Event

Ka’nahsohon Kevin Deer

Faithkeeper at the Mohawk Trail Longhouse, Kahnawake Mohawk Territory

For the last 30 years Ka'nahsohon Kevin Deer has been involved in Mohawk language retention and revitalization. He is also a Faithkeeper at the Mohawk Trail Longhouse, which involves knowing sacred songs, dances and rituals, and also enjoys discussing and presenting the Iroquoian world views, history, and philosophy. He was involved in the Kahnawake Police Commission from 2005 to 2015.

Anne-Raphaëlle Audouin

JPAC Chair

Anne-Raphaëlle Audouin is a seasoned executive with over 15 years of proven leadership in the natural resources and energy sectors. As the Chief Executive Officer of Nukik Corporation, she is advancing significant infrastructure development in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, spearheading the adoption of large-scale renewable energy and broadband connectivity. Her strategic oversight of the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link in particular — a multi-billion-dollar initiative— is positioned to unlock immense value for both the region and Canada. Thanks to this expertise in financial modelling, project approval, and large-scale infrastructure execution, the company is driving impactful change in the Canadian Arctic.

Previously, as President and CEO of WaterPower Canada, Anne-Raphaëlle led the national association representing Canada’s largest electricity sector. She significantly expanded revenue, successfully launched the first national industry conference and trade show, and grew the membership base, enhancing the organization's visibility and influence across the sector.

Anne-Raphaëlle’s background also includes a role as Environmental and Social Impacts Management Specialist at Hatch Ltd., where she worked on energy and mining projects. She excels in navigating complex, multi-stakeholder environments, securing strategic partnerships, and driving consensus across regional, provincial, and federal levels.  Recognized as a thought leader, Anne-Raphaëlle is frequently quoted in national media and serves on several boards of directors.

In 2019, Anne-Raphaëlle became a Governor in Council Appointee to the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation's Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC), where she promotes sustainable development and ecosystem protection across Canada, the US, and Mexico. She was reappointed in 2022 for a four-year term by the federal government.

Anne-Raphaëlle holds a degree in Business Administration from the Université de Nantes (France), Civil Law and Common Law degrees from the University of Ottawa, and a Master’s in Environmental and Natural Resources Management from Dalhousie University. She also earned an Executive Certificate in Corporate Sustainability from the Yale School of Management in 2021. Fluent in French, English, and Spanish, she is certified in Project Planning and Controls.

Jorge Daniel Taillant

CEC Executive Director

Jorge Daniel Taillant serves as the CEC’s Executive Director since August of 2022.

He is a life-long global advocate for human rights and environmental protection. His career spans several decades, working with international development agencies, as an advisor to governments, leading innovative civil society organizations and networks, and with disadvantaged communities to tackle some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

He has spear-headed incisive global initiatives to link human rights and environmental advocacy, pushing for more effective public policies, stronger legislation and greater corporate accountability and respect for human rights and environmental sustainability.

During the past decade, he has turned his focus to tackling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, advocating for immediate actions to aggressively phase out the most intense climate pollutants, such as methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and tropospheric ozone (O₃), while promoting inclusive, equitable and resilient adaptation for the most climate-vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

Julian Portilla

Forum Facilitator

Sophie McCafferty

Farm Manager, Hudson Heartbeet Community Farm

Passionate about food, community and land stewardship, Sophie McCafferty (she/her) can usually be found with her hands in the dirt. She brings her experience in agroecological, community-driven initiatives, locally and globally, with a strong foundation in decolonial feminist training and gender-based violence policy. Committed to amplifying youth voices in environmental spaces, Sophie is honored to engage in the JPAC Public Forum on persistent environmental pollutants. As a farmer at the Hudson Heartbeet Community Farm, she is regularly called upon to consider issues of pesticide use, microplastic contamination and forever chemicals in our food system. She is excited to learn, to contribute and to engage with diverse North American perspectives on these pressing environmental issues.

Social media handles: Sophie McCafferty

Antonious Petro

Executive Director, Regeneration Canada

Antonious Petro is the Executive Director of Regeneration Canada, a national non-profit dedicated to advancing regenerative agriculture across the country. He is also a Nuffield Canada Scholar, conducting global research on financing tools that support the long-term adoption of regenerative agriculture. He holds a master’s degree in agriculture (soil sciences) from the University of Québec, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, where his research focused on soil carbon sequestration. Originally from Egypt, Antonious spent over a decade farming with his family before leaving agriculture due to its economic instability. That experience shaped his commitment to supporting farmers and ranchers and rethinking the financial systems that drive agricultural decisions. Since immigrating to Canada in 2013, he has worked alongside producers to advance regenerative practices that are both ecologically sound and economically viable. He also serves on the board of Farmers for Climate Solutions. When he's not in meetings, you'll find him on farms, geeking out about soil with producers.

Social media handles: Antonious Petro

Laura Gómez Tovar

Researcher, Center for Interdisciplinary Research for Integral Rural Development (CIIDRI) – Department of Agroecology, Autonomous University of Chapingo

A founding researcher at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research for Integral Rural Development (Centro de Investigaciones Interdisciplinarias para el Desarrollo Rural Integral, CIIDRI) and a professor in the Department of Agroecology at the Autonomous University of Chapingo (Universidad Autónoma Chapingo) (Mexico), Laura Gómez Tovar works to eliminate the use of agro-toxins in the orange-growing areas of northern Veracruz and northeastern Puebla. She has promoted the creation of local organic markets in Mexico, including the Chapingo market, and has also helped found the Mexican Network of Organic Markets and Bazaars. She coordinates the Veracruz component of the Food, Learning and Growing Partnership (FLOW) initiative and has authored more than 25 books and book chapters, in addition to scientific papers.

Social media handles: Laura Gómez Tovar

Brian Leahy

Owner of Brian R. Leahy Consulting, LLC and Former Director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)

Brian Leahy has held a variety of positions in the agricultural and governmental sectors, including organic farmer, Executive Director of California Certified Organic Farmers, Director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), Assistant Director of the Department of Conservation that oversees the Williamson Act, served as the Board Chair of Ag Innovations, the California Watershed Program, and other Smart Growth programs. He also served as a Legal Services Attorney and currently owns a consulting firm. Currently retired, he engages in volunteer work as a member of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) California legislative response team and serves on the Advisory Committee of the Western Integrated Pest Management Center.

Social media handles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-leahy-52030319/

Diego Arreola Fernández

Co-founder and President, Green Speaking

Diego is a Mexican environmental-climate advocate and a Lester B. Pearson Scholar at the University of Toronto, studying International Relations and Economics. He is also the President and Co-Founder of Green Speaking, a nonprofit organization mainly present in Mexico, Canada, Kenya, and Spain, that provides young people worldwide with a deep understanding of the root causes of environmental issues, systemic solutions, and practical skills so they can contribute to positive change. He has spoken on behalf of youth at various multilateral environmental conferences, such as COP28, INC-4, SB 62, and INC-5.2.

Social media handles: Diego Arreola Fernández

Benoit Barbeau

Professor and Co-chair, Industrial Chair in Drinking Water, Polytechnique Montréal

Benoit Barbeau is a professor in the CGM Department of Polytechnique Montréal who has co-led the Industrial Chair on Drinking Water (Chaire industrielle en eau potable) and directed the CREDEAU research lab since 2011. As the author of over 200 publications and 250 presentations, he is renowned for his work on water treatment processes and for his contribution to the official Québec guide to treatment plan design. He has also taken part in the WaterNET network and in development of the BIEX process. Having assisted more than 60 Canadian municipalities in optimizing their infrastructure, he is now in the process of developing solutions for the elimination of PFAS.

