Dr. Garfield Hunter Founder and Chief Planning Strategist

Dr. Garfield Hunter is a senior executive leader, urban and rural planner, and sustainability expert with diverse experience across the public, private, and non-profit sectors in Jamaica, Canada, and Europe. He is known for his work in integrating social equity, climate change considerations, and sustainability practices into urban planning and rural development.

Dr. Hunter is a strategic leader with nearly two decades of industry, research and academic experience who has served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Alpha Group of Companies in Toronto, Canada. In previous roles, he has worked in the co-op housing movement in British Columbia as Director of Education; Senior Director for Sustainability Planning and Engagement at Bernard Sustainable Limited in Kingston, Jamaica; Urban and Regional Planner at the Urban Development Corporation; and Manager for Environmental Sustainability at the Airport Authority of Jamaica/Norman Manley International Airport. He also worked as a Researcher Collaborator in the Eurac Research in Italy on EU projects focused on smart, sustainable energy and low-carbon development planning.

He also consulted for several government agencies, international development organizations, private-sector real estate developers, and individual citizens on various planning and development projects and strategic corporate business plans. Dr. Hunter has also shared his expertise as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology, Jamaica, where he has lectured on topics like climate change, sustainable planning, and land-use zoning.

He has formed partnerships with other local engineering, architectural and construction companies (Bernard Sustainable Ltd, Lorna Perkins and Associates, and Aesthetic Designs Ltd) to conduct research and development, feasibility studies and needs assessments.

Dr. Hunter’s work is guided by the principle of collaboration and focuses on participatory engagement with stakeholders.

Dr. Hunter holds degrees in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Technology, Jamaica, and a PhD (in Engineering) in Urban and Rural Planning from Tongji University in Shanghai. He has completed the Oxford Executive Leadership Programme and is pursuing an MBA at Carleton University, with a focus on Management and Change. He is a member of the Jamaican Institute of Planners and the International Society of City and Regional Planners.