urban

climate

leadership

Who We Are

A project of MakeWay, Urban Climate Leadership is dedicated to dismantling obstacles to equitable climate action by local governments. In acknowledging the distinctive challenges faced by Canadian small and large cities, the initiative assembles a diverse array of stakeholders to collaboratively propel systems-changing solutions in three critical areas: financing, AI and cities, and transportation.

Urban Climate Leadership is not just a knowledge hub or a convenor; it is a catalyst and steward for dismantling obstacles, facilitating collaborative solutions, and championing a just, healthy, safe and resilient future for all.

shauna

sylvester

founder + lead convenor

Shauna Sylvester believes that we can overcome complex challenges when we create spaces for informed dialogue, collaboration and innovation. With 35 years of experience as an executive leader, dialogue practitioner and facilitator, Shauna builds relationships across sectors to co-design equitable climate solutions. Shauna is Senior Fellow of the Definity Foundation, Founder and Lead Convenor of Urban Climate Leadership, a project of MakeWay, and the Lead Facilitator for Resilient Point Roberts: Going Solar a community-led initiative to bring solar to this small US exclave community. Shauna is the former Executive Director of the SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, the Urban Sustainability Directors Network – US and Canada, and Co-Founder of several local and international initiatives: the SFU Public Square, Renewable Cities, Carbon Talks, Moving in a Livable Region, Canada’s World and IMPACS – the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society.

mairin

loewen

associate program director

Mairin Loewen is deeply committed to working collaboratively and creatively in solving local climate challenges. As a City Councillor in Saskatoon for 13 years, Mairin has worked with her community to address waste diversion and material recovery and hosted events like the Saskatoon’s Youth Climate Action Forum. 

Mairin grew up in Saskatoon and holds a B.A. in Political Science (Carleton University) and a M.A. in Political Studies (University of Saskatchewan). She was first elected to Saskatoon’s City Council in 2011, and re-elected in 2012, 2016, and 2020. Mairin has served as a board member for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the co-lead for Environmental Sustainability within the Council’s strategic leadership portfolio model and Chief of Staff for a provincial Minister of Finance.

wanjiru

munene

communications director

Wanjiru Munene believes in the power of communications to shift narratives, connect, inspire, and  create meaningful change. This belief has shaped her 15-year career as a strategic communications leader working at the intersection of health, equity, climate, and justice.

She has worked across corporate, nonprofit, and global development sectors in Canada and East Africa, leading high-impact campaigns that mobilized public support for systemic change to: advance equitable health and climate solutions, remove barriers to accessing life-saving care in underserved communities, and influence policies that protect people and the planet.

Known for her people-centered, ethical storytelling approach, Wanjiru grounds her work in lived experience and a deep commitment to social impact. She brings strategic insight, cultural fluency, and a global perspective to every space she enters.

She holds a Graduate Certificate in Marketing Management and a BA in Journalism. Before joining UCL she was the climate communications lead at the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE).

maia

selkirk

program associate

Maia Selkirk is fascinated by cities—how they function, who lives in them, and the stories people tell about them.

Currently, she’s finishing her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations at UBC, following a year at Sciences Po, Reims. Previously, Maia worked as a Programs Assistant at Environment and Climate Change Canada on the Terrestrial Cumulative Effects Initiative, with a focus on collaborating with Indigenous nations to co-develop appropriate knowledge-sharing methods and capacity-building measures.

khadija

rana

program assistant

Khadija Rana is a Master's student at the University of British Columbia studying Public Policy and Global Affairs. Her interests sit at the intersection of environmental economics, governance, and policy communication. She has a background in community organizing and has worked across civil society networks and advocacy campaigns. She is drawn to questions about sustainability and economic policy, and how public narratives shape the conditions for change.

shayna

rector

Senior advisor, transportation

Shayna Rector Bleeker is a strategic advisor and clean mobility entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience working across the public and private sectors to advance energy transitions. She is focused on accelerating the shift to zero-emission freight.

With a background spanning multinational corporations, start-ups, and city government, Shayna brings a deep understanding of how cities can act as catalysts for clean transportation and climate action.

She co-founded 7Gen, a Canadian start-up accelerating the deployment of electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, where she led customer strategy, government partnerships, and industry collaborations.

Her earlier work with Shell included leading global media and sustainability partnerships. Shayna holds an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.

steering

committee

  • Arti Freeman is the President and CEO of Definity Insurance Foundation, a national philanthropic organization that works with charitable partners across Canada to advance community led solutions that further climate, health, and socio-economic justice. Arti has over 20 years’ experience in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector. Her ability to lead and bring diverse players and sectors together to address systemic challenges speaks to her passion of driving positive social change. Her innovative approaches to high-impact philanthropy have been featured by The Philanthropist and the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. Arti has lived and worked in several countries, including India, the Philippines, Belgium. South Africa, and ultimately made her home in Canada.

  • Dan Woynillowicz is Principal of Polaris Strategy + Insight, an energy and climate advisory firm that works with non-profit, business, philanthropic and government leaders to accelerate the transition to clean energy as a key climate solution. He also serves as Board chair of the B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) and served as an external energy advisor to the BC Hydro Task Force. As a clean energy and climate policy expert, Dan is frequently quoted in media, called to testify before  legislative bodies, and regularly publishes commentary in Canada’s leading publications.

  • Richard Bridge is a lawyer based in Nova Scotia’s South Shore. His primary area of practice for over 25 years has been charity and non-profit law. His clients are a wide range of charitable organizations, foundations, non-profit organizations and philanthropists across Canada. Previously Richard was in-house counsel in several Provincial Government offices and Crown Corporations in British Columbia.

