RESOURCE GUESTS
Core WIL Global Team
Karen Kun
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Karen Kun
President & Founder, Waterlution
Karen is the Founder and Executive Director of Waterlution, and co-founder of Greatness – The Great Lakes Project. She credits her time living among Indigenous communities in Latin America as the inspiration behind applying water as a metaphor for everything essential in caring for and preserving ourselves and our planet. Thirteen years later, Karen continues to incorporate the practice of storytelling, building personal connections, peer-to-peer social engagement, and empathy as the fundamental tools in creating meaningful water dialogue.
President & Founder, Waterlution
Canada
Jonas Heffels
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Jonas Heffels
Member of the Dutch waterboard – WaterWegen
Jonas Heffels is a member of the Dutch waterboard – WaterWegen. His job at the waterboards is to facilitate local governance collaboration and organizational development. As member of WaterWegen he acts as a multi-stakeholder connector in the Dutch water sector. Innovative and with 21st century skills he mostly connects young Dutch entrepreneurs in dialogue and social innovation. His experience with training and facilitating on storytelling, creative thinking and Theory-U brings him all over the Netherlands to assist people adapt in the fast changing social environments.
Member of the Dutch waterboard – WaterWegen
Netherlands
Dona Geagea
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Dona Geagea
Global Lead – Water Innovation Labs
Dona is the Global Lead at Waterlution for the Water Innovation Labs (WIL) program, a world-class Waterlution training in 21st century skills for young water leaders, and is leading the planning and delivery of the first WIL in Lebanon and the Arab World. She has over a decade of experience working as a facilitator in multi-sector environments, including the past 8 years working in the water sector. She has been involved in the Water Innovation Labs since 2013 in countries ranging from Canada, to Scotland, Netherlands, India, Portugal, Australia and Mexico.
With a Master degree from the Centre for Globalization and Human Condition at McMaster University (Canada), and a joint graduate diploma from the United Nations University- Institute for Water, Environment and Health (INWEH), she has been active in organising workshops at the international level, including at the 7th & 8th World Water Forum in South Korea and Brasil respectively, Singapore International Water Week, and Budapest Water Summit.
Trained in the Art of Hosting, OASIS methodology, Processwork, Systems-thinking, and Cooperation Pedagogy, she has been designing transformative experiences for people and projects at the intersection of social and technical innovation and leadership. As a member of the global organisation Water Youth Network, and in her role with Waterlution, she has been an advocate of inclusion of youth in high level decision making, and is keen to best prepare the next gen of water leaders to lead and innovate in a complexity-ridden and uncertain future.
It has been Dona’s dream to bring the Water Innovation Lab to Lebanon (being a Lebanese-Canadian and recognizing the urgent need for supporting the youth of this region) and she is so pleased to see it coming to life while building ongoing programming to complement it and a strategy to expand it to the region over the next years.
Global Lead – Water Innovation Labs
Canada – Lebanon – Mexico
Dawn Fleming
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Dawn Fleming
Program Lead – Water Innovation Lab Brasil
Dawn is Program Lead and Curator on WILBrasil and worked on the creation and realization of the first Water Innovation Lab in Canada in 2010, was part of WILPorto’s facilitation team in September 2017 in Portugal and leads all partnerships and program development for WILBrasil.
With 20 years of experience in performance, facilitation and cultural design, Dawn Fleming is the director of Cultura Curiosa, an agency in São Paulo that creates “improbable encounters with incredible people.” Dawn is a performer, director and teacher, and facilitates and produces creative and learning experiences in a variety of settings – cultural, community, business, educational, and beyond. She is a member of Cia. Artesãos do Corpo.
Program Lead – Water Innovation Lab Brasil
Sao Paulo , Brazil
Bassel Daher
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Bassel Daher
Research Scientist, Water-Energy-Food Nexus Expert, Texas A&M University
Bassel Daher, Ph.D. is an Assistant Research Scientist at the Texas A&M Energy Institute, where he leads its Convergence Research Incubator. Daher is also a Research Fellow at the Institute for Science, Technology & Public Policy (ISTPP) of The Bush School of Government and Public Service. Bassel was Research Associate at Texas &M’s Water-Energy-Food Nexus Research Group at the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (2014-2020), and served as Project Coordinator at Texas A&M’s Water-Energy-Food Nexus Initiative (2015-2018). He was Research Associate at Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (2012-2014) and holds a PhD in Water Management and Hydrologic Sciences from Texas A&M University (2019), an MSE in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from Purdue University (2012), and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the American University of Beirut (2010).
