The Mentorship Initiative for Indigenous and Planners of Colour’s (MIIPOC) leadership team is made-up of 9 resilient planners and city-builders with unique skillsets, representing several working and culturally diverse backgrounds. These dedicated individuals are actively engaged in the creation and facilitation of MIIPOC initiatives and programs. Their collective goal is to continue fostering invaluable relationships and spaces for aspiring, as well as, current BIPOC planners that will help propel them into the roles and dreams they’re striving to achieve.
Abigail Moriah
Abigail is a registered professional planner whose leadership on housing projects has included managing large scale mixed-income, mixed-use redevelopments. In 2018 she launched the Black Planning Project and since then has been building an association of Black planners and in 2019 she began leading a team of early career BIPOC planning professionals to create the Mentorship Initiative for Indigenous and Planners of Colour (MIIPOC). These initiatives seek to promote and connect BIPOC planners, contribute to new knowledge and practice from these perspectives, and strengthen engagement of Black, Indigenous and other racialized communities in the field of planning. Abigail has been working in the field of community development and housing for over 10 years and currently works as a Senior Development Manager for New Commons Development, a nonprofit real estate development company.
Aisha Jellow
Aisha is a Gambian Planner and Photographer who calls Toronto home. She recently completed her Masters of Science in Planning with a specialization in Urban Planning and Development at the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Arts Arts in Geography & Urban Studies from York University.
Through her experiences, she has built a network of professional planners, city-builders and artists who identify as BIPOC. In the past, Aisha has mentored Black Youth as part of a Community Arts Equity Initiative and volunteered as a Community Planning support for a predominantly racialized neighbourhood undergoing revitalization. Aisha has a passion for city-building initiatives and processes that create resilient and complete neighbourhoods, communities and cities and enjoys documenting the connection between the built form, creative expression and storytelling.
Kenny Lamizana
Kenny is a French-Burkinabe planner with strong connections to the cities of Montreal and Toronto. She holds a Masters of Science in Planning from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Science in Urban Studies from the University of Montreal. Her exposure to multiple cityscapes across different geographies and socioeconomic boundaries has helped her understand the unique perspectives and cultural values that link planning practices with the intimate stories of cities, places and people.
Her interest in co-creating MIIPOC is rooted in her own challenges navigating the lack of BIPOC representation both in academia and the planning profession. She considers networking and mentoring key tools in providing guidance to young aspiring planners. At the same time, she is aware that the lack of representation has made it challenging to seek out and have mentors that she could identify and exchange ideas with. As a young black woman, Kenny is committed to supporting the integration of BIPOC youth within planning by providing inclusive and safe spaces to connect, share, support each other, and advance in their careers.