Alison Shaw

Executive Director, SFU Climate Innovation

As both a scholar and practitioner, Dr. Alison Shaw brings over two decades of experience in pioneering climate and sustainability action and innovation across diverse sectors and scales.

As the first authorized researcher to study science-policy interactions in the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Third Assessment Report (2001), she saw firsthand the complexity of communicating science to policy and policy to science. Since, she has worked to develop pioneering approaches and models to encourage exchange and learning across diverse sectors and communities to co-create knowledge-for-action.

Alison spent a decade in academia, co-designing and managing three large-scale interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary research projects aimed at accelerating climate change and sustainability action in communities. These projects applied different research approaches and tools for action - using evidence-based data visualization to express climate risk in the Local Climate Change Visioning Project (2006-2009), linking with municipal and First Nations policy objectives and priorities in the Meeting the Climate Change Challenge Project (2011-2013), and embedding risk, emissions, and co-benefits data into municipal and First Nations planning and decision processes in the Integrated Climate Action for BC Communities Initiative (2018-2021).

In 2012, Alison founded FlipSide Sustainability, and for a decade co-created leading research-to-practice approaches with both public and private sector clients at international, national, and local scales. From 2018-2021, she worked as Research Lead at ACT – Action on Climate Team, SFU, co-creating leading low carbon resilience approaches with and for BC communities, and in 2022 became Executive Director of ACT, with a focus on implementing and refining low carbon resilience approaches and nature-based solutions. She brings a wealth of experience in interdisciplinary collaboration, cross-sector partnership-building, and operationalizing sustainability transitions research, policy and practice.

As the inaugural Executive Director of SFU Climate Innovation, through this platform Dr. Shaw is excited to operationalize SFU’s #1 research priority - community-centred climate innovation. Positioned in SFU’s Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, SFU Climate Innovation’s goal is to leverage SFU’s capacities and reputation as a leading research university to create effective and impactful climate action & innovation research with, and for, communities across Canada and beyond. 

alison_shaw@sfu.ca
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Deborah Harford

Director, Strategy & Operations, SFU Climate Innovation

An experienced systems change leader with years of work across the non-profit, academic, and corporate sectors, Deborah brings extensive expertise in integrating climate action across scales, supporting Indigenous innovation initiatives, national and international reporting and disclosure protocols, and developing corporate and philanthropic partnerships. She is the co-founder of ACT – previously the Adaptation to Climate Change Team, and now the Action on Climate Team at SFU, and a thought leader in supporting community partners and governments to implement low-carbon resilience approaches and develop integrated climate policy. 

As a consultant she has played a seminal role in integrating climate change approaches into national infrastructure policy, and has supported many of Canada's governmental and non-governmental organizations in thinking through systemic opportunities to integrate data, decision-making, and policy that reduces risk and emissions, while advancing other resilience and sustainability priorities.

Deborah is a respected advisor and governance leader, serving as a board member with the Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) and is a former advisor to the Canadian Climate Institute’s adaptation panel, the federal Expert Panel on Adaptation and Climate Resilience Results (EPCARR), and the Council of Canadian Academies’ expert panel on Top Climate Risks for Canada, among others. She continues to have strong foundations at SFU, currently as a Climate Solutions Fellow at SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue—where she is advancing AI and climate change initiatives—and as an Adjunct Professor at SFU’s School of Resource and Environmental Management.

dharford@sfu.ca

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Jennifer Temple

Strategic Grants Writer, SFU Climate Innovation

Jennifer (she/her) brings over 20 years’ of project management and transdisciplinary facilitation experience to her role with the SFU Climate Innovation team. Jennifer’s training includes a B.Sc. in general science, a Post-Graduate diploma in environmental sciences and an MBA with an energy and sustainability lens. Professional development and experience in facilitation, participatory/impact evaluation and human behaviour have informed her understanding of the social dimensions of innovation and systems change. 

Most recently, Jennifer worked with the Marine Plan Partnership of the North Pacific Coast (MaPP) as Regional Projects Coordinator, supporting the collaborative regional marine implementation activities of 17 First Nations and the Province of B.C. Previously, she worked on a portfolio of low carbon, resilience and resurgence projects in Kenya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Canada and the United Kingdom. 

Jennifer brings to her strategic grants writing role a blend of ecological knowledge, scientific research management experience, writing and editing expertise, a successful track record of proposals and grants, and a passion for working with individuals, networks and communities for the health and well-being of all.

jennifer_temple2@sfu.ca

Skye Vallance

Program Manager, SFU Climate Innovation

Skye (she/her) brings a decade of non-profit communications and community engagement experience to the SFU Climate Innovation team. Since completing her BAH in Health Studies at Queen’s University, she has contributed to advocacy campaigns advancing Indigenous-led conservation (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - British Columbia), agricultural food systems resiliency (Canadian Organic Growers), and youth-led climate action across Canada and globally. Skye enjoys connecting with neighbours through volunteer work and sits as Community Outreach Director for her local community garden. 

Skye brings a spirit of collaboration to support SFU’s community-centred climate innovation network through communications, sustainability research and project coordination. She enjoys spending time with Nature by cheering salmon upstream, studying natural textile dyes and canoe tripping.

skye_vallance@sfu.ca
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