Susanne Porter-Bopp (water@polisproject.org)

Susanne Porter-Bopp is the Community Water Coordinator at the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance at the University of Victoria. Her research with the Water Sustainability Project at POLIS focuses on developing water conservation capacity in various communities across Canada. She also examines best practices of watershed governance, sound resource management, and ecological based legal and institutional reform.

Since joining POLIS in 2006, Susanne has co-ordinated several community food security and youth engagement projects and is actively involved in community radio and other local media.

Susanne holds a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from the University of Toronto and a Master in Environmental Studies from York University, where her research focused on national parks policy.

Murtaza Amirali (murtaza@waterlution.org)

Murtaza Amirali has recently completed his Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary and Cardiology Technologist Diploma. He is currently pursuing a diploma of health administration. Murtaza is very active in his community, volunteering for the Calgary Health Region, Coalition for Equal Access to Education, and various other community based projects. His passion and interest are issues surrounding water and health, as well as to be an agent for change.

Simon Ham (simon@waterlution.org)

Simon Ham is a biologist and an environmental educator living in Banff. Under contract to Parks Canada, Simon monitors wildlife corridors in winter and human use in the summer. He has worked on several wildlife projects in Banff in the last 10 years (Elk, Cougars, Wildlife Corridors) and spent spring and fall seasons at Riverwatch in Calgary. As senior guide with Riverwatch Simon taught students about our connections to local rivers and showed students where their poop goes at the sewage plant. Simon believes in respecting wilderness, having fun outdoors and sharing that with others as often as possible.

Simon has participated in more Waterlution workshops than anyone else from the Kananaskis workshop in November 2006 to urban issues in the City of Calgary to agriculture at the Lethbridge rural landscapes workshop and oilsands and water workshop in Fort McMurray.

Sofia Fortin (sofia@waterlution.org)

Sofia Fortin is a recent graduated from Simon Fraser University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Publishing. While in school she worked with a number of non-profit groups providing graphic design, writing, and communication strategy services. She worked with the City of Vernon to research, write and design interpretive panels for their Xeriscape educational garden.

While at Simon Fraser University a number of Resource Environmental Management Courses sparked her interest in environmental communication and education. Since graduating she has returned to Whitehorse to continue her work in communications. She has worked with the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources as a communications analyst for branches like the Energy Solutions Centre and has become involved with a number of non-profit initiatives in the north.

Sofia is a member of the Canadian Public Relations Society, and most recently finished a research project on public attitudes and behaviors around the local food movement in Whitehorse. Her interests include water and the environment, food security, as well as social marketing and facilitation and public engagement in social change.

Zoë Kroeker (zoe@waterlution.org)

Zoë Kroeker has over eight years of professional experience working in policy, research and environmental management with key project work in Asia and Africa. Her goal is to further policy dialogue on environmental and economic development issues in Canada and abroad, specifically in relation to water management issues. Zoë has worked a number of roles including an environmental consultant, trade commissioner and lobbyist. She has worked on water conservation strategies in Chinese eco-industrial parks through the United Nations Environment Program and developed a process framework for marine and coastal environmental management in Tanzania through the Global Environment Fund. Zoë has also served as a board member for several ENGOs focused on community-level water projects including RiverSides Stewardship Alliance and Clean Nova Scotia.

Zoë is currently a Senior Advisor with the Ontario Ministry of Environment’s Drinking Water Management Division where she has been developing strategic foresight tools to assist the Ministry in the delivery of safe drinking water. She speaks a number of languages including French, Mandarin and Spanish.

Elizabeth Hendriks (liz@waterlution.org)

Elizabeth Hendriks has recently completed a Master's in Environment Studies from the University of Waterloo which was sustained with a Water Policy Fellowship from the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation. Her professional experience has ranged from international, national and local work in capacity building for sustainability and water management issues. She has worked with the Alliance for Global Sustainability on sustainable leadership curriculum development and worked on community environmental education programs in Halifax, NS and Concoto, Ecuador. She was also part of a two year research project on the Water Soft Path concept in Canada.

She is currently managing a two year research project on the role of residential home builders in the uptake of water efficiency innovation. On the side she is the facilitator for the Canadian Water and Resource Association Mentorship Program, and helps with community workshops on water issues.

Jessica Ginsburg (jginsburg@ecolaw.ca)

Jessica Ginsburg has had a lengthy involvement with the environmental community. Recently, she worked as a lawyer with the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA). Her two primary program areas were provincial drinking water protection and federal toxics regulation. Her extensive work on drinking water has included appearing as a witness before the Ontario Standing Committee on Social Policy, drafting numerous submissions and proposing legislative amendments, and launching the province-wide Water Guardians Network in October, 2006. Jessica's work on toxics has centered on the assessment of new and existing substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and the regulation of biotechnology products.

Previously, Jessica has worked as a policy analyst with the Public Health Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and as a researcher with Environmental Defence. During her time with Environmental Defence, she represented environmental interests in a two-year federal consultation on toxics. Jessica’s volunteer experience has included working as a policy analyst for an Indigenous organization in northern Australia, where she helped to develop a submission to the State of Queensland regarding its biodiscovery policy. In addition to her legal education, Jessica has received training in multi-stakeholder mediation and negotiation.

Currently, she works as an environmental law and policy consultant. She is also a part-time instructor at Ryerson University.

Emilie Lagacé (emilie@waterlution.org)

Emilie’s first experience with Waterlution was in May 2007, when she took part in the Calgary urban water workshop. She holds a MSc in water science, policy and management from the University of Oxford, UK. After her degree, Emilie worked at Environment Canada in the national capital region. Her main roles there were to communicate water science to policy and decision-makers both inside and outside the department, and to improve the science policy linkages inside the organization.

Emilie is currently based in the UK and working for ARUP as a water scientist. ARUP is a large international design consultancy that is notably involved in projects to deliver safe water and sanitation to thousands of people in the developing world. Emilie grew up in the Outaouais region of Québec and speaks French and English fluently. She also has broad experience in nature interpretation and education. She has worked in this role across Canada in National Parks, at the Montreal Biodome, the Canadian Museum of Nature and onboard a cruise ship traveling the Canadian Arctic. She is a member of the Canadian Water Network Young Professionals.