Biographies

Ms. Jane McRae, Chief Executive Officer

contact Jane: jcmcrae(at)icsc.ca

Jane McRae has been with the organization since the inception of the PLUS Network in 2003, playing a key role in designing and implementing the program. Her current international development work with local governments and their key stakeholders is enhanced by a cross-sectoral career background. She has both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Education degree.

Jane has worked in the sustainable development field for over 16 years, starting with her role as an environmental educator for 10 years in the academic sector, a sustainability analyst with the energy industry for two years, and from 2000 - 2003, working on urban sustainability issues through her role as the citiesPLUS Project Manager. citiesPLUS was Canada's winning entry in the World Gas Conference’s sustainable urban design competition that involved teams from eight countries. It was the success of this project that led to the launch of the Sustainable Cities International Network, now in its sixth year of operation.

In addition to managing the Sustainable Cities International Network, Jane has had extensive hands-on experience working on projects with African and Latin American cities, connecting talents that complement each other in order to make things happen. She has built a foundation of relationships that testify to her deep commitment to international collaboration for a more sustainable world.

Ms. Edna Aguinaga, Network Project Officer, Latin America

contact Edna: edna(at)icsc.ca

Edna has worked in sustainability issues for over 10 years, in developing and developed countries. She is originally from Mexico. She holds a Master's degree on Environmental Science and Technology from the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in The Netherlands and a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from La Salle University in Mexico. She has extensive experience with corporate and non-profit sectors and has worked and facilitated workshops in more than 25 countries. Edna's role at Sustainable Cities is to be the main liaison with our Latin American cities, providing support for their initiatives and expanding the Network. Her areas of expertise are strategic planning, sustainability indicators, fundraising / sales and project management.

Mr. Alex Aylett, Research Director

Based in Montreal, Alex is a sustainability researcher and consultant, and a Trudeau Scholar in the Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia. He has worked on urban sustainability in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Africa.

Ms. Samantha Anderson, Senior Project Officer

contact Sam: sjanderson(at)icsc.ca

Samantha Anderson is a Senior Project Manager at Sustainable Cities, focused primarily on sustainability planning and Asia. She is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners, and holds two Masters degrees, one in East Asian Studies and one in Urban Planning. Her first M.A., completed at McGill University, involved a year of fieldwork in the Chinese countryside looking at the revival of religion in the reform era and its relation to the status of women. She worked for 2 years as the Research and Marketing Manager at a multinational real estate company in Beijing, before returning to Vancouver to complete her second Masters at the School for Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia. While in China, she also worked on projects for UNICEF's Children in Need of Special Protection Program, and on projects related to heritage preservation. She has been with Sustainable Cities since 2003 working mainly with the SCI Network, and more recently on an energy efficiency project in China. Her areas of interest include local government capacity, long-term planning, gender relations, multi-stakeholder processes, public engagement, local economic development, energy efficiency, green buildings and sustainable neighbourhood design, peri­urbanization, food security, migration, and resilient communities.

Ms. Sharon Bloedorn, Communications and Events Coordinator

contact Sharon: sbloedorn(at)icsc.ca

Sharon Bloedorn has a deep interest in the healthy transformation of communities that are implementing sustainability principles. She holds a B.F.A. from Emily Carr Institute of Design, and has extensive experience in a number of industries, including the film industry, online publishing and interior design. Her knowledge of LEED building practices and an interest in intelligent design and sustainable building solutions, she continues to be an active member of the design and urban development industry where her primary focus is on green practices. Her work at Sustainable Cities includes developing strategic ideas and direction for senior staff, coordinating events and communications to meet the complex local, national, cultural and international needs of the organization. Sharon also sits on the Board of Directors for the Salt Spring Island Arts Council.

