Cecilia Valencia Sandoval, BA, MSc.
Cecilia received her Bachelors of Science degree in Biology in Mexico, and her Masters of Science in Forest Resources Management at the University of British Columbia. Cecilia is a natural resources manager and a sustainability planner. She has worked for government, the private sector, within academia, and most recently as co-founder of DPI Territorial. Her expertise includes community and environmental planning at the local and regional scales. She has worked in Canada and throughout Mexico, with an emphasis on stakeholder participation and policy analysis for sustainable rural and urban community development. Cecilia’s philosophy is that holistic development that balances economic, social, and environmental priorities can be achieved by engaging stakeholders, building social license and facilitating dialogue between experts and the public via transparent planning processes. The planning process must not only outline clear strategies for sustainable growth, but also build local capacity for implementation.
Before founding DPI Territorial, Cecilia spent two years working for the group Forests and Communities in Transition (FACT) at the University of British Columbia (www.fact.ubc.ca) as a research scientist in the areas of community planning and engagement, and community well-being; she also spent several years working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and in several protected areas in Mexico. More recently she has been collaborating with the leading carbon offsetting company in Canada to develop projects in Mexico.
David Flanders, BSc., Master of Landscape Architecture
David received his Bachelors of Science degree in Ecology and Geography at the University of Calgary, and his Masters of Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (MBCSLA, MCSLA) and is a registered professional planner (MCIP, RPP). David practices environmental planning and design with universities, government and non-governmental organizations, and as an independent consultant with DPI Territorial. As part of this work he has contributed to environmental impact assessments and spatial analyses in the natural resources sector including mining, forestry and energy. This included collaborations with northern and southern communities, indigenous groups and institutions in Canada, the United States and Mexico. David practices designing cities and planning land-use with an emphasis on field work, on-site analysis, community engagement and communication using maps and 3D visual media. With particular attention to the function of interacting local systems and their regional context; the relationships between communities and their hinterland, we can foster economic development while improving environmental conditions and quality of life simultaneously.
In addition to his work with DPI, David spent 10 years as a research scientist and landscape planner with UBC’s Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning (www.calp.forestry.ubc.ca) and Design Centre for Sustainability (www.dcs.sala.ubc.ca). There he conducts research that bridges between science, planning, design and local decision-making.