GREEN CAREERS WEEK EDITION 2022
Aspiring to work in the environment? Looking for a green career? Wanting to make an impact on our world? Industry Insider: Green Careers Week Edition is where you can hear from professionals working in these areas and more! Check out all the events running from March 22 to 24.
Industry Insider - A Closer Look at Careers in Nature
March 22, 2022
11:00 am -12:00 pm
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Want to travel the world and discover new species? Ever wonder how being a curator at a natural history museum can impact our understanding of the history of the planet? Or how patterns of biological diversity can reveal environmental and historical causes? Come hear what Dr Chakrabarty has to say and have your questions answered.
Speaker/Bio:
Dr. Prosanta Chakrabarty is a Full Professor and the Curator of Fishes at the Museum of Natural Science and Department of Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University. He is also a Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C and the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Canada. He is a systematist and an ichthyologist studying the evolution and biogeography of fishes, his work has taken him to more than thirty countries around the world (including Japan, Australia, Brazil, Taiwan, Madagascar, Panama, and Kuwait). He has described over a dozen new species and published more than 85 peer-reviewed papers and several books.
Dr. Prosanta grew up in New York City, his undergraduate degree is from McGill University in Montreal (the city where he was born) and his PhD is from the University of Michigan. He is a former Program Director at the National Science Foundation, an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a TED Senior Fellow. and a Fulbright Distinguished Chair.
Industry Insider: A Closer Look at Fisheries Assessment Careers with Fisheries & Oceans Canada
March 22, 2022
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
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Do you wonder what it would be like to swim with spawning salmon or fly over them in a helicopter? Or use video or sonar technology for enumeration? Collect biological samples that help contribute to the understanding of population dynamics and marine distribution and survival? Come hear what Nicolette Watson has to say about the salmon world on the West Coast of Canada and have your questions answered.
Speaker/Bio:
Nicolette grew up in Southern Alberta, riding horses in the Rocky Mountains. She always had a love for nature, the environment and learning about different ecosystems and their flora and fauna. She graduated from Lethbridge Community College with a diploma in Renewable Resource Management and decided to live and learn near the ocean. She moved to Vancouver Island and went to the University of Victoria, graduating with a co-op degree in Biology. She spent time studying at Bamfield Marine Sciences Center, and completed 4 co-op jobs while trying to decide what to do for a career. Her final co-op work term in 2008 was with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada working in Salmon Stock Assessment in the Strait of Georgia. Ever since then, Nicolette made a career out of this final co-op opportunity and enjoys working with Salmon where she enumerates stocks, collects biological samples and monitors recreational marine catch.
Industry Insider - A Closer Look at Engineering for Sustainable Development Careers
March 23, 2022
11:30 am -12:30 pm
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Curious what a Researcher in Climate Risk and Sustainable Energy does? Want to learn more about research careers in climate change or how to combine engineering with sustainable development? Come hear what Akaraseth Puranasamriddhi has to say, find out how he made his way working abroad, and have your questions answered.
Speaker/Bio:
Akaraseth is a Researcher in Climate Risk & Sustainable Finance at the University of Cambridge and Associated Researcher in Energy Access at University College London. He is also a Trustee at Engineers Without Borders UK. Previously, he worked as a Research Assistant at University of Oxford, focusing on sustainable energy transitions in sub-Saharan Africa. He also worked as a Climate Change Consultant at United Nations Development Programme in delivering sustainable energy and climate change mitigation strategies across the Asia-Pacific region.
Industry Insider - A Closer Look at Environmental Specialist Careers
March 24, 2022
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
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Curious what an Environmental Specialist at Health Canada does on a day to day basis? Or to learn more about working in Regulatory Management of Waste In Environment and Climate Change Canada? Come hear what Allison Lapierre has to say and answer your questions.