Mr. Eric G. Brown, Youth Led Development Officer

contact Eric: ebrown(at)icsc.ca

Eric Brown cut his teeth in youth-led development during his last year of high school as Chair of the Campbell River Youth Advisory Committee. He has always had a keen interest in politics, sustainability and working with youth. Eric studied Sustainable International Development at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University, receiving his Honours BA in 2007. For completion of this degree, Eric wrote his undergraduate thesis in collaboration with Oxfam Canada on the sustainability of agricultural change in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia. During his degree he also spent a year living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where he interned with Industry Canada on the Sustainable Cities Initiative and attended classes at the University of Dar es Salaam. Prior to Sustainable Cities, Eric worked with Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver where he focused on including a youth perspective in program development.

Mr. Oumar Cissé, Senior Associate, Senegal

Dr. Oumar Cissé is a civil engineer who holds a Master's degree in environmental studies and a Ph.D in Planning and Environment from the University of Montreal. Since 1997, he has served as Executive Secretary of the African Institute for Urban Management (IAGU). His previous positions include a stint as municipal engineer and environmentalist at the Urban Community of Dakar, where he founded the sub-directorate of the environment in 1992. He is a researcher in urban environments specializing in issues of urban waste. He has trained African professionals in urban areas as a lecturer at the Institute of Urban Planning at the University of Montreal since 2000, and as associate professor at the international French-language Senghor University in Alexandria, Egypt, since April 2007. Dr. Cissé has acted as an international consultant (UNDP, CIDA, UN HABITAT) and has authored several articles and international communications in urban environment. He has also served as President of the Network of African Institutions Urban Management (ANUMI) since 2003, and was Coordinator of the Regional Centre of the Basel Convention on hazardous waste in French-speaking Africa from 2004 to 2006. The main areas of intervention are municipal waste, environmental planning, public/private partnership in urban services, urban agriculture and international cooperation in urban areas. Dr. Cissé is the main initiator and coordinator of the "Discharge Mbeubeuss: Analysis of impact and development of channels of waste and urban agriculture to Diamalaye (Malika)" project funded by IDRC under its Urban Poverty and Environment initiative (PURE). In 2007, he produced a book on informal solid waste recycling entitled "L'argent des déchets: L'économie informelle â Dakar, 2007" published by Edition Karthala & Crepos.

Mr. Amadou Dieng, Project Manager Dakar (Montreal)

Member of the Order of Planners in Quebec, Mr. Dieng holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning and a Master in Urban Geography. Since 1997, he collaborated in the implementation of development projects and urban planning as a consultant in firms in Senegal and Canada. He participated in the implementation of the Urban Development Program of the City of Kigali in Rwanda and has also participated in the preparation of the Master Plan of the Grande Côte in Senegal.

Mr. Luis Fragomeni, Senior Associate, Latin America

Luis Henrique Cavalcanti Fragomeni, an Architect and Urban Planner graduated in 1974 from the Federal State University of Parana, has a Master's degree in Regional and Urban Planning from the Edinburgh University, Scotland.

Until recently Fragomeni was the President of the Curitiba's Institute for Research and Urban Planning. He is a Lecturer on Regional and Urban Planning at the Federal University of Parana, where he was also the coordinator for the Integrated Center for GIS Studies.

In the public sector he has held the positions of undersecretary for Urban Infrastructure, and Coordinator of the Metropolitan Regions in the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism, and Environment in Brasilia where he was supervisor for urban metropolitan investment plans including Curitiba, Salvador, Recife. In the private sector, Fragomeni has worked in several cities in Brazil, directing, coordinating and advising works in urban planning, environment, transport, development and infrastructure. He has worked as consultant for property and urban development for HSBC Bank, and as coordinator for sustainability plans in environmentally fragile areas, and also, for 14 municipal development plans under the new Brazilian Cities Statute, where public participation is mandatory.

Ms. Pat Gordon, Director

contact Pat: pgordon(at)icsc.ca

Pat has over 20 years experience in the not-for-profit and municipal, provincial and federal government sectors in Canada and Great Britain.