    In recent years Richard’s work has been focused on helping Indigenous communities, primarily in Atlantic Canada, build new relationships with the philanthropic sector.

    In September 2018 Richard joined the non-profit organization Ulnooweg Development Group in as Strategic and Legal Counsel. He also serves the Ulnooweg Education Centre and the Ulnooweg Indigenous Communities Foundation, two innovative Indigenous-led charities.

    Richard has worked internationally, including projects in China. He has also created courses and taught in these areas at the University of Victoria Law School and BCIT and has given countless public workshops and training sessions in every province in Canada. He has also published a variety of articles in these fields. He is an avid gardener, sailor and rower.

    Richard is a graduate of the University of Victoria – B.A. in 1986, and LL.B. in 1990. He was called the BC bar in 1991 and the Nova Scotia bar in 2006.

  • Trained as a biologist, Jean-Patrick holds a Ph.D. in environmental sciences and has been working as Senior Climate Director at the Trottier Family Foundation since 2022. During his career, he has conducted academic research and worked on several environmental and climate files with various national and international organizations. Prior to joining the Trottier Family Foundation, Jean-Patrick was Senior Advisor on Francophone Affairs at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), and had been responsible for a portfolio of climate adaptation and mitigation projects as a capacity building advisor for the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program. Jean-Patrick also worked as a science officer at Future Earth and as science project manager at the David Suzuki Foundation, in addition to conducting some consulting assignments. Jean-Patrick was a columnist for Québec Science from 2019 – 2024 and has been part of various committees at Ouranos and the Canadian Climate Institute, and CIRANO's Avant Garde.

  • Ana Gonzalez Guerrero is the Senior Manager, Climate and Cities at MaRS Discovery District, where she leads the implementation of CAANZero, a pilot program seeking to unlock finance and increase capacity for small and medium municipalities advancing climate solutions. She also leads MaRS' work on adaptation, focusing on building an ecosystem that accelerates innovation to increase community and economic resilience. Prior to her role, Ana co-founded Youth Climate Lab, where she oversaw the operations, programs, and co-led the vision and strategy of the organization. At the Federation of Canadian Municipalities she led an Innovation Fund across six countries through the Partnership for Municipal Innovation in Local Economic Development program. Ana also worked closely with local-level actors through the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program, supporting over 340 local governments in their efforts to act on climate across Canada. She is the Vice-Chair of the Tamarack Institute’s Board of Directors, and served as an advisor to Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy. Ana holds an MSc Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment as a Linbury Trust Scholar from the University of Oxford.

  • Pat Letizia led Alberta Ecotrust Foundation for nearly three decades, growing it from a one-room nonprofit into a leading environmental funder and collaborative program delivery organization. Her leadership was grounded in a vision of partnership-driven, transformative change and a deep belief in the power of cross-sector collaboration to advance environmental and climate solutions.

    A respected voice in Canada’s nonprofit and philanthropic sectors, Pat has contributed her expertise to numerous provincial and national initiatives. She is a founding director of both the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations and Environment Funders Canada, where she served multiple terms as Chair. She currently sits on the board of the Clean Economy Fund and chairs the City of Calgary’s Climate Advisory Committee.

    Pat is known for her strategic leadership, team-building strengths, and long-standing commitment to mentoring emerging leaders. She has received multiple honours for her contributions, including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond and Platinum Jubilee Medals and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alberta Emerald Foundation.

  • As an engagement, dialogue, and facilitation practitioner with over 16 years of experience, Elodie was involved in co-designing and facilitating many large-scale citizen and community engagements, including Canada’s World, the Citizen’s Dialogues on Canada’s Energy Future, the National Reconciliation Gatherings and the guided dialogues for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She was the lead researcher on inclusion in Open Government for the Canadian Government, and a peer-reviewer for its 4th Open Government Plan. As manager of knowledge and practice at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University, she co-led the development of the award-winning guide Beyond Inclusion: Equity in Public Engagement. She has been an observer at the UNFCCC COP processes since 2015, where she engages with governments and civil society on environmental democracy. She currently teaches in the Association of Pacific Rim Universities' Global Citizenship program while pursuing a PhD with a focus on environmental democracy at Simon Fraser University. She remains a consultant with different levels of government on deliberative citizen engagement processes.

  • Trilby Smith joined the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation in 2024. She is a seasoned philanthropic professional having served in multiple roles both inside philanthropic institutions and supporting organizations as a consultant. Prior to joining the Roadburg Foundation she managed her own consulting practice focused on strategic evaluation, research and facilitation for both philanthropic and non-profit organizations. From 2017-2020 Trilby was the inaugural Director of Learning and Evaluation at Vancouver Foundation where she created and led an organization-wide approach to learning and evaluation. Trilby held additional roles at Vancouver Foundation from 2014-2017 and previously worked at the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research as well as Metis Associates.  

  • Alex Cool-Fergus is a climate policy professional from Gatineau, Québec, with 15 years of experience working for Canadian civil society organizations advocating for stronger climate policies.

    She has worked with municipal governments for the past ten years through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), and led advocacy efforts for the largest coalition of civil society organizations advocating for climate policies at Climate Action Network Canada. Recently, Alex joined Climate Caucus as Senior Manager of Public Affairs.

    Outside of work, Alex volunteers as a political organizer with local electoral campaigns, especially at the municipal and federal levels. She received the Clean50 award for emerging leadership in 2025. Her writing on climate policy and politics has appeared in The Walrus, The Energy Mix, as well as her Substack Climatememes.ca.