Dr. Tossutti’s research is focused on immigration and diversity, social capital, political and civic participation, and resilient cities and neighbourhoods. She is the Principal Investigator of a SSHRC-funded research project:  “Covid-19 and Pathways to city and neighbourhood resiliency in Toronto’s social and community services”.  Other current research explores the responses of select American cities to immigration (funded by the Social Justice Research Institute), and a book manuscript on how six Canadian municipalities have adapted their plans, policies and practises to immigration and ethnocultural diversity. She is the lead author (with Mintz, Brock and Barrie) of Canadian Politics Today: Democracy, Diversity and Good Government, a fully digital and interactive text on Canadian politics, and co-author of three previous editions of the text. She has also authored The Electoral Participation of Ethnocultural Communities, book chapters, research reports, and articlies published in Urban Affairs Review, Canadian Journal of Political Science, Canadian Ethnic Studies, Party Politics, the Journal of Canadian Studies, West European Politics, and Mediterranean Politics.

en Holzer is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre at Brock University. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University. She studies knowledge production and governance of social-ecological systems in service of fostering transformations toward sustainability. Her doctoral work evaluated the “know-do” gap in social-ecological research in Europe, providing recommendations that fed directly into recent changes to research programs. Previously, she was a project manager for climate change mitigation and energy efficiency programs in California and across the US.

Darren holds a Bachelors of Science from Brock University and a Post Graduate degree in Geographic Information Systems and Geospatial Management from Niagara College. He is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. During his studies, Darren noticed the geo-literacy challenges that students faced and the continual growth of the geospatial technology sector in the Niagara region. In response, Platakis founded an educational non-profit organization called Geospatial Niagara in 2013. To date, Geospatial Niagara has provided projects with an estimated market value over $1 million. Major projects include the  Niagara Peninsula Geopark, TreeOcode, and Day of Geography.  

Natalie Lowe is a hospitality and tourism business professional with over 30 years of experience who lives and breathes sustainability. Natalie is a past President of The Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners, the co-founder of The Sustainable Events Forum, and operates an event company, Celebrate Niagara. Natalie is a Certified Climate Leader through the Climate Reality Project and is Certified in Meeting Management (CMM). Her work has been published in national and international fora, such as Ignite Magazine’s Events That Matter. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Events Industry Council Global Impact Award.  Natalie is on a mission to help people to lead on climate action in their communities and in their workplaces. Her influence on sustainability in Niagara cannot be overstated.  

Dr. Marney Isaac is a Professor in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences and the Centre for Critical Development Studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and the Department of Geography at the University of Toronto. Dr. Isaac holds the Canada Research Chair in Agroecosystems & Development. Dr. Isaac leads an interdisciplinary lab that addresses fundamental questions on the role of biodiversity in agroecosystems. She is a specialist in the field of agroecology, with particular expertise in agroforestry systems. Her research provides insights into the plant-soil interactions that govern the structure and function of biologically complex agricultural landscapes. She also supervises an international research program investigating the role of agrarian information networks in the adoption of agrobiodiversity.

Dr. Dias is a postdoctoral fellow for the V2V Global Partnership Initiative and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Her research focuses on understanding global and regional vulnerabilities faced by small-scale fisheries and supporting knowledge to foster a transition to more viable SSF communities. Her expertise relies on coastal governance, fisheries monitoring, and the relationship between the well-being of fishing communities, with a focus on developing countries. She holds a PhD in Social and Ecological Sustainability from the University of Waterloo and a M.Sc. in Ecology from the University of Campinas, Brazil. Ana Carolina is a co-founder of the Socio-ecological co-creation network for Latin America (RESACA), which is oriented to develop co-creation methodologies to respond to socio-ecological challenges. She collaborates with the Research and outreach group on conservation and management of the commons (CGCommons), University of Campinas, and is a past Institutional Fellow at the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research.

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Dr. Gina Martin is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Health Disciplines at Athabasca University. Gina’s research focuses on understanding how the physical and social neighbourhoods where young people live, play, and learn influences their well-being. Much of her research involves using quantitative techniques and mixed methods to examine health inequalities. Recently, she has worked extensively on projects studying patterns of adolescent wellbeing and substance use in both the Canadian and Scottish context.

This event was live-streamed and recorded. To watch a recording, visit https://brocku.ca/esrc/sustainability-seminar-series/

Jennifer Hodbod is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Sustainability, where she researches and teaches the topic of resilient food systems – environmentally and economically sustainable food systems that can equitably feed a growing global population whilst adapting to security threats such as climate change, changing preferences, and economic shocks. To integrate these components, she utilized environmental social science and political ecology methods within a novel and integrative research design for investigating human-environment interactions – resilience assessment. Her collaborators include members of key research and engagement organizations, academics from multiple disciplines and universities, local and national governments, NGOs, and smallholder and commercial producers.

This event was live-streamed and recorded. To watch a recording, visit https://brocku.ca/esrc/sustainability-seminar-series/