Mayor's Urban Design Awards Jury
David Fortin, PhD
Born in Calgary and raised in Alberta and Saskatchewan, David Fortin is a Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo and a registered architect in the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Alberta. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Edinburgh in 2009 and has since taught undergraduate and graduate courses in architectural design, history and theory, in the UK, USA, and Canada. David is of Red River Métis heritage and a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation, as well as a founding member of the RAIC Indigenous Task Force. His research and practice focus on questions surrounding speculative futures, Métis architecture and design, critical relationalism, and the role of design in reconciliation.
Joseph Fry, BCLSA, FCSLA
Joseph Fry is the founding principal of Hapa Collaborative and a contemporary voice for landscape architecture and urban design in Vancouver. With over 32 years of experience, Joe has dedicated himself to deepening the discussion around the economic, societal and environmental values of civic placemaking. He has advocated for these ideals as a member of the Vancouver Advisory Urban Design Panel, the chair of the Richmond Urban Design Panel, a director of the BCSLA, and as an adjunct professor and advisory board member for UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Joe is a coach, a parent, a volunteer and a committed participant in our city’s discussion about design and the public realm.
Born and raised in northern Ontario, Joseph graduated with a BLA from the University of Guelph in 1994 and immediately settled on the west coast, working in Vancouver and Seattle. In 2009, Joe established Hapa Collaborative, which has flourished as one of Western Canada's leading landscape architecture practices. Their award-winning projects include Sp'awk'us Feather Park in Squamish, the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, and the Foot of Lonsdale Plaza in North Vancouver.
John Lewis
John Lewis is President & Founder of Intelligent Futures and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners. Intelligent Futures is a Certified B Corporation recognized nationally for innovative practice and the recipient of more than 25 awards from provincial, national, and international organizations.
John believes planning is uniquely positioned among the professions: interdisciplinary by nature, focused on balancing the needs of the present and the future, and built for working across intersecting systems. His work spans communities across Canada and addresses housing, climate adaptation, economic development, arts and culture, agriculture, community well-being, and organizational design, with a consistent focus on positive, lasting impact. A dedicated educator, mentor, and public voice, John continues to advance the common good through teaching, global facilitation, community initiatives, and podcasting.
Claire Weisz, FAIA, Hon. FRAIC, Hon. FASLA
Claire is Founding Principal of WXY architecture + urban design, a New York and Toronto-based practice recognized for community-centered work at the intersection of architecture, planning, infrastructure, and the public realm. Raised in Edmonton and educated at the University of Toronto and Yale, Weisz brings a long-standing commitment to cities as shared civic environments, shaped through design, policy, ecology, and public engagement. Her work includes the redesign of Astor Place in Manhattan, the reconstruction of the Rockaway Boardwalk following Superstorm Sandy, and the Glass City Riverwalk in Toledo. She is also a co-founder of The Design Trust for Public Space and a recipient of the AIA New York Medal of Honor and Architectural Record’s Women in Architecture Award.
Betsy Williamson, OAA, FRAIC
Betsy Williamson is a principal in the architectural design studio Williamson Williamson Inc. She holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard University and is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. In 2024, she was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her contributions to architecture in Canada.
Williamson Williamson’s work has been published widely and has received numerous awards over the years, including a Governor General’s Medal in Architecture. Notable practice-based awards include the Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement and the Professional Prix de Rome from the Canada Council of the Arts, the Emerging Architectural Practice Award from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and the Young Architects Prize and the Emerging Voices Award from the Architecture League of New York.
As vice-chair of the Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel, Betsy actively contributes to a culture of quality at an urban scale by signaling that high quality design is a critical consideration for the development of Toronto's waterfront and the city. She is also an advocate for equality in the profession. She co-founded BEAT, Building Equality in Architecture Toronto. For the last decade, BEAT has been dedicated to the promotion of equality by providing mentorship, networking, and leadership opportunities for architects and students in Toronto and across Canada.