-led research projects with diverse collaborators. Kirsten has worked extensively on watershed science research with government, academia, First Nations, and non-profits, primarily concerning cumulative impacts to Pacific salmon. Kirsten has a deep understanding of, and appreciation for, dynamic social-ecological systems, exhibited through her work on gender in fisheries management systems and her recent collaborative masters work around Indigenous salmon stream caretaking and restoration. Kirsten is committed to ethical community engaged research, and was a fellow in the 2022-2023 SFU Community Engaged Research Initiative Fellowship program. When working with community, Kirsten leans into emergent spaces, and prioritizes transparency and trust. 

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Gala Muñoz-Carrier, BA, M.Sc Sustainability Science, Diploma in Applied Planning (they/them)
Sustainability Associate

Gala is a Sustainability Specialist with a background in urban planning, community engagement and climate action research. They hold a Diploma in Applied Planning, as well as a Master of Sustainability, and blend their community facilitation and analytical skills to support collective approaches on climate solutions. Their research on climate change messaging and education has broadened their understanding on the ways our worldviews and perspectives shape our willingness to engage on climate change issues and how to build bridges towards shared understanding.

Previously, Gala has held coordination and volunteer/training management roles in youth climate justice organizing and community resource direct action with the goal to help meet the needs of those historically marginalized/underserved, including IBPOC, immigrants and 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Having opportunities to learn and be accountable to diverse perspectives, has been paramount to shaping the way that they aim to engage with others and move work forward. Gala has also spent time as a Youth Advisory Board member for a Greater Vancouver organization that enables and empowers youth to become more actively involved in civic planning and decision making, especially as it relates to sustainability. Recently, Gala helped deliver a comprehensive community profile to a growing Okanagan Valley municipality to help inform their OCP update. With their varied skillset and vested interest in just and holistic approaches to planning projects, strategies and programs, Gala strives to empower community-led solutions and advance sustainability in all forms.

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Davis Burson B.S (he/him) 

Associate 

Davis is a researcher and analyst with a background in engineering and relationship building. His expertise spans multiple industries, and he has hands on experience leading and supporting projects in the transportation, alternative energy, intellectual property, telecommunications, and climate adaptation sectors. He possesses a strong set of quantitative and statistical skills, and thrives on deriving meaningful metrics and conclusions from complex datasets. His technical writing skills are documented in the 20+ patent applications he has helped to author, including those on which he is named as an inventor. 

Having partnered with colleagues in Europe, Asia, the US, and Canada, in Academia, Industry, and Government, Davis’ communication skills have assisted in bringing together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and industries to foster collaborative projects that achieve measurable results.  He is driven to help British Columbians mitigate threats posed by climate change by building resilience and sustainable practices.

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Jake Rogger MCP (he/him)
Sustainability Associate 

Jake has a Masters in Community Planning from Vancouver Island University and an undergraduate degree in human geography from the University of Victoria focussed on urban, health and development studies. Jake has been involved in projects that bridge Indigenous and western worldviews across subject areas ranging from Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services to climate adaptation and flood planning. 

Jake’s experience in project management, public engagement, research, and policy development helps promote collaboration between stakeholders, indigenous rights holders, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. 

Prior to joining Pinna, Jake worked in local government, at a Zambian NGO, and in consulting within multiple Indigenous organizations. Jake is committed to fostering reconciliation and shared understanding of complex issues through deep listening, empathy and a systems-thinking approach.

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Jennifer MacIntyre, MCIP, RPP (She/her)
Sustainability Associate 

Jennifer is a Registered Professional Planner with 10 years of experience working as a senior planner for local government, practicing in both rural (regional district), and urban, (mid-sized city) settings. Passionate about integrating resilience in community planning, Jennifer has recently pivoted her career to the private sector to help communities achieve climate change adaptation and mitigation solutions. 

Her varied work experience includes supporting and managing a variety of projects from site-specific development planning to regional scale, strategic planning in the areas of community and land use planning, hazard management and mitigation, emergency operations, climate action planning, agricultural planning, active transportation planning, and corporate fleet management. Jennifer is a collaborative planner, who designs projects that involve facilitating public and stakeholders’ consultation processes that engage and result in mutual decision-making, Jennifer has extensive experience working with multi-disciplines and is skilled at translating complex technical information into accessible communications for council and public audiences.

Jennifer is from the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people, Nova Scotia. She started her academic career in the Bachelor of Arts, Community Design and Sustainability program at Dalhousie University, and graduated from the University of Northern British Columbia in the Bachelor of Environmental Planning program, majoring in Natural Resource Planning, located on the unceded traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, Prince George, BC. Jennifer has continued to move northwest, and is a settler on the Laxyuubm Ts’msyen, Kitsumkalum and Kitselas, Toyaxsuut nuusm, Terrace, BC. 

