Melinda Rooke

Multistakeholder Partnerships & Participatory Democracy in the SDGs / How social media dialogue is key to global awareness of the SDGs

Melinda Rooke is an entrepreneur, artist, mom and social justice activist who has worked on community grass roots issues for over three decades. Melinda is a member of the UN NYC WorldWeWant 2030 Policy Strategy Group Committee and designated a SDGs Champion/Advocate of the WorldWeWant 2030 Canada, furthering the awareness of the SDGs.

Joan Kerr

How do sustainable food systems serve the implementation of SDGs?

Joan Kerr is a Social Entrepreneur and humanitarian with over 35 years in facilitating community economic development projects, specialising in community organizing and planning, participatory approach of public/community engagement, multi-stakeholders' collaboration. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Foundation for Building Sustainable Communities, a not for profit that embodies her passion for philanthropy, social entrepreneurship and food.

Nicholas Morgan

Morgan Solar – A Canadian Case Study in Solar Success

Nicolas Morgan is the co-Founder of Morgan Solar, member of its Board of Directors and leads the company’s Business Development and Marketing efforts. Morgan Solar is a technology company founded in 2007 with the goal of making unsubsidized solar energy competitive with traditional sources of electrical generation.

Sawsan Abdul-Majid

Advancing new Canadian women in Technology(ANCWT): Employment bridging program for professional women in the field of Engineering. How to attract women professional refugees and newcomers to join Canadian job market?

Sawsan Abdul-Majid is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Ottawa. She holds PhD in Optical Communication Systems from Varna University, Bulgaria. She brings more than 25 years academic (Teaching & Research) experience, as well as eight years engineering industrial experience.

Khairoon Abbas

Khairoon Abbas is a communications and sustainability specialist and has spent the last seven years working as a consultant with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), where she supported various communications and education projects that focus on environmental awareness, education for sustainable lifestyles and youth. At UNEP, Khairoon coordinated the YouthXchange Initiative, which promotes sustainable lifestyles to youth aged 15-24 through education, capacity-building and awareness-raising. This Initiative empowers youth to better understand the impact of their consumption and how to change wasteful consumption into ones that are more attuned to sustainable development.

Aparna Venkatachalam

Aparna Venkatachalam is the Program Manager of the UN Global Compact Network Canada and a Senior Consultant at B.Accountability. Aparna has international work experience in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility in a broad range of industries. Prior to joining the Canadian chapter of the UN Global Compact, Aparna was working as Project Manager at CSR Asia’s Europe Office in Edinburgh, U.K delivering sustainability-related projects for corporate clients.

Kaileigh Nichols

Climate smart agriculture: how to change the world with food. -- Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network (CSAYN)

Kaileigh Nichols is a volunteer sustainability and social developer. She has worked on Climate Smart farms in Ontario and in Brazil and is starting agro-educational projects in her local community. She aims to encourage other young people to influence positive change within their local community as well.