Central Sustainability Team
The central SFU Sustainability team plays a key role in ensuring that sustainability and climate action are integrated into the university’s core business and across all its activities.
The team is the coordinating body for SFU’s sustainability and climate action work. We advance SFU’s leadership in sustainability and climate action by ensuring the implementation of SFU’s Sustainability Policy (GP38), 20-Year Sustainability Vision and Goals (.pdf), and five-year strategic plans through a coordinated and cohesive approach to institution-wide sustainability initiatives.
About the team
The central SFU Sustainability team facilitates the development and implementation of the university’s five-year strategic sustainability plans and identifies opportunities to meet, exceed and lead on internal and external sustainability targets. This includes monitoring and reporting on the university’s progress against key performance metrics and global sustainability indicators.
The team works collaboratively with the vice-presidents and their teams to develop, scale and promote sustainability initiatives.
OUR Roles
- Planning and administration. Act as SFU's central hub for sustainability administration, planning, measurement, reporting, coordination and communication.
- Capacity building. Provide education, training, advising and resources to SFU community members (cascading down from the vice-presidents) on embedding sustainability and climate action
our Functions
The central SFU Sustainability team develops and guides system-wide sustainability plans and provides strategic support to amplify student, faculty and staff sustainability and climate action initiatives across the institution.
Our core services include:
Planning - Facilitaiting the development and implementation of the university’s five-year strategic sustainability plans and identifying opportunities to meet, exceed and lead on internal and external sustainability targets.
Administration & Secretariat - Acting as SFU's central hub for sustainability administration. SFUS provides central coordination of sustainability and climate action planning, measurement, evaluation, and reporting, record keeping, contacts, data, policy, procedures and communications.
Organizational Development and Change Management - Working on transformational change design to ensure sustainability and climate action principles and practices are embedded into the SFU’s policies, processes, structures, budgeting systems, mindsets and practices.
Capacity building, Education and Training - Providing education, training, connection support, advisory support and resources to all SFU community members to assist in embedding sustainability and climate action into work, teaching and learning.
Synergies, Convening and Connecting - Maintaining a ‘birds-eye’ view of SFU’s work and impact in sustainability and climate. Identifying connections and opportunities for synergies and cross-silo/transdisciplinary collaborations. Connecting people internally to each other and external communities with our SFU community.
Reputation and SFU’s Sustainability Narrative - Enhancing SFU's profile and reputation on climate and sustainability. Amplifying the work of faculty, students, staff and community partners in the areas of sustainability and climate action.
Our team
We are a group of experienced sustainability and climate action professionals coming from a diversity of backgrounds and educational disciplines. We have built—and continue to build—our team around a set of core principles and skillsets that we believe are critical for success in systems-change work such as ours.
Our Vision
All SFU community members can contribute to a regenerative and resilient society within which they belong and thrive.
Core principles
- Diversity of perspectives, ideas, people and "solutions"
- People-centred
- Seven-generation planning
- Systems transformation over one-off
- Respect and reciprocity
- Climate and environmental justice
- Science-based decision-making
- Design that centres equity and decolonizing practices
Skillsets
- Nonviolent and respectful communication and dialogue
- Relationship development and conflict resolution
- Long-term and systems-thinking design
- Relationship driven and partnership focused
- Decolonizing practice design and application
- Lifelong equity, diversity and inclusion learning journeys
- Sustainability and climate action knowledge and translation
Team members
Executive Director
Candace Ratelle (Le Roy) she/her
Candace oversees and advises on the University’s overall approach to sustainability and climate action across all Vice-President portfolios, all SFU’s campuses, and across SFU’s work around the globe. She works closely with SFU’s Board of Governors, Executive team, and leadership across SFU and with external partners and leaders to co-design SFU’s innovative approach to sustainability and climate action across academics, research, operations, community engagement and people and equity. Candace has 20 years of experience and education in community engagement, sustainable community development, communications, strategic planning, organizational change and leadership. She is happiest at the nexus of climate action, justice, equity, Indigenous resurgence and community co-design. She writes and makes photographs, loves to trail run and hike and is happiest on the edge of an ocean.
Director
Lindsay Bunce (she/her)
Lindsay facilitates strategic sustainability and climate action initiatives across SFU’s three campuses and beyond. She is happiest when she is navigating complex challenges, bringing collaborators together and supporting systems-focused approaches. Lindsay’s toolkit includes skills developed through a diversity of leadership, advisory, change management and governance roles over the past 20 years. She is a fan of delicious food, clever design, and good dogs.
Director
Kayla Blok (she/her)
Kayla supports strategic sustainability initiatives, planning, and special projects, including the embedding sustainability approach at SFU. She also provides strategic sustainability advising to units across the university. Her work ensures alignment with leading and innovative practices in systemic change for sustainability, climate action, and climate justice at SFU. Kayla feels grounded when she is outdoors, reading, volunteering her time supporting her community, and/or enjoying the local beach with her partner and friends.
Manager, SUSTAINABILITY (Sustainable Operations)
Rita Steele (she/her)
Leading the progress of SFU’s Net Zero roadmap, Rita oversees the university’s operational sustainability and emissions reductions strategies across all three campuses. She works largely with SFU’s vice-president, finance and administration portfolio, co-designing SFU’s operational response to the climate crisis and creating solutions pathways that prioritize ambitious emissions reductions, climate resilience, climate justice and equity-centered design. She's easily won over by Vancouver summers, the B.C. mountains and delicious food (especially chocolate).
Manager, Sustainability (RESEARCH)
Kilim Park (she/her)
Kilim supports faculty, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers from all faculties in their efforts to develop and conduct sustainability research projects by designing and carrying out engagement and support programs with projects leads across and beyond the institution. She is also involved in the development of major sustainability research initiatives and partnerships, developing strategies for them to support SFU’s sustainability researchers. She’s an introvert who won't stop talking about kimchi and her cat, Pickle.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR
Marina Van Driel (she/her)
Engaging and consulting with stakeholders across all three campuses to improve ecological, social and economic sustainability performance, Marina integrates and embeds sustainability in key spaces and events across the institution. She builds relationships with a variety of stakeholders, while recognizing and celebrating all sustainability efforts initiated by organizations, groups and individuals at SFU.
Manager, SUSTAINABILITY (Business Intelligence, Assessment and Reporting)
Asad Nayani (he/him)
Asad moved to Canada to pursue his education in sustainability and business administration and has since then been involved in various sustainability works. He captures the university's progress towards sustainability excellence, collects data to monitor sustainability performance and contributes to transparent reporting, awards and rankings. Asad collaborates with data providers and reporting professionals across the three campuses on annual instritutional reporting and submissions to external reporting schemes.
Administrative Coordinator
Melissa Fiorucci (she/her)
Passionate about people and their wellbeing, Melissa navigates relationships across the university to solve a multitude of operational quandaries for the central SFU Sustainability team and beyond. An avid storyteller, she spends her free time facilitating a deeper understanding of the cultural impact of cooking and its role in creating community.
GRANTS & DEVELOPMENT FACILITATOR
Erin Travers (she/her)
Erin supports SFUS and the University’s communities as they pursue opportunities that will help realize SFU’s sustainability and climate action goals. She is happiest when collaborating on projects as they develop, strategizing to find thoughtful solutions, and bringing people together. An advocate of learning through action, her hands and mind are often busy with her latest DIY project.
Manager, SUSTAINABILITY
Kim Thee (she/her)
Supporting the personal, professional and leadership development of student sustainability leaders, Kim advances the education, preparation and development of the next generation of sustainability leaders and changemakers, and promotes the integration of sustainability across the full spectrum of curriculum and co-curriculum.