Nisha Luken, MPlan

Experience

Nisha Luken (she/her) is a planner with The Firelight Group and part of the Planning and Implementation team. She is of Métis and settler ancestry and is thankful to reside within Moh-kins-tsis, Wîchispa Oyade, Otos-kwunee and Guts-ists’i (also known as Calgary, AB), which is part of the Treaty 7 Territory, Territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai First Nations); Îethka Nakoda Wîcastabi First Nations (Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Wesley First Nations); Tsuut’ina First Nation; and the homeland of the historic Northwest Métis and the Métis Battle River Territory.

Nisha has experience in Indigenous-led strategic planning, traditional land use research and land use planning and engagement, holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Alberta University of the Arts and a Master of Planning from the University of Calgary, and is an APPI and CIP Candidate Member. Her academic and professional pursuits have given her a strong understanding of land use planning within western and northern Canada, visual storytelling and communications, and the complexity of human environments within multi-faceted systems. Nisha has a deep-rooted passion for advancing equity and inclusivity, amplifying Indigenous voices, and finding ways in which planning can create more meaningful, sustainable, and accessible places for all community members through the input of Indigenous peoples.