SFU Vancouver Lunch 'n' Learn
About the Lunch 'n' Learn:
Date: Thursday, May 23
Time: 12:00-1:00pm
Location: Harbour Centre, 515 W. Hastings St., room 2270
Please join us for a panel discussion hosted by SFU Centre for Dialogue’s Mitigating Wildfire Initiative that will explore one of the most pressing issues of our times, wildfires.
Canada’s 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive in Canada’s recorded history. Megafires in Canada charred an area the size of North Dakota, emitting three times more carbon into the atmosphere than the country’s annual carbon footprint, and impacting the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people. As climate change exacerbates wildfire risk, future seasons—including this year (2024)—are predicted to be as devastating, if not worse.
Faced with a new reality, we might ask: why has BC entered this era of megafires? What impacts are these megafires creating, and how might these impacts be addressed effectively? How might we work together to repair and restructure our relationship with fire, and what might we come to know in that process?
Join us for an opportunity to learn and reflect—and perhaps to co-imagine what our future with fire could be.
This is an in-person event with lunch provided.
About the Speakers:
Facilitation and Presentation:
• Dr. Robin Freeman
Admin & Engagement Coordinator, Mitigating Wildfire Initiative, Centre for Dialogue, SFU
Dr. Freeman works in climate action as part of the Mitigating Wildfire Initiative. She is a musician, facilitator, and educator who specializes in collaborative and arts-based approaches to adult learning, and is especially interested in how embodied, participatory artistic practices can foster agency, encourage contemplation, and build thriving communities. Dr. Freeman has more than twenty years of experience as a performer and choral conductor across professional, post-secondary, and community-based settings, as well as fifteen years of experience in instructional design and teacher education at the university level. She holds a Doctor of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her research addresses the challenges of reconceptualizing adult learning to be more dialogical.
Panel:
• James Whitehead
Engagement Analyst, Mitigating Wildfire Initiative, Centre for Dialogue, SFU
James Whitehead is an engagement analyst for the Mitigating Wildfire Initiative at the Centre for Dialogue, where he is exploring how dialogue and collaboration can make communities in BC more resilient to fire. He has a strong passion for climate adaptation and emergency management with a fascination about political and social factors that influence them. Before joining the Centre, James spent seven years working with the BC Wildfire Service on a variety of fire crews throughout the province. Through this experience, he gained an understanding of the challenges faced by communities during wildfire events and the constraints of fire management agencies while working in populated areas. James recently completed a Master of Arts in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia, where his research focused on understanding the impacts of wildfire on rural communities in the Robson Valley.
• Attila Nelson
Cultural and Prescribed Fire Specialist for the First Nations Emergency Services’ Society
Attila Nelson was raised on his traditional territory and is a member of the Lil’wat Nation. He currently works as a Cultural and Prescribed Fire Specialist for the First Nations' Emergency Services Society from his home in Victoria. His experience with cultural and prescribed fire stems from a decade of work in the BC Wildfire Service. From a crew member with boots on the ground to an Indigenous policy analyst, he has worn a number of hats that have shaped his identity around fire. His indigenous background is key in working toward developing a way for nations to revitalize their cultural burning practices. Weaving the operational experience with his indigeneity, he hopes to build resiliency within communities while continuing to grow. While his formal education is in western philosophy, he relies on oral traditions to guide him in daily life. While not at work he enjoys reading, writing, and making food with friends. He hopes to foster friendships as well as change in the cultural and prescribed fire world.
• Dr. Stephanie Cleland
Assistant Professor, Legacy for Airway Health Chair in Promotion of Lung Health, SFU
Dr. Stephanie Cleland joined the Faculty of Health Sciences in September 2023 as an assistant professor and the Legacy for Airway Health Chair in Promotion of Lung Health. She is also a research scientist at the Legacy for Airway Health at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. Dr. Cleland’s research focuses on evaluating the human health impacts of exposure to climate change-influenced environmental hazards using environmental epidemiology, exposure assessments, and health impact assessments. She holds a PhD and MSPH in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BS in Computer Science and Community Health from Tufts University. She conducted her dissertation research as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) research fellow at the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment.