Our People

Ismahan is a Toronto-based professional with a background in research, web development, and operations. She has supported startups and nonprofits by improving their digital presence, organizing workflows, and providing bookkeeping support to help teams stay on top of their finances and day-to-day operations. More recently she contributed to a research project that studied how doctoral students work, learn, and collaborate. Ismahan enjoys exploring new cafes in Toronto, rewatching Downton Abbey and attending concerts!

Talha is an interdisciplinary researcher whose interests lie at the intersection of nature, human health, and social equity. He holds a Master of Urban Planning from McGill University where he conducted a research project on using urban nature-based solutions to promote health and address environmental inequity in the City of Montréal. Before joining SPI, Talha worked as an intern at Nova Scotia Environment’s Climate Change Unit and as part of Œuvre Durable’s policy brief team, advancing climate change adaptation in informal settings in Latin America and the Caribbean. In his free time, Talha enjoys playing soccer, spending time in nature, and sketching.

Fueled by a desire to create order from chaos, Cheryl thrives as the connective tissue in cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment and cohesion across an organization. She excels at seeing the big picture while also diving deep into the details, to support all the facets of implementing strategic initiatives. Cheryl loves working at the intersection of different teams, bringing together diverse perspectives to ensure that everyone is moving toward shared goals.
Known for her dedication to continuous learning and personal growth, she lives by the motto, “I want to look back and say I’ve done great things.” Her work is grounded in integrity, transparency, and a strong commitment to collaborative teamwork.
With a background in engineering, Cheryl spent 12 years as a Development Engineer in Calgary’s energy sector and 4 years in Calgary’s thriving tech ecosystem, where she served as Head of Finance and Operations for a growing EdTech company.
Outside of work, Cheryl can be found either immersed in a book or camping out west with her two kids and dog, Timber. A seasoned traveler, she has explored 36 countries across six continents and has come to deeply appreciate the privilege of drinking clean water straight from the tap.

Emily has always been fascinated by the natural world. Growing up on a small island off the west coast of British Columbia, she learned early in life of the important connection between healthy communities, economies, and the environment. She is passionate about working collaboratively across sectors to support the implementation of sustainable environmental practices.

Emily is a recent graduate of the Master of Environmental Management program at the University of New Brunswick, and holds an undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of Calgary.

As a Senior Associate, Sarah supports businesses and other organizations with integrated sustainability visioning, strategy and implementation as well as organizational learning. Previously the lead of The Natural Step Canada’s Advisory Services Team (and a member of this organization since 2007), Sarah has worked with a wide range of partners to share her expertise on sustainability and strategy development, including a sustainability strategy and visioning program for Pratt & Whitney Canada; a comprehensive sustainability training, strategy, visioning and implementation program for The Landmark Group of Builders; and a strategic positioning and organizational change program with ISL Engineering and Land Services. Other clients include multi-national chemical company Rohm and Haas (now Dow Advanced Materials); SMART Technologies; BC Hydro; Accommodation and Real Estate Services of British Columbia; the City of Ottawa, the County of Hawaii; and many others. Sarah also provides training with international Natural Step offices.

Prior to her work here, Sarah was a natural building instructor, working to enable communities to create structure from locally available, minimally processed materials. She has worked with people from over 22 countries in this capacity.

Sarah holds a master’s degree in “Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability” from the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden and an undergraduate degree in Geography from Mount Allison University.

Julie is a connector, collaborator, and coordinator working towards a sustainable, equitable, and resilient energy future. She has over 15 years of experience with innovative and complex projects in the sustainability and energy sector, working with a diverse range of players across Canada ranging from communities, utilities, system operators, regulators, technology providers, manufacturers, and renewable energy developers. Her work has included community resilience, digital innovation, smart grid and distributed energy resource adoption, renewables integration, and regulatory assessment, all while bringing various voices to the table in a collaborative way. Through her work she has built an understanding of the interconnectedness of energy systems. Today, Julie is providing coordination support to the Alberta’s Electricity Future Team with the Energy Futures Lab, where she had been a Fellow with the lab for 3 years. She is also the Chair of the Board of Directors for a women-led start-up focused on innovative ways to create an equitable, regenerative, and democratic energy system. Julie is also a Mom of two small humans, and a black lab, who are a harder team to manage, but the most fun. Julie and her family love camping in the mountains near their city of Calgary, planting a large vegetable garden, and heading home to the east coast every summer.

Mark is President From Here to There Consulting and Associate of Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement. Mark’s current focus is building the practice of Developmental Evaluation integrating real-time feedback and learning in emerging, complex, and fast-moving environments.

Mariana is a fourth-year student in Communications with a minor in Environmental Studies at uOttawa. She’s passionate about sustainability and nature-based solutions. Based in Ottawa, she hopes to grow mushrooms and work with mycomaterials.

Previously she worked at the Office of Campus Sustainability, where she now enjoys volunteering.

Dr Hem Dholakia is a Senior Research Associate at the Smart Prosperity Institute, where he supports the work of the Clean and Resilient Growth team. Before joining SPI, he brings eleven years of international experience managing climate risks for infrastructure, mitigating air pollution and strengthening public health.