Bassel is passionate about building bridges between research disciplines and cross sectoral stakeholders with the goal of arriving to a future that is more sustainable, equitable, and resource secure for all. Daher’s research focuses on developing tools to catalyze evidence-based multi-stakeholder dialogue around the trade-offs associated with technological, policy, and social interventions for addressing the interconnected water, energy, and food (WEF) security challenges. He is particularity interested in bridging natural and social sciences methodologies, with the goal of unlocking new potential to address these interconnected WEF challenges. Daher focuses on doing so guided by circular economy principles and in the context of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Daher has co-authored over 30 journal articles, book chapters, and policy briefs related to the interconnected water-energy-food securities and nexus assessment tools. These include with Chatham House, Sustainability, Water International, Science of the Total Environment, Environmental Science and Policy, and for multiple United Nations reports. Daher is a frequent speaker and moderator at academic and non-academic events, including the International Conference for Sustainable Development, Stockholm World Water Week, World Water Forum, World Water Congress, American Geophysical Union, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, and Water Innovation Labs.
Research Scientist, Water-Energy-Food Nexus Expert, Texas A&M University
USA – Lebanon
Olivia Allen
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Olivia Allen
Project Lead for Youth Programs
Olivia is an educator, trained scientist, and project manager. She is passionate about life-long learning, water, and sustainability. Olivia joined Waterlution as a Youth Advisory Board member in 2016, and after participating in WIL-India 2017, she joined as a staff. As the Project Lead for Youth Programs Olivia coordinates and mentors Waterlution’s volunteer Youth Advisory Board and manages our Canada school-based programming – the Great Canoe Journey, and the Great Waters Challenge. Olivia has previously worked in water quality analysis and research, volunteer management, and environmental/cultural education. She has a BSc- Environmental Science from Royal Roads University, and a Water Resources Diploma from Nova Scotia Community College. Olivia is trained by the Art of Hosting community in the Art of Participatory Leadership and in Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education from UBCx.
Project Lead for Youth Programs
Nova Scotia, Canada
Christopher McLeod
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Christopher McLeod
Creative Director, Great Art for Great Lakes
Christopher McLeod has a BA in Studio Art from McMaster University and an MFA from Emily Carr University in Vancouver, BC. He is the Creative Director for the Great Art for Great Lakes project. He has taught at McMaster Universities School of the Arts, consulted for the Ontario Science Centre and the Hamilton Arts Council, and was Artist in Residence 2 years running at the Art Gallery of Mississauga. His work has been featured at Nuit Blanche, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Durham Art Gallery, and at Supercrawl 2018 and 2019. His practice explores social engagement and interaction, focusing on ecological and cultural themes, through publicly presented programs.
Christopher will be working closely with the Artist-in-Residence in developing and implementing the artistic vision and focus of Waterlution and the Great Art for Great Lakes project.
Creative Director, Great Art for Great Lakes
Hamilton, Canada
Megan Cornall
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Megan Cornall
WIL Global Co-ordinator
Megan is passionate about place-conscious education and connecting youth to the land where they live. She completed a Bachelor of Science in biology and worked for two years in biotechnology, before deciding she wanted to be involved in climate change initiatives. She transitioned into education and achieved a Bachelor of Education from UBC. Megan has been working as an environmental educator since then, focusing on watershed education in high schools. She is the newest member of the Waterlution team, and is thrilled to participate in the Water Innovation Lab to learn and collaborate with future water leaders.
WIL Global Co-ordinator
BC, Canada
WIL Global Resource Guests
Wendy de Hoog
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Wendy de Hoog, MSc
Senior Sustainability Specialist at the Green Infrastructure Team City of Vancouver
Wendy is an urban planner with a long-standing interest in policy development, engagement and storytelling. She is passionate about creating inclusive and resilient communities that consider urban water management approaches from the outset of a planning process.
Wendy’s role as a Senior Sustainability Specialist is to lead, develop and implement policies related to urban water management and green infrastructure in the public realm. One of her most rewarding projects has been developing the City’s ambitious Rain City Strategy which reimagines and transforms how the City of Vancouver manages rainwater in the urban environment with the goals of improving water quality, resilience and livability through creating healthy urban ecosystems.
