The Starfish Canada Speakers Bureau
Sharing experiences and empowering Canada’s youth
Speaking Truth
Canada’s top young environmentalists have incredible stories to tell you and your community. We are excited to offer speaking engagements that can help educate and inspire friends, students, colleagues and peers about the trials and tribulations of working in the environmental sector and how we can work together to find solutions.
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Abhayjeet Singh Sachal
Abhay is an 18 year-old environmentalist and activist from Surrey, BC. He has been involved in various organizations and was inspired to start an organization called Break The Divide Foundation after traveling to the Arctic on a Students on Ice Expedition in 2016. Through Break The Divide, youth from around the world are connected to discuss prominent issues facing their communities, such as climate change. Abhay is also an avid public speaker, hockey player, and pianist.
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Alienor Rougeot
Allie can speak on a broad range of topics depending on your audience and event, including: - The Fridays for Future movement and how the youth climate strikes have evolved - Understanding the climate crisis - Climate justice - Motivating others to become advocate, how to spark hope and trigger action - Leadership in the climate movement - Youth engagement/ empowerment Allie can also moderato your panels on sustainability-related topics, and can do any speaking commitment in French and/or in English.
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Alison Gu
Alison Gu was born and raised on Coast Salish territory (Vancouver) and then moved to Tiohtià:ke (Montreal) where she completed a BSc in Kinesiology at McGill University. During this time, she also worked as the Sustainability Commissioner for the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU) and as a Residence Advisor/Don for two years. She also organized with Divest McGill, La Planète S'invite à l'Université (LPSU), and Climate Strike Canada (CSC). She cycled from Ottawa to Vancouver in protest of the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline project in 2017, fundraising for Indigenous land and water defenders. She enjoys talking about and demystifying politics.
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Asha Mior
I am available to talk about: - The relationship between climate change and global health, including the links between the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change - My work with Faces of Climate Change to uplift and amplify the voices of people living on the frontlines of the climate crisis around the world - Introducing children and youth to the climate crisis and empowering them to take action - "Humanizing" climate change so that everyone can be inspired to become an advocate!
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Beth Eden
Beth is an avid communicator and mobilizer working with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, previously the MDGs), focusing on SDG 13 (Climate Action) for over ten years in entrepreneurship and strategic planning internationally. She is also one of Canada's 30 under 30 Sustainability Leaders with Corporate Knights. In 2019, she co-wrote a climate report for the City of Waterloo, resulting in a climate emergency declaration and action plan. Her previous experience involves mobilizing communities, youth and institutions to implement the SDGs across Canada through UN networks. She now works with the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth to increase youth representation in the UN process. Her other work focuses on social-psychology research and communicating environmental issues, science, and evidence-based solutions through media and documentary film. She believes collective action and evidence-based communication are integral to move forward the climate agenda in Canada and beyond. Bridging the gap between environmental research, art communication, and community mobilization can get us there.
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Brandon Nguyen
Brandon is an environmentalist from Toronto studying Environmental Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Passionate about environmental education, Brandon founded the Toronto Coalition of EcoSchools in high school and has worked for both GreenLearning and EcoSpark. He has been recognized as a Top 25 Environmentalist Under 25, a 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leader, and a Top 30 Under 30 in Environmental Education. He’s been invited to fully-funded conferences in Norway, Denmark, China, Canada, the US and Egypt, has competed in the Hult Prize Regionals in Singapore, and has worked as a consultant for NGOs in Sri Lanka and the Gambi
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Helen Watts
Helen Watts is Student Energy’s Senior Director of Global Partnerships. She oversees Student Energy's global fund development and collaborates to design new programming with public, private, and civil society sector organizations. Helen is the founder of Student Energy's Global Youth Energy Outlook, which will launch November 2021 at the UNFCCC’s COP26 Glasgow. Helen co-Founded the Greenpreneurs virtual incubator for youth-led social enterprises in the Global South along with co-Founders at Youth Climate Lab and the Global Green Growth Institute. Helen played an instrumental role in the Energy Transition Action Track of the UNSG Climate Action Summit in 2019 to bring youth engagement to the energy transition programme, supported the first Youth Parallel Program at the Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation Ministerial, and worked with IRENA to design and launch the first IRENA Youth Forum at the 2020 General Assembly.