Pat has been at the forefront of long range urban planning with The City of Calgary. She managed the imagineCALGARY project, Calgary’s long range urban sustainability plan. Today, imagineCALGARY remains the biggest civic visioning project in the world with over 18,000 citizens engaged. Building on imagineCALGARY, Pat then led the Plan It Calgary project which has resulted in a sustainable, integrated land use and transportation plan for Calgary.

Pat has a Bachelor of Science in Geography from the University of Calgary, Canada and a Masters of Science in Earth Science and the Environment from Kingston University in the UK.

Ms. Wendy Holm, Senior Associate, Cuba

Wendy Holm is a Professional Agrologist, resource economist and journalist. She has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a Masters in Agricultural Economics. Her professional expertise is in agriculture, water resources, regulation, competition policy, international trade and communications. For the past nine years, Wendy has managed The Canada Cuba Farmer to Farmer Project, the goal of which is cooperative capacity-building between Canadian and Cuban farm communities.

In addition to her work with the CCFFP, Wendy is also Project Manager for the Sustainable Cities-CIDA project Enhancing Sustainable Dairy Production Capacity in Cuba. During the one-year pilot study, Holm brought together Canadian and Cuban farmers to increase sustainable dairy production on a rural CPA in Havana province. Using solar powered electric fencing and sustainable rotational pasture management, milk production at the rural CPA has already tripled. The next phase will be the development of a peri-urban sustainable dairy model in the eastern city of Bayamo, using treated municipal sewage for effluent irrigation.

Wendy is a past Director of Van City Savings Credit Union, a past-Chair of the Board of Trustees of Ethical Funds Inc, and a past-President of the BC Institute of Agrologists. She was named 2000 BC Agrologist of the Year and has received the Queen’s Medal twice (1993, 2002) for her contribution to community. Since 2003, Wendy had received four national journalism awards for her monthly columns in defense of good public policy for Canada’s farmers.

Proud mother of a 26-year-old daughter, Wendy lives on Bowen Island, BC.

Ms. Ewa Izdebski, Manager of Administration and Finance

contact Ewa: eizdebski(at)icsc.ca

Ewa Izdebski holds a Masters degree in Arts History from Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Poland. Upon arriving in Canada, Ewa completed the Office Technology Program (financial option) offered by Capilano College and received certification in international trade from DFAIT, Forum for International Trade Training (FITT). Her work experience includes the Canadian Embassy in Poland and numerous non­profit cultural institutions in Canada. She offers broad managerial experience in an international setting. At SCI she is responsible for finance and office administration.

Mr. K.A. Jayaratne, Senior Associate, Sri Lanka

Mr. Jayaratne is President of the Sevanatha Urban Resource Centre in Sri Lanka.

Ms. Karen Aroca Marki, Senior Project Manager

contact Karen: kmarki(at)icsc.ca

Karen Marki joined Sustainable Cities after moving to Vancouver from San Francisco where she was the Director of Finance and Administration for the Northern California Community Loan Fund. This $35M loan fund provided grants and financing for nonprofit organizations serving both urban and rural communities in 47 counties of Northern California. In 2006, Ms.Marki was accepted into an executive course on Performance Measurement for Effective Management of Non Profit Organizations at Harvard University. Prior to her six years with the Fund, she was the Development Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Francisco and the Peninsula, and has been a long-time volunteer with several organizations focused on youth and the homeless population. She has an undergraduate degree in Finance, a Masters of Business Administration with an emphasis in International Management, and over 15 years of experience in helping manage non-profit organizations that focus on low-income communities.

Ms. Margaret McKenzie, Senior Associate, CIDA Africa Program

Margaret McKenzie has an M.Sc. in Environment and Development. She has been working with Sustainable Cities International for over three years. Initially she was contracted as the local project officer for the CIDA Africa Programme working on the Imagine Durban project. She is now a part-time senior associate on the CIDA Africa programme. Her two main responsibilities are providing advice and support to the Dar es Salaam office of the CIDA Africa Programme and assisting with reporting on the implementation of the CIDA Africa Programme in Durban by the eThekwini Municipality. She also administers the Durban demonstration fund of CIDA Africa Programme.

