Dr. Neil Craik is Director and an Associate Professor of Law in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development at the University of Waterloo, where he teaches and researches in the fields of Canadian and international environmental law. His current research examines the role of procedural obligations in governance structures addressing transboundary and global commons environmental issues. Professor Craik has particular interests in the intersection of international and domestic environmental policy, climate and geoengineering governance and environmental impact assessment. He is also currently the Associate Director of Global Programs & Initiatives for the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy. He is the author of several books, including Climate Change Policy in North America: Designing Integration (UTP, 2013), and The International Law of Environmental Impact Assessment: Process Substance and Integration (CUP, 2008), in addition to numerous book chapters and journal articles.

Prior to his current appointment at the University of Waterloo, Dr. Craik was an Associate Professor at the University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law (2004-2009) and prior to that he practiced environmental and land use law with a major Canadian law firm.

As President of The Carbon Accounting Company, Ian has been responsible for the strategic development of environmental sustainability programs and software designed for targeted economic sectors such as the global hospitality and transportation industries. He is also currently an instructor in Carbon Accounting at the University of Toronto Institute for Management & Innovation.  

Ian’s business background includes senior management and executive leadership positions in sustainability consulting, renewable energy technologies, carbon quantification & offsetting, and personal & organizational transformation. As an entrepreneur, Ian has built companies in a variety of sectors including land development, marketing and personal health.

Ian is currently a member of the Global Business Travel Association North American Sustainability Committee; the United Nations Environment Programme Financial Sector Initiative; the International Society of Sustainability Professionals; and the Association of Climate Change Officers. Ian is a certified Greenhouse Gas Inventory Quantifier, is trained in Life Cycle Assessment, holds Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Waterloo, and is a trained leader in personal and organizational transformation.

Dr. Heather Douglas received her PhD in History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) at the University of Pittsburgh in 1998. From 1998-2004, she was the Pibbs Assistant Professor of Science and Ethics at the University of Puget Sound. She then went to the Department of Philosophy at the University of Tennessee from 2004-2011 and spent a year at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh as a visiting fellow for a year in 2010 before taking her position at the University of Waterloo in 2012.

Her research focuses on the interface between science and policy, including the use of science in policy-making and policies for science. She also works on the moral responsibilities of scientists with respect to their work, how to understand scientific integrity, and how the institutional structures of science help or hinder scientists in doing their work with integrity and responsibility. This past November Heather ran a Decarbonization Workshop from which numerous papers are in the process of being written.

Dr. Sarah Burch is Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Sustainability Governance and Innovation and an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Burch is also a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs.  Through her research, writing and teaching, she explores transformative responses to climate change at the community scale, and innovative strategies for governing sustainability.

She is a coordinating lead author of the Earth System Governance Project’s New Directions Initiative, which is creating the Science and Implementation Plan that will inform the research of an international network of more than 3,000 environmental governance scholars over the next 10 years. She was a coordinating lead author of the Second Assessment Report of the Urban Climate Change Research Network, Climate Change and Cities, and was a contributing author to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007). Sarah holds a Ph.D. in resource management and environmental studies from the University of British Columbia (2009), was a visiting research associate at the University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute (2010–2013) and was awarded a Banting Fellowship for her work on sustainability innovation. Her most recent book is entitled Understanding Climate Change: Science, Policy and Practice (University of Toronto Press, 2014).

Tim Gibbins is a Business Development Manager at Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) with over 15 years of experience working in both the automation and energy sectors. OCE drives the development of Ontario’s economy by helping create new jobs, products, services, technologies and businesses. In partnership with industry, OCE co-invests to commercialize innovation originating in the province’s publicly funded colleges, universities and research hospitals.

As a Business Development Manager, he does a substantial amount of work with new and emerging companies in order to fill gaps in research and technology that are not yet being met. He meets regularly with academics and researchers in order to commercialize innovations, promote growth and create jobs in Ontario. Tim's work is integral in identifying new companies and entrepreneurs who are solving real world problems and inventing innovative and effective technologies.

Paul combines his strong research background with direct experience engaging local representatives from communities across Canada and overseas to envision and build local capacity, vitality and sustainability. Recently he has lead economic development seminars in Edmonton, Iqaluit, Inuvik, Fort McMurray, Halifax, Saskatoon, Stratford, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Quebec City and Whitehorse.

