Faculty

Jerry Berry, Local Government Consultant and former City Manager
Bachelor of Science and Master of Public Administration, University of Victoria

Stephen Fleming, City Clerk, City of Kelowna
Bachelor of Arts, Wilfred Laurier; Master of Arts, Carleton University

Allison Habkirk, Planning Consultant and former Mayor Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Master of Public Administration, University of Victoria; Master of Arts (Planning), UBC

Alison McNeil, Chair, Public Administration Department, Local Government Programs, Capilano University
Bachelor of Arts, Trent University; Bachelor of Education, Queen’s University; Master of Arts (Planning), UBC

Todd Pugh, Executive Director, CivicInfo BC
Bachelor of Arts, UBC; Master of Public Administration, University of Victoria

Michael Vaughan, Lawyer, Owen & Bird Law Corporation
Bachelor of Laws, University of Victoria; Bachelor of Architecture, UBC; Master of Arts in Urban Design, University of Manchester

Lisa Zwarn Program Manager, Local Government Leadership Academy
Bachelor of Arts, Romance Languages (Honours), UBC.; Bachelor of Laws, University of Victoria; Registered Parliamentarian

Jerry Berry. Jerry is a management consultant and educator specializing in local government issues. He was formerly the City Manager for the City of Nanaimo for 22 years having worked for that City for 29 years. During Jerry’s tenure as Manager, the City of Nanaimo received significant recognition and won numerous awards; particularly in strategic planning, environmental protection, community participation and innovative use of technology.

Jerry holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Science; a Master’s Degree in Public Administration as well as both a Senior Certificate in Municipal Administration and an Advanced Certificate in Municipal Management from the Province of British Columbia.

He has a particular interest in local government education; and received the very first President’s Millennium Award from the Local Government Management Association of BC (LGMA) for his contributions to the field. The Municipal Finance Authority and the North Central Municipal Officers’ Association (North Central Chapter) also presented Jerry with the Al Brockley Leadership Award for his long-standing work developing and supporting local government leaders. In 2010 Jerry was presented with the LGMA’s Distinguished Membership Award, “For outstanding contribution to Local Government in BC and for promoting and upholding the LGMA ideals of professional management and leadership excellence.

Jerry has been a lead player in the development and delivery of the Local Government Management Association of BC’s Municipal Administration Training Institutes; as well as the MFA’s Len Traboulay Education Fund, of which he was the first Chairman.

Jerry has been a lecturer for North West Community College, the University of Victoria, University of Alberta, Vancouver Island University and the Banff School of Management. He is currently a faculty member in Capilano University’s Local Government Administration Program and has been an invited lecturer at Newly Elected Officials’ Schools in BC for the past 25 years. He has acted as the representative for the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators on the International City Management Associations’ (ICMA) Post‑ Secondary Education Committee and has been an invited speaker at the ICMA Annual Conference.

Stephen Fleming. Stephen is the City Clerk and Corporate Officer for the City of Kelowna. He has worked in local government since 1996 and joined the Capilano faculty in 2005.

Stephen's professional and academic interests include municipal governance, corporate leadership, and emerging trends and issues in bylaw enforcement. Stephen has a BA from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MA from Carleton University and maintains an active interest in military history and wargaming in his spare time.

Allison Habkirk. Allison has thirty years experience in local government as a professional, elected official and educator. She is a Registered Planner and a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP). Allison has worked as a consultant and trainer to local governments and the Province of B.C and is the author of a number of publications on local government planning. She served for three terms as Mayor and Councillor for the District of Central Saanich.

Allison is an instructor for Capilano University's Public Administration Department and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria.

Alison McNeil. Alison is an educator, policy analyst, program manager and community planner who has worked in the local government sector for over 15 years. She has been Chair of the Public Administration Department of Capilano University since August 2008 and began as an instructor in January 2008. Alison has a Master’s in Planning from UBC, a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University and a Bachelor Arts from Trent University.

Prior to joining Capilano University, Alison was Senior Manager of Policy Development and Corporate Programs at the City of Richmond where, among other projects, she lead the development of a corporate sustainability program for the municipality. From 1996 to 2007, Alison worked for the Union of BC Municipalities beginning as a policy analyst and eventually becoming a Senior Associate. During this time, she helped develop UBCM policy and programs on a wide range of issues including First Nations relations, treaty negotiations, healthy communities, regional districts and municipal finance and taxation.