Margaret has worked in the environment and development field for 14 years. The initial focus of her work was on coastal and estuary management, combined with tourism and craft development. In recent years Margaret has begun to focus urban sustainability issues. In addition to her work with Sustainable Cities International and on the Imagine Durban project, Margaret is currently contracted as the local project officer of the Durban Industry Climate Change Partnership Programme funded by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation.

Ms. Maguette Seydi, Local Project Officer, Dakar

Maguette Seydi, a geographer, is responsible for socio economic and environmental issues within the Department of Urban Planning (DAU) of the city of Dakar. The DAU is the technical structure of the city which has the task of implementing the policy development, planning of basic amenities in health, education, sports and leisure and project design. Ms. Seydi has also officiated in the municipalities of the city with the advent of decentralization and the creation of Commons District. Her experience as a municipal secretary allowed her to confront the daily management of the city and the administration of people. After a passing over to the International Relations and Cooperation Office of the City of Dakar, she is since 2008 the local project officer for the Sustainable Cities International Network.

Mr. Adam (Xin) Wei, Senior Associate, China

Adam (Xin) Wei is focused primarily on the building energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. He holds two Masters degrees. His first Master degree completed at University of Buffalo. He worked Zenon Environmentals, Inc. (now acquired by GE) as the Project Manager for research, before returning to Toronto to complete his second Masters at the Schulich School of Business at York University. He was then stationed in Qingdao by International Centre for Sustainable Cities as its Representative in China for a TEAM Project funded by NRCAN and Industry Canada. During his stay in Qingdao, he founded the joint venture with Conserval Engineering, a world-leading company in solar air heating. His areas of interest include solar air heating, solar drying, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technologies, photovoltaic (PV) technologies, alternative ventilation system including natural ventilation system and design, integration of energy efficient technologies into a net-zero energy consumption technology package. His projects include the National Demonstration Project of Shandong Architectural University Dormitory recognized by The Chinese Ministry of Construction in 2004, and the Beijing Olympic Village Super-Low-Energy-Consumption Athletes’ Service Centre Project which received world-wide attention during the 2008 Olympic Games.

Ms. Erica Yap, Adminstrative and Finance Assistant

contact Erica: eyap(a)icsc.ca

Erica received her Bachelor of Commerce in HR Management and Marketing from Deakin University in Australia. Prior arriving in Canada, she worked in administration and procurement in the bottling manufacturing industry over five years, and has experience in sales in the hospitality industry in Malaysia. In 2008, she decided to travel and study in Canada. She interned and volunteered for six months at Sustainable Cities as part of her business venture program with Peter Thomson Centre for Venture Development at BCIT, before continuing to pursue her Management Certificate in Business Management. She joined SCI in April 2011 as Admin and Finance Assistant.

Mr. Morgen Zivhave, Local Program Coordinator, Dar es Salaam

Morgen holds an MSC in Urban and Regional Development Planning and Management from the University of Ardhi and Dortmund. He previously worked for Water Aid Tanzania as an Urban Policy Researcher/ Advisor; where his researches on pro-poor small town water supply and management models for small town water supply formed the basis for the Water Aid Tanzania Urban Program. Morgen worked as a Project Facilitator for the Zimbabwe Decentralised Cooperation Program from 2000 – 2006 focusing on implementing development projects; stakeholder institutional development, capacity building and lobby and advocacy.

Morgen is a member of the Tanzania Association of Town Planners and Spatial Planners for Regions in Growing Economies International Association of Development Planners (former University of Dortmund Planning Students from Africa, Asia and Latin America).

Morgen has interests in Urban and Project Planning and Management; Stakeholder Capacity Building, Advocacy, Lobbying and Networking; Participatory Stakeholder Engagement and Community Mobilization.