Mark Carras - Project Officer : Green Economy Development

I am a Halifax born, Nova Scotia raised, West-coast habituating man who graduated from Saint Francis Xavier University's business program with a major in enterprise development and a minor in music. After university I worked in radio broadcasting and public relations before traveling to Gaborone, Botswana and completing a 5.5 month working internship with a grass roots NGO where I focused on fund-raising and organizational development. It was here and throughout some travels in Africa that I fell in love with the continent and its people. Africa is also where I felt a personal calling to work with the environment, sustainability, and its relation to business and government operations and planning.

I am thrilled to be heading back to a part of the world I have come to love and appreciate so much while at the same time having the opportunity to develop professionally in my field of interest. I am excited to build new friendships and networks, learn some of the local languages and cultural subtleties, and hopefully I can catch a wave or two as well! Some of my favourite past times are being with my family and friends, enjoying nature and keeping active. I have a long-standing love affair with music, and I have been playing, writing and listening to music from all different cultures and time periods for over 10 years. I am looking forward to checking out Durban's music scene and am hoping for a beach-side jam or two while working with ImagineDurban as the Green Economic Development Project Officer.

With ImagineDurban I will be continuing the projects of previous interns as well as working to develop new green economic initiatives to involve local community groups, youth and women. I additionally will be aiding ImagineDurban with other long-term sustainable projects to further their vision. While graduate studies are certainly on the horizon, my years since graduation from university have been filled with personal and professional life experience from which I have grown immensely. I can't wait to learn from this experience, develop new skills and knowledge, work with new people and to further my ability to work in a field that resonates strongly with my values, aspirations, and hopes for the world.

Leeanne MacGregor - Project Officer : Outreach + Communications

Raised in small town Ontario, I’ve lived in Toronto, Ontario, for the past eight years, completing a Bachelor of Environmental Studies at York University and working in the environmental and social sustainability field. Past projects with not-for-profit organizations have included community map making, democratic urban public space-making, urban forestry, and arts and journalism skills-building for underserved youth.

Much of my work interest in the past has been city-specific and I’m pleased to continue the trend in my current position with Sustainable Cities International working for the Imagine Durban Project as part of eThekwini Municipality. Here, I will be working with youth and not-for-profit organisations to further develop Durban’s Green Map Project. I will also contribute to outreach and awareness-raising efforts through publishing project materials, hosting workshops, and writing pieces for local media and the Imagine Durban blog.

While in Durban I hope to pursue my personal sustainability goals of eating locally, (easy given the plenitude of fresh pineapples, bananas, and coffee), purchasing locally made clothes, and challenging the busy Durban streets by bicycle.