Alison was a Senior Policy Analyst for the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in the mid- 1990s where she assisted with public consultations and development of regional planning legislation known as the Growth Strategies Act. In the early 1990s, Alison worked in the planning and social planning departments of the District of North Vancouver, working on a neighbourhood involvement initiative and review of the District’s Official Community Plan. Alison keeps active in the planning profession and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP). She served as editor of Planning Institute of BC (PIBC) magazine from 1996-2006 and currently serves as a PIBC Board member and Chair of the Communications Committee. Alison is also a member of the Healthy Built Environment Alliance and has undertaken several projects jointly with the Provincial Health Services Authority.

Todd Pugh. Todd's local government career began in the early 1990s, with the Parks Department at the Regional District of Fraser Cheam. Since 2001 he has served as the Executive Director of CivicInfo BC, a not-for-profit information service for BC local governments. The CivicInfo BC website, www.civicinfo.bc.ca, experiences over 150,000 visits and 600,000 page views every month, making it the most heavily used resource of its type in Canada.

In 2007, Todd joined Capilano's Local Government Administration Certificate program as a sessional instructor. Todd holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science and History from the University of British Columbia, and a Masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Victoria. He is best described as a local government generalist, with specific expertise in information systems, municipal labour markets, communications, and elections. He is also committed to professional development, and in the last ten years Todd has:

Served as a two-term President of the Victoria Chapter of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.
Worked closely with elders from the W'sanec (Saanich) community of Tsartlip to organize an annual Coast Salish Cultural workshop for public sector employees.
Been an active member of the Local Government Management Association of BC's Education Committee; chairing an annual meeting of BC's local government educators.
Served on both the University of Victoria's School of Public Administration's Director's Advisory Board, and on the Alumni Association Board.
Been a regular guest speaker at various local government sector conferences, courses, and events.

Michael Vaughan. Michael is a lawyer, registered architect, registered planner and educator. He has worked in the local government sector in BC since 1982 and has worked as a planner and chief corporate officer (municipal clerk) within local government. As a lawyer, he has worked in-house with a BC municipality and also represented both local government entities and private sector parties working with local government.

Michael started working on the foundation for the Local Government Program's municipal law course at Capilano in 1995. He has continued as the principal instructor in that course, working together with other faculty and distinguished guests. He has also lectured for the Pacific Business and Law Institute, the Mortgage Investors Association of BC, the BC Recreation and Parks Association in conjunction with the Municipal Insurance Association, and for the Municipal Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association of BC.

Michael has a Certificate in Local Government Administration from Capilano, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Victoria, a Master's degree in Urban Design from the University of Manchester and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of British Columbia.

As an architect and urban designer, Michael worked with several Vancouver architecture firms over the years and with a project management company involved in design, approvals and realization for several ski resorts in BC. He also worked for several years as a planner with the City of Vancouver. Before that time, Michael was involved as a professional in the design and construction of new town civic centres in Hong Kong and resort residential developments in the Caribbean.

As a lawyer, Michael continues to practice in the area of real estate, resort and municipal law, in addition to providing advice on various administrative and construction matters. Michael works primarily with Owen Bird Law Corporation in Vancouver, but enjoys regular teaching appearances at the North Vancouver campus as well as travelling to teach classes in Kelowna and Parksville, as part of Capilano University's Local Government Administration Program.

Lisa Zwarn. Lisa has worked in the local government sector for over 17 years as an employee, a consultant and an instructor. She has been at Capilano University as an instructor since 2003 and a presenter since 2000. Lisa has a Bachelor of Law from the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Romance Languages from the University of British Columbia. Lisa was admitted to the Law Society of British Columbia in 1993. She graduated from Capilano’s Local Government Professional Certificate program in 1998 and was awarded the Intermediate Certificate for Local Government Administration in 2005.

Prior to joining Capilano University, Lisa was the Director of Legislative Services and Human Resources (formerly titled as City Clerk) for the City of Langley. Previously, Lisa was the Administrative Manager in the Community Development Department in the City of North Vancouver, a consultant with Urban Systems Ltd, and a Senior Bylaw Enforcement Officer with the City of Surrey. Lisa is currently working as the Program Manager for the Local Government Leadership Academy, whose mandate is to assist in educating elected officials and senior administrators of local governments and First Nations in British Columbia.

Lisa has been actively involved in the education of local government officials throughout her career. She was involved with the revision of the Local Government Administration and Services courses in 2000. Lisa was a member of the MATI – Managing People Committee and the MATI – Communications Committee. She developed the Fundamentals of Corporate Administration course (PADM 209) which was first offered in 2008, and has authored two of the textbooks used in the Capilano program : 'Local Government Services' and 'The Fundamentals of Corporate Administration'.

Lisa has been a presenter on a variety of topics for various local government organizations around the province, and is also accredited as a Professional Registered Parliamentarian (PRP) with the National Association of Parliamentarians.