Speaker planned for this week had to cancel due to an illness, the next seminar will be on March 21st!
March 7, 2024: IRES Professional Development Seminar with Claire Ewing
From Grad School to Government: My Journey from IRES to Climate Policy
Location: Beaty Museum Allan Yap Theatre (Basement, 2212 Main Mall). Please check in at front desk on main floor before going downstairs.
No food or drinks allowed in the Theatre.
Click here to register for Zoom link. Zoom will be terminated if we encounter tech problems 5 to 10 mins into the seminar.
This seminar will not be recorded.
Talk summary:
I went into grad school not knowing what I wanted to do afterwards. Something related to policy, something impactful, and something with work-life balance, but beyond that, who knew! Through internships/jobs, classes, networking, my research, and saying yes to almost everything (drawbacks definitely noted), I developed various skillsets that prepared me for my current, amazing job. I work at Metro Vancouver (the regional government for the lower mainland) in our Air Quality and Climate Action Services department, developing and implementing climate policy. I manage or support 18+ diverse projects, with a through line of increasing our focus on social equity and data-driven policy. It’s an interesting, challenging, rewarding, and dynamic space, ripe with opportunity and urgency. In this talk, I’ll share my learnings on moving from academia to policy work and what I’ve learned in my work so far.
Bio:
Claire is a Senior Policy and Planning Analyst with Metro Vancouver in the Air Quality and Climate Action Services Department. She contributes to the development and implementation of our Climate 2050 Strategy and Clean Air Plan, with a particular focus on greenhouse gas reductions for buildings, transportation, and industry. She conducts policy and data analyses and manage and support many internal and cross-jurisdictional/collaborative projects. In 2021, She graduated with an MSc in IRES. Her Master’s research thesis, Environmental Justice and the Enforcement of Air Pollution Laws in Canada, examined how different governments enforce air pollution laws and administer various enforcement tools to offenders, and how different communities experience enforcement.
Justine Townsend
Bio
Dr. Justine Townsend is a first generation Canadian of European ancestry who gratefully resides in K’ómoks territory on Vancouver Island.
Currently a Mitacs Postdoctoral Fellow in IRES working with Drs. Terre Satterfield and Don Carruthers Den Hoed, she is investigating knowledge mobilization practices in the conservation sector through a decolonial lens. This builds on her doctoral research in which she critically analyzed possibilities for reconciliation through Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) and conducted community engaged research with three First Nations in BC.
Since 2020, she’s been working with the IISAAK OLAM Foundation advancing Indigenous-led conservation. Recently, she started a new role establishing a National Centre for IPCA Research at Vancouver Island University where she teaches in the Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas Planning Certificate.
Justine is enthusiastic about decolonization and systems change. A political ecologist by training, she has worked in cross-cultural and Indigenous contexts for nearly 20 years and has a background in environmental assessments, community engagement, and research.
Email: justine.townsend@ubc.ca
Featured Publications
Townsend, J. (2022). Indigenous and Decolonial Futurities: Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas as Potential Pathways of Reconciliation [Dissertation, University of Guelph]. https://hdl.handle.net/10214/27210
Townsend, J., Bunten, A., Iorns, C., & Borrows, L. (2021). Rights for nature: How granting a river “personhood” could help protect it. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/rights-for-nature-how-granting-a-river-personhood-could-help-protect-it-157117
Townsend, J., Moola, F., & Craig, M.-K. (2020). Indigenous peoples are critical to the success of nature-based solutions to climate change. FACETS. https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2019-0058
Townsend, J., & Roth, R. (2023). Indigenous and decolonial futures: Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas as potential pathways of reconciliation. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fhumd.2023.1286970
Townsend, J., & Roth, R. J. (2024, January 4). Canada’s Nature Agreement underscores the need for true reconciliation with Indigenous nations. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/canadas-nature-agreement-underscores-the-need-for-true-reconciliation-with-indigenous-nations-217427
Townsend, J., Youdelis, M., & Moola, F. (2019, August 6). Tsilhqot’in blockade points to failures of justice impeding reconciliation in Canada. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/tsilhqotin-blockade-points-to-failures-of-justice-impeding-reconciliation-in-canada-120488
Youdelis, M., Moola, F., Townsend, J., & Bhattacharyya, J. (2021). Proposed mining threatens Grassy Narrows First Nation’s long struggle for environmental justice. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/04/24/proposed-mining-threatens-grassy-narrows-first-nations-long-struggle-for-environmental-justice.html
Youdelis, M., Townsend, J., Bhattacharyya, J., Moola, F., & Fobister, J. B. (2021). Decolonial conservation: Establishing Indigenous protected areas for future generations in the face of extractive capitalism. Journal of Political Ecology, 28(1). https://journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/id/4716/
February 22, 2024: No Seminar This Week
There is no IRES Seminar on February 22 due to the Midterm Break (Feb 19 to 23, 2024).