Dr. Jennifer Lynes is associate professor and director of the University of Waterloo’s environment and business program. She is Chair of the non-profit organization Residential Energy Efficiency Program (REEP Green Solutions) and co-founder of the North American Sustainable Concerts Working Group. With an educational background in both marketing and environmental studies, her expertise intersects business and the environment, where she focuses on investigating the marketing of sustainability. 

Professor Lynes is co-founder of the Sustainable Concert Working Group whose mandate is to encourage music industry stakeholders to integrate sustainability initiatives into live music concerts. In partnership with researchers at the University of Queensland (Australia) and Queensland University of Technology (Australia), Lynes and her students work with music industry stakeholders such as Jack Johnson, Live Nation and Reverb, to understand and develop the business case for sustainability by removing barriers and increasing motivations for artists, venues and tour managers. This research also investigates the effect of celebrity activism on fostering sustainable behaviour. Students from the graduate and undergraduate programs in Environment & Business are actively working on research related to this topic.

David McAuley is the founder and president of J. David McAuley Architect Inc. He is a graduate of University of Waterloo with undergraduate degrees in environmental studies and architecture. He has established his practice in June 1978. David has since received a special designation as a building biologist and continues to consult for new construction and alterations designing healthy sustainable places. David convened the first ever Healthy Buildings Conference at the University of Waterloo's school of architecture in May 2005 and speaks regularly on the subject. He is a former member of Guelph's Green Plan Steering Committee and LCAC.

J. David McAuley Architect Inc. is a full service architecture firm, established in June 1978 in Drayton and re-located to Guelph for expansion in 1982. The firm specializes in community related buildings including health care and wellness facilities, worship facilities, specialized housing including shelters and hostels and educational and recreational projects. Their holistic focus encourages the use of not just sustainable and environmentally friendly buildings products, but also products that will not adversely affect the health of the building's occupants.

Andrew Crees is a Project Manager in the newly expanded Construction and Civil Infrastructure Sector within CSA Group’s Standards Division. He takes pride in bringing stakeholders together to develop consensus-based standards that bring innovation in this sector to the mainstream, including in the green building area. Prior to joining CSA Group in 2014, Mr. Crees was a Trade Advisor at CMHC, Canada’s housing agency, promoting Canadian expertise in housing, construction, and green building. Mr. Crees holds an International MBA from the Schulich School of Business.

He has experience in both the private and public sectors. Areas of interest include: energy, renewable energy, natural resources, green building, architecture, engineering, construction, infrastructure, transportation, industry, manufacturing, aerospace, education, government and not-for-profit. Skilled at developing and implementing business growth strategies, Andrew leads and manages people, business units and projects to achieve desired results.

Adrian Conrad’s business and financial acumen coupled with project management knowledge makes Adrian a discerning commercial developer and a natural partner at The Cora Group. He is passionate about preserving our environment for future generations and a strong proponent of LEED and sustainable development. Adrian has extensive experience in commercial development and leasing for small and large tenant needs, and over his career,  has raised more than $200 million in capital financing, developed or repositioned more than $250 million of real estate, and overseen the leasing more than 2 million square feet of office space within Waterloo Region. He continues to spearhead the creation of premiere, sustainable Class A office spaces tailored to the needs of tech firms. Cora Group’s portfolio of sustainable properties, located within David Johnson Research + Technology Park in Waterloo’s IdeaQuarter, are among the Region’s most prestigious Class A office locations.

Rawlson O’Neil King is an expert on green buildings, smart homes and smart communities, who has spoken on these topics in China, Russia, Singapore and throughout the United States and Canada. He has experience as a trade journalist, high-technology industry analyst, and public relations practitioner. Educated in Ottawa, he holds both a Bachelor of Journalism and Masters of Arts in Communication from Carleton University. An avid volunteer and community leader, King serves as president of a local community association and sits on the boards of a multi-service community health and social service centre, as well as an prominent and expanding artist-run public art gallery in Ottawa.

Christopher Henderson is the pre-eminent Canadian expert on the participation of Indigenous communities in clean energy ventures and projects. He advises Chiefs and Councils, Tribal Groups and Aboriginal Economic Development Corporations on how to effectively secure and leverage partnership positions in clean energy projects across Canada. Chris also guides utilities, financial firms, corporations and governments on engaging and partnering with Aboriginal communities.  In addition, he possesses extensive experience and market know-how in the realms of renewable energy, clean energy infrastructure, project development and financing, technology development and diffusion, global trade and sustainable development.

