Boreal Planning was founded by the desire to bridge design and healing. Adam Fairbanks and Michael Gordon, prior to working together, worked with vulnerable populations suffering from mental illness, substance use disorders, and homelessness. Inspired by their experiences both Adam and Michael pursued different paths in hopes of addressing the systemic issues that impacted the people they served. Adam Fairbanks, an enrolled White Earth tribal member, has a degree in public health and specializes in developing culturally specific programs for tribes. Adam has coordinated several public health emergency responses on behalf of tribal nations in rural and urban communities, including in response to homeless encampments, opioid overdoses, and mental illness. Michael Gordon, inspired by his work at Hennepin County Medical Center in their department of Inpatient Psychiatry, observed how design impacts mental wellness and pursued a career in architecture.

Adam and Michael began working together during the summer of 2020. Working with a sense of urgency, and under bureaucratic pressure, they worked to address the encampment crisis in Minneapolis by leading the development of a new housing typology. Avivo Village provides trauma-informed low barrier housing to one hundred individuals. Aside from shelter, Avivo Village provides housing assistance, harm reduction, mental health, and chemical dependency services on site.

Following their work on Avivo Village, Adam and Mike were honored to partner with White Earth Tribal leaders to address housing insecurity in Minneapolis and on the White Earth Reservation. They led the design of a housing facility for tribal elders along with completing feasibility studies of underutilized buildings in order to expand housing options.
 

In addition to their planning, programming, and design work Adam and Mike have helped to successfully secure funding through grant writing. Adam and Mike were contracted by the Northwest Minnesota Foundation & Red Lake Nation to help facilitate grant writing efforts for shelters in that region. Their efforts resulted in grant awards totalling over 8 million dollars for the rehabilitation and construction of shelters in northern Minnesota.