Session 1

Rose Murphy

Dr. Rose Murphy is an academic researcher and freelance consultant who studies how we can achieve more sustainable energy systems. She specializes in developing and applying quantitative models to evaluate government policies for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Rose’s doctoral research focused on themes such as the risks associated with geological carbon storage, the potential for energy efficiency to reduce emissions in the US economy, and the cost of forest carbon sequestration. Her current work as a post-doctoral fellow at Simon Fraser University aims to combine advancements in energy-economy modelling at the national/regional scale with the spatial elements necessary to understand energy use within the built environment of cities. Rose has received numerous awards for her research and has published peer reviewed articles in Energy Policy, The Energy Journal, Energy Economics, Ecological Economics, and Forest Policy and Economics, among others. She frequently serves as a supervisor for graduate students in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, where she has also taught courses in energy systems modeling and sustainable energy policy.

Rose will reference Mark Jaccard's book The Citizen's Guide to Climate Success who Rose has worked with for more than 20 years.

Session 2 

Meghan Winters 

Meghan Winters is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, and a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar. She is a population health researcher interested in the link between health, transportation, and city design. Her research focuses on ways that cities and their infrastructure can play a role in promoting healthy and safe transportation, for people of all ages and abilities. She works in close collaboration with cities and communities to conduct research and create tools that address real-world challenges. She leads the Cities, Health, and Active Transportation Research Lab (CHATR, www.chatrlab.ca) with projects that span active transportation, built environment, road safety, social connections and well-being, equity, public policy, and citizen science.

Session 3

Sophia Yang 

Sophia is the Founder & Executive Director of Threading Change, a youth-led ethical fashion organization working at the intersections of climate, gender, and racial justice in alignment with the necessary transition to a circular economy. Born in China but raised in Calgary, Alberta, Sophia draws on her multitude of diverse work and volunteer experiences as the drivers for her holistic approach and perspective on the protection of our environment. As a dedicated climate justice changemaker, Sophia has worked for over a dozen environmental organizations ranging from federal government agencies (Parks Canada, Natural Resources Canada), NGOs (Nature Conservancy of Canada, SPEC, Parkbus, CityHive), industry (CNRL), and academia (UBC, SFU).

Sophia is the recipient of the Starfish Canada’s Top 25 Under 25 Environmentalists award in 2017 and 2018, has attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 24 & 25) twice as a British Columbian Youth Delegate, and DJs as 'THIS IS: KALEIDO' in her spare time.

Session 4

Stephen Sheppard 

Stephen Sheppard, PhD., ASLA, is a Professor in Forest Resources Management at the University of British Columbia, teaching in landscape and climate change planning, community engagement, and visualization. He has served as Director of UBC’s Bachelor of Urban Forestry program and directs the Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning (CALP), an interdisciplinary research group which works with communities on developing climate change and energy solutions. He has over 30 years experience in environmental assessment, aesthetics, landscape planning and public involvement. He has published four books, including Visualizing Climate Change from Earthscan/Routledge. His research interests include engaging citizens in low-carbon resilient communities, sea-level rise planning, energy effects of urban forests, and videogames as an educational tool on climate change. He leads UBC’s Research Cluster of Excellence on Cool Tools: Social Mobilization on Climate Change using Digital Tools.

Cheryl Ng 

Cheryl Ng, M.Sc. Conservation & Forestry, is the Community Engagement Coordinator at CALP. She has worked in the environmental education & engagement space for 6 years. Having lived, studied and worked in 3 different countries - Singapore, the UK, and Canada, she brings her adaptability and cultural sensitivity to her engagement role here. Cheryl has spoken in both English & French in video interviews by CBC Radio Canada and UBC Forestry, and has published public-facing articles for 2 years.

Cool 'Hood Champs

Cool 'Hood Champs is a fun, action-driven, place-based workshop series that trains participants to lead climate action within their own neighbourhood. They recently won the City of Vancouver's Greenest City grant to scale up our program across more neighbourhoods in Vancouver.