He and the company he leads, Lumos Energy, are a centre of excellence in regards to how energy can be a restorative force for communities and countries. Chris’ professional pursuit with Lumos Energy represents an explicit recognition that the world is changing: bringing Indigenous communities into the mainstream of economic activity, from a vantage point of sustainable development, has the potential to generate a diverse array of economic, social and environmental benefits for all stakeholders.

 Dr. Claudio Canizares is a Full Professor and the Hydro One Endowed Chair at the Electrical and Computer Engineering (E&CE) Department of the University of Waterloo, where he has held various academic and administrative positions since 1993.  He received the Electrical Engineer degree from the Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN) in Quito-Ecuador in 1984, where he held different teaching and administrative positions between 1983 and 1993, and his MSc (1988) and PhD (1991) degrees in Electrical Engineering are from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  His research activities focus on the study of stability, modeling, simulation, control, optimization, and computational issues in large and small girds and energy systems in the context of competitive energy markets and smart grids.  In these areas, he has led or been an integral part of many grants and contracts from government agencies and companies, and has collaborated with industry and university researchers in Canada and abroad, supervising/co-supervising many research fellows and graduate students.  He has authored/co-authored a large number of journal and conference papers, as well as various technical reports, book chapters, disclosures and patents, and has been invited to make multiple keynote speeches, seminars, and presentations at many institutions and conferences world-wide.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (IEEE), as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, where he is currently the Director of the Applied Science and Engineering Division of the Academy of Science, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.  He is also the recipient of the 2016 IEEE Canada Electric Power Medal and of various IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Technical Council and Committee awards and recognitions, holding several leadership positions in various IEEE-PES Technical Committees, Working Groups and Task Forces.

Klaus Dohring was born in Nuremberg, Germany. He has two Masters Level Engineering degrees, the first one from the University of Braunschweig, Germany and the second from the University of British Columbia. Klaus has a strong knowledge base in engineering, development, program management and general management. Klaus is a goal-oriented, decisive and dynamic leader with strong team building skills. He has a proven track record in engineering and program management. In his previous assignment Klaus was holding a global leadership position of a $500 million tier-2 automotive supplier group, with complete responsibility for P&L, operations, marketing, sales, research & development, product development, supply chain management, finance and was responsible for an employee base of 4,400. In 2004, Klaus and his family moved to Windsor and founded Green Sun Rising in 2008.  Since over seven years, he has built up the local solar activities and expertise, supported and backed-up by leading European solar companies, with decades of solar experience and know-how. The Renewable Energy Technology Center in Windsor was founded following his vision.

Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) drives the development of Ontario’s economy by helping create new jobs, products, services, technologies and businesses. 

In partnership with industry, OCE co-invests to commercialize innovation originating in the province’s publicly funded colleges, universities and research hospitals. We also support and invest in early-stage projects, where the probability of commercial success and potential total return on innovation are substantial. Another expanding focus for OCE is the development of the next generation of innovators through our entrepreneurship fellowships and programs for students and youth across Ontario.

Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organization that has designed and delivered research and training programs in Canda for 15 years. Working with 60 Universities, thousands of companies, and both federal and provincial governments, we build partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada.

Mitacs was founded in 1999 as a Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence, dedicated to supporting applied and industrial research in mathematical sciences and associated disciplines. Open to all disciplines since 2007, Mitacs has expanded in response to industrial and university needs, including programs in R&D management, professional skills development, and international research training. Fully independent since 2011, Mitacs remains committed to its core vision of supporting research-based innovation and continues to work closely with its partners in industry, academia and government. 

HITCH is a Smart Wireless Mesh Router & Predictive Content Caching Software Platform, that pre-downloads relevant online content once, so many users can access the same information quickly without an Internet connection. Globally, over 4 billion people don't have sustainable (available, affordable & accessible) broadband. Most of these users are un/underserved by existing coverage and service infrastructure; and live in rural and urban emerging markets. Thus, are denied the ability to benefit from real technology-driven economic growth. Flexfinity has developed HITCH – an enhanced smart wireless mesh router that enables communities automatically build, operate, and sustain self-contained Internet platforms; accelerating sustainable broadband in emerging markets.