Senior Sustainability Specialist, Green Infrastructure Team City of Vancouver
BC, Canada
Fernando González Villarreal
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Fernando González Villarreal
Director of the Regional Centre for Water Security under the auspices of UNESCO
Fernando González is currently the Director of the Regional Centre for Water Security under the auspices of UNESCO. He is a Civil Engineer with distinction from the School of Engineering of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He holds a MSc and a PhD in Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a full-time researcher at the Institute of Engineering of UNAM. He worked as Senior Advisor for Water and Rural Development at the World Bank and was a member of the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership. He has received awards from the Mexican Union of Engineering Associations, the American Water Works Association, the National Association of Water and Sanitation Utilities in Mexico. The Mexican Association of Hydraulics recognized Fernando González as the best hydraulic engineer in the last 50 years.
Director, Regional Centre for Water Security under the auspices of UNESCO
Mexico
Jackie Yip
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Jackie Yip
Coastal Risk Scientist, Public Safety Geoscience Program, Natural Resources Canada
In the past 7 years, Jackie has pursued opportunities to enhance coastal resilience to flooding and climate risks from multiple perspectives – from academia to private sector consulting, to federal and municipal governments. In partnership with the City of Vancouver, Jackie developed a new approach to assess the future socio-economic impacts of sea-level rise to help inform the City’s policy and planning. As a Consequence Analyst at Kerr Wood Leidal, a coastal engineering firm, she has worked closely with stakeholders from different sectors within three municipalities, a First Nations community and the Port Authority to conduct an integrated sea-level rise vulnerability assessment for the North Shore in the Lower Mainland. At NRCan, Jackie is working with partners at the National Research Council to develop a National Guideline for Coastal Flood Risk Assessment. To ensure the guideline can be applicable to a wide range of coastal communities in Canada, she is working with three very different communities – Semiahmoo First Nations in BC, Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, and the Acadian Peninsula in NB – to assess their coastal flood risk and identify local opportunities and challenges in the process. As a key component of resilience, Jackie’s research also focuses on developing methods to assess communities’ social vulnerability to impacts of hazard. Incorporating social vulnerability in a community’s risk assessment can help ensure adaptation and mitigation strategies do not result in certain vulnerable population being disproportionately affected and promote equity. During her time as a HQP with MEOPAR, Jackie also led the development of an online platform to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration between coastal communities.
Coastal Risk Scientist, Public Safety Geoscience Program, Natural Resources Canada
BC, Canada
Jorge Arriaga
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Jorge Arriaga
Executive Coordinator, Regional Centre for Water Security under the auspices of UNESCO
Jorge is the Executive Coordinator of the Regional Centre for Water Security under the auspices of UNESCO and the Executive Coordinator of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) Water Network. He holds a MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London, a graduate diploma in Environmental Economics and a Bachelor in International Relations, both from UNAM. Jorge has dedicated his entire career to the analysis of integrated water resources management. He is particularly interested in investigating transparency, accountability, participation and anti-corruption measures in the water sector. He has worked as a consultant for the OECD, Oxford University, CAF, Water Integrity Network, National Water Commission, among other national and international institutions.
Executive Coordinator, Regional Centre for Water Security under the auspices of UNESCO
Mexico
Robert Newell
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Robert Newell
Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley
Dr. Robert Newell works in the Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley (Abbotsford, BC, Canada), and he is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability at Royal Roads University (Victoria, BC, Canada). He teaches courses on critical sustainability issues (particularly climate change and biodiversity loss) and approaches to sustainable community development. Robert’s research focuses on integrated planning, and he examines the use of systems models and visualizations as tools for supporting local planning and decision-making. Much of his work has specifically looked at community climate action in an integrated planning context, and he has explored a number of different analyses and techniques for supporting local climate action efforts, such as decomposition analysis and mapping climate action co-benefits. Robert aims to create tools for facilitating more inclusive, collaborative approaches to planning, and his research involves using video game development software to build realistic, interactive visualizations for participatory planning and stakeholder engagement.
Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley
BC, Canada
Sue Roppel
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Sue Roppel
President, Kimberley Foundation
Sue Roppel has 20+ years experience in the post-secondary and not-for-profit sector designing and supporting innovation creation and experiential learning. Over her career she has served as Director of Academic Relations and Director of Academic Planning at Simon Fraser University, Director of Strategic Projects at MITACS where she helped to create the international Globalink program and Chief Operating Officer of IC-IMPACTS, the first international research centre of excellence between Canada and India focused on community-based research and innovation in the water, health and infrastructure sectors Since 2017, Ms. Roppel began working with the Kimberley Foundation to create new programming focused on experiential learning and inspiring action on climate change mitigation and awareness raising by Canadian youth.
President, Kimberley Foundation
BC, Canada
Ted van der Gulik
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Ted van der Gulik
President, Partnership for Water Sustainability
Prior to his retirement in 2014, Ted worked for the Ministry of Agriculture for 35 years specializing in irrigation, water management and water resources planning. During his career Ted built an international reputation for his leading edge work in agricultural water management. He has been the lead author on many irrigation and water management papers and manuals and has taken the lead on the development of the Agriculture Water Demand Model and BC Agriculture Water Calculator. This was demonstrated as a recipient of the International Irrigation Association’s 2000 Crawford Reid Memorial Award. Ted was awarded the Premiers Legacy award in 2014 for the many initiatives and models that he spearheaded while with the province. He currently is president of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC, a not for profit society established to help implement a Water Sustainability plan for the province.
President, Partnership for Water Sustainability
BC, Canada
Erin Clement
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Erin Clement
Erin Clement is the Senior Environmental Officer in Delta’s Office of Climate Action & Environment and has worked with local governments for over 15 years. At the city, Erin works across disciplines on projects and programs related to habitat protection, restoration, adaptation, sea level rise, and environmental stewardship and outreach.
Senior Environmental Officer in Delta’s Office of Climate Action & Environment
BC, Canada
Alejandra Burchard-Levine
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Alejandra Burchard-Levine
Innovation Testing Lead, Waterlution
Alejandra Burchard Levine, based in São Paulo, Brazil, is a Canadian born Spanish and Chilean Chemical Engineer (McGill University) with a Masters in Management and Environmental Engineering (Tsinghua University). She has been collaborating globally with Waterlution since 2015 and was the Content and Networks Advisor for the recent Water Innovation Lab Brazil Northeast (WILBrasil NE) in 2019. Alejandra has over 7 years of international cooperation experience in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe managing projects in the water and sanitation sectors. She has worked for a wide range of industrial, government and non-profit institutions such as Veolia, Suez, UNICEF, UNESCO, KfW, GIZ, IDB, LuxDev, among others. In the last two years, she has implemented technical assistance advisory projects related to safe access to safe water and sanitation for governmental entities of Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania and Cameroon via GFA Consulting Group for KFW and GIZ.
She is a high-energy multidisciplinary professional with a multi-faceted angle in engineering, research, multi-stakeholder facilitation and project management, as well as communication and creative content development. Her major goal is to stimulate cooperation and innovation in order to reach the SDGs at national, community and individual levels, especially for youth and women.
Innovation Testing Lead, Waterlution
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Dr. Rabi H. Mohtar
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Dr. Rabi H. Mohtar
Dean, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS) at the American University of Beirut (AUB)
Dr. Rabi H. Mohtar, Dean, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS) at the American University of Beirut (AUB), represents AUB on the Board of Governors of the World Water Council. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (2018) and a member of the Executive Board of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA).
Mohtar has over 160 peer-reviewed articles, books and book chapters. He participated in or organized 300 technical sessions, conferences, and workshops worldwide and has supervised more than 70 graduate students (Ph.D. and M.Sc.), hosted over 30 postdoctoral and visiting scholars, and worked in research and training in more than 15 countries. With more than $ 15 million in funded research grants, Mohtar continues to address global resource challenges on topics including: development of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus framework linking science and policy, characterization of the soil-water medium using thermodynamic modeling; efficacy of non-traditional water using physical-based methodologies, and applications for sustainable integrated water management.
Mohtar founded and coordinated the Texas A & amp; M University Water-Energy-Food Resource Nexus Initiative (WEFNI) from 2015-2018, where he is also a TEES Research Professor (Civil and Agricultural Engineering). He holds adjunct positions at Texas A & amp; M-Qatar and Purdue Universities. Mohtar advises the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (Momentum of Change), and is a Senior Fellow of the OCP Policy Center. He is the recipient of IWRA’s Ven Te Chow Memorial Lecturer (2015), a Distinguished Alumnus of the American University of Beirut (2013), and recipient of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Kishida International Award (2010). Mohtar served on the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Councils on Water Security and Climate Change (2009-2014).
