Team
Karen Kun is Director and Co-founder of Waterlution – A Water Learning Experience and Publisher of Corporate Knights magazine. She...
Karen Kun is Director and Co-founder of Waterlution – A Water Learning Experience and Publisher of Corporate Knights magazine. She is a current DiverseCity Fellow and board member of the Small Change Fund (smallchangefund.org), Leadership Development at the Banff Centre, and the Living Lakes Network Canada. Karen has a combined business-environmental background, including a commerce degree from Concordia University specializing in international business and an advanced geography education from York University, with a focus on water and environmental management. To compliment her formal education, Karen brings 10 years of facilitation experience to Waterlution. She has hosted groups of all sizes on water (and a multitude of other topics).
Karen founded Waterlution in 2003, after piloting water-learning programs in South Africa with local stakeholders following involvement in the World Summit for Sustainable Development. With experience working as a consultant in the UK and as a field worker in Columbia, Costa Riva, Bolivia and South Africa (via Oxfam-Quebec and CUSO), Karen has developed extensive strategy and research capabilities surrounding environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility. She is devoted to advancing social change, systems thinking, and ecological diversity, and one of her greatest passions is encouraging inter-generational learning and transferring knowledge through mentorship opportunities.
Karen is committed to creating spaces for dialogue through facilitating and documenting the voice of specialized groups and stakeholders. She has used film production as a method of achieving this goal, and completed her first film, “A New Culture of Water”, in Soweto, South Africa in 2004. Karen is currently working on a film on water in Canada.
Tatiana is a social entrepreneur, sustainability practitioner and change strategist. She works across sectors and cultures to...
Tatiana is a social entrepreneur, sustainability practitioner and change strategist. She works across sectors and cultures to develop life-affirming and resilient leadership for whole systems innovation. She is passionate about systemic change, sustainability, water, enabling start-up initiatives/enterprises, creating synergies, good questions and meaningful conversations.
Along with her role at Waterlution, Tatiana is also a partner of Engage! InterAct, collaborator with The Hub and involved in The Art of Hosting fellowship. Tatiana holds a M.Sc. in Responsibility & Business Practice (University of Bath, UK). As a skilled and enthusiastic designer and facilitator of learning processes, she draws on participatory practices such as Circle, World Café, Open Space Technology, Appreciative Inquiry and other social technologies to enable transitions to new futures. She is certified as a FlowGame host, experienced in cross-functional process improvement and trained in CSR reporting assurance. Tatiana has always found solace near water and as her avid interest in systemic thinking grew, she came to see Water as a basic element of – and at the same time a metaphor for – what matters in our lives, communities and business practices. Faced with growing knowledge about the water world and the fragmentation that exists between various water stakeholders, she currently wonders: how do we put water back at the centre?
Julia holds a MES from the University of Waterloo and a BA (Hons) in Geography and Environmental Studies from McMaster University....
Julia holds a MES from the University of Waterloo and a BA (Hons) in Geography and Environmental Studies from McMaster University. Her research has covered a wide range of topics from the impacts of fishing down the food chain in Atlantic Canada, to examining the drivers and barriers to urban residential rainwater harvesting for non-potable uses in Ontario and strategies to overcome these barriers. Julia’s passion for a more sustainable water relationship drives her to reach out to multiple stakeholders and encourage information sharing to promote greater water awareness and stewardship. Julia is so excited to be a part of Waterlution and is eager to work with the staff and associates across the country to facilitate cross-silo, meaningful and inclusive water dialogue, to nurture strong and resilient leaders and communities.
Tori joined Waterlution in 2008 as the organization's first full-time administrator, and stayed on until January 2012 to lead the...
Tori joined Waterlution in 2008 as the organization's first full-time administrator, and stayed on until January 2012 to lead the core team under Karen. She has been thrilled to be a part of Waterlution in its formative years, and is continuing to assist the team as a special advisor. Tori is a native of Halifax, NS, and holds a Queen's BSc (Hons) degree in Environmental Science from Queen's University. She is most interested in the role of meaningful education and cross-sector dialogue in achieving deep systemic change; her experience includes work with Burmese opposition groups on capacity-building initiatives, Dalhousie University's Office of Sustainability in developing social marketing strategies, and Corporate Knights magazine as an editorial staff member and current Assistant Publisher. As Waterlution Program Manager, Tori managed the day-to-day functions of the organization. She thanks Karen and Tat for pursuing their vision!
Cheryl is a manager and consultant with over 14 years experience. She holds a Master of Science in Responsibility and Business (...
