The work of advancing climate justice means embracing JEDI values.
Justice
Equity
Diversity
Inclusion
As climate emergency JEDIs, in our work we practice:
Transparency and Accountability
We understand that building trust in our work and our team means being both transparent and accountable about how our work is progressing, what it has achieved, and how we are making our decisions to prioritize our time and attention.
Listening and Connecting
We prioritize taking the time to listen to each other, to others in our collaborations, and climate knowledge keepers and experts, about what is needed to successfully advance our project work.
Adaptability
As there is so much uncertainty in how to respond effectively to future and current climate crises, we need to be willing to adapt to new or better information and changing situations as they emerge.
Collaborative Approaches
We acknowledge that there is no one person, group, department, institution, government, or Nation that can resolve this crisis on its own. Accordingly, our work must be done through strengthened and effective collaborations.
The Team
The Sustainability Hub convenes and coordinates UBC’s Climate Emergency response and provides university-wide strategic support linking climate action to these functions. Climate Emergency Response activities are embedded into the work of all Sustainability Hub staff, through programs and projects.
In addition, a Project Specialist has a dedicated role to support reporting and continued engagement around the response. The Project Specialist reports directly to the Sustainability Hub’s Senior Director. The Senior Director also works in close cooperation with faculties and units across the UBC Vancouver campus.
Angelique Pilon, Acting Senior Director
Angelique is serving as the Acting Senior Director for the Sustainability Hub. With a background in architecture and 14 years of experience at UBC, she brings a design approach and broad institutional knowledge to the creation and innovation of sustainability and climate action at the university.
Previously, Angelique was the Director of Urban Innovation Research, leading a portfolio of programs to catalyze and advance innovative research and interdisciplinary collaborations on and off-campus. In this role, she been actively involved in a number of strategic projects including the research and knowledge mobilization program for Brock Commons Tallwood House which led to the changes in mass timber building policy, and the development of the annual Campus as a Living Lab Fund Competition at both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.
Angelique holds a Master of Architecture from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Michigan, and has professional experience in firms in both Canada and the United States. She is a certified Project Management Professional and a LEED Accredited Professional with a specialization in Building Design and Construction. She is active in educational and professional organizations, including the Canada Green Building Council and the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats.
Michelle Hak Hepburn, Project Specialist
Michelle supports the Sustainability Hub’s work to coordinate and convene climate actions across campus through engagement events like Climate Emergency Week and the Climate Justice Speaker Series. She also supports key climate partnerships, including the Interdepartmental Climate Committee (IDCC) and the CLimate Equity Action and Resilience (CLEAR) Initiative.
Michelle brings a breadth of environmental justice experience from her previous nonprofit and consultancy work in Canada and Peru. She holds an MA and PhD in Anthropology from UBC. Her research explores the local power dynamics in ecological decision-making and the lived experience of environmental policies – specifically about black bears (wildlife policies) in Ontario for her MA and the complexities of tropical deforestation and restoration in the Peruvian Amazon for her PhD. Michelle loves coffee and forest walks – and she’s always up for a good bear story.
Alexandra Thomas, Homegrown Climate Justice Project Lead
Alexandra Thomas’ traditional name is Naxnagəm (nahg-na-ghem). On her maternal side she is from Tlowitsis First Nation from Kwakwaka’wakw territory, and her paternal side Shishalh First Nation from Coast Salish Territory. Alex is an undergraduate in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC and is studying Forest Resources Management with a minor in Community and Aboriginal Forestry. Her previous work experience has been working with First Nations community’s and the Government on management of Natural Resources, facilitating education on cultural safety and awareness about First Nations history in BC, and aiding in research on red and yellow cedar trees on Northern Vancouver Island. Alex is very passionate about the outdoors, football (also known as soccer), house plants, and coffee.
Check out Alex’s Homegrown Climate Justice project here.
Jon Garner, Communications and Engagement Manager
Jon is a Communications and Engagement Manager with experience in education, non-profit, private sector and government. He holds a Masters in Resource and Environmental Management from Simon Fraser University.
Equally at home behind a pop-up booth or keyboard, Jon has designed and implemented strategic communications plans that integrate media relations, advertising, websites, videos, social media, experiential events, and more.
Jon oversees the production of key publications including the Annual Sustainability Report, engagement activities such as Imagine day booths, and cross-campus engagement campaigns like UBC’s Climate Emergency Week.
Click below to see the rest of the Sustainability Hub team who are helping to advance the Climate Emergency response.