Social media handles:

www.linkedin.com/in/benoit-barbeau-079b725a

Barbeau, Benoit | Directory of Experts

Sergio Gasca Álvarez

Senior Consultant, GreenSync

Sergio Gasca Álvarez is a biologist with a master’s degree in science and environmental engineering from the Advanced Program in Sustainable Development and Environmental Studies (LEAD-México) of the Colegio de México and the Rockefeller Foundation. He is a waste management expert with wide-ranging research and environmental project management experience in the oil and gas and chemicals industries. In addition, he has worked as a federal and local official on matters related to the design and formulation of environmental policy for integrated municipal solid waste management, as well as on biofuels and on regulation and legal instruments for the industrial, commercial, and service sectors. As a senior waste management consultant for the firm Greensync, he is in charge of implementing national- and international-scale projects.

Social media handles: Sergio Gasca Álvarez

Meredith Williams

Principal at Advancing Impact, and former Director of California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control

Meredith Williams is a Green Science Policy Institute Senior Fellow developing integrative policies to address the triple threats from plastics, toxic chemicals, and climate change. She uses expertise in water quality and toxic chemicals policy for innovative environmental solutions. Williams has built a reputation for tackling difficult challenges across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. As the former Director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Williams implemented state-wide, science-based policies. She previously held several leadership positions at the San Francisco Estuary Institute, supporting aquatic resource management. She holds a B.A. degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. in physics from North Carolina State University.

Social media handles: Dr. Meredith Williams

Samantha Athey

Marine Plastics Program Manager, EarthEcho International

Samantha Athey has over a decade of experience in marine plastics research, education, and advocacy. She holds a B.Sc. (Honors) and M.Sc. in marine science from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. Her research examined the sources, fate and impacts of microplastics and chemical contaminants in aquatic systems. As EarthEcho International’s Marine Plastics Program Manager, Sam leads the Marine Plastics Ambassador program, empowering youth to drive upstream, policy-based solutions to marine pollution. Based in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, she also serves as Vice Chair of the Surfrider Foundation’s Bogue Banks Chapter, promoting grassroots action to protect coastal ecosystems and communities.

Social media handles: @sustainablesam_ on Twitter/X and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthaathey/

Tony Walker

Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University

Dr. Tony Walker is a professor at the School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, in Canada. Tony has studied the impacts of plastic pollution for over 30 years. His first exposure to its devastating impacts was removing plastic nets, rope and packaging bands from entangled Antarctic fur seals in Antarctica in the early 1990s. Since then, he has become increasingly involved in research and helping to develop policies to help curb plastics and microplastic pollution.

He helped participate in a Leaders and Experts Roundtable on Plastics and Marine Litter to help develop the Ocean Plastics Charter for Canada’s 2018 G7 presidency. He participated in the Canadian Science Symposium on Plastics to inform represented Canada at the G7 Science Meeting on Plastic Pollution in Paris, France. He has published extensively on policies to reduce the impact of plastic pollution. He was associate editor for Marine Pollution Bulletin for five years and is currently an editor for Cambridge Prisms: Plastics.

Social Media Handles:

https://bsky.app/profile/tonyrwalker1.bsky.social and https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-r-walker-phd-a29bb512/

Nancy Ramírez Álvarez

Senior Researcher in Environmental and Water Sciences, Oceanographic Research Institute, Autonomous University of Baja California

Nancy Ramírez Álvarez is a professor and researcher at the Institute of Oceanographic Research of the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC). An oceanographer by training, with master’s and doctoral degrees in coastal oceanography from the same university, she has over two decades of experience studying environmental contamination in marine and terrestrial habitats. She has led and strengthened lines of research aimed at analyzing emergent and historical pollutants, including microplastics, trace metals, and petroleum hydrocarbons, as well as persistent organic compounds such as chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). She also collaborates as an associate researcher on numerous interinstitutional projects in the areas of water quality, contamination of recent origin, hydrocarbon breakdown, and microbial bioprospecting. She is currently leading a project titled “Pinnipeds as sentinel species of the marine ecosystem”, an interdisciplinary assessment of these marine mammals’ exposure to pollutants, by using a combination of chemical, biological, and ecological analyses. She is a member of the Environmental Chemistry, Pollution, and Toxicology group at her university and of the National Oceanography Laboratory (LANCO)’s Interinstitutional, Multidisciplinary Network.

