Stay tuned as we add to our growing roster of exceptional Resource Guests!
WIL Mex-Can 2021 Core Team
Melissa Gonzalez Soto
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Melissa Gonzalez Soto
Melissa is a program designer and process facilitator. Melissa participated in WIL Netherlands in 2015, joined as facilitator for WIL Mexico 2019, and joined again as facilitator for this intercultural experience. Her goal is to open spaces for cooperative learning, collaboration and co-creation, particularly around topics of environmental sustainability. To make it happen, Melissa designs and facilitates programs based on methodologies such as LEGO(R) SERIOUS PLAY(R), Oasis Game, Business Modelling, Ontological Coaching. She has designed programs such as “Campamento: La Ciencia del Fútbol Americano”, CampIdeas Mexico and Scape Rooms for Science Learning. Melissa has extensive experience working and living abroad (Canada, Germany, China, Finland and Brasil). She is based in Mexico City and enjoys visiting the neighboring mountains.
Mexico
Karla Daniela Veloz Borjo
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Karla Daniela Veloz Borjo
She is a Biochemical Engineer with 13 years of experience specializing in Environmental Technology and Engineering for private and public organizations. Daniela has been working on water research and projects for 13 years, and spent 7 years collaborating with PEMEX, CONAGUA, PROFEPA and non-government offices on soil and water remediation projects for hydrocarbon contamination. She is interested in participating in projects with social, cultural and environmental impact to guide more systematic approaches to collective benefits. She holds a Master degree in Environmental Technology and Engineering through an Erasmus Mundus joint program at Ghent University (Belgium), UNESCO-IHE (Netherlands) and ICTP (Czech Republic). She had the opportunity to live and study in several countries in addition to the ones mentioned above, including Japan and the USA. Living abroad has been one of her most enriching learning experiences and she is keen to share her work and learning from around the world. She is also keen to support establishing a water innovation ecosystem for young professionals and young leaders in Mexico and especially in her homebase, the state of Nuevo León.
Mexico
Karen Kun
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Karen Kun
Karen Kun is the Founder and President 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. She is well known for her motto, which is to simply show up. Showing up has given Karen the opportunity to develop unexpected partnerships and to experiment with a variety of viewpoints and approaches. As a woman, mother, entrepreneur, risk-taker, mentor and Waterlution’s leader, Karen proudly supports youth. Growing the development of future global water leaders with the necessary tools to approach complex water issues has become a monumental aspect of Waterlution’s ongoing work and driver for change. Along with her water background, she is a skilled business leader who from 2005-2012 was publisher of Corporate Knights magazine.
President & Founder, Waterlution
Canada
Helena Vallée-Dallaire
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Helena Vallée-Dallaire
Helena is an artist and educator who loves to create spaces for discovery and connection between people of all ages and backgrounds, and believes in the power of storytelling to awaken deep care and understanding towards all forms of life. She holds an MFA from the New York Academy of Art, and has been active in various environmental organizations since graduating in 2018. She has experience as an educator and cultural mediator for the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. While her role at Waterlution will be working in both official languages, she assists the team on francophone youth engagement. She is excited to join Waterlution and contribute to new possibilities for reconnection and learning.
Youth Programs Coordinator
Canada
WIL Mex-Can 2021 Resource Guests
Graeme C. Clark
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Graeme C. Clark
Graeme C. Clark was educated in French and English and attended the universities of Toronto and Oxford prior to joining the Canadian Foreign Service in 1989. He has held various positions at headquarter, including: Director of Mexico and North America; Director of Media Relations; and Director General and then Acting Assistant Deputy Minister of Human Resources. He was also Legislative Assistant to two Ministers of Foreign Affairs (1993-1995) and to the Prime Minister of Canada (1995-1997). Abroad he began his career as Second Secretary and Vice-Consul in San José, Costa Rica (with cross-accreditation to Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama); served as Ambassador to Peru and Bolivia (1997-2001); as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (2006-2010); and as Minister, Deputy Head of Mission in France (2014-2019). He was awarded the Orden del Sol del Peru and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal.
Canadian Ambassador to Mexico
Mexico
Jackie Labonte & Oliver Nobosin
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Jackie Labonte (tekaiatakwas) is self identified from the Turtle Clan of the Mohawk Nation, Six Nations of Grand River Territory. She resides in the Niagara region, having worked with Native organizations for over thirty years providing services, sharing Traditional Teachings and serving as a Cultural Advisor.
Oliver Nobosin is self identified from Swampy Cree and mixed German/Welsh descent, having lived and grown up in both the Niagara and North Bay regions. He is an established singer/drummer and drum maker, having facilitated many requests for custom designed Native drums for individuals and groups, both domestic and abroad.