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Jamie Hunter
Jamie is the co-founder of Stop Ecocide Canada and a leading member of Fridays for Future - West Kootenay chapter. He is, and has been, involved with many campaigns to protect our planet in different ways. As part of this work, Jamie has extensive experience engaging with politicians, the public, and other environmental groups. He feels that we have to come together to save our planet, and in doing this we must listen to everyone's voices. Topic: How creating a crime of ecocide could change the world. How to get meetings with politicians, and make meaningful change in the political sphere, including getting policy changes on the table. My experience with Fridays for Future - coordinating a group, making change, and handling conflict.
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Kate O’Connor
Kate believes that in order to take meaningful climate action, we need elected officials who understand the urgency of the climate crisis. When the B.C. 2020 provincial election was called, Kate ran as the Green Party candidate in Saanich South, and became the youngest candidate in provincial history. Over the course of her campaign, she advocated for a transition to a just and green economy through ending oil and gas subsidies and reinvesting in tech and renewable energy sectors. She is also a leader and advocate for intergenerational leadership and youth participation in politics. Kate now works as the constituent advocate for Saanich North and the Islands and is learning about the day -to-day impacts provincial legislation has on citizens. Kate firmly believes that engaging young people in the political process and electing leaders who understand the urgency of the climate crisis are crucial parts of the fight to save the natural environment.
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Kirsten Reid
Kirsten is a PhD student in the Geography Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Since 2013, Kirsten has spent her summers exploring and researching northern ecosystems and is happiest when working at her research sites along the Dempster Highway in Yukon and Northwest Territories. Kirsten is a 2020 Top 25 Environmentalist Under 25 and is a 2019 & 2020 Wildlife Conservation Society Canada Weston Fellow and a 2019 Weston Family Scientist.
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Lucy Cullen
Lucy is an award winning environmentalist and entrepreneur. She has over 8 years experience working in the hospitality industry, including owning a catering company. Lucy has an Honours Bachelors in Environmental Studies from the University of Toronto, and has studied environmental science in Australia and Ecuador. She has combined her passion for hospitality and the environment, to create Terus. Terus is a social enterprise dedicated to helping restaurants reduce waste and save money through sustainability consulting services. To date, Terus has helped divert over 104,300 pounds of waste from landfill while improving the bottom line by over $52,000. Her work has been featured in BlogTo, NOW Magazine, CBC, Gusto TV and Foodservice & Hospitality Magazine. Lucy was also named one of Canada's Top 25 Under 25 Environmentalists in 2017 and for 2018!
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Maggie Chang
Maggie is a poet, writer, and artist whose environmental journey started in first grade when she learned about deforestation of the Amazon in school. Since then, Maggie has led campus secondhand clothing sales for sustainable fashion, organized a UN Sustainable Development Goal training, and helped establish EcoSchools Canada’s first ever Youth Advisory Council, leading her to be named one of the first WWF Canada Living Planet Leaders. Currently completing a Bachelor of Environmental Studies, Maggie is passionate to be living her values to build an intersectional environmental movement. In 2018, she published her poem “Do Not Be Complacent” to call academia to environmental action. She is particularly honoured to have had the opportunity to practice international solidarity working with Fairtrade Organic Café Femenino Coffee communities in Peru during the summer of 2019.
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Manvi Bhalla
"I am passionate about interdisciplinary research and I find teaching to be an incredibly rewarding experience." I have an Honours BSc from the University of Guelph in Biomedical Sciences, and am an MSc Candidate at the University of Waterloo's School of Public Health & Health Systems. My MSc thesis aims to discern the knowledge and understanding of climate change-related health risks by public health authorities, and evaluate local mitigation, adaptation and risk communication strategies. This work is of interest to Health Canada, as it aims to address existing knowledge gaps they have previously identified. Consequently, I was an expert reviewer on the latest Federal Government report on climate change and the health of Canadians. Currently, I am lead research assistant on a CIHR-funded study looking into sociocultural and behavioural factors affecting communities' response to countermeasures for the COVID-19 pandemic. This research is of interest to the Ontario Ministry of Health, as it aims to identify interventions to build trust in public health authorities and to improve compliance to health measures.