Speaker/Bio:
Allison Lapierre, Environmental Specialist, Health Canada
Allison works at Health Canada as an Environmental Specialist for Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan. Since joining the government she also worked at Environment and Climate Change Canada in the Industrial Chemicals and Waste Division in regulatory management. She has a BSc in Ecology and an MENV in Environmental Assessment, both from Concordia University. As a student Allison participated in the data collection for the Urban Transit Exposure study lead by Health Canada, and worked at the municipality of Mont-Tremblant on the Shoreline inspection program. Allison’s first career job was at a small company specializing in software development for environmental compliance, where she learned about the industry perspective of complying with environmental and health and safety regulations. Allison plans to continue working within the federal government, and will likely continue to seek out new opportunities within and outside of Health Canada. At the beginning of the pandemic she temporarily joined the Health Products and Food Branch at Heath Canada to support the licensing and recalls of hand sanitizers and disinfectants.
Green Careers Alumni Panel
March 24, 2022
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
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Are you an environment student? Or aspiring to work in the environment and have a green career? Come hear how these four alum transitioned from school to work, what paths they’ve taken and have your questions answered.
Speaker Bio:
Conor DeSantis
Network Development Analyst
Exo – Réseau de transport métropolitain (RTM)
During my last year of my Bachelor of Science degree at McGill University (2019 Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Major: Environment: Ecological Determinants of Health, Population Stream, Minor: Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing), I had applied for a non-thesis master’s in urban planning at both the Université de Montréal (UdeM) and McGill University, ultimately choosing UdeM to improve my french. While studying at UdeM, I had worked as a research assistant on several GIS-based research projects within the department of architecture and the department of urban planning, respectively studying the effects of sea level rise on tall buildings and the movement of industrial areas in Hanoi. During my final semester, while working on my travail dirigé (supervised project for my program), I had sent out applications to several engineering firms and public organisations (such as the city of Montréal, the Autorité régional de transport métropolitain and Exo). I had conducted a few interviews before starting the interview process with Exo around November 2021, and I eventually received an offer in early December. I submitted my travail dirigé at the end of November, concluding my master’s degree, and started work at Exo in early January.
Dan-Tam Nguyen
Policy Analyst
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
After completing a BSc. in Environment - Renewable Resources Management Stream at McGill's School of Environment (with a minor in International Development), Dan-Tam went on to complete a course-based one-year MSc. in Environmental Change and Management at the University of Oxford (2018-2019). Dan-Tam now works as a policy analyst at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). She joined the Department in 2020 as part of the Policy Analyst Recruitment and Development Program (PARDP) of NRCan. In her current position, she works on climate mitigation via Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) policy.
Boryan Ristovski
National Manager of Environment, Health and Safety
Six Points Collective
Boryan Ristovski is the National Manager of Environment, Health and Safety at Six Pints Collective, a division of MolsonCoors Beverage Company. He graduated from McGill University’s School of Environment in October 2016. Over the next five years he pursued an environmental internship, leading to two coordinative roles, a senior specialist role, and a manager’s role at several large corporations. Boryan is passionate about environmental sustainability, occupational health, travelling, his family and his cat Rachel. Boryan lives and works in Montreal, travelling frequently. He speaks English, French, Russian, Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian.
Deneyn White
Junior Water Quality Modeller
WSP / Golder
Deneyn graduated from McGill in 2019 with a degree in Environmental Sciences, domain Earth Sciences and Economics. Their honours research project was on the stochiometric saturation and reactivity of biogenic Calcites in seawater. After graduation, Deneyn worked for a waste hauling company as a strategic support supervisor and admin for 2 years before starting at WSP/ Golder in 2021 as a Junior Water Quality Modeller.
Jia Yi Fan
Habitat Data Officer
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
Jia Yi graduated from a Hons. BSc. in Environment - Renewable Resources Management Stream and Minor in Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing in 2020. Her thesis investigated heat mortality due to urban heat island and socio-economic vulnerability in Montreal, which was later published in a peer-reviewed journal. After applying to the EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS+) program, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and University of Toronto, she chose to complete a course-based, professional Master of Environmental Science at the latter school. Its internship requirement landed her a job at the Canadian Wildlife Service Branch, where she has been working since May 2021.
The Zoom meeting link will be sent to all registrants in advance of the course start time. To qualify for CCR recognition, you must register for and sign into the online zoom event using your McGill email address.