Dan is an environmentalist and climate change advocate, and he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Manitoba. Dan is coordinating a capacity-building project on climate change preparedness in Black communities in the GTA and Hamilton Area. Originally from Rwanda, He loves the outdoors and spends most of his time Hiking."

Dr. Jen Gobby completed her Phd in Renewal Resources in 2019 through the Natural Resource Science Department at McGill University. She is now an Affiliate Assistant Professor at Concordia University in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment. She also develops and teaches courses on environmental justice and climate action for Bishop’s University, McGill University and University of Victoria. She is the author of the book More Powerful Together: Conversations with Climate Activists and Indigenous Land Defenders. She founded and works as a Research Coordinator with Research for the Front Lines, an initiative that supports the research needs of communities and movements fighting for environmental and climate justice across Canada. She lived for a decade on a small off-the-grid island off the coast of BC, building affordable eco-housing around BC with the MudGirls, a feminist natural building collective she co-founded. Jen is a settler of European descent living on unceded Abenaki territory in rural Quebec.

Lisa Gue is the David Suzuki Foundation’s national policy manager and a member of the Green Budget Coalition's executive committee for the Budget 2025 campaign. Lisa has worked for public interest organizations for more than two decades on a range of energy, environment and environmental health issues. Based in Ottawa, she led DSF's advocacy for passage of Bill C-226, the National Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Strategy Act, as well as recent amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act recognizing the right to a healthy environment.

Lisa studied at the University of Calgary (BA) and Carleton University's School of Public Policy and Administration (MA). Her passions include adventures with her two children, tending to a small but productive vegetable garden, and heated political discussions.

Marlene Hale is from the Likhsilyu Clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, in the northwest of so-called Canada. She is a First Nations chef specializing in cooking culture and cuisine. On January 8, 2019, Marlene became a full-time activist to fight for her People’s rights and well-being. Now, she is leading the research and development for a full length documentary film on addressing systemic injustice in Canada.

Randy Haluza-DeLay was a university professor in Alberta, tenured in Sociology, who now works for the international development agency Development & Peace where he does education associated with human rights, ecological justice and global justice issues. He edited a special issue of the journal "Local Environment" on environmental justice in Canada in 2007, and co-edited the research collection "Speaking for Ourselves: Environmental Justice in Canada" (UBC Press, 2009) as well as other academic and media publications.

Vanessa Hartley is an 8th-generation Black Loyalist descendant, born and raised in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. From a young age, Vanessa’s exposure to anti-black practices in education fostered her voice for advocacy and leadership.

Vanessa found enjoyment in Community Engagement and a love for Black history when she started as Program Coordinator and Visitor Experience Supervisor at the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre. After completing her education, Vanessa returned to her community supporting Adults with different abilities. Aspiring for more growth, Vanessa started with the Tri-County Regional Centre for Education (TCRCE) as a Community Outreach Coordinator, this would lead her to The PREP Academy as Community Engagement Lead; The PREP Academy is a community-based non-profit preparing and inspiring African Nova Scotian student for College and University. Giving back to the larger African Nova Scotian community has been an essential part of Vanessa’s career and volunteer work.

In 2021 Vanessa was awarded Provincial Volunteer of the Year representing the Municipality of Shelburne. She chaired the South End Environmental Injustice Society from 2019-2022, an award-winning Society fighting environmental racism in historic African Nova Scotian communities. She also volunteered for the Association of Black Social Workers (ABSW) as the Rural COVID Community Coordinator a part of the ABSW/HACC Covid response team and was the Community Regional Researcher with the Delmore “Buddy” Daye Learning Institute.

Vanessa was the Youth Delegate for the 2022 National Black Canadian Summit. Vanessa speaks nationally about environmental racism and injustice through education and awareness. Her goal is to continue to have challenging and progressive conversations that can change the narrative around environmental racism in Nova Scotia and beyond.

