Be part of the Green Citizen Symposium, a dynamic two-day online event where innovative ideas spark real-world action. Connect virtually with trailblazing innovators, Indigenous leaders and renowned non-profits as they share their invaluable experiences and insights on tackling global challenges.
This year’s theme, “Bridges to Resilience: Connecting People, Ideas and Solutions,” emphasizes the power of collaboration and innovation in building sustainable futures.
Don’t miss this opportunity to be inspired, learn, and contribute to a sustainable future. Let’s thrive and transform together!
All members of the Seneca community are welcome to register for any of the four sessions. Each session involves a keynote and a workshop; we encourage you to participate in both as the discussion will be related but it is possible to participate separately.
Attendance is free, but space is limited. Reserve your spot today!
Presented by:
Panel - Wildfire Futures: Environmental Impact & Resilience Strategies
Experts from diverse sectors — including education, civil society, business services and research — will share their unique perspectives and experiences with wildfires. The discussion will highlight cross-sectoral insights into wildfire impacts, response strategies and opportunities for collaboration in building resilience.
Kris Gillis Seneca Polytechnic - School of Fire Protection Engineering Technology
Louis-Blaise Dumais-Lévesque TD Insurance
Olivier Chalifour PhD candidate in climate science at Concordia University
Stu Clark Wildfire Awareness Society
watch on-demand
Wildfire Ready: Building Resilience through FireSmart Workshop
Join FireSmart Canada for an engaging workshop focused on wildfire risk reduction. Gain essential knowledge, strategies and tools to protect your property and community from wildfire risks. This session will offer practical guidance and access to expert insights to help you stay safe and informed.
Magda Zachara FireSmart Canada
Ryan Kyle FireSmart Canada
Keynote - Adapting Locally: Richmond Hill’s Climate Response
The City of Richmond Hill’s Sustainability Team will discuss how the municipality is addressing climate change through local adaptation strategies, community engagement and innovative planning.
Ruth Rendon, MCIP, RPP City of Richmond Hill
Derek Lau, MES, MCIP, RPP City of Richmond Hill
Workshop - Cultivating Changemakers: Finding Your Role in the Climate Justice Movement
Join activist-scholar Manvi Bhalla for an interactive 75-minute workshop designed to help you explore your unique role in advancing climate justice. Through storytelling, reflection and collaborative activities, you will deepen your understanding of climate justice, connect personal values with collective action, and leave with practical tools for sustaining meaningful change in your communities.
Manvi Bhalla Shake Up The Establishment
Keynote -Humanitarian Response in a Changing Climate: How You Can Make a Difference
Join Bren Melles from the Humanitarian Coalition for a compelling conversation on how climate change is intensifying natural disasters—and why this surge demands a stronger, more co-ordinated humanitarian response. Discover the urgent link between environmental shifts and global aid efforts.
Bren Melles Humanitarian Coalition
Workshop - Healing in a Changing Climate: Understanding and Working with Climate Emotions
Led by Rosalind Christian, this workshop will provide an overview of the emerging field of climate psychology and explore the emotional impacts of climate change. Rosalind will share strategies for maintaining emotional well-being in the context of climate change, with attention to both individual and community approaches to resilience and care.
Rosalind Christian Climate Psychology Alliance of North America
Keynote - Representation Matters: Building an Indigenous Brand in Beauty Space
In this keynote, Jenn Harper will share the importance of representation in different spaces; clean and sustainable beauty rooted in Indigenous wisdom and Western science, innovation and research; and building a brand from the ground up.
Jenn Harper Cheekbone Beauty
Designing for Circularity: A Workshop with Friendlier
Join the team from Friendlier — our cafeteria’s reusable container provider — for an interactive workshop on building a business with circularity at its core. Learn how sustainable design, reuse systems and innovative thinking can drive impactful change while creating resilient, eco-conscious business models.
Jacquie Hanton Friendlier
Kyle Mennie is the Director of Operations at Windfall Ecology Centre, whose passion for the environment drives his efforts to foster healthy and sustainable communities. With a professional background that includes Protected Areas Conservation, Outdoor Education, Geographic Information Systems, and Environmental Consulting, Kyle brings a holistic approach to tackling environmental issues. His role at Windfall involves developing and executing forward-thinking solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation of the built environment.
Louis-Blaise Dumais-Lévesque is a political scientist with nearly 15 years of experience in product management at TD Insurance. He is working on climate adaptation, from prevention and loss mitigation to outreach and collaboration with key actors in the climate and insurance sectors. He previously taught political science in Canada and the United States.
Olivier Chalifour is a PhD candidate in climate science at Concordia University, supervised by Dr. Damon Matthews. His research focuses on the intersection of wildfire dynamics and nature-based climate solutions. He is particularly interested in how wildfires interact with global reforestation scenarios and the resulting biogeophysical feedback on the climate system.
