Keynote speakers

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Kii’iljuus Barbara Wilson, MA, Haida Scholar and Matriarch, Cumshewa Eagle Clan, St'awaas XaaydaGa, Haida Nation. One of her great joys is sharing information with guests and staff on board vessels in Haida Gwaii’s waters. Barbara graduated in 1999 with a Cultural Resource Management Diploma from the University of Victoria. She was honored as an “Alumni of Distinction” in 2011. Kii’iljuus graduated with a Master of Art, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University in 2019. She is a Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) Fellow. As an educator and a published author, she challenges students to think holistically and outside the silos. As a guest lecturer and instructor in various universities and colleges, Barbara informs students of the ways of her ancestors through stories, traditional knowledge of laws, conservation and contemporary issues for the Haida and the environment. She was an elected representative of the Council of the Haida Nation, a grandmother, photographer and a researcher. She takes great pleasure in bridging the two worlds - traditional and scientific. Recently she accepted an “Adjunct Professor” and Cultural Advisor position, with the Center for Indigenous Fisheries in UBCs Institute for Fisheries and Oceans. This year is the 10th year Kii’iljuus has worked as a Cultural Advisor and Researcher with Simon Fraser University’s School of Resource and Environmental Management. She is a volunteer, setting in place and guiding the “Haida Heritage School” to uplift the ancient ways of her ancestors and use this knowledge to heal and inspire the Haida Nation’s members. 

Anne Salomon is a Professor of Marine Ecology and Social-Ecological System Science at Simon Fraser University working at the nexus of applied ecology, sustainability science, and marine policy. She seeks to discover what makes the relationships between people and other components of nature resilient to disturbance to inform ecologically resilient and socially just ocean policies. She is deeply committed to working across disciplines and sectors to catalyze transdisciplinary research that addresses environmental challenges of concern to global society. She links science to policy by co-designing and co-delivering research with Indigenous knowledge holders, resource users, and government agencies, with knowledge mobilization as a fundamental goal of her research program. Her ecological research incorporates archaeological and Indigenous knowledge to provide greater time-depth to her analyses of coastal system dynamics and to democratize ocean science and governance. Anne was elected to the Royal Society of Canada College in 2019, named a Pew Fellow in marine conservation in 2013, and awarded the International Prize in of Professional Excellence in Ecology in 2013.

Patricia Balvanera
Professor Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
 

Patricia (Patty) Balvanera is a professor at the Institute for Ecosystems and Sustainability Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She was trained in biology, ethnobotany and ecology. Within large inter- and transdisciplinary teams and research networks, she explores the role of biodiversity in contributing to human well-being, and analyzes the dynamics of social-ecological systems, with emphasis on the role of the way nature is valued as a key underpinning driver of such dynamic. At the local scale, she monitors the dynamics of managed diverse tropical systems, and co-develops more sustainable food systems through transdisciplinary processes with the families of small holders and creatives around the kitchen. At the global scale, she develops conceptual frameworks and monitoring strategies, performs cross-site syntheses and delivers assessments at the science-policy interface. She has co-led several inter- and trans-disciplinary initiatives such as the Scientific Committee of the Program for Ecosystem Change and Society (one of the core Projects of Future Earth), the Ecosystem Services group of the Global Earth Observation - Biodiversity Observation Network (GEOBON-ES), the Mexican Network on Social Ecological Systems and Sustainability, and the Values Assessment of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. 

Marianne Falardeau-Côté
Assistant Professor in environmental sciences, Department of Science and Technology,
TÉLUQ University (Université du Québec)
 

Marianne Falardeau is an assistant professor in environmental sciences at TÉLUQ University and a member of the Littoral Chair (Université Laval) studying social-ecological systems of the rapidly changing Arctic. She holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Sciences (McGill University), and a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biology (Université Laval). She completed a postdoc at the interface of biology, health, and social sciences at Université Laval and the CHU of Quebec-Université Laval Research Center, receiving postdoctoral fellowships of the Weston Family Foundation and L’Oréal-UNESCO excellence program for Women in Science. Her approach to research is place-based and collaborative, bringing together different knowledge systems to address complex changes and inform decision-making. She works closely with Indigenous communities of northern Canada to understand the impacts of environmental change on marine ecosystems and fisheries, and the implications for communities, especially for food security and health. Together, they explore ways to adapt and build resilience. Marianne is also an eager science communicator who shares her research in various ways, from interactive workshops to films and podcasts.

Georgina Cundill-Kemp
Senior Program Specialist in climate resilience, International Development Research Centre, Canada

Dr. Georgina Cundill Kemp is a Senior Program Specialist in climate resilience at the International Development Research Centre. Georgina works to connect evidence to action through research programming across Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Currently, Georgina leads the Step Change initiative, a Canada-Netherlands partnership to accelerate locally led adaptation in 16 countries in the global South, with a focus on integrating gender equality and social inclusion into climate policy, increasing access to adaptation finance and strengthening the implementation of ecosystem-based adaptation. She also supports research programming on climate justice, climate mobility and forced displacement, nature-based solutions, climate-related loss and damage, and food systems transformation. Across all of this work, Georgina promotes research uptake, knowledge brokering and transdisciplinary collaboration for impact. Between 2022-2023, she served as the co-chair of the Science Committee for Adaptation Futures 2023, and was a member of the international advisory group for Bangladesh’s National Action Plan on Forced Displacement.

Previously Georgina was a Senior Lecturer at Rhodes University in South Africa, where she worked with rural communities on issues of post-Apartheid land rights in communal areas, co-management, governance and livelihoods. She was also a research lead in social-ecology at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Arid Zones in Chile. Georgina holds a PhD in Environmental Science from Rhodes University.

Odirilwe Selomane
Senior Lecturer, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Dr. Odirilwe Selomane is a senior lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development at the University of Pretoria. His research interests include assessing and developing tools and indicators for monitoring human nature interactions. He has projects developing sustainability indices, exploring nexus interactions of food, biodiversity, climate, water and cross scale impacts of trade and discourses. More recently Odi has also been exploring the biodiversity financing landscape in light of the funding requirements of the newly agreed Kumning-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. He is currently involved as a coordinating lead author for the Nexus Assessment (Biodiversity, Water, Health, Climate and Food Nexus) of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Berta Martín-López
Professor of International Sustainable Development and Planning, Leuphana University, Germany

Prof. Berta Martín-López is co-head of the Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI) at Leuphana University together with Jörn Fischer. Her research is collaborative, inter- and transdisciplinary aiming to understand the role of values, knowledge, and institutions in supporting transformation pathways to sustainability. She puts special emphasis on "care-full" research processes that foster reciprocity, reflexivity, and respect for all persons involved in the research process, including praxis partners, early career scholars, and minorities. Berta Martín-López is one of the most cited researchers worldwide ("Highly Cited Researchers") and elected member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences.

Divya Vasudev
Senior Scientist, Conservation Initiatives, India

Dr. Divya Vasudev is an ecologist, with a keen interest in integrating scientific knowledge into conservation planning and action. Her work lies at the interface of species ecology and behaviour, and conservation of endangered species and ecosystems in large complex landscapes. In 2017, she co-founded the NGO Conservation Initiatives, with the aim of spurring scientific excellence, skill, and conservation empowerment in Northeast India, a Biodiversity Hotspot with a rich tapestry of culture and people-nature relationships, facing rapid ongoing change. Her work has tangible applications for biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and the improvement of human well-being.

My web page: https://www.conservationinitiatives.org/divya-vasudev

Contact us
If you have any questions, please contact pecs2024@agoraopus3.com

Registration period
March 01, 2024 - 08:00 until August 1, 2024 - 23:30

Conference Venue: Centre Mont-Royal, 2200, Rue Mansfield, Montréal, QC, Canada, H3A 3R8