Omar is a co-founder of Happy Cities. With a background in sustainable finance and urban design, Omar focuses on ways to ensure that new urban developments maximize public benefits and mitigate risks to society, investors and the environment.
Omar is a social planner with a diverse background leading sustainable finance, urban planning, government relations, and public engagement initiatives across multiple sectors. He has advised a wide range of international actors including institutional investors, business executives, senior government officials, and Indigenous and not-for-profits leaders.
Omar has helped Happy Cities become a dynamic and internationally recognized leader in urban wellbeing consulting. In his former role as managing principal at Happy Cities, Omar co-developed ground-breaking research and interventions to improve community wellbeing. He nurtured a talented interdisciplinary team of experts in urban planning, architecture and public health. He also led collaborations among senior government officials, real estate developers, academic partners and other city builders.
Currently, Omar is the Manager of Corporate Engagement and Advocacy at SHARE. In this role, he manages the development of a finance-led initiative to drive dialogue between the financial community and the country’s highest greenhouse gas-emitting corporations, accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy. He is the former Director of Government Relations and Sector Development at Vantage Point. In this role, Omar led advocacy efforts for a public policy environment that would strengthen B.C.’s not-for-profit sector.
Omar’s career has focused on mobilizing a wide diversity of actors working together to advance practical actions and policies that strengthen communities and the environment. He completed a degree in International Business from the Technological Institute of Monterrey in Mexico City and has an MA in Community Development and Social Planning from the University of British Columbia.
Omar is passionate about community, sustainability, music, and mountains. He is a smug commuter cyclist, a budding skier, and an aspiring yogi.