New growth manager wants to build a better Collingwood

She started her new job with the Town of Collingwood on Dec. 2 in the newly minted infrastructure department, but she’s already hit the ground running.

For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we spoke with Amber Leal, 37, manager of growth and development with the Town of Collingwood.

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: I grew up in Brampton.

I moved to Barrie to go to college, and I’ve been in Simcoe County for 20 years.

Q: What is your schooling?

A: I went to Georgian College in Barrie for environmental technology, then to Royal Roads University in B.C. to get my Bachelor of Science degree in environmental management.

Q: Can you describe your work experience?

A: I worked for the Town of Innisfil in their engineering department for 11 years. I left there to work for myself, because I’m a licensed builder. I still do that on the side, but I missed public service so I went back to work for the Town of Caledon for a year.

My mind is in a leadership role now.

That’s why I transitioned over to this role in Collingwood. It’s closer to home and I love it up here. My family is up here all the time. We live in Creemore.

It’s awesome. I missed being on the water and the coastal engineering part of it.

Q: Did you always know you always wanted to work for a municipality?

A: No.

When I was 17 thinking about what I wanted to go to school for, I knew I loved being outside and wanted to be involved with the Earth and making the world a better place.

The program I ended up taking was very civil engineering-focused. That’s how I ended up in engineering rather than Earth sciences.

Q: You were hired as the new manager of growth and development with the Town of Collingwood earlier this month, which is a new role for the town. What are your first impressions?

A: There’s definitely opportunity for growth.

I have a bunch of experience in master planning and helping communities come together to plan for it. I’m excited to be able to meld these pieces together. There are a lot of big projects that will be happening in the next few years as the community grows. I’m happy to be part of helping people do that in a balanced way.

With development and affordable housing, municipalities are tasked with building houses faster. I have a special insight into that as a builder.

I’d like to be able to help connect communities a little bit better, with respect to reviewing subdivision drawings and plans. I want to put the bigger lens on some of these applications so they can connect better for our residents in the future.

Q: With your municipal experience, how is Collingwood unique?

A: It has a special community vibe where the community really cares. I find everybody is out for other people, to try and do what’s best for everyone.

Collingwood has a big active transportation community. Trying to plan and build for that can be challenging, but I have a special interest.

I love the downtown vibe – little stores and great food options. I also love the water connection, for recreation and the history of the Terminals.

Q: What are your hobbies?

A: I have four kids. I run around a lot (for them) – aerial silks, hockey, Girl Guides and youth groups.

We live on a farm so we do farming. It’s time-consuming but it’s really fulfilling because we care a lot about the quality of food we give to our kids.

Q: Is there anything else you want people in Collingwood to know about you?

A: I am very excited to be part of this community. I feel like I’ve been welcomed with open arms.

With heading up the growth and development department, I want people to know that through our master planning exercises...they all come with public consultation. Feel free to reach out to us as a department. We’re always looking for feedback.

That’s what builds great master-planning documents.

For our feature People of Collingwood, we speak with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature runs on CollingwoodToday every weekend. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].