Board of Directors
Every member of our board of directors is a thought leader who has made significant contributions to our understanding of climate-related issues. Each one brings a unique set of skills and expertise to the association.
Dr. Gordon McBean, Chair
Professor Emeritus at Western University since 2015, Department of Geography and Director for Policy, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction. Dr. Gordon McBean served as Assistant Deputy Minister for Environment Canada (1994-2000), responsible for weather, climate and air quality sciences and services. Since his appointments to ICLR and Western, he has focused on science and policy issues of climate change, disaster risk reduction and broader environmental issues.
Dr. Anabela Bonada, Vice-Chair
Dr. Bonada is the Director, Climate Science of the Intact Centre, handling operations, communications, and key stakeholder relationships both within the University of Waterloo and across Canada. Dr. Bonada leads and supports research projects including a national wildfire guide, infographic development and formulating recommendations for scaling up nature-based solutions to lower risk of wildfire, extreme heat and flooding, at the home, community, and landscape levels.
Dr. Adam Fenech
Associate Professor, School of Climate Change and Adaptation, University of Prince Edward Island. He conducts research on the vulnerability, impacts and adaptation to climate change, where his virtual reality depiction of sea level rise has won international awards including one from MIT for communicating coastal science. Dr. Adam Fenech has worked extensively in the area of climate change since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change First Assessment Report in 1988.
Alain Bourque
Executive Director, Ouranos – Consortium on Regional Climatology and Adaptation to Climate Change since 2013.
He was a meteorologist/climatologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada from 1989 to 2001, where he analyzed many extreme events and developed climate services. Moving to Ouranos in 2001, he was in charge of the Vulnerabilities, Impacts and Adaptation program, including more than 200 projects up to 2013. He is regularly contacted by decision-makers, media and stakeholders to advise on climate change science and adaptation.
Dr. Anthony Shaw
Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies and a Fellow of CCOVI (Cool Climate Enology and Viticulture Institute) at Brock University. He taught courses principally in the areas related to meteorology, applied climatology, viticulture, and linkages between environmental hazards, risks, vulnerability and human systems. His research areas include geographic origin of specialty crops, site selection methods for new vineyards, freeze protection methods, renewable energy, building climatology and climate change and impacts.
Binnu Jeyakumar
Binnu brings a wealth of skills, expertise and experience from the power industry, government and non-profit sectors to her position as director of the electricity program of the Pembina Institute, Canada’s leading energy think tank. She has expertise in fossil fuel and renewable generation technologies, community energy, and sustainability strategy development.
Before joining the Pembina Institute, Binnu worked as a plant and performance engineer at TransAlta’s various generating facilities in Alberta, Ontario, and Mexico. She also provided management consulting services to the Ghanaian government focusing on local government effectiveness. She currently serves on the board of Blue Green Canada.
Dr. Daniel Scott
Dr. Scott is a Research Chair and Director of Climate Change programs at the University of Waterloo with over 25 years of climate change research and engagement. He is a former Canada Research Chair, contributing author to IPCC (3rd, 4th, 5th assessments and 1.5°C special report) and Canadian national assessments, as well as an experienced leader and organizer of diverse, international research teams providing expert advice to UN, Canadian, and international governments, and organizations.
Dr. Dave Sauchyn
Director, Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC).
Professor, Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Regina. His research focuses on the climate and hydrology of the past millennium and how knowledge of the past can inform scenarios of future climate and water supplies.
Deborah Harford
Senior Adviser and Co-Founder of ACT (the Action on Climate Team) in the Office of the Vice President of Research and International at Simon Fraser University. A thought leader on integrated climate action and low carbon resilience, Ms. Harford co-led ACT’s Integrated Climate Action Planning in B.C. Communities Initiative as well as numerous collaborative research initiatives, including working with national and provincial professional associations on climate initiatives and training for members.
Dr. Ian Burton
Emeritus Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Toronto. Author of ten books and more than 200 articles in scientific journals and reports. Dr. Ian Burton's research work has led him to participate in numerous national and international organizations. He has worked on three Assessment Reports of the IPCC as well as Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters, and taken on consulting assignments for the World Bank, OECD, WHO and UNESCO.
Jason Dion
Jason is the Director of Mitigation Research at the Canadian Climate Institute. His work focuses on Canadian climate policy, net zero, clean electrification, and carbon pricing. Previously, he was Lead Researcher with Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission and a Project Manager and Economist at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Jason is a graduate of the MA Economics program at York University.
Janna Wale
Janna Wale is Gitxsan from Gitanmaax First Nation, and is also Cree-Métis on her mother’s side. She has previously worked with BC’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, as well as with several Indigenous-led organizations.
At the University of British Columbia – Okanagan, focused on climate resilience in Indigenous communities. Janna holds a M.Sc. in IGS Sustainability and a B. Nrs. (Hon.) in Natural Resource Sciences. She also published a report in collaboration with the Yellowhead Institute, and was named as an Indigenous Trailblazer through Diversity in Sustainability.
Juliana Fernandes Granzoti
Juliana Fernandes Granzoti was originally born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Juliana was awarded a scholarship Emerging Leaders to Americas Program and she embarked on a transformative journey by moving to Canada to pursue her academic interests in Environmental Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). Juliana is currently pursuing her master science degree in applied science focusing on Coastal nature-based solutions and coastal climate change adaptation and restoration at Saint Mary's University.
Dr. Alison Shaw
Dr. Alison Shaw is a scientist and practitioner with over 20 years’ experience in pioneering climate change and sustainability research-to-practice approaches. As Executive Director of SFU Climate Innovation and ACT - Action on Climate Team, she is advancing a pioneering platform that orients the capacities of the University toward impact, encouraging interdisciplinary research, community-centred partnerships, and the mobilization of knowledge, tools, and innovations that advance and accelerate low carbon, resilient, and sustainable communities in Canada and beyond.