Introba Vancouver Announces Promotion of Three New Principals

Introba (formerly Integral Group) is excited to announce the recent promotions of three new principals—Lisa Westerhoff, Ellie Niakan, and Stephanie Hammer—in its Vancouver design studio. The Vancouver team is also proud to celebrate this rise in female leadership, recognizing current and future generations of women engineers, designers, and consultants whose roles impact the trajectory of the practice.

Lisa Westerhoff | Principal, Sustainable Policy & Planning

Lisa Westerhoff’s promotion to principal acknowledges her accomplishments in leadership and outstanding growth of the sustainability policy, research and planning team. Lisa’s skills are in in high demand and her reputation as an industry leader grows. This year Lisa was recognized as the winner of the Canadian Green Building Council’s Green Building Champion Award.

Lisa holds a master’s degree in climate change resilience and adaptation and a PhD in urban sustainability from UBC. She has extensive expertise and experience working with local governments, universities, developers and industry organizations to create policies and strategies for a low-carbon built environment. Her work on the BC Energy step code and Canada Green Building Council’s (CaGBC) Zero Carbon Framework have paved the way to transition the built environment in British Columbia and Canada to a zero-carbon future.

Introba is proud to have Lisa on the Vancouver team, and is excited to see how her inspiring work continues to develop and push our industry forward.

Ellie Niakan | Principal, Canada Lighting Design Studio Lead

Leading the Vancouver Integral Light Studio, Ellie Niakan has been praised for her success and continued effort in building a strong, talented team while expanding lighting and daylighting services across North America.

With twenty years of experience, Ellie‘s impressive portfolio includes private and public sector projects, as well as urban lighting design and illumination of city landmarks. Some of her significant works include: The Stack, downtown Vancouver’s tallest office tower, Old Town Park historic neighbourhood in Chicago, IL, and The Arbour, Toronto’s largest mass timber educational facility. She is the first in Canada to have earned the International Lighting Designer Certification and is among the few worldwide that have achieved the distinction of Certified Lighting Designer (CLD).
Embodying the values of trust, nurture, inspire, Ellie focuses on human experience and considers wellness and sustainability as intrinsic elements in her designs.

Through her leadership and business development endeavors, Ellie has been influential in increasing Integral Light Studio’s global presence in the building industry.

Stephanie Hammar | Principal, Mechanical Engineer

Stephanie Hammar’s promotion to principal stands testament to her skills in collaboration and success leading the Vancouver aviation team. Having joined the firm in 2006, Stephanie has successfully led and completed a variety of high-profile projects, including the Langara College Library project and North Vancouver’s award-winning Polygon Art Gallery.

She has also received an award for her collaboration with the Toronto Office to successfully complete the Fort York Visitor Centre. Stephanie is currently working in the aviation sector with a focus at the Vancouver Airport (YVR) which has been awarded North America’s best airport for the past ten years. In this role she has effectively led a multi-office team to deliver the 300,000ft² expansion of the International Terminal Building at Vancouver Airport.

Stephanie was the driving force in developing Introba’s new paid parental leave policy which will be implemented across the firm in 2020. Her commitment to firm values showcases her advocacy for and investment in the future success of her teammates and the firm at-large.

Managing Principal Stuart Hood says on these recent promotions, “It’s great to witness the personal and professional growth that takes place here, and we do our best to create an environment that fosters the development of leadership qualities in everyone at Integral. Our recent promotions recognize three amazing individuals that I have seen grow as leaders, inspiring others and making a real difference in our firm. Please join me in congratulating our new Principals, Lisa, Ellie and Stephanie.”