What on Earth (Day) is Going On?

Biography 

Thomas Mulcair
Chair of the Board, Earth Day & Former Federal NDP Leader

Visiting professor of the UdeM’s Department of Political Science and a lawyer by profession, Thomas Mulcair’s political career led him to occupy the position of Québec Minister of the Environment between 2003 and 2006, and then leader of the NDP from 2012 to 2017. He was named chairman of the Board of Directors of Earth Day in January 2018.

Dr. Christine Gabardo
Co-Founder & Director of Technology, CERT

Dr. Christine Gabardo is a co-founder and the Director of Technology of CERT, a University of Toronto based start-up that is one of the finalist teams in the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition. CERT is developing cutting edge technology to convert carbon dioxide emissions into valuable chemicals and fuels using an electrochemical process. They are currently demonstrating their carbon dioxide conversion pilot plant at the Alberta Carbon Conversion Technology Centre in Calgary.

Jennifer McKelvie
Toronto City Councillor, Ward 25, Scarborough Rouge-Park

Jennifer McKelvie is the Toronto City Councillor for Ward 25, Scarborough Rouge-Park. She has been designated as the Mayor’s Resilience & Environmental Champion and in that capacity has taken an active role in the City of Toronto’s climate change, resilience and ravine strategies. Before entering politics, Jennifer managed research partnerships at the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). She obtained her training as an environmental geoscientist at the University of Toronto (PGeo, PhD).

Christine Rhodes
Central Canada Market Leader, Climate Change and Sustainability Services, EY

Christine Rhodes is a Senior Manager and the Market Leader of EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) practice for Ontario. With a background in finance and risk management, Christine has spent her career working with clients primarily in the financial services, mining, retail and power and utilities sectors to help them understand and manage their key environmental and social impacts. Christine’s work has included environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk assessment and impact measurement; strategy development and governance; stakeholder engagement; climate change and energy analysis; sustainable supply chains; and, reporting and disclosure. She has spoken at various conferences and webinars on topics including ESG disclosure, stakeholder engagement and key performance indicator selection.

Prior to her career in sustainability, Christine was based in Boston, supporting leading financial services firms on operational risk management issues. She also spent three years based in EY’s Vancouver office.

Christine is a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Cannabis Partnership, an organization founded in 2018 to create a corporate responsibility standard for the cannabis industry. She received a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from McGill University and holds her Canadian Enterprise Risk Management (CRMe) designation.

Daniel K. Riskin
Scientist, Television Personality, and Author

Dan Riskin, PhD, is a scientist, television personality, and author. Dan draws on his own passion for science (bats, specifically), to help audiences explore science-related passions of their own. He is the former co-host of Daily Planet on Discovery Canada and of Monsters Inside Me on Animal Planet in the USA. He now appears in newscasts across Canada as CTV’s Science and Technology Specialist. Dan holds an Adjunct Professorship in Biology at The University of Toronto Mississauga, and leads nature tours around the world with Worldwide Quest (or at least he will, once he can leave his house again). Dan’s first book, Mother Nature is Trying to Kill You was a Canadian bestseller.