Email: rplummer@brocku.ca

Director, ESRC, Brock University
Adjunct Professor, Sustainability Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo

Ryan’s multi-faceted program of research broadly concerns the governance of social-ecological systems. In striving to advance knowledge of collaboration and adaptation within complex systems, he has focused on the exploring their theoretical underpinnings and ethical implications, modeling their processes, examining the roles of social capital, and investigating the influences of social learning. Water resources are the context in which his research mainly occurs and he is a Faculty Investigator in the Water Policy and Governance Group.

Findings from his research have been published in leading international journals such as Ecological Economics, Ecology and Society, Environmental Management, Frontiers in Ecology and Society, Global Environmental Change, Journal of Environmental Management, Society and Natural Resources and the UN journal, Natural Resources Forum. In addition, he is the author of Outdoor Recreation (Routledge, 2010), and co-editor of Adaptive Capacity and the Making of Environmental Governance (with D. Armitage, Springer, 2010) and Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems: the Role of Learning and Education (with M.E. Krasny and C. Lundholm, Routledge, 2011). He serves as a Subject Editor for Ecology and Society. The scholarly quality of his research program was formally recognized in 2008 with the awarding of a Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence. In 2004 he received the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence and in 2008 he was selected as one of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Excellence in Education Award winners for Promotion of Sustainable Practices.

Education
PhD, University of Guelph (Rural Studies)
MA, University of New Brunswick (Sport and Recreation Administration)
BOR (Hons), Lakehead University (Outdoor Recreation)
BA, Lakehead University (History)

Email: mkirkopoulos@lincoln.ca

Twitter: @MikeKirkopoulos

Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Lincoln

About Michael:

Michael Kirkopoulos has been the Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Lincoln since 2015. Lincoln is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the Niagara Region. In his leadership role with Lincoln, Michael oversees the delivery of municipal services, while ensuring the long-term vision of Lincoln is integrated in all decision-making to achieve a sustainable and complete community.

From a focus on enhanced communication, leveraging growth opportunities, more community outreach, economic development, partnership and institutional expansion, there is no shortage of projects currently underway under his leadership. Prior to taking on this role in Lincoln, Michael was with the City of Hamilton for 18 years holding the role of Director – Communications, Inter-governmental Affairs and Special Projects.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Biology, and a minor in Economics. He also holds a master’s degree in management and has studied and trained in conflict resolution, mediation, government and media studies. He is a member of the Canadian Management Professional’s Association, the International Association of City Managers, the Ontario Municipal Administrators Association and holds a CMP designation.

Email: mbruder@lincoln.ca

Manager of Planning Services, Town of Lincoln

About Matt

Matt Bruder joined the Town of Lincoln in late 2016 as the Manager of Planning Services. His portfolio has since expanded to providing leadership in the development engineering, building and by-law departments as well. As such, Matt oversees the processing of planning applications; review and Provincial regulatory framework and updating of municipal frameworks accordingly; issuance of building permits and all required inspections that are related; and the provision of by-law services including enforcement and development/updating of Town by-laws.

Previously, Matt was an Environmental Planner at Stantec Consulting Ltd. for nearly 10 years. As such, he has a strong background in consideration of environmental impacts associated with development, mitigation, and extensive consultation and communication that come along with undertaking environmental assessments for large projects. Matt carries this knowledge forward and applies core principles to his overall approach to work collaboratively with agencies and developers to produce an end product that greatly enhances the Town as a place to live and work.

Matt is a registered professional planner and holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning, a stream under the Environmental Studies faculty at York University. He also holds a Sustainable Busines and Environment diploma obtained from the Schulich School of Business at York University. Matt is a LEED Green Associate which showcases his sustainability oriented approach to development.

Master of Sustainability, Class of 2021

Samantha holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Laurentian University, and completed her Master of Sustainability at Brock University in 2020. Her interests surround participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) strategies in environmental planning and management. In her thesis research, she investigated how the critical PM&E phase influences the broader collaborative process. This research involved a systematic review of literature encompassing monitoring and evaluation associated with collaborative and adaptive environmental management. The insights gained from this scholarship were applied and assessed within a local environmental stewardship initiative in Summer 2019.

rhoda.dejonge@vinelandresearch.com

Rhoda B. deJonge joined Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in 2022 as Director, Plant Responses and the Environment.

She joins from a Canadian-based plant care company where she led research on the application of microbial technology to improve tree survivorship and innovative ways to control urban insect pests. Prior to her work in academia, Rhoda gained valuable project management experience in the environmental non-profit sector in both the USA and Canada.

Rhoda completed her PhD at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Forestry, studying the biological control of invasive species, and has worked as a post-doctoral fellow with the Faculty of Forestry and Agriculture and Agri-food Canada.

Email: jsivarajah@brocku.ca
Twitter: @JananiSivarajah
Please visit her website here.
Please see her google scholar profile here.

Post-Doctoral Fellow, ESRC, Brock University

Research Associate, Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson University

Education:

PhD, University of Toronto (Urban Forestry)

MFC, University of Toronto (Forest Conservation)

BSc. (Hons), University of Toronto (Integrative Biology and French)

About Janani:

Janani Sivarajah is an urban ecology, urban greening, and plant biology researcher, educator, and consultant. Her transdisciplinary research explores the ecosystem services of urban trees and public green spaces, and finds greening solutions to improve the socio-ecological resilience of cities. She is particularly interested in building multifunctional landscapes and proposing nature-based solutions to global environmental challenges (e.g., climate change, increasing UV, heatwaves). Her work has found direct and relevant applications in both public health and environmental fields. She is a Registered Professional Forester in Training, President of the Ontario Urban Forest Council, and member of the Toronto Cancer Prevention Coalition, Shade Policy Steering Committee. She enjoys public engagement, science communication, and hiking through the woods.

Master of Sustainability, Class of 2022

Bridget graduated from McMaster University in 2018 with a Bachelor in Integrated Science. Her research interests include water policy and resource management.

Darby is a Research Scientist and Program Leader for Vineland Research and Innovation’s Centre Greening the Landscape Program.  She works with the nursery – landscape supply chain developing solutions to improve tree establishment in challenging urban settings. She is also an adjunct professor at Brock University and the University of Waterloo.