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Nicholas Pasieczka
Nicholas Pasieczka is a leader in renewable energy and passionate about the environment. After running 100km in one day for charity, he has represented Canada at International Energy Summits and finished an Ironman Triathlon. Being an Electrical Engineering student he has the technical background to work break down real world issues for any audience. Nich will work with you to develop strategies for building the life and world you want.
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Qurat Dar
Qurat Dar (she/they) is a spoken word artist, multi-genre writer, and the 2020 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (CIPS) National Champion. Her work has appeared in Canthius, Augur Magazine, Watch Your Head, and the Art Gallery of Mississauga, among other places, and she has a poetry chapbook forthcoming with Coven Editions. She is currently studying environmental engineering and is deeply interested in the intersections between the sciences and the arts, especially in the context of the climate crisis.
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Samantha Casey
Samantha is a changemaker in her community. She is an avid champion for meaningful youth engagement and actively works to create opportunities and platforms for youth to develop solutions to tackle pressing sustainability issues. Samantha works to improve campus sustainability through her work at the University of Guelph. Outside of work, she co-founded the Community Climate Council, a not-for-profit organization promoting climate literacy and political advocacy in Peel Region, Ontario. She also volunteers as the Fundraising and Outreach Manager at Shake Up the Establishment and sits on the Board of Directors of 10 Carden, a hub for changemakers in her community.
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Samia Sami
Samia Sami is a final year Electrical Engineering student at the University of Saskatchewan. She is one of Canada's Top 25 Under 25 Environmentalists, Canada's Top IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Scholar, and Global Citizen Youth Award Recipient. Samia has co-founded the Saskatoon Solar Shelter project to provide access to sustainable public transit in the city. She has researched in the area of renewable microgrids and the observability of solar integrated distribution systems. She has led a feasibility study to help the University of Saskatchewan reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions. As Vice President of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) USask Chapter, Samia manages the EWB USask Chapter operations and collaborates with the EWB network on environmental sustainability and gender inclusion initiatives. As Chair of the USask IEEE PES Student Chapter, Samia is committed to providing an international platform for students to advance their careers and education in sustainable energy.
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Siobhan Takala
Siobhan is a prairie girl who fell in love with the ocean. Siobhan is originally from Saskatoon, but has lived in Mi’kma’ki for many years. Her passion to bring solutions to the world has energized her youth-led community organizing and social justice work, most recently as Co-Director of Let’s Sprout. Often found dancing on waves or in the streets, or dreaming up a creative project, she loves chatting with others about their ideas and connecting people together.
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Sofia Slater
Sofia is a student from Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. She is currently studying Environment and Business at the University of Waterloo. She is passionate about environmental sustainability and showing people that everyone has the ability to make a positive impact on the planet. She has spoken at events ranging from 10 to over 5,000 people on how consumer choices do have the power to create lasting environmental change. She loves introducing people to the power of the outdoors when it comes to inspiring people to want to protect the planet.
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Stephanie Quon
Stephanie is a student from Vancouver, British Columbia. She cares about sustainability because she feels nature teaches us a lot about who we are, and that it is important to take care of the earth we live on. She has been involved with the Vancouver School Board Sustainability Conference, Sprout-Save-Share, and other community activities, which have helped her learn about the issues impacting the planet and how she can do something about it.
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Tesicca Truong
Tesicca Truong is working hard to build a brighter future for the community. From affordable housing, to fighting the climate crisis, to building partnerships across the community that make a real difference — Tesicca is fighting for you. She founded CityHive, a non-profit organization that directly engages young people when it comes to important decisions that affect their lives.