Jackie and Oliver are life partners, having been together for over twenty years. They are blessed with 4 children and 12 grandchildren… to date, and many more nieces and nephews. Together they are the co-founders of ‘Kimisken Cultural Workshops and Circles’, which provides cultural awareness through hands-on learning to a broad range of private groups and public organizations.
Cultural Educators, Grand River, Ontario
Canada
Ma. Teresa Figueroa Damián
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Ma. Teresa Figueroa Damián
Nació en 1959 en la Ciudad de México, migrante, ha vivido en Guerrero, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Veracruz y Jalisco.
Abuela y palabrera de la tradición oral, promueve la oralidad, la lectura y la escritura creativa. Dirige el Centro Comunitario “Los Ariles”, en Tonalá, Jal.
Narradora de mitos, leyendas y cuentos en festivales, escuelas y ferias de libro en la ciudad de México y en distintos municipios de Jalisco, así como en diversas plataformas audiovisuales.
Colabora en la revista Papalotzi, Demac, Centro de Documentación y Estudios de mujeres, A.C.; en la Revista del INPer y en la revista digital Ágora.
En 2008 ganó el X Concurso de Historias de Lectura, convocado por la Dirección de Publicaciones de CONACULTA.
En 2009 recibió el Premio Nacional de Cuento Campirano, que otorga la Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, por el cuento “Matea”.
En 2010 y 2015 recibió la presea “Cihualpilli”, que otorga el gobierno municipal de Tonalá, Jalisco, por su trabajo en gestión cultural y cuidado del medio ambiente.
Narradora, docente y tallerista desde 2014 en el Programa de Educación para la Niñez Migrante y en el programa queArte para hijos de jornaleros agrícolas.
Invitada especial al XXIV Encuentro Internacional de Mujeres Poetas en el País de las Nubes convocado por el Centro de Estudios de la Cultura Mixteca y la Secretaría de Cultura del Gobierno de Oaxaca.
Participante del 33 Encuentro de Narradores de Historias y Leyendas en Buga, Colombia. Del 1 al 7 septiembre de 2019.
Ponente en la Mesa de diálogo “La herencia de los saberes a través de la oralidad” en el Seminario Del Amate al Cenzontle, Oralidad y Lectura en las Infancia, organizado por la Coordinación Nacional de Desarrollo Cultural Infantil Alas y Raíces, octubre de 2020.
Narradora en la muestra artística para niñas y niños Del Amate al Cenzontle, oralidad y lectura en las infancias. 6 de octubre de 2020.
Cultural Educator
Mexico
Cecilio Solís Librado
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Cecilio Solís Librado
Geógrafo egresado de la UNAM, Origen: Nahua mexicano de la Sierra Norte de Puebla, servicio social INEA, donde asistían migrantes, al concluir fundé el Centro Cultural Ixtlamachiliztli; coordinador del proyecto “Impulso a la Diversificación Productiva en la Sierra Norte de Puebla”, en la comunidad de Acuaco, Zaragoza, Puebla; Integrante del Frente Independiente de Pueblos Indios, coordinando el área de comercialización, al mismo tiempo participaba en el Comité de Apoyo y Defensa de los Derechos Indios, que llegué a presidir; cofundador de Maya Ik’ Turismo Ecológico y Cultural del Pueblo Maya S.C.P., del cual fui representante en la zona centro del país; fundador de Umbral Axochiatl. A.C: fundador de la Organización Indígena-Campesina de la Sierra Norte de Puebla; Coordine el área de Auto Desarrollo de la Asamblea Nacional Indígena Plural por la Autonomía; fundador de la Red Indígena de Turismo de México, A.C. Becario de Ashoka; Copresidente del Foro Internacional Indígena sobre Cambio Climático en la 16 Conferencia de las Partes de las Naciones Unidas (COP16); Presidente del Grupo de Trabajo sobre el Protocolo de Consulta, al interior del Comité Técnico Consultivo de la Estrategia Nacional REDD sobre Cambio Climático; participante en la Conferencia de las Partes 6, 7, 8, 9 y 10 del Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica de las Naciones Unidas; Copresidente del Foro Internacional Indígena sobre Biodiversidad (COP 8), Fundador de la Federación Indígena Empresarial y Comunidades Locales de México, (CIELO) proyecto lanzado al interior de la IX Sesión del Foro Permanente para las Cuestiones Indígenas de las Naciones Unidas; reconocimientos internacionales: Visionaris “UBS” al Emprendedor Social, Social Entrepreneurship the voice of social innovation Expansion, The Equator Initiative, PNUD, Continuity Forum. ABC Foundation, 30 promesas FORBES 2018; he tomado diferentes cursos de desarrollo que aplico a proyectos de comunidades y organizaciones indígenas, he impartido múltiples cursos sobre derecho indígena y ecoturismo, además de la elaboración de diagnósticos comunitarios y regionalización en diferentes partes del centro y sur del país, diplomado en Pueblos Indígenas y Desarrollo; en la actividad internacional he participado en: Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Ricas, Nicaragua, Panamá, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia Argentina, Estados Unidos, Canadá, Holanda, Alemania, España, Dinamarca, Noruega, Kimberly, Johannesburgo, Kenya, Durban, Malasia, Tailandia, Italia, Japón, Ginebra Suiza … siempre en los temas de biodiversidad y desarrollo en el ámbito indígena. En el ámbito Internacional soy miembro: Consejo Indígena Mesoamericano, Consejo Internacional de Tratados Indios, Foro Internacional Indígena sobre Biodiversidad, Foro Internacional Indígena sobre Cambio Climático, entre otras.
President of CIELO Mexico
Mexico
Michael Goffin
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Michael Goffin
In 2020, Mr Goffin took on a special assignment as Director General Water Policy within Environment and Climate Change Canada, responsible for creation of the Canada Water Agency.
Over the course of his more than thirty year career in the Public Service of Canada Mr Goffin has been engaged in policy develop and program delivery in areas which include environmental protection, wildlife management, meteorology, water and ecosystem management, intergovernmental affairs and community outreach and engagement.
For more than a decade, Mr Goffin has been responsible for leading Canada’s efforts to restore and protect the water quality and ecosystem health of the Great Lakes and in 2012 he was lead negotiator for Canada responsible for the negotiation of the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Mr Goffin has been a long serving member of the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board, and also currently serves as Canadian Co-chair of the International Joint Commission’s International Rainy Lake of the Woods Watershed Board.
Mr Goffin received his undergraduate training in environmental studies from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science degree in Geomorphology, also from the University of Toronto.
Environment and Climate Change
Canada
Raegan Mallinson
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Raegan Mallinson
Raegan Mallinson grew up on the Eastern Slopes of the Canadian Rockies, nestled in the Alberta foothills on Treaty 7 Territory, traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy. She received her BSc. from the University of Calgary in Environmental Science, has a certificate in Indigneous Relations Leadership and is a Canadian Aquatic Biomonitoring Network (CABIN) certified Program Manager and Trainer.
She has worked with stewardship groups, Indigenous communities, academia, and environmental consultants across Canada to develop aquatic monitoring with cutting-edge genomics technologies to support biodiversity and source water protection.
Program Manager, Living Lakes Canada
Canada
Santiago Botero
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Santiago Botero
Santiago grew up in Ecuador, creating a fond love for nature through hiking, camping, and adventuring in the heart of the Andes. Santiago then moved to Toronto, where he gained experience working with people and technology. The call of the mountains and love for nature brought Santiago to British Columbia, where he is working towards a career in environmental science, conservation, and geospatial technology. Santiago graduated from the Integrated Environmental Planning Technology program at Selkirk College in 2019 and is currently entering his last year of a bachelor’s degree in Geographic Information Systems.
Database Manager, Living Lakes Canada
Canada
Elaine Ho
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Elaine Ho
Elaine began her social impact journey in high school, where she co-founded a renewable energy student group (SWITCH – the Solar and Wind Initiatives Towards Change) to get renewable energy generated at her school. Years later, the Toronto District School Board adopted the group’s model into a Board-wide project, which now generates renewable electricity on more than 300 schools, powering more than 5,000 Toronto homes. Elaine is currently completing her PhD in Social and Ecological Sustainability (integrated water management) at the University of Waterloo. In her work, she considers ways to improve river monitoring and management by encouraging early, accessible public and Indigenous engagement processes. Elaine is part of the Collaborative Water graduate program at University of Waterloo in addition to Global Water Futures, a nationwide research initiative representing the largest university-led investment in water research in history. She is affiliated with the Canadian Rivers Institute, has her own environmental consultancy and is the Director of Training and Consulting at Synergy Sustainability and Development Group. A certified Project Management Professional, Elaine tends to juggle multiple projects simultaneously, including sitting on the Board of Directors at the Long Point Biosphere Reserve and representing the voices of women and academia on the Action for Sustainable Development Facilitation Committee, which facilitates implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals around the world. In 2019, Elaine’s research won the “Our Water – Our Life – Most Valuable Resource” award from the Canadian Water Resources Association. She was also nominated for a 2021 Clean50 Emerging Leaders award for co-authoring Generation SDG, a national resource for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in Canada.
PhD Candidate Univ. of Waterloo, Ontario
Canada
Eduardo Parra Ramos
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Eduardo Parra Ramos
Especialista en gestión ambiental, enfocado en agua y residuos, con más de diez años de experiencia profesional, desempeñándose en ámbitos como la administración pública, consultoría e investigación aplicada.
Cuenta con Maestría en Ciencias e Ingeniería del Agua por el Instituto para la Educación del Agua UNESCO-IHE con sede en Delft, Países Bajos. Ex becario conjunto del Gobierno de Japón y Banco Mundial. Cursó la licenciatura en Ingeniería Química en el ITESO, obteniendo Mención Honorífica en el concurso anual correspondiente de Tesis de la Cámara de Comercio de Guadalajara. Cuenta con una Certificación en habilidades de administración de proyectos basado en estándares del PMI e IPMA por el Tecnológico de Monterrey.
Como parte de su educación continua, ha atendido diplomados y cursos en materia de gestión ambiental, residuos e impacto ambiental con enfoque a proyectos hídricos e hidráulicos.
Desde el 2007 ha obtenido experiencia tanto como consultor ambiental -principalmente en proyectos de: gestión de residuos, caracterización de sitios contaminados, calidad de agua e impacto ambiental de grandes proyectos hidráulicos; también en la gestión ambiental pública, desempeñando cargos en instituciones como SEMARNAT, CONAGUA y la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente del Estado de Jalisco.
Además, ha sido docente en Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales y supervisor de Proyectos de Aplicación Profesional relacionados con el aprovechamiento de Lodos y biosólidos en el ITESO, y participado en el Diplomado de Procesos de Cumplimiento Ambiental Voluntario en el CUCEA, impartiendo el módulo de agua.
Por último, entre sus intereses actuales, está la aplicación de conocimientos, experiencias y propuestas conjuntas de diversos sectores para promover el tránsito hacia esquemas de economía circular, previniendo riesgos e impactos al ambiente por el inadecuado manejo de los recursos naturales.
Environmental Management Specialist
Mexico
Diana Yesenia Arellano Sánchez
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Diana Yesenia Arellano Sánchez
Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering with 9 years of specialized experience in Environmental Engineering collaborating with public and private organizations. Diana has worked in research, industry, government institutions, and academia and collaborated with paper mill companies to develop wastewater treatment process optimization projects. She has also served as a subcontractor for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-USA) in environmental emergencies to protect the pristine waters of the Caribbean due to contamination from natural disasters. She has collaborated on projects for the Tecnológico de Monterrey, PEMEX, SEMARNAT and AHMSA. She is keenly interested in projects where knowledge is disseminated to create environmental awareness. She has a master’s degree in Environmental and Energy Engineering from the University of Sheffield in the UK where she graduated as a specialist in ion exchange absorption methods as a method of treating water contaminated by metals. She has studied and worked in Mexico, the United States, the Caribbean and the United Kingdom which has given her a great perspective on how to address problems from a holistic point of view, depending on the needs of each context and project. In addition, Diana has served as a teacher at Mexico UANL and an assistant teacher at the University of Sheffield, in the Chemical Engineering departments. Diana is excited to participate in WIL-2021, as she firmly believes that the awareness and training of young leaders is essential to achieve sustainable solutions regarding environmental problems.
Mexico
Lina Zuluaga
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Lina Zuluaga
Civil Engineer from the Javeriana University (Colombia) with a Master’s Degree in Environmental Management from the Javeriana University (Colombia). Director of the Great Teusacá River Basin Program at Aqueduct Progresar, an NGO that provides drinking water to 6,000 families in the Teusacá River basin. I have been working with Citizen Science collecting, procesing and sharing data with people in different ecosystems to motivate better individual and collective environmental behavior based on local knowledge.
Program Director La Gran Cuenca del Río Teusacá
Columbia
Felipe Valderrama Escallón
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Felipe Valderrama Escallón
Environmental Engineer from Universidad de los Andes (Colombia) with a Master’s Degree in Water Resources from Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña (Spain). General Coordinator of the Water and Landscape Department at Fundación Humedales and Co-Coordinator of the Latin American Living Lakes Network. Coordinator of international cooperation projects in the field of integrated water resources management in Colombia and Latin America. International consultant for the transference and replication of nature-based solutions in the area of wastewater management in Africa (Burundi) and the Middle East (Jordan).
Researcher in Integrated Water Management
Columbia
Contact
WIL Mexico - Canada 2021
Mexico
Melissa Gonzalez Soto
Email: melissa.gonzalez@waterlution.org
Karla Daniela (Dany) Veloz Borjo
Email: daniela.veloz@waterlution.org