Emma Cole is the Chair of the WA Planning Commission and brings urban and regional planning, board and governance expertise, and diverse state and local government experience.

Emma most recently served as WAPC Deputy Chair and first joined the Planning Commission in February 2020.

Emma is also currently the Chair of the State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC), which plays a pivotal role as a conduit between the public sector leaders of the State's Hazard Management Agencies. As a member of the Keystart Homeloans board, Emma understands the importance of affordable housing and has helped oversee Keystart’s transition towards a Government Trading Enterprise.

Emma has 10 years of experience in local government, including as a former Mayor and Development Assessment Panel local government member. During her time as Mayor of the City of Vincent, Emma oversaw significant reforms in good governance, community and stakeholder engagement and modernisation of the City's local planning framework, resulting in an innovative approach to urban renewal and development.

Emma is a full member of the Planning Institute of Australia and a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia WA.

Emma holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Kathy is a Registered Planner who has worked in local and State government roles as well as the private sector.  Starting her career in a surveying practice before working in land development, she has lived and worked in regional and remote Western Australia as well as the city.  Kathy’s work has crossed a broad spectrum of planning - from remote indigenous communities in the Central Desert to high density inner city local government.   

As Chief Planning Advisor, she supports the Director General and the Western Australian Planning Commission in delivering Government priorities by providing high-level advice and leading critical planning and infrastructure projects.  Kathy is responsible for key projects including Planning Reform and Design WA.  She is a passionate planner with a strong belief in a pragmatic approach that delivers outcomes through stakeholder engagement.

Elyse is passionate about delivering high-quality, realistic, and feasible planning outcomes that balance the needs and expectations of everyone.

 She joined TBB as a Principal and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from Curtin University in 2006. With 17 years of experience as a planner, Elyse has worked in both statutory and strategic planning across a variety of roles in the public sector and local government.

As a pragmatic planning practitioner, Elyse collaborates closely with clients and stakeholders to achieve excellent planning outcomes that benefit both the client and the broader community. Throughout her career, she is most proud of her involvement in the Planning Reform Program and the South Perth Activity Centre Plan.

Born and raised in Perth, Elyse has a passion for travel and experiencing different cultures. She also spent six months living in Spain, where she taught English.

Cam has been practicing as a planner in WA for nearly 22 years. He would suggest that ‘practicing’ is the operative word here, as planning is something that is never truly mastered, and is something that has no end point – at least it feels that way sometimes!

Cam’s planning career started in local government with a 4 year baptism of fire at the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, followed by a few more years at the City of Fremantle. He was fortunate in both of these local government roles to work under some exceptional leaders of the planning profession who were instrumental in shaping his planning (and life) philosophies. He joined planning consultancy Chappell Lambert Everett (later to become CLE) in 2009 and spent more than a decade there working with and for some of the very best in the business while working on some exciting and complex projects across the residential and industrial sectors.

In early 2020 Cam founded planning consultancy Rise Urban with two goals in mind: To be the consultant of choice for complex development projects, and to be an industry leader in best practice planning. Nearly 5 years later and Rise Urban is well on the way to achieving these goals.

By his own admission Cam is not a passionate urban planner. He is however a passionate professional and problem solver who gets his kicks out of taking on the most complex projects in the plannersphere and coming up with innovative win-win solutions. He also loves helping his small-but-mighty team grow and thrive in their careers, and is a firm believer in the importance of supporting and contributing to the planning profession outside of his day to day work. As well as roles with UDIA and LGPA over the years, he has been an active member of PIA (WA) Divisional Committee since 2019 and has lead PIA WA’s Policy and Advocacy Committee for the past few years through a period of significant planning reform.

Cam is extremely grateful to be chosen to lead the WA chapter of PIA, and looks forward to representing the planning profession here in WA.

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