Aruzhan (Aria) Kani is a Program Manager at the youth-led Canadian non-profit Break The Divide, overseeing the Climate Emotions Program and the Climate Skills & Community Building Fellowship. Aria holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology and International Relations from the University of Toronto. Originally from Kazakhstan, she has lived in Toronto for several years, shaping her unique environmental identity. Her research interests include social and organizational psychology, the role of international organizations in power dynamics, and the relationships between authoritarian and democratic states. Aria is passionate about supporting youth and marginalized communities, particularly in climate action and mental health. In her spare time, she enjoys journaling, photography, and exploring Toronto’s cafes and restaurants.

Calvin LAKHAN, Ph.D, is currently director of the "Circular Innovation Hub” at York University, a research project devoted to advancing understanding of waste management research and policy in Canada. He holds a Ph.D from the University of Waterloo and degrees in economics (BA) and environmental economics (MEs) from York University.  He is considered among Canada’s leading experts on waste, having authored more than 30 academic papers, and 100 white papers and technical reports. His work has been featured on national television, radio, and in print (Forbes, Maclean and Chatelaine etc.), and he is a sought-after speaker on a range of issues related to waste and sustainability.

Christina Joy McRorie is from Treaty 6 territory in Saskatoon, SK, with heritage from the rural prairies and Southeast Asia. She holds a BA (Hons) in International Studies with a minor in Economics from the University of Saskatchewan, where she focused on critical sustainable development theory, climate policy, and alternative economies. She recently finished a term as co-chair of Canada's Environment and Climate Change Youth Council, and is concluding work with Climate Reality Project Canada in a political strategy & community organizing role before transitioning into working with the Communications team at the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. She strongly believes in the principles of leading with love, transformative justice, and choosing people over profit. Beyond all these, she can be found doing pottery, yoga, or reading a good poem.

Dr. Chúk Odenigbo (PhD) is the Consulting Director of Impact Evaluation at the Tamarack Institute Learning Centre. Proudly Franco-Albertan, Chúk is passionate about the ways in which the environment impacts human health and the role of justice in our understanding of how our societies function. This passion manifests itself in his work where he focuses on environmental and climate justice in his efforts to not only make green spaces accessible for everyone; but to fight environmental racism in all its forms and to popularise the understanding that you cannot create a society that is environmentally friendly if that same society is not just.

Chúk has worked in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, fashion retail, and academia. He is interested in the multidisciplinary nature of our existence and in exploring new solutions that respond to recurring problems. Chúk was ranked amongst the top 30 Sustainability Leaders under 30 by Corporate Knights, the top 30 Change-Making Albertans under 30 by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation, the top 10 young Franco-Albertan leaders by Radio-Canada and the top 25 environmentalists under 25 in Canada by the Starfish for three years. Chúk was awarded the Eugène C.-Trottier award for his contribution in making his community more visible and more welcoming for all, and was named the 43rd Ashley Fellow at Trent University; the youngest person and first Black person to receive both of these distinctions.

Boozhoo Nindiwaymooguniidoog,

Ishkode-Anaquodoquay N’dizhnikaaz

M’kwa N’dodemun

Ojibwe/Bowdaymadomi Anishinaabe N’daaw

Aamjiwnaang N’doonjibaa

Nizo Ayeegwaa Mideo

Greetings All My Relations,

Lynn’s spirit name is “Fire in the Clouds Woman”, she belongs to the Bear Clan of the Ojibwe-Bowdaywadomi Nations. Her heart sounds from the place where the waters flow swiftly and the people gather at the spawning stream, Aamjiwnaang, and is a second-degree Midewiwin.

Lynn has had the privilege of living both in Canada and the United States learning from people of all ages and ethnicity while traveling and visiting in both countries. She is a proud grandmother with a large extended family. She has enriched her heart, mind, body and spirit by gathering knowledge from books and scholars (both native and non-native), as well as programs of study that are offered at higher educational institutes, but the knowledge she values most is that which have been gained by sitting upon the earth listening to the sacred sounds of the elders who share teachings of creation, spirit, life, and the road we all travel from birth to death and beyond….

Abhay Singh Sachal is a 22-year old Canadian whose research and work resides at the intersection of climate change, ecoanxiety, mental health, and spirituality. He is the founder of Break The Divide, a non-profit organization that empowers young people with resources to understand climate emotions and connects communities to build resilience and share knowledge amidst the climate crisis . Abhay is also one of 10 advisors in the inaugural Environment and Climate Change Canada Youth Council. Outside of his activism, Abhay is currently a student at the University of Regina, completing a Masters of Education in Educational Psychology; a public speaker on environmental and climate issues; and, an avid ice hockey player and pianist.

Dr. Anneke Smit is Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Cities (C4C) in the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor. Her teaching and research focus on the tools of sustainable and equitable citybuilding – including land use, housing, active transportation, nature-based urban solutions, and participatory governance – and their intersections. She is cross-appointed to UWindsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) and serves as Special Advisor to the Provost on the Detroit-Windsor UN RCE, a cross-border collaboration with Detroit’s Wayne State University focussed on the Sustainable Development Goals. Dr. Smit is a co-lead of the Parks Canada-funded UWindsor National Urban Park Hub and a core team member of the C4C Housing Systems and Innovation Lab. She holds a PhD from the University of Reading (UK), an LLB from McGill University, and a BMus (Performance) from the University of Alberta.

Dr. Leah Temper is currently the Director of the Health and Economic Policy Program at the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment where she works on greenwashing, fossil fuel advertising and corporate accountability. An ecological economist and scholar activist, she is a founding co-director of the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice, an initiative mapping ecological conflicts and resistance around the world. She has lectured at the Bieler School of Environment, McGill, and the Autonomous University of Barcelona where she co-led the Activist-academic Co-production of Knowledge for Environmental Justice project (ACKnowl-EJ). She is co-editor of the books Ecological Economics from the Ground Up (Earthscan) and Just Transformations: Grassroots Struggles for Alternative Futures (Pluto).

Sarah Marie Wiebe, PhD (University of Ottawa) Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe grew up on unceded Coast Salish territory in British Columbia, BC. She is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hawai'i, Mānoa. Her research focuses on community development and environmental sustainability. She is a Co-Founder of the FERN (Feminist Environmental Research Network(External link)) Collaborative and has published in journals including Critical Policy Studies, New Political Science, Citizenship Studies and Studies in Social Justice. Her book Everyday Exposure: Indigenous Mobilization and Environmental Justice in Canada's Chemical Valley(External link) (2016) with UBC Press won the Charles Taylor Book Award(External link) (2017) and examines policy responses to the impact of pollution on the Aamjiwnaang First Nation's environmental health. Alongside Dr. Jennifer Lawrence(External link) (Virginia Tech), she is the Co-Editor of Biopolitical Disaster(External link) and along with Dr. Leah Levac(External link) (Guelph), the Co-Editor of Creating Spaces of Engagement: Policy Justice and the Practical Craft of Deliberative Democracy(External link). At the intersections of environmental justice and citizen engagement, her teaching and research interests emphasize political ecology, policy justice and deliberative dialogue. As a collaborative researcher and filmmaker, she worked with Indigenous communities on sustainability-themed films including To Fish as Formerly(External link). She collaborated with artists from Attawapiskat on a project entitled Reimagining Attawapiskat(External link) which is a companion website to her recent book Life against States of Emergency: Revitalizing Treaty Relations from Attawapiskat.(External link) Sarah is also a Co-Director for the Seascape Indigenous Storytelling Studio(External link), with research partners from the University of Victoria, University of British Columbia and coastal Indigenous communities. For more about Dr. Wiebe’s research see: https://www.sarahmariewiebe.com/