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Our Team

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Dr. Tristan Pearce

Associate Professor & Canada Research Chair in Cumulative Impacts of Environmental Change

Dept. Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences

Dr. Tristan Pearce is an Associate Professor and the Canada Research Chair in the Cumulative Impacts of Environmental Change at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), Canada. His research focuses on the cumulative impacts of environmental change, in particular the vulnerability and adaptation of socio-ecological systems to climate change. He is currently working on these issues in partnership with communities in the Canadian Arctic, Pacific Islands region, and British Columbia. Dr. Pearce takes a grassroots, ethnographic approach to research, which emphasizes the importance of studying first hand what people do and say in particular contexts, and considers multiple ways of knowing and understanding people's relationships with the environment and how it is changing. 

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Annie King

Research Associate: Northern Community Engagement Specialist

In her Research Associate position, Annie is responsible for working with community members in the Sahtu Region to develop new processes of engagement for use in the closure of the Norman Wells Oilfield. Annie's position is funded by the Sahtu Land and Water Board in collaboration with the Northern Studies Program at UNBC. 

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Mackenzie Ostberg

MA Candidate

Mackenzie is an MA student in the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies program (Geography) at UNBC. Her research focuses on identifying how communities in the Robson Valley are exposed and sensitive to climate related mountain hazards and their capacity to adapt. She received a BA in Human Geography with a minor in Global Environmental Change at the University of Northern British Columbia (2023).

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Halena Scanlon

MNRES Candidate

Halena is a Masters of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (MNRES) student at the University of Northern British Columbia. Her research focuses on engaging Inuit Traditional Knowledge to better understand the impacts of climate change on Arctic marine species. Halena received a Bachelor of Arts and Science (Hons.) from the University of the Sunshine Coast where she specialised in Development Studies and Ecology. She also obtained a Graduate Certificate in GIS and Remote Sensing from Charles Sturt University.

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Yanik Rozon

MA Candidate

Yanik is an MA student in Environmental Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies. Her research focuses on nature-based solutions for adaptation to the cumulative impacts of climate change and human activities through a case study of a marine protected area in Fiji. She received a Bachelor of International Development Studies from the University of Guelph where she specialized in Environmental Development. She has worked with informal settlement communities throughout Fiji in adapting to climate change and has also worked as a project coordinator for the St. Lawrence River Strategy: 

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Rubi Briones Venegas

MA Candidate

Rubi Briones is an MA student in the International Studies program at the University of Northern British Columbia. Her research thesis will be focused on assessing the success of adaptive strategies in Indigenous communities in Peru. Her work closely aligns with the Indigenous Peoples Observatory Network (IPON) project in Peru and Bolivia, where she will collaborate directly with IPON members. Together, they will address the threats posed by climate change to human health and food security. She is passionate about exploring diverse cultures and actively supports cultural communities in their endeavors.

Rubi is originally from Lima, Peru. She received a BA in Tourism Management with specialization in Cultural Tourism at Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, in Peru. During her undergraduate studies, she was awarded with the Emerging Leaders of the Americas program scholarship to be an exchange student at Nova Scotia Community College in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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Lenworth Reckford

Research Associate: Indigenous Peoples Observatory Network (IPON)

Lenworth recently completed his Master of Arts in International Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia. He attained his Bachelor of Science in Geography at the University of West Indies, Jamaica where his undergraduate thesis focused on urban agriculture and food security. Lenworth is interested in food systems and food security. Currently, he is a Research Associate working on the Indigenous Peoples Observatory Network (IPON) project.

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Madeleine Fisher

MA Candidate

Madeleine is an MA Student in the Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Geography) program at the University of Northern British Columbia. Her research focuses on developing community resilience and adaptation strategies to coastal erosion and flooding in the Canadian Arctic, particularly in the Inuit communities of Kugluktuk and Ausuittuq. Madeleine received a Bachelor of Science from UNBC (2024) in Psychology with a minor in Human Geography. During her undergraduate studies, Madeleine travelled to Norway for an independent study supervised by Dr. Tristan Pearce, where she was an intern at the Western Norway Research Institute (WNRI). At the WNRI, Madeleine supported research on ocean plastic pollution as a byproduct of the fisheries and aquaculture industries.

