Join us for Climate-Health Action Talks

Dr. Sherilee L. Harper is a Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Health and Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta.  Her research investigates associations between weather, environment, and public health in the context of climate change, and she collaborates with partners across sectors to prioritise climate-related health actions, planning, interventions, and research. She was a Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC); Lead Author on the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6-WG2); served on the Gender Task Group for the IPCC. She is currently a Vice Chair (WGI) for IPCC.

Dr. Jeff Birchall is an Associate Professor of Local-scale Climate Change Adaptation/ Resilience, in the School of Urban and Regional Planning, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, where he serves as Associate Director of the School, Director of the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Lab, and Lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Local-scale Planning, Climate Change and Resilience. Jeff has broad research and teaching experience in environmental change and planning, and specific expertise in climate change resilience and local governance. Jeff is a registered professional planner (RPP, MCIP). 

Dr. Elizabeth Halpenny is currently working at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, Elizabeth Halpenny received a PhD in Recreation and Leisure Studies from the University of Waterloo in 2006. She teaches and conducts research in the areas of tourism, marketing, environmental psychology and protected areas management. Current research projects include: recreational use and stewardship of natural areas; agritourism; and, tourism-related social media conservations about climate change.

Dr. Sean Caulfield, a distinguished Canadian artist, held the Canada Research Chair in Fine Arts (Tier 2) from 2001 to 2011, followed by the position of Centennial Professor until 2021. Currently a Professor in the Department of Art and Design at the University of Alberta. Caulfield's extensive exhibition history spans Canada, the United States, Europe, and Japan, showcasing his diverse body of work, including prints, drawings, installations, and artist's books. Notable recent exhibitions include "Found Anatomies" (2022) and "The Flood" (2016). His work is featured in various public and private collections worldwide, including: Houghton Library, Harvard University, USA; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England; Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA. In 2017, Caulfield was elected to the Arts Division of the Academy of the Arts and Humanities of the Royal Society of Canada.

Lindsay Komar is a Registered Nurse and a Research Partner in the College of Health Sciences. She recently graduated from the Master of Nursing program, with a research focus on the creation of a learner-centered planetary health module for undergraduate nursing students. She continues to support planetary health education for nurses through her involvement with the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment and Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing Planetary Health Nurse Educator Interest Group. Lindsay is excited to be a member of the University of Alberta Climate Change and Health Hub.