Clarissa Arsenault

Professional Planner | Government of Nova Scotia

Clare is a 2023 ECO Impact Award winner and a Licensed Professional Planner with over 6 years of interdisciplinary experience both in the public and private sectors. Starting her career with a BA in Anthropology, her approach is sensitive to the lived experiences of participants, weaving in an individual and collective action approach, and seeking out opportunities to understand the needs, motivations, and values of project participants for maximum impact.

Continuing her training with a BA in Urban and Regional Planning and a MA in Environment and Management, Clarissa’s expertise is focused on sustainability and climate leadership. She has experience developing and implementing environment and climate change plans, programs, and policies at a variety of scales, specifically centred on community-level climate adaptation planning and capacity building. With the Government of Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change, she is developing and delivering tools and resources to help Nova Scotians unlock funding to implement their climate change project priorities.