Providing strategic advice to senior government officials and multilateral organizations has been integral to his experience. Hem is passionate about communicating science to different audiences and has contributed to several knowledge products, workshops, webinars and conferences.

A recipient of the International Visitor Leadership Programme Award (US Department of State), he was nominated to the UNFCCC Expert Roster by the Government of India in 2021. He holds a doctorate in Public Policy from the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad), and a Masters in Exercise Science from the University of Brighton (UK).

Stewart Elgie is a professor of law and economics at the University of Ottawa, and director of the University’s interdisciplinary Environment Institute. He received his Masters of Law from Harvard, and his doctorate (J.S.D.) from Yale. He is also the founder and chair of Smart Prosperity Institute (formerly Sustainable Prosperity), Canada’s premiere green economy think tank and policy-research network. His research involves environmental and economic sustainability, with a particular focus in recent years on market-based approaches.

Elgie started his career as an environmental lawyer in Alaska, litigating over the Valdez oil spill. He returned to Canada and founded Ecojustice, now Canada’s largest non-profit environmental law organization; he was counsel on many precedent setting cases, including four wins in Supreme Court of Canada on constitution and environment issues. He was later hired by Pew Trusts as founding executive director of the multi-stakeholder Canadian Boreal Initiative.

Prior to his faculty position at University of Ottawa (2004), Elgie held appointments at several Canadian universities (U.B.C., Alberta, York). He has served on or chaired many advisory bodies in the environment/sustainability area. In 2001, Elgie was awarded the Law Society of Upper Canada medal for exceptional lifetime contributions to law – the youngest man ever to receive the profession’s highest honour.

Shalyn (she/her) studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, with degree specialties in Biochemical Engineering and Communications. Prior to joining CPP, Shalyn has over 8 years of experience in the food and pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, providing project and operations management expertise at greenfield GMP manufacturing facilities. She has also worked with Métis Nation – Saskatchewan as an Environmental Program Manager, facilitating delivery of climate change, conservation, and consultation programs to Métis communities and citizens in Saskatchewan.

Andrea M. Gal is dedicated to supporting the sustainability of Canadian agriculture. She is passionate about advancing initiatives that benefit farmers, communities, and the environment. For over four years at Wilton Consulting Group, she collaborated with farm and commodity organizations on sustainable agriculture programs and research. She facilitated extensive consultations with industry representatives to develop recommendations on programming and policy updates to best meet industry needs. She is an experienced project manager, overseeing initiatives ranging from field-scale trials to national research projects. Andrea is a skilled communicator. She served as the managing editor of Farms.com, Better Farming, and Better Pork. Here, Andrea built, mentored, and led the editorial team through the expansion of Better Pork to a national publication and the launch of Better Farming Prairies. Andrea also brings a grassroots perspective to her work in the industry. Together with her family, Andrea runs a grain farm and cow-calf operation in southwestern Ontario. She serves as the Vice Chair of Farm Management Canada and as a representative on the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s Policy Advisory Council.

Jean Paul (JP) Gladu is currently Principal of Mokwateh and dedicated to creating innovative partnerships and solutions to reveal equitable opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous business communities.

JP previously served as the President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) from September 2012 until April 2020. Anishinaabe from Thunder Bay JP is a member of Sand Point First Nation located on the eastern shores of Lake Nipigon, Ontario. JP completed a forestry technician diploma in 1993, obtained an undergraduate degree in forestry from Northern Arizona University in 2000, holds an Executive MBA from Queen’s University and the ICD.D from Rotman School of Management University of Toronto. JP has over 30 years of experience in the natural resource sector. His career path includes work with Indigenous communities and organizations, environmental non- government organizations, industry and governments from across Canada.

Currently, JP serves on the board of Suncor, Institute for Corporate Directors, Broden Mining, First Nations Major Projects Coalition Advisory Centre, Chair of Canada’s Forest Trust, as well BHP’s International Forum for Corporate Responsibility committee. He previously served on the Board of Ontario Power Generation, Noront Resources and past Chair of the Mikisew Group of Companies. He is a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and served as the Chancellor of St. Paul’s University College Waterloo from 2017 to 2020. His previous appointments include Canadian Electricity Association Public Advisory Panel, Colleges and Institutes Canada (previously ACCC), the Northern Policy Institute, Canadian Foundation for Economic Education, advisory member to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, a committee member to the Ontario Provincial Forest Policy Committee.

JP is a sought-after public speaker both nationally and internationally, sharing insights into the challenges and successes of Indigenous business and the growth of the Indigenous economy within Canada today. His achievements are being recognized by the Public Policy Forum as a 2024 Honouree.

Jesse Helmer is Senior Research Associate at SPI, where he focuses on climate-friendly housing policy and the real costs of urban sprawl. Based in London, Ontario, where he has served two terms as a city councillor, including six years on the planning and environment committee, two years as deputy mayor (2018-2020) and eight years on the transit commission. He is particularly interested in the intersection of housing, mobility and climate policy and actionable strategies to build cleaner, greