DIALOG Edmonton Studio Hosts Cities from Her Perspective Panel

Events

Optimism in Times of Turmoil and Change: DIALOG Hosts 2025 Cities From Her Perspective Conversation

February 21, 2025

In celebration of International Women’s Day, DIALOG invites you to attend this year’s Cities from Her Perspective event on March 7, 2025, in our Edmonton studio.

The annual Cities from Her Perspective gathers thought leaders to explore current issues and events from a woman’s perspective. This year’s topic is Optimism in Times of Turmoil and Change. The panel will address how to harness optimism as a tool for leadership, advocacy, and meaningful impact, staying inspired to keep building more inclusive and vibrant cities.

Event Details

Date: Friday, March 7, 2025
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. MT
Location: DIALOG Edmonton studio, #100, 10237 104 St. NW
Fee: Get your ticket by donation (minimum of $5). All proceeds will go to Women Building Futures.

Register now >

Hosted by DIALOG partners Jill Robertson and Tai Ziola.

Panellists:

Dr. Shazma Mithani, ER Physician and Health Advocate

Dr. Shazma is an Emergency Physician in Edmonton practicing both adult and pediatric emergency medicine. She completed medical school in 2009 at Western University in London, ON. She then completed her residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Alberta in 2014 and has been practicing in Edmonton since. 

Her true passion is in health education and advocacy, which stems from her work during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues today in her roles with the Canadian Medical Association, Alberta Medical Association, Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton and daily on her social media platforms. Recently, she and her co-host started a podcast, The Doc Talk, which breaks down various health topics for listeners. 

Dr. Mithani has been recognized for her advocacy expertise as a recipient of Edify Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 award in 2022, the CAEP (Canadian Association of Emergency Physician) Dr. Alan Drummond Advocacy Award in 2024 and more recently the Medical Post Media Engagement Award – Trailblazer. She was also the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022.

When she’s not fighting the good fight for our healthcare system, Shazma enjoys travelling, being outdoors with her family, running around on the ultimate frisbee field and improving her tennis skills.

Eleanor Mohammed, Partner, DIALOG

Eleanor is an award-winning Partner at DIALOG, a city governance expert, and a visionary urban planner with over 20 years of transformative impact across the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors in Canada and internationally. As Chair of the UN-HABITAT Professionals Forum, Co-Chair of UN-HABITAT Planners for Climate Action, and a Board Director at Canada’s National Capital Commission, she drives local and global initiatives in sustainable city-building and climate resilience.

 

Eleanor has led projects spanning city planning, sustainable development advocacy, and international collaboration. Her extensive experience includes drafting and implementing statutory and strategic land use plans, policies, sustainability initiatives, and economic development strategies. Renowned for her inspiring keynotes and heartfelt leadership, Eleanor is a passionate advocate for resilient communities, equitable engagement, and meaningful change.

 

Eleanor holds a Master of Arts with Distinction in Town and Country Planning from the University of the West of England, Bristol, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto with a specialization in Environmental Management.

Louise Traynor, Co-CEO, Bissell Centre

Louise was appointed to the Co-CEO position with Bissell Centre after serving as its Chief Operating Officer since 2019. She joined Bissell Centre in 2016, serving in multiple leadership roles that have helped refine the organization’s program delivery models and management practices.  Her commitment to fostering sustainable, community-driven solutions has made her a leader in addressing complex social challenges. She has successfully led teams in impactful initiatives, such as the development of a 66-space childcare center, solar installer training and internship program, pandemic response shelters, and the program integration of financial empowerment services. 

Louise shifted her career from mechanical engineering to social services more than 20 years ago, driven by her deep belief in the inherent value of every individual, our ability to change, and the potential that everyone can contribute to society. Since then, she’s held multiple leadership positions with organizations such as The Mustard Seed and the Canadian Mental Health Association. 

Recently, Louise’s family participated in Bissell Centre’s Coldest Night of the Year walk.  Her team, Poor Unfortunate Soles, repeated the line: *We are a community.  We can change things together.*  That is at the heart of Louise’s work and beliefs.  Together, we can change our community.

Stephani Carter, President, Stok Canada

Stephani started her career as a commercial interior designer who, in the early 2000s, identified a significant values gap in her industry, where environmental and social initiatives were limited to only a few projects. In 2003, she collaborated with like-minded peers to establish the Alberta Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council. 

In 2006, after gaining experience in conservation science with the Smithsonian Institute in Sri Lanka, Stephani returned to Edmonton to launch her own consulting firm. She was purpose-driven and optimistic about the potential to transition the AEC industry toward sustainability. Since then, her firm has managed sustainability projects for a wide range of clients, from single-family homes to $2 billion healthcare developments. Most recently, Stephani merged her firm with a larger values-aligned company; Stok who specializes in the same niche. Stephani is now President of the Canadian Region for Stok. 

Stephani’s passion has evolved from focusing on sustainable buildings to understanding human behavior and effective project delivery processes that facilitate an accelerated adoption of sustainability practices. She is a LEAN Green Belt professional, a PMI-Agile Certified Professional and an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) coach. To date, all of their IPD projects have been completed ahead of schedule and under budget, while also being high-performing sustainable projects—proving that green solutions do not have to come at a higher cost.

Stephani has been honored with recognition from her community and peers, being selected as one of the ‘Top 50 Graduates in the Past 50 Years’ for NAIT’s 50th anniversary, Top 40 under 40 in Edmonton and receiving the ‘Canada Green Building Council Provincial and National Green Building Champion Award.’

Councillor Ashley Salvador, City of Edmonton

Ashley is an urban planner and has experience working across sectors on projects related to affordable housing, climate change, social isolation and inclusion, infill policy, and seniors housing. Born and raised in Edmonton, she holds a BA Honours in Sustainability and Sociology from Dalhousie University, and a MA Planning from the University of Waterloo.

Ashley is passionate about building a healthy, equitable, and climate resilient Edmonton.

She has been active at the municipal level for close to a decade and has been a longstanding advocate for zoning reforms and sustainable urban development. She is the founder of a local non-profit that is dedicated to helping gently densify existing neighbourhoods, create greater housing choice, and improve walkability, access to transit. and vibrancy in mature communities.

In her off time, Ashley is an avid cyclist, and enjoys hiking and cross-country skiing in Edmonton’s River Valley. Ashley and her partner live in Ward Métis, and she regularly spends time in neighbourhoods across the Ward.

Ashley is honoured to serve the residents of Ward Métis, and the rest of Edmonton.

Images from the 2024 Cities from Her Perspective event at the DIALOG Edmonton studio. Hosted by partners Tai Ziola and Jill Robertson.

Panellists (left to right): Susan McGee, Christel Kjenner, Janis Irwin, Karen Lee, and Puneeta McBryan

About International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8 to honour the women’s rights movement, bringing awareness to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. Recognizing the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements and challenges of women, this day calls communities to come together to educate and raise awareness for gender equality.