Cheeying is the former Executive Director of the Whistler Centre for Sustainability and has over 20 years of experience in community planning, engagement and sustainability. Her expertise includes facilitation of meetings, strategy sessions and events, as well as providing strategy, creative process design and engagement for local governments, private sector clients, and non-profit organizations. She continues to develop and execute innovative community development focused programs to support community goals, and work with multi-interdisciplinary teams to deliver project desired outcomes.

Prior to her role at the Centre, Cheeying was the Executive Director of Smart Growth BC, the leading province-wide non-governmental organization advancing sustainable land use and development that was largely responsible for getting ‘smart growth’ into planning practice in BC.

Cheeying previously served as a member on the Prime Minister’s External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities, on a term on the Board of Vancity Credit Union and Vancity Enterprises, and as a member of the Mayor of Vancouver’s Greenist City Action Team. Cheeying is a frequent speaker on leading practices in sustainability strategy, engagement and community planning.

Shannon is on sabbatical from WCS (until March 2027) in a new role as Change and Engagement Lead at the University of British Columbia. It is an excellent opportunity to for Shannon to apply her engagement expertise in a new organizational context while deepening her change leadership experience. She is excited to contribute to transformation at UBC and will then bring fresh insights back to her WCS consulting work. Here’s to new adventures and continuous learning! 🎓

Shannon designs and facilitates highly effective planning processes that bring people together and enable strategic thinking, clear direction, and more cohesive teams. Shannon has worked in the field of community planning, public engagement and facilitation since 1996, assisting over 40 local government, non-profit and corporate clients. She is certified public participation practitioner and a skilled facilitator.

Strategic planning is a primary focus for Shannon, and she has led strategic planning processes for the Resort Municipality of Whistler (two-day senior management and council retreats in 2018, 2021, and 2022), Tofino (2016, 2020), other communities around BC, and many non-profit organizations, including the Pembina Institute, Climate Caucus (2021, 2022), Blue Green Alliance Canada, Lower Mainland Local Government Association, WORCA (2015, 2020, 2024), Whistler Sport Legacies (2013, 2015, 2018, 2019), and many more.

Prior to working with WCS, Shannon worked with the Resort Municipality of Whistler beginning in 2001 on various strategic initiatives. In 2003, her main focus became co-managing the creation and implementation of Whistler2020 – Whistler’s award-winning sustainability plan and engagement process. Shannon’s career began with Vancity’s Corporate Social Responsibility Group, where she co-developed and managed the social and environmental audit and reporting process – the first of its kind in Canada.

Dan has 15 years experience in the sustainability field and specializes in community and neighbourhood sustainability planning, developing implementation tools, monitoring and evaluation systems, and community energy /GHG reduction plans and programs. Dan works primarily with municipal governments in tourist-based economies where he also assists in evaluating tourism development and supporting the creation of tourism master plans.  Dan also delivers on-the-ground municipal sustainability projects as well as greenhouse gas reduction training, using a business case approach, and coaching to businesses in the Whistler area.

Dan is a whiz at tying planning to on-the-ground action. Dan co-developed and delivered a  citizen task force led action planning program for Whistler’s award winning community sustainability plan, Whistler2020, and developed the community’s comprehensive and robust economic, social and environmental monitoring and evaluation system, upon which many other communities and organizations model their monitoring program. Dan has also worked with the Fairmont Hotel and Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resorts on strategy development and marketing.

Dan has lived on and off in Whistler for 20 years, only moving away to pursue his tourism commerce degree in Victoria, and his master’s degree in business and environmental policy in Sweden, as well as for other tourism business opportunities.