Tannis Topolnisky is a licensed trainer of IAP2’s Foundations in Public Participation and IAP2’s Public Participation for Decision Makers training programs, an assessor of new IAP2 licensed trainers, an IAP2 mentor and a Certified Public Participation Professional.  

As owner of Topent, she combines her passions of public participation, facilitation and capacity building.  Bringing people together to make a difference both in the individual, the organization, their relationships and beyond into programs, policies and decision making is what she has dedicated her career to.

Through her 19 years in the profession she has worked within municipal and federal governments and in consulting, touching a diversity of areas such as heritage conservation, policy and legislation development, health, contaminated sites management, affordable housing, surplus school sites, environmental justice, transit, woman’s abuse, community and recreation facilities, municipal budgeting and public education. She has worked on projects and for organizations that have won both IAP2 Canada and IAP2 International’s Core Values Awards for Project of the Year and Organization of the Year.

When not doing this work she can be found at the hockey rink and soccer pitches cheering on her two kids, spending time outdoors, running, reading and learning.

You can reach Tannis at tannistopolnisky@gmail.com