Stu Clark is a retired engineer with extensive international experience in Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam and Ethiopia, as well as at the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Building on his experience with managing collaborative efforts in these settings, Stu began working on reducing the threat of wildfire in urban areas after moving to Whitehorse in 2012. Joined by long-time resident professionals in forestry, territorial government and municipal government, Stu helped found the Wildfire Awareness Society (WAS). The goals of WAS are to effect change in government policies and promote public awareness of wildfire risk reduction on their own properties, including preparedness for evacuation.
Derek Lau is the Project Manager of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, in the Policy Planning Division of the Planning & Building Services Department for the City of Richmond Hill. He contributes to the development and implementation of municipal climate change mitigation and adaptation actions that support the City’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase resilience to the impacts from a changing climate. Derek has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Planning) from the University of Waterloo, a Master of Environment and Sustainability from Western University, and over 15 years of private and public experience. He is a Registered Professional Planner and contributed to the Policy on Climate Change Planning (2018) when he was a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners Climate Change Committee.
Ruth Rendon is the Manager of Sustainability in the Policy Planning Division of the Planning & Building Services Department for the City of Richmond Hill. She leads a diverse portfolio that includes the Greening the Hill Environment Strategy, Resilient Richmond Hill climate change initiatives, the Urban Forest Management Plan, and the City's Sustainability Environmental Education and Engagement programming. Ruth also manages Richmond Hill’s Sustainability Metrics Program, the City’s green development standards. She holds a master's degree in environmental studies (Planning) and brings over 22 years of experience in environmental planning, Indigenous reconciliation and public consultation.
Bren Melles is the Humanitarian Program Specialist for the Humanitarian Coalition, bringing over two decades of experience in humanitarian and development work. The Humanitarian Coalition unites 12 of Canada's leading aid organizations to raise funds and respond to international humanitarian disasters. Bren lived and worked in the Global South for seven years and has travelled extensively to crisis-affected and development contexts around the world. Skilled in program planning, evaluation and training facilitation, Bren is deeply committed to humanitarian principles and our shared humanity and works to actively address injustice and inequity.
Jenn Harper is the founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty, a cosmetics brand focused on sustainability and supporting Indigenous communities. Since its 2015 launch, the brand has grown significantly: securing major retail partnerships and donating over $250,000 to charity. Jenn has earned widespread recognition, including being named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.
Magda Zachara is the FireSmart Canada Program Manager within the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), with a focus on supporting provincial and territorial wildfire agencies in the implementation of FireSmart programming, guidelines and best practices. Magda is also focused on building new partnerships across various industries and stakeholders; raising the awareness of FireSmart among communities, municipalities and First Nations; and delivering training, professional development courses and educational resources to those impacted directly or indirectly by wildfire.
Ryan Kyle is the technical co-ordinator for FireSmart Canada where he works with national, provincial and territorial wildfire agencies, as well as private companies to research, create and update guidelines and recommendations for the technical application of FireSmart principles in communities. The FireSmart Canada team and its partners have created guidance for a range of topics: from building science applications for construction assemblies, to vegetation management aimed at wildfire risk reduction.
With over 15 years of community organizing experience, Manvi Bhalla (she/her) is a recognized leader in Canada’s environment and climate justice movement. She co-founded the national non-profit, Shake Up The Establishment (SUTE) and is a PhD Candidate at the University of British Columbia, researching intersectional, anti-colonial environmental justice and health policy.
Rosalind Christian, MC, is a therapist in private practice and the Alberta Regional Co-ordinator for the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America. She holds a master of counselling degree, and her graduate research focused on population-level interventions for preventing and reducing the negative mental health impacts of wildfire. She is interested in community-based models of care and in exploring alternatives to the traditional 1:1 therapy model.
In her clinical practice, Rosalind specializes in the treatment of trauma. Her background in anthropology informs her perspective that our social systems, cultural contexts and collective realities are fundamental to who we are and how we heal.
Rosalind resides on Treaty 6 Territory, the traditional meeting ground, gathering place and travelling route of the nêhiyawak (Cree), Anishinaabe (Saulteaux), Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Métis, Dene and Nakota Sioux.
Jacquie is the co-founder and CRO of Friendlier, a clean-tech startup that is on a mission to simplify the transition from single-use to reusable packaging. After completing an academic exchange term in Sweden, Jacquie and co-founder Kayli were inspired to live more sustainably and to make it easy for others to do the same. She was recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List for the Class of 2023 in the Social Impact category. She sits as a chair on the Technical Committee for Reusable packaging standards at the CSA group, and on the leadership committee of PAC Next. Under her leadership, Friendlier has grown to serve campuses, restaurants and institutions across Canada, diverting millions of single-use containers and cups through a scalable circular system.
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