Dean, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (FAFS) at the American University of Beirut (AUB)
Lebanon
Patricia Furtado de Mendonça
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Patricia Furtado de Mendonça
After working for about 20 years at the ARTS – EDUCATION – SUSTAINABILITY interaction in the artistic and the academic environments, as well as in NGOs, private companies and governmental bodies, in 2017 Patricia founded Acqua Mater and places the WATER & the OCEAN at the center of all her activities. Through her Lectures and the various multi-disciplinary projects she coordinates, she promotes: the construction of a New Water Culture; the synergy between SDG 6 and SDG 14; Ocean Literacy in the context of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. She holds a Mater Degree in Performing Arts from the University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and a Bachelor’s degree in “Drama, Arts and Music Studies” from the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Heritage of the University of Bologna (Italy). Since the year 2002, she runs a research on our Marine Memories and on the Memories of the Water. She’s also a Water & Ocean Reconnection Experiences Facilitator, which is the result of her practices with freediving and aquatic dances, meditations and therapies.
Founder of Acqua Mater
Brasil
Brie Nelson
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Brie Nelson
B.Sc, MSc, EPt
Brie has been part of the WaterPortal Society team since 2017. She has been involved in several past projects and currently manages the Alberta Water Nexus project. Brie also coordinates the social media posts and news bulletin, and is part of the website maintenance and security team.
Brie has a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Mount Allison University, and later specialized in water through a Master’s degree in Integrated Water Resources Management at McGill University. These degrees provided her with the solid knowledge base and skills to be an effective water researcher and gave her a broad understanding of water governance and legislation in Canada.
Brie also worked for four years in public education as a nature interpreter in several Canadian Provincial and National Parks, which broadened her communications skill set and made her an excellent environmental educator and a comfortable public speaker.
In 2016 Brie was fortunate to undertake a three-month internship in Stockholm, Sweden working at the secretariat for the Global Water Partnership. The experience provided a valuable perspective on international relations as well as insight into global water management efforts, and Brie is pleased to share this perspective on a localized scale for the watersheds in Alberta.
Brie is delighted to work with the WaterPortal Society and with WaterSMART Solutions Ltd. where she is able to play an active role in education and collaborative management of our water resources wisely. She views water as a resource which we are all profoundly dependent on and sees water management as the most hopeful and urgent opportunity for localized as well as global cooperation.
Electrical Mechanical Superintendent, City of Delta Engineering Department
Alberta, Canada
Ramy Boujawdeh
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Ramy Boujawdeh
Deputy GM of Berytech
Ramy Boujawdeh is the Deputy GM of Berytech since 2014, leading the Incubation and Entrepreneurship Business Development arm that supports Innovative Lebanese Startups and SMEs, providing Business Support, Mentorship, Coaching, Fundraising, Hosting, Networking and Internationalization and part of Innovation and Entrepreneurship regional programs. He designed and Leads the A.C.T. Smart Innovation Hub, a first of its kind in MENA focusing on both Agtech and Cleantech.
Between 2000 & 2014, Ramy amassed a diversified knowledge in the fields of change management, quality management, operations, as he filled roles in General and Regional Management in different industries across 3 continents. He is keen on mobilizing his knowledge and connections to the best interest of the stakeholders he supports. He advises startups in Lebanon and is an Angel Investor with SEEDERS.
Since his return to Lebanon Ramy has been active supporting social causes such as education, agriculture, environment, gender equity and economic development. Ramy is also the Vice President of a Lebanese NGO, Rural Entrepreneurs, He is also a member of the council of representatives at the order of Engineers and Architects. Ramy holds a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Engineering from AUB, and a master’s degree in Business Management and Economics.
Ramy is a Lebanese and Canadian citizen.
Deputy GM of Berytech
Lebanon
Brent Baron
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Brent Baron
Senior Engineer, Structural Mitigation Program, Community Infrastructure at Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)
Graduated University of Manitoba; Water Resources Engineering in 1984.
Worked in the private sector from 1985 to 2001 as Municipal Drainage and Water Resources Engineering in Manitoba and British Columbia.