Collaborators

Collaborators

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Priestley Chair in Climate Change Adaptation, University of Leeds

Prof. James Ford

James Ford is the Priestley Chair in Climate Change Adaptation at the Priestley International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds. He is originally from Oldham, UK, and after doing his BA and MSc at Oxford, he moved to Canada to complete his PhD at the University of Guelph (2002-2006) before becoming a faculty member at McGill University in Montreal (2009-2017). He moved back across the pond in 2017 to take up a positon at the Priestley Centre, and as dual UK-Canada citizen maintain strong links with Canada.

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Associate Professor, University of Manitoba

Prof. Lisa Loseto

Lisa Loseto is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Earth Observation Science (CEOS) at the University of Manitoba and a Research Scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Winnipeg with the Arctic Aquatic Research Division. Her research focuses on characterizing beluga health to better understand ecosystem health in the Western Canadian Arctic. Working closely with the Inuit communities of the Western Arctic, the Inuvialuit, she works to better understand beluga diet, habitat use and climate change impacts combining both western science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).

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Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria

Prof. Frank Duerden

Frank Duerden is a Professor Emeritus in the Department Geography at the University of Victoria. He has long standing interest and practical experience in the field of land and resource issues in northern and rural regions. He has advised a number of First Nations on a wide range of land and resource issues, and worked on land claims and land-use planning in northern Canada on environmental assessment in British Columbia, on Maori resource rights, and on land-use planning in northern Russia. He has written on sustainable development in northern Canada, northern land–use planning, land-claims, and economic development, and applications of geo-technology. Recently he has investigated community impacts of climate change in the Mackenzie Beaufort region, Yukon mining sector, and is currently involved in assessing community vulnerabilities to climate change in the Yukon. His primary interest is in applied research and the translation of concepts and ideas to the world of application.

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Adjunct Faculty, University of the Sunshine Coast

Brendan Doran

Brendan Doran has been an Adjunct Professor at USC and the Sustainability Research Centre since 2014 when he retired to the Sunshine Coast after a policy and diplomatic career with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has a wide range of ongoing interests arising from his formal studies in politics, strategic studies and international law and his DFAT career path. These include foreign policy, strategic studies, peacekeeping, and international politics, relations and environmentally sustainable development issues and SDG achievement in the Asia-Pacific Region. His interest in sustainability also dates from work in DFAT on the international environmental agenda and a specialisation in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. He was awarded the Public Service Medal for his contribution to the negotiation of the Madrid protocol on the environmental protection of Antarctica.

Alumni

Researcher

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MSc in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (2024)

Stephanie Chan

Stephanie completed her MSc at the University of Northern British Columbia in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies. Her research focused on the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems in the western Canadian Arctic, through the study of Greenland cod in Ulukhaktok, NT. Stephanie's research integrated both scientific approaches and traditional ecological knowledge, with the aim of informing fisheries co-management. Upon completing her MSc, Stephanie was hired at the Firelight Group as a researcher for the Ecology Team working with Indigenous communities across Canada.

Researcher

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MA NRES University of Northern British Columbia (2023)

James Whitehead

James completed his MA at the University of Northern British Columbia in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies. His research focused on community resilience to wildfire risk in the Robson Valley, B.C. Upon completing his MA, James was hired as a wildfire engagement analyst at Simon Fraser University's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.

Researcher

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MA NRES University of Northern British Columbia (2023)

Annie King

Annie completed her MA at the University of Northern British Columbia in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies. Her research focused on Sahtu-Dene and Metis engagement in the remediation and reclamation process of the Norman Wells oilfield. Annie is continuing this work in partnership with the Sahtu Land and Water Board as a Research Associate at UNBC.

Researcher

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BSc Forest Ecology and Management

Julie Forrest

Julie Forrest studied at Ájtte, a Sámi museum and cultural center, in Northern Sweden as part of the UNBC Travelling Knowledges program. She worked with Dr. Karin Beland Lindahl and Dr. Christina Allard, Luleå University of Technology on a project that addresses Indigenous rights, land use planning and justice, through a study of the northward expansion of ‘green energy’ (windfarms, mining) on Sámi lands. She also assisted the research unit at Ájtte in their search for collaborative planning tools for land use conflicts between Sámi reindeer herders and mining activity in the region. 

Researcher

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PhD University of Leeds (2022)

Dr. Angus Naylor

Angus completed his PhD  at the University of Leeds’ Priestley International Centre for Climate in the United Kingdom. His doctoral thesis focused on the real-time monitoring of dynamic climate change vulnerability among Inuit hunters in Ulukhaktok, NT, Canada. He developed new approaches to understanding vulnerability within social-ecological systems through the use of a novel GPS and participatory mapping methodology.

Researcher

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MSc NRES University of Northern British Columbia (2021)

Jessica Smart

Jessica MSc research involved working with the Inuit community of Ulukhaktok in the western Canadian Arctic to document Inuit knowledge and observations of Arctic char health and movement ecology under changing environmental conditions. Jessica now works as a Conservation Planner with the North Slave Metis Alliance based in Yellowknife, NT.

Researcher

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PhD University of the Sunshine Coast (2021)

Dr. Kerrie Pickering

Kerrie Pickering's PhD research focused on the relationship between food security and human health under changing environmental conditions in Fiji. 

Researcher

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Research Associate (2020), MA Geography (2017)

David Fawcett

Worked on the BearWatch project which involved partnering with communities in the Arctic to better understand the impacts of climate change on polar bears and the people who depend on them. 

Researcher

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BA Sustainability (2020)

Shelly Barber

Assisted with research dissemination materials for Fiji projects.

Researcher

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Bachelor of Journalism and Sustainability (2019)

Miguel Van Der Velden

Worked on the INDSPIRE project "School in a Modern Arctic" in Ulukhaktok and coordinated UN Conference of the Parties activities for the research group.

Researcher

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MA Geography (2019)

Supervisor: Dr. Harriot Beazley

Kristin Emanuelsen

Research examined the importance of sewing to Inuit women in Ulukhaktok as part of the Nunamin Illihakvia: Learning from the Land project.

Researcher

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MA Geography (2018)

Renee Currenti

Worked on several projects in Fiji including documenting iTaukei social values of the Sigatoka River, adaptation to climate change in Nawairuku (MA research) and Vusama villages. 

Researcher

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BA Sustainability (2018)

Roger Kitson

Worked on several projects in Fiji including documenting iTaukei social values of the Sigatoka River and adaptation to climate change in Nawairuku and Vusama villages.

Researcher

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MA Geography (2018)

Supervisor: Dr. Lisa Loseto

Elizabeth Worden

Worked with Inuvialuit in Aklavik in the western Canadian Arctic to understand changes in beluga whale harvesting over time.

Researcher

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MA Geography (2018)

Devin Waugh

Worked with Inuvialuit in Tuktoyaktuk in the western Canadian Arctic to document traditional ecological knowledge of beluga whale.

Researcher

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Bachelors, Tourism and International Business (2018)

Kate Whitaker

Coordinated the University delegation to COP24, International climate change negotiations, in Bonn, Germany.

Researcher

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Bachelor of Environmental Management (2018)

Erin McPhail

Assisted with research publications and was a delegate to COP 24, international climate change negotiations, in Bonn, Germany. 

Researcher

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MA Geography (2017)

Eric Lede

Worked with the community of Paulatuk in the western Canadian Arctic to understand the implications of social-ecological changes for livelihoods.

Researcher

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MA Geography (2017)

Genevieve Lalonde

Worked with Inuit in Ulukhaktok in the western Canadian Arctic to understand their perceptions of learning and vision for education in the community.

Researcher

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MSc Honours (2016)

Mathew Brown

Engaged with Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Traditional Owners on the Sunshine Coast, Qld. Australia and remote sensing to map mangrove change on the Maroochy River.

Researcher

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BsC Honours (2016)

Rachele Wilson

Worked with Traditional Owners on the Sunshine Coast, Qld, Australia on Indigenous land management and cultural heritage management.

Researcher

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MSc Geography (2016)

Colleen Parker

Worked with Inuit in Ulukhaktok in the western Canadian Arctic to understand stresses effecting the local food system and opportunities for adaptation. 

Researcher

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MA Geography (2016)

Linnaea Jasiuk

Worked with Inuit women in Ulukhaktok in the western Canadian Arctic to understand their perceptions and approaches to health.

Researcher

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MA Geography (2015)

Evelyn Rodriguez

Studied "how Australia is adapting to climate change" and co-authored the results of a systematic literature review on this topic in the journal Sustainability (2018).

Researcher

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BA Honours (2013)

Jenna Brown

Examined what role, if any public awareness and knowledge play in the valuation and conservation of sea turtles (Superfamily Chelonioidea) on the Sunshine Coast, Qld. Australia.

Researcher

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Bachelor of Journalism (2013)

Rowan Schindler

Worked on the Nunamin Illihakvia project in Ulukhaktok in the western Canadian Arctic as a project photographer, videographer and journalist. 

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