Greg Baeker is completing a doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Waterloo. His broad research interests lie in community cultural planning and development. More specifically he is interested in change strategies for existing cultural organizations, such as museums, in the context of shifting assumptions about the cultural dimension of community life. His background, academically and professionally, is in cultural policy and cultural management. He spent ten years working in the Ontario Ministry of Culture writing heritage and cultural policy. He also teaches in the Arts Management Program at the University of Toronto at Scarborough. and consults in the area of learning and change strategies for the cultural sector.
Charles Brassard is Director of Consultations at Environment Canada. In this capacity, Charles has been associated with a variety of multistakeholder processes led by Environment Canada and has been instrumental in the development of departmental, federal and national policies and practices in the area of public involvement. His other responsibilities at Environment Canada have included public opinion research, strategic communications, relations with business and non-governmental organizations and environmental citizenship. Charles has worked in the policy field for most of his career. Before joining Environment Canada in 1990, he worked for the Department of External Affairs in the South-East Asia Relations Division, the Privy Council Office in the area of federal-provincial relations, the Canada Oil and Gas Lands Administration and the oil industry. M. Brassard has a Master's Degree in economic geography from the University of Ottawa. He also did his undergraduate studies in geography at the same university.
David Brown is associate professor and Director of the Environmental Policy Institute at Brock University. He received his B.Sc.(Agriculture) in Environmental Biology from Macdonald College of McGill University in 1980. After working as a wildlife biologist for Hydro-Quebec for two years, he entered a M.Sc. program in Renewable Resources (Wildlife) at Macdonald College in 1982, and streamed directly into the Ph.D. program in 1984. His doctoral degree, dealing with the winter foraging ecology of white-tailed deer, was awarded in 1989. In the 1980s, Dave was active in a wide range of research and consulting activities on wildlife behaviour and management, evolutionary ecology, radio telemetry, toxicology, falconry policy, and waste management. He taught courses on wildlife management, ethology, and renewable resources management at McGill, and held a brief postdoctoral position in evolutionary ecology at l'Universite du Quebec a Montreal. He joined the Environmental Policy Institue (then Institute of Urban and Environmental Studies) at Brock in 1988, on the first of three contract appointments as assistant professor. He became a full-time faculty member of the Institute in 1991, teaching numerous courses dealing broadly with environmental policy and principles of sustainability, including introductory courses, an honours policy seminar, an honours thesis and literature review course, and half courses dealing with environmental impact assessment, wildlife management and conservation, waste management, environmental toxins, human settlements, and the environmental impacts of the automobile. Current research foci include linear corridors in the environment, trail and greenway development, management and common property aspects of utility corridors, and waste management policy and practice. Major ongoing projects include the Niagara Greenways Network Inventory Project and the Canadian lead in sustainable integrated waste management strategies of the Centre for Industrial and Environmental Training (CIET) initiative, a 4-year CIDA-funded human resources development project in the eastern seaboard region of Thailand. Dr. Brown's committee and community activities include the Canadian Centres for Sustainable Development Research, the Regional Niagara Environmental and Ecological Advisory Committee and its Environmental Policy Subcommittee, the steering committee of the Niagara Healthy Landscapes Committee, the Frenchman's Creek Watershed Management Task Force, the Steve Bauer Trails Committee (Town of Pelham), and the St. Catherines Municipal Bicycle Task Force. He is a member of the Lake Ontario Greenway Strategy (LOGS) Steering Committee of the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, and has been on the Board of Directors for the Ontario Trails Council, the Centre for Environmental Training at Niagara College, and Friends of Short Hills Provincial Park (ex officio). He is founder of the Niagara Greenways Network. He lives in Fonthill, Ontario, with his wife Chu Jee Yan.
Norma Burlington has an honours economics degree from Carleton University and is a career civil servant with an extensive policy background. Over the past twenty three years she has worked for two of these at the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, ten years at the Department of Finance in the International Economic Relations and Economic Development Divisions, five years at the Canadian International Development Agency as Chief of General Policy in the Business Cooperation Branch, and for the past six years as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Policy Branch and now in the International Affairs Division of the Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada. Norma's particular expertise is in international trade and development. This year, she received two merit awards from Natural Resources Canada in recognition of her leadership in organizing and directing federal/provincial, industry, ENGO teams for two successful international vents, one an international forestry seminar co-hosted with British Columbia and the other the 50th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the FAO in Quebec City.
Stephanie Cairns has worked on environmental policy since 1983. Her most recent work, with the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development in Alberta, focused on establishing economic incentives for environmental protection, and contributed to changes in the treatment of investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy in the federal income tax system. She has also developed and led training workshops on the principles and tools of sustainable development for the private sector. From 1991 to 1993, she worked as the Sustainable Development Policy Analyst in the National Liberal Caucus Research Bureau, and was the principal drafter of the sustainable development chapter in the 1993 Liberal election platform "Red Book". Prior to this, she worked for a number of environmental organizations and agencies, including the International network of Friends of the Earth, the Organic Food Producer's Association of Canada, the Ontario Environmental Assessment Advisory Committee, the Canadian Environmental Network, the Canadian Environmental Law Research Foundation, and the Ontario Public Interest Research Group. She has a B.A. in environmental policy from the University of Toronto. She is currently on leave from environmental issues, working as an Advisor on Strategic Planning in the Policy and Research Unit of the Prime Minister's Office; she plans to begin Master's studies in 1997-1998 on the integration of industrial and environmental strategies.
Frank Cosway is a Partnerships Officer with the Pollution Prevention Branch of Manitoba Environment. From June 1991-July 1995, he was the Partnerships Officer with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) based in Winnipeg. His work included organizing the partnership series, assisting with the partnerships research initiative, providing support services for the development of multistakeholder partnerships at the Institute, representing IISD on several conference program planning committees, hosting VIP visits to the Institute, and undertaking special projects such as the CIDA-China consultation and the Russia-CCME project. Frank attended the Earth Summit Conference in Rio in June 1992. Before coming to IISD, Mr. Cosway was a Senior Planning and Policy Analyst with the Sustainable Development Coordination Unit, Manitoba Executive Council, where he worked on issues dealing with the environment, economy and sustainable development. He coordinated the Environment and Economy Conference held in Winnipeg in May 1989 and the First Meeting of Round Tables on Environment and Economy held in April 1990. In addition, he coordinated six meetings of the Manitoba Round Table on Environment and Economy between November 1989, and June 1991. Prior to that, he was a project manager for the Water Utilization Project, Phase II, Northern Ghana (1985-1987). From 1979-1984, he was a human resource management consultant with Manitoba Industry Trade and Tourism, providing a broad range of services to the private sector in Manitoba. Other international and intercultural experiences include two years as a CUSO volunteer in Ghana, two and a half years living in the aboriginal community of Easterville in Northern Manitoba, also some short term visits and consulting assignments to India, Bangladesh, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil and Costa Rica.
Ann Dale joined SDRI as its first Senior Associate in April 1993. Currently, she serves as editor of the SDRI Annual Sustainable Development Series and is Chair of Canadian Centres for Sustainable Development Research, Reconciling Human Welfare and Ecological Carrying Capacity. She is also pursuing research into multistakeholder processes, biodiversity, women and sustainable development. She led and chaired the May 1994 Conference on Women and Sustainable Development: Canadian Perspectives. On Executive Interchange from the Federal Ministry of the Environment, she was previously the Director of Operations for the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, and was instrumental in developing its strategic policy and planning from October 1988 until September 1991. In 1987-1988, she was a senior advisor to the first Deputy Minister on the creation of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. In 1986, Ms. Dale was an Assistant Director of Policy, Planning and Systems for the Privy Council Office. Previously, she managed the work of two of the Neilson Task Forces on Program Review: Natural Resources and Regulatory Reform. She has also worked with the Office of Regulatory Reform, the D'Avignon Commission and the Anti-Inflation Board, from 1976 to 1985. Ms. Dale is a founding director of Women for a Healthy Planet; a member of Hollis-Building a Sustainable Society; a Director of Broadcasting for International Understanding, a member of Quality Sustainable Spaces Society; and a Director of the Canadian Biodiversity Institute. She holds degrees in psychology and public administration from Carleton University, and is currently a doctoral candidate at McGill University in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences.
Ron Edwards is a consultant on taxation and economic development issues. He holds a B.A. from the University of Saskatchewan, and obtained his M.A. in Economics from the University of Alberta in 1970. He has substantial experience in the finance, economic development, and resource taxation fields. After starting his working career in the Bank of Canada, Ron moved to the National Energy Board in 1973 and was in charge of demand forecasting during the Mackenzie Valley Gas Pipeline hearings. He joined the Tax Policy Branch of the Department of Finance in 1977 and held several executive level positions until he left the Government in 1996. These included Assistant Director, Corporate and Resource Taxation, Senior Chief, Energy and Project Analysis, and Director, Energy and Environment Division, Economic Development Policy Branch. Ron represented the Minister of Finance at National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy; was on the Canadian delegation at the Rio Preparatory Conference at Bergen, Norway; and attended meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Development during considerations of the Green Plan. He also negotiated financial subsidies for several large energy projects, such as Hibernia. Ron and his wife, who live in Ottawa, enjoy camping and exploring remote parts of Canada.
Elisabeth Eie has degrees in Basic Agriculture (1972), Nutrition (1976) and a B.A. in Social Anthropology (1979). Her main work experience has been as a nutrition specialist for WFP, Senegal (1978) and for the International Red Cross, Khmer Refugee Camps, Thailand, 1979. NORAD-employed from 1980-1994; seven years in the NGO division, Oslo, six years as Assistant Residential Representative in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and finally two years as WID and Gender Advisor to NORAD in Oslo. Since August 1994, she has been employed as the Executive Director of FOKUS - Forum for Women and Development. Her main field of interest has always been indigenous peoples groups, women's perspectives and feminine/holistic values in relation to management of life and nature (sustainable development). In addition to experiences from project management and dialogue, her international work has put her in touch with women and indigenous peoples at the local level in many parts of the world, as well as at a wider national, regional and international activist level.
Caterina Geuer was born into a Dutch family of artists and human-rights activists in Bolivia, South America. After obtaining a B.A. at Carleton University in Ottawa in 1969, she designed and taught a course on environmental and human rights issues, following which she spent several years traveling in Europe, Africa and India. Upon her return, she was involved in the natural food business, running a store and bakery, teaching classes on cooking and nutrition, and catering, particularly for people struggling with immune system malfunctions. In addition, Ms Geuer has studied the relationships between the health of the ecosystems and the health of the human species in general; midwifery and palliative care in particular. By 1992, she changed her focus from working with individuals to working in systems, and started working with the Sierra Club of Canada and Cultural Survival Canada. She was a member of the Steering Committee for the Women and Sustainable Development: Canadian Perspectives Conference, and edited the final policy document. Presently, she is the Volunteer Coordinator at the David Suzuki Foundation. She intends to use her talents and experience to participate in the vital task of changing our behaviour as a species so that we may continue to live on the Earth together with all the other species in a regenerative, bio-centric way.
Sally Lerner teaches in the Department of Environment and Resource Studies and was Chair of that department from 1994 through June 1996, when she became an Adjunct Professor after taking early retirement. She was a member of the transdisciplinary group of professors who joined together in 1969-70 at the University of Waterloo to initiate the department, one of the first undergraduate environmental studies departments in North America. Her major research interest for the past several years has been the future of work in a globalizing economy driven by technological change, particularly the social, political, environmental and economic issues involved. She will devote substantial time to research and advocacy in this area as her major retirement project. Sally is Acting Director of the UW Centre for Society, Technology and Values for 1995-96 and was a member of the Board of Directors of Great Lakes United from 1993-1996. In recent years she has served on the Outside Jury for the Seaton Design Competition (Seaton: A Strategy for Environmentally-Responsible Planning, Ontario Ministry of Housing, 1994). She has also been Canadian Co-Chair, Board of Technical Experts, Social Science Task Group, Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, 1991-93 and a member of the International Joint Commission's Task Force on the Virtual Elimination of Persistent Toxic Substances from the Great Lakes, 1992-94. In the research field, she was one of three Principal Co-Investigators on the SSHRC-funded Sustainable Society Project, 1988-91.
Nina-Marie Lister holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Planning from the University of Toronto and is a consulting ecologist/planner. She is currently completing a Ph.D. in conservation ecology and planning at the University of Waterloo, Faculty of Environmental Studies. Nina-Marie's research is centred on developing planning policy for biodiversity conservation in Canada, within the larger context of sustainable ecosystem management. Her dissertation focuses on the development of adaptive planning strategies for biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, using an approach based on post-normal science. Related research interests include ecosystem behaviour, emergent complex systems, and ecologically responsible planning/design. Nina-Marie holds an Eco-Research Doctoral Fellowship, funded by the Canadian Tri-Council.
Christine Massey is a researcher with the Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology at Simon Fraser University currently investigating the impacts of information and communication technologies on universities and colleges. She holds a BA in Communication and Political Science from the University of Ottawa and a Master's degree in Communication from Simon Fraser University. Her thesis research focused on public involvement in science and technology policy and, specifically, the case of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies. She has worked as a consultant and researcher on science policy in Canada and the communication of environmental and health issues to the public. As an activist, Christine has worked on issues of women's reproductive health and the new biotechnologies. She lives in Vancouver with her partner of 10 years and Mojo, their very old dog.
John Middleton is a Professor with the Environmental Policy Institute at Brock University. He studies the human element in ecosystems and the implications of government and other policies for sustainable development. His work has concentrated on interdisciplinary study and development of policy for forests and urban landscapes at scales from local to global, in Canada and in other countries.
Laszlo Pinter is currently Program Officer with the Measurement and Indicators Program at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. He holds an M.Sc. in agronomy from the Godollo University of Agricultural Sciences, Hungary, and an M.N.R.M. from the University of Manitoba. Laszlo's current interests include performance measurement in the context of sustainable development, future scenario analysis and adaptive behaviour in complex systems.
Shealagh Pope recently completed her Master's degree in Biology-Landscape Ecology at Carleton University. Her thesis evaluates the effects of habitat fragmentation on species that require more than one kind of habitat. As well as working on her Master's degree over the last few years, she has worked on a project to analyze the relative effects of North Atlantic cod using a combination of statistical analysis and computer modeling. Ms Pope has helped to found a new on-line journal, Conservation Ecology, in cooperation with Lenore Fahrig and Gray Merriam at Carleton and Phil Taylor at Acadia. They expect to have the first issue for August 1996. She will be taking over project management of Conservation Ecology at the end of March 1996 and will help to guide it through its inaugural issues. The scope of the project will be broadened from simply a scientific journal to a policy forum and distributed learning centre at the interface of conservation, ecology and policy. In keeping with her interests in landscape ecology and land use, she has been helping to frame a project to ensure connectivity between Algonquin Park, Ontario and the Adirondaks in New York for species other than humans.
Dale Rothman was born in Louisville, Ky. He is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Environmental Adaptations Research Group of Environment Canada and the Sustainable Development Research Institute at the University of British Columbia. He has a Ph.D. in Resource and Environmental Economics from Cornell University and a B.Sc. in Earth & Planetary Sciences from MIT. He also did masters work at the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, spent a summer at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, and has worked with the US Environmental Protection Agency, Argonne National Laboratory, and the World Resources Institute. His general area of interest is the link between natural and human systems, and his current specific research areas include the socio-economic impacts of climate change on forests, the nature and role of integrated assessment, and the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation.
David Sims is a Professor of Veterinary Medicine (Microanatomy) at the Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island. He has a Ph.D. from Kansas State University, a M. Engineering from the University of Western Ontario (Biological Indicators of Water Pollution) and a B.A. in Zoology from the University of Western Ontario. He sits on a number of professional committees and advisory boards - the DVM Awards Committee, Atlantic Veterinary College, Member of the UPEI Board of Governors & Faculty Association, Joint Committee on Pension and Benefits, Vice-President, UPEI Faculty Association, Chair, AVC World Wide Web Working Group, Member, AVC Continuing Education Committee, Member AVC Exhibits Committee, and Chair, UPEI President's Sexual Harassment Committee. Dr. Sims has written one book, thirty refereed articles, twenty three abstracts and sixteen other papers, in addition to refereeing numerous manuscripts and reviewing research proposals.
Else Skjonsberg is a Special Advisor, Program for Research and Documentation for a Sustainable Society with the Norwegian Research Council. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology and an M.A. in History (majoring in philosophy and psychology) from the University of Oslo. From 1978 to 1985, Dr. Skjonsberg was a consultant to Women in Development Consulting Norway (WIDCO). From 1978 to 1985, she was a Senior Programme Officer with the Norwegian Agency for International Development. In 1977-78, she was a rural sociologist on the Intensive Zone Development Project, Government of Zambia; 1974-46, a Research Fellow with the Peace Institute of Oslo; 1973-74 a rural sociologist in Sri Lanka; 1972-73, a lecturer with the Institute of Sociology, University of Oslo; 1970-72, a fisheries sociologist with the East African Freshwater Fisheries Research Organization, Uganda; and in 1970, a junior lecturer with the Institute for Sociology, University of Oslo. Her fields of specialization include gender issues, fisheries, rural and community development, environment protection, health issues, participatory development, project identification, planning and evaluation, research planning and evaluation, and European Union issues. Dr. Skjonsberg has worked in Kenya, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Madagascar, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Ghana, Guinea Bissau and Senegal. Her most recent publications include The Rationality of Care, Women and the European Community Cappelen and Cappelen's Women' History, Change in An African Village - Kefa speaks, and A Special Caste - Tamil Women in Sri Lanka.
Arja Vainio-Mattila is currently finalizing her Ph.D. thesis on the impacts of development interventions on the natural resource management systems of the communities in the locality of the intervention. She has worked as a development consultant, specializing in participation, gender issues and community based natural resource management. She is currently a professor with the Environmental Policy Institute at Brock University.