Social Media Handles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-ramirez-alvarez-926b3b78/

Alexandra R. Harrington

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) Agreement on Plastic Pollution Task Force

Alexandra R. Harrington is Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL) Agreement on Plastic Pollution Task Force; Visiting Scholar, McGill University Faculty of Law and Researcher, University of Ottawa. She is a legal delegate for the IUCN at the Global Plastics Treaty, where she also advises multiple countries, as well as for the other pollution-related treaties. Alexandra Harrington is an Appointed Expert on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Group on the State of the Science Report on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), has held two Fulbright terms in Canada at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and is the Director of Studies for the International Law Association Colombia.

Social Media Handles:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-harrington-8aa9b212/

Paolo Solano

Director, Legal Affairs and Submissions on Enforcement Matters Unit

The Director of Legal Affairs and Submissions on Enforcement Matters (SEM) at the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, Paolo Solano is a lawyer trained in Mexico with over 15 years of experience in the field of international environmental law. His responsibilities at the CEC pertain to the implementation of the SEM process under NAFTA/USMCA-CUSMA and also include advising on operational and legal matters of the CEC more generally.

Paolo obtained his law degree from the Faculty of Law at the National University of Mexico (UNAM), a master’s degree on environmental governance from University of Essex (awarded with honors); a diploma on US law from the Georgetown Law Center, and graduate studies on Business Management and Canadian Law at the University of Montreal.

Paolo has also been a visiting law professor in the United States and Mexico and has published academic articles and a book chapter. Since 2008 he has published the annual report for the Yearbook of International Environmental Law and, as of 2015, also reports on the development of environmental law in Mexico.

Anne-Raphaëlle Audouin

JPAC Chair

Anne-Raphaëlle Audouin is a seasoned executive with over 15 years of proven leadership in the natural resources and energy sectors. As the Chief Executive Officer of Nukik Corporation, she is advancing significant infrastructure development in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, spearheading the adoption of large-scale renewable energy and broadband connectivity. Her strategic oversight of the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link in particular — a multi-billion-dollar initiative— is positioned to unlock immense value for both the region and Canada. Thanks to this expertise in financial modelling, project approval, and large-scale infrastructure execution, the company is driving impactful change in the Canadian Arctic.

Previously, as President and CEO of WaterPower Canada, Anne-Raphaëlle led the national association representing Canada’s largest electricity sector. She significantly expanded revenue, successfully launched the first national industry conference and trade show, and grew the membership base, enhancing the organization's visibility and influence across the sector.

Anne-Raphaëlle’s background also includes a role as Environmental and Social Impacts Management Specialist at Hatch Ltd., where she worked on energy and mining projects. She excels in navigating complex, multi-stakeholder environments, securing strategic partnerships, and driving consensus across regional, provincial, and federal levels.  Recognized as a thought leader, Anne-Raphaëlle is frequently quoted in national media and serves on several boards of directors.

In 2019, Anne-Raphaëlle became a Governor in Council Appointee to the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation's Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC), where she promotes sustainable development and ecosystem protection across Canada, the US, and Mexico. She was reappointed in 2022 for a four-year term by the federal government.

Anne-Raphaëlle holds a degree in Business Administration from the Université de Nantes (France), Civil Law and Common Law degrees from the University of Ottawa, and a Master’s in Environmental and Natural Resources Management from Dalhousie University. She also earned an Executive Certificate in Corporate Sustainability from the Yale School of Management in 2021. Fluent in French, English, and Spanish, she is certified in Project Planning and Controls.