Photo credit: Shivy Reddy
Jao Dantes (he/him), M.Planning, IAP2 Certified
I’m an social and cultural planner with a background in strategic communications, engagement, and design.
I do: social planning research and policy development, cultural planning research and policy development, community engagement, facilitation, project management, data collection and analysis, user experience research, communications, and graphic design.
I care about: humans, culture, intercultural place-making, diversity, climate equity, and community resilience.
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Social planning
Cultural planning
Cultural mapping
Public space planning
Community development
Community engagement
Temporary site activations
Inclusion, diversity, equity, & diversity (IDEA) research
Project/program evaluations
Mobility & active transportation
Organizational strategic planning
[Insert your project here 😉]
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The Bentway, Bike Share Toronto^, City of Edmonton^, City of Kamloops^, City of North Vancouver^, City of Toronto, Creative City Network of Canada, Durham Region Arts Collective, Hornby Arts Council^, Mission Arts Council^, Museum of Contemporary Art (Toronto), Parks Canada, Penticton Arts Council^, The Robert McGlaughlin Gallery, Science World.
^clients in a subcontractor capacity and in partnership with other collaborators
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I am honoured and privileged to work with many First Nations and urban Indigenous communities across Turtle Island who have been here for time immemorial. I am committed to Truth & Reconciliation. For my work, this means supporting First Nations and Indigenous cultural heritage preservation, place-keeping, and cultural celebration through listening, dialogue, and reducing power imbalances enforced through colonial constructs.
As a settler, I live primarily on unceded Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), Semiahmoo, Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE (W̱SÁNEĆ), Kwantlen, sc̓əwaθenaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsawwassen), and sq̓əc̓iy̓aɁɬ təməxʷ (Katzie) lands colonially known as Surrey, British Columbia.