Started with Public Works and Government Services Canada in 2001 (eventually to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada now Indigenous Services Canada)
Have worked with the Community Infrastructure group on a variety of engineering projects for the First Nation communities in the BC Region. Presently coordinating the Structural Mitigation Program in BC region to reduce the potential impacts of significant events including the responsibility to coordinate the Coastal Vulnerability Assessment program.
Senior Engineer, Structural Mitigation Program, Community Infrastructure at Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)
BC, Canada
Dr. Tendai Polite Chibarabada
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Dr. Tendai Polite Chibarabada
Dr Tendai Polite Chibarabada graduated with a Master of Science in Agriculture in 2015 and a PhD in Crop Science in 2018, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. For the past few years she worked on water use, physiology, nutritional value and nitrogen fixation of grain legumes, with a focus on alleviating food and nutritional insecurity in semi- and arid environments. Her research skills include agronomy, crop physiology, crop water use and crop modelling. She is currently based at SADC WaterNet where she is working on modelling yield gap of maize in sub-Saharan Africa.
SADC WaterNet
South Africa
Bruce Caister
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Bruce Caister
Blackwater Treatment Plant Operator
Bruce Caister is a Level IV EOCP Certified Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator, and has more than 35 years experience managing and operating both water and wastewater treatment plants. Previous experience includes the Water/Wastewater Operator for the Town of Gillam, the Environmental Operations Manager for Simplot Foods, and Field Service Technician for GE Power and Water. Currently the Blackwater Treatment Plant Operator at the Vancouver Convention Centre, Bruce has been focused on reducing water usage for 9 years while managing the unique Blackwater Treatment Plant.
As the world’s first double LEED® Platinum certified convention centre, the Convention Centre is committed to global leadership in sustainability and ensuring the facility is as ‘green’ as it can be – from building design to the materials purchased to the water consumed. And through the Blackwater Treatment Plant run by Bruce and his colleague, the Convention Centre is able to take blackwater (also referred to as ‘wastewater’) and recycle approximately 37,355 cubic meters of water per year for non-potable purposes – re-using in washrooms, irrigating the living roof and more.
Blackwater Treatment Plant Operator, Vancouver Convention Centre
BC, Canada
Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi
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Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi
Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi is an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Director (Acting) for the Centre for Transformative Agricultural and Food Systems, South Africa. He holds a BSc Honours Crop Science from University of Zimbabwe, and an MSc and PhD in Crop Science from University of KwaZulu-Natal with specialisation in crop ecophysiology (plant-water relations) and crop-climate modelling. His primary goal is to work on research and development that is dynamic, transformative, informs policy and achieves real life impacts within poor communities. His research has evolved from focusing on crop water use and crop modelling to multi- and transdisciplinary research covering food systems, global environmental change and the water-energy-food nexus. He is interested in working with multidisciplinary teams to conduct research and development related to global grand challenges such as food and nutrition insecurity, climate change and the WEF nexus. He is also interested in research translation, i.e. the application of research outcomes into practice on the ground to achieve real life impact. In that regard, he is very closely linked with multiple policy stakeholders in South Africa and the region at various levels and regularly contributes to evidence-based policy making.
Honorary Associate Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Director, Centre for Transformative Agricultural and Food Systems, South Africa
South Africa
Chad Taylor
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Chad Taylor
Chad Taylor, the Electrical Mechanical Superintendent, is a professional engineer who has worked with the City of Delta Engineering Department for over 12 years. Chad currently works in Engineering Operations and is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the irrigation and drainage system. Previously Chad was the assistant utilities engineer where he focused on the long range planning of Delta’s utility infrastructure.
Electrical Mechanical Superintendent, City of Delta Engineering Department
BC, Canada
Tjasa Demsar
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Tjasa Demsar
Tjasa Demsar is a Climate Adaptation Coordinator at City of Surrey. She holds a Master of Resource Management (Planning) degree from Simon Fraser University. Over the last three years, Tjasa has been advancing climate change adaptation and sustainability initiatives in Surrey, including coastal flood adaptation, urban heat island studies and neighbourhood sustainability plans.
Climate Adaptation Coordinator, City of Surrey
BC, Canada
Matt Osler
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Matt Osler
Matt Osler is a Senior Project Engineer at City of Surrey. He has been leading Surrey’s coastal flood and sea level rise related climate adaptation work for the past seven years. He studied Civil Engineering at Queen’s University and completed a Master of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University. He has over 10 years of flood management experience and previously worked in the Canadian Coast Guard before joining the City of Surrey Engineering Department.