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Kylie Clark, B.A. (Architecture), MCRP (she/her)
Sustainability Associate 

Kylie is a planner and recent Masters of Community and Regional Planning graduate with a background in architecture and climate resilience research. She has over 2 years of local government experience, working in both large urban and small, rural municipalities. She also brings over 5 years of combined professional experience in architecture and research project management. She has led and supported research and design projects centered on novel approaches to urban greening, community-based stewardship, locally-led climate adaptation, economically- and environmentally-sustainable redevelopment, and adaptive reuse. 

Working in Canada and internationally in Southeast Asia, she meaningfully built relationships and engaged diverse communities with a demonstrated cultural sensitivity. Kylie is driven by a personal motto to “think global, act local”, contributing her analytical skills, critical and creative thinking, and proven initiative to the development of plans and policies which are local in nature but global in impact and inspiration. 

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Ren Roberts, MCRP (she/her) 

Ren Roberts, (Polish, Welsh & Scottish) worked with Alderhill/Sa̱̱nala Planning Inc. as a Planner since the spring of 2020. She has an undergraduate degree in Indigenous Environmental Studies from Trent University and a Master’s in Community and Regional Planning from UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning, with a specialization in Indigenous Community Planning.

She has experience in Comprehensive Community Planning, strategic planning, project management and event planning. She has been the lead Planner on the following multi-year projects: 1) Indigenous Priorities and Engagement with the B.C. Climate Action Secretariat ; 2) the development of an Indigenous Food Wellness Resource Hub with the B.C. Ministry of Health and ISPARC; and 3) the Real Estate Foundation of B.C.’s Indigenous Grants Stream with a focus on systemic redress and decolonization. In addition to planning, Ren also does graphic recording, graphic design and facilitation.

She has attended various workshops, conferences, and programs dedicated to reconciliation and Indigenous self-determination, such as a micro-credential through Royal Roads University called Foundations of Truth and Reconciliation at Work, two Canadian Roots Exchanges, an internship with Social Planning Cowichan, and an independent study at la Universidad de la Tierra in Oaxaca, Mexico. 

Ren lives remotely in an off-grid cabin, is a Lillooet Learns Board Member, and occasionally leads land-based youth programs. 

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Ally van Tassel, BKin (she/her)
Office Administrator

Ally is the Office Administrator at Pinna, where she supports the team with her expertise in graphic design. She brings a rich background in healthcare, having worked as both an Administrator and Kinesiologist. This foundation led Ally to entrepreneurship in the wellness sector and subsequently to The Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, a non-profit organization. At The Forum, Ally played a key role in developing a national gender equity certification for Canadian funders. 

Prior to joining Pinna, Ally managed volunteer coordination at The Sharing Farm, an organic non-profit farm in Richmond, BC, dedicated to combating local food insecurity. Her varied professional experiences have equipped her with a unique perspective and exceptional problem-solving skills. A strong advocate for holistic well-being, Ally understands the vital link between human and environmental health.

At Pinna, Ally ensures smooth operations and organization. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening and dancing.

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Pinna's Collaborators

Samantha Agtarap, P.Eng

Samantha has over ten years of experience working with clients to translate complex technical information into accessible communications material.  Her core strengths include the ability to synthesize large amounts of information while ensuring that key messages are conveyed clearly.   Samantha is a Professional Engineer with experience in energy options analysis and planning. She has worked on community energy planning and forecasting with First Nation and non-aboriginal communities, building energy consumption analysis and program development.   Samantha has a wide range of experience, primarily focusing on energy and the environment.  Through her work, she has gained valuable experience working with First Nations and remote communities.  In particular, her work on the Haida Gwaii Community Electricity Plan and BC Hydro’s Remote Community Electrification Program provided her with an understanding of the unique set of issues facing First Nations and remote communities throughout the province.

Dara Edmonds, B.A, LL.B

Dara is a skilled sustainability consultant who specializes in sustainability reporting and has extensive experience in report development, the application of reporting frameworks, and report assurance. Previously, Dara managed sustainability reporting at Teck Resources, Canada’s largest diversified mining company. Dara is currently an internal consultant at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA), supporting sustainability reporting and strategic initiatives to embed sustainability in corporate culture. She supports other companies with reporting, performance and compliance, strategy development, and stakeholder engagement. She has provided report assurance to clients including Vancity and Diageo Inc., and reporting and advisory services for Goldcorp, lululemon, Metro Vancouver, McCain Foods, and Transport Canada.