Our People

The Sustainability Council's members are academics from across the University of Alberta's three colleges and five campuses, representing our interdisciplinary approach to sustainability.

 Scroll down for contact details.

Member Areas of expertise
Dr. Robert Summers

Robert Summers

Council Member

Academic Director and Office Leadership.

 

Expert in:

  • UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Community planning and development
  • Environmental policy

Full profile

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Rhonda Breitkreuz

Council Member

 

Expert in:

  • Social policy affecting families
  • Child care policy
  • Work-family integration and marginalized employment

Full profile.

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Ken Caine

Council Member 

Expert in:

  • Environmental sociology
  • Rural sociology
  • Extension Forestry
  • Indigenous forest stewardship issues
  • Natural resource management in the North

Full profile

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Anita Dey Nuttall 

Council Member

Expert in:

  • Polar science
  • Science policy
  • History of Polar Research Programs
  • Geopolitics and security in the North.

Full profile

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Howie Harshaw

Council Member & Associate Director for the Certificate in Sustainability.

Expert in:

  • Public policy on outdoor recreation
  • Waterfowl management
  • Human dimensions of natural resources.

Full profile

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Guillermo Hernandez Ramirez

Council Member & Academic Advisor for the Certificate in Sustainability

Expert in:

  • Land reclamation
  • Carbon and nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Greenhouse gas mitigation
  • Ecosystem services

Full profile

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Greg King

Council Member

Expert in:

  • Environmental science
  • Paleoecology
  • Forest disturbance ecology
  • Urban forests
  • Environmental studies
Full profile
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Lianne Lefsrud

Council Member

Expert in:

  • Engineering safety and risk management
  • Hazard identification
  • Social license to operate
  • Technological drivers in oil and gas development
  • Organization theory

Full profile

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Candace Nykiforuk

Council Member

Expert in:

  • Health equity
  • Population health intervention
  • Health geography
  • Health promotion
  • Community-engaged research

Full profile

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Arlene Oak

Council Member & Academic Advisor for the Certificate in Sustainability

Expert in:

  • Material Culture & Design Studies
  • Social Identity through language
  • Innovation in Education
  • Past and contemporary aspects of creative practice

Full profile

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Matthew Wildcat

Council Member

Expert in:

  • First Nations co-governenace
  • Prairie Indigenous Political Order
  • Indigenous Treaties and Agreements

Full profile


Contact Us

Name Title Phone Email
Robert Summers Academic Director 780-492-7162 robert.summers@ualberta.ca
Maja Osmanagić Operations Director 780-248-1916 maja.osmanagic@ualberta.ca
Jasmine Farahbakhsh Project Planner - Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Engagement 780-248-1959 jasmine.farahbakhsh@ualberta.ca
Apryl Bergstrom Academic Sustainability Coordinator 780-492-6876 apryl@ualberta.ca
Hussain Al-Rikabi Marketing and Communications Liaison  -- habbas@ualberta.ca
Shannon Heaney  Project Planner - Special Projects 780-492-6363

sheaney1@ualberta.ca

Evonne Tran Coordinator, Outreach and Design 780-492-0043

egtran@ualberta.ca


Working Groups and Committees

Sustainable Food Working Group

This team is composed of students, academic staff, support staff and food vendors. Together, they explore ways to create a resilient food system at the University of Alberta. The working group has sponsored undergraduate research projects in the past, as well as sponsoring projects through Community Service-Learning.

Examples of projects

  • Food donation program development
  • Healthy food campus survey
  • Organize a panel discussion

Sustainability Council Representative: Maja Osmanagić (maja.osmanagic@ualberta.ca).

Green Labs Leaders Network

The Green Labs Leaders Network connects lab users who are interested in leading by example and educating the research community about safe and sustainable lab practices. The network provides input into the university's green labs initiatives, develops best practices for greening labs in our local context, and educates other lab users about safe and sustainable lab practices. The network meets quarterly and online. 

Sustainability Council Representative: TBD.

Waste Diversion Working Group

The University of Alberta Waste Diversion Working Group is focused on the university’s commitment to divert 90 per cent of waste from landfill and continue to reduce waste per campus user. The working group brings together stakeholders from across the university to collaborate, provide strategic guidance for the activities of these stakeholder groups, and help to develop a comprehensive waste diversion strategy for the university.

The working group's activities incldue: conducting needs assessments, establishing targets for the Zero Waste program, educating the university community, and integrating waste diversion into academia. The working group meets quarterly and online.

Sustainability Council Representative: Jasmine Farahbakhsh (jasmine.farahbakhsh@ualberta.ca).

Energy Transition Leadership Network

The Energy Transition Leadership Network is a group of more than 100 leaders who work in commercial, industrial, non-profit, educational and institutional sectors. They represent organizations who are passionate about the City of Edmonton's energy transition strategy, with members working together to turn ideas into action.

The group meets every four months, with several presentations on various energy related topics and group discussions. Members generate new, innovative solutions and are beginning to move these ideas into action with the goal of influencing hundreds of thousands of Edmontonians.

Meetings also provide an opportunity to strengthen the network of energy transition leaders and help members identify new partners or collaborators to advance their initiatives.

Sustainability Council Representative: Jasmine Farahbakhsh (jasmine.farahbakhsh@ualberta.ca).


Internships

The Sustainability Council runs an internship program that allows students to gain valuable work experience in sustainability. Student Interns typically work with the SC from August to April of each academic year. Please consult the UAlberta Career page for position postings.