Cheryl is a manager and consultant with over 14 years experience. She holds a Master of Science in Responsibility and Business (University of Bath) and a Bachelor of Commerce (University of Calgary). Cheryl has a particularly strong background in environmental and stakeholder communications. Her interest lies in asking questions around how to unleash new possibilities for meaningful conversations to generate meaningful action. Cheryl currently runs a sustainability consulting practice focusing on land use, community engagement, sustainability strategy and organizational change. She has worked in various programme development and strategic roles for AIESEC, Alberta Real Estate Foundation, Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, Calgary Arts Development Authority, Commonwealth of Learning, IBM, imagineCALGARY, and the Shastri Institute. Cheryl is a certified facilitator and assists organizations and teams in developing high performance by incorporating diverse ways of thinking using the techniques of the Art of Hosting, Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument, and Systemic Mapping. She is interested in water and land use and can often be found riding her horse, Witt, through the beautiful foothills of Southern Alberta.
Donna is the director of Fluent Environmental and is based in New Zealand. Donna currently works on the Christchurch Earthquake...
Donna is the director of Fluent Environmental and is based in New Zealand. Donna currently works on the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Strategy and Planning. Since 2003, Donna has loved her roles in strategic water policy, environmental planning, engagement and communications. Donna has had responsibilities for community engagement on water, water law reform, water strategy and plan implementation for New Zealand and British Columbia’s Environment Ministries. Before that she bounced around the globe teaching English and undertaking a massive field trip. Aside from water, she’s passionate about travelling and cultural interchanges. Donna holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Policy and a Bachelor of Arts.
Dona is organizing and managing the Toronto and Southern Ontario region Waterlution Hub, while also providing programming support...
Dona is organizing and managing the Toronto and Southern Ontario region Waterlution Hub, while also providing programming support to the core team. With a Political Science degree from York University, a global perspective and genuine interest and concern for water, she earned a Master in Globalization Studies at McMaster University at the Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition and a graduate diploma in Water Without Borders at the United Nations University - Institute for Water, Health and Environment (UNU-INWEH). Her field research includes visiting communities in rural Kenya to explore governance structures of grassroots self-help water projects. As Hub Manager with Waterlution, Dona is driven to nurture creative spaces and to facilitate meaningful water-focused dialogue, encouraging system change thinking in young water professionals and leaders. It's thrilling to watch a Waterlution community of practice and action develop and grow!
In her last year of undergraduate studies in Environmental Sciences at the University of Winnipeg, Renee wishes to use all she has...
In her last year of undergraduate studies in Environmental Sciences at the University of Winnipeg, Renee wishes to use all she has learned to be a positive influence in all areas of water quality and management. She has a vast background in many areas including field research, laboratory testing, communications, mentorship and project facilitation. Education and creating awareness must accompany the science if we wish to create change.
Alla Guelber lives in Calgary, close to the majestic Bow River mid-way on its journey as it meanders from the peaks of the Rocky...
Alla Guelber lives in Calgary, close to the majestic Bow River mid-way on its journey as it meanders from the peaks of the Rocky Mountains to the rolling prairies of Southern Alberta. As a Waterlution Associate, Alla has hosted water-focused experiential workshops and assisted in the planning and logistics for the Canadian Water Innovation Lab in October 2010. Inspired by her experiences with Waterlution and several other outstanding youth leadership programs, Alla founded the Meaningful Work Project, an educational initiative focused on knowledge sharing and building future capacity for creating meaningful work that sustains people and ecosystem integrity. Currently a graduate student in the Master of Arts – Environmental Education and Communication at Royal Roads University, Alla has a background in communications (journalism and public relations) and youth environmental leadership. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Communications – Public Relations from Mount Royal University.
Mike Unrau lives near the great Rocky Mountains, in Calgary, where the headwaters flow down across the vast prairies. Loving...
Mike Unrau lives near the great Rocky Mountains, in Calgary, where the headwaters flow down across the vast prairies. Loving the mountains and mountain ecology river systems, he joined the Wonder of Water Initiative during the International Year of Freshwater to produce edutainment programming for public awareness, He has worked for years in environmental education, social action, arts and community development, recently working as Manager of Environmental Education at Green Calgary Association, and as a water expert for the Caring For Our Watersheds program. After his Masters Degree in arts and international social work, he directed several self initiated projects leading and teaching University students in social work for application in rural Indian community development, including local water management. A fiery passion for meaning-making and human dynamics, Mike uses a participatory research model in his facilitation with a holistic approach to education initiatives and "big-picture" thinking in seeing connections between community, ecology and relationship.
Dana McDonald is a water resource scientist who has worked in Ontario, the Arctic, Alberta and British Columbia in research and...
Dana McDonald is a water resource scientist who has worked in Ontario, the Arctic, Alberta and British Columbia in research and professional capacities. Dana earned her Master’s degree studying Arctic stream systems and began her career in environmental consulting with work on surface water management in mines and stream restoration. Dana is interested in integrated watershed management and the connections between water science and effective governance of regional water resources and is enrolled in the Certificate in Watershed Management Program at the UBC. In her spare time, Dana hikes and bikes in the backcountry of the Rocky and Coast Mountains, takes advantage of Vancouver’s bikeways to get around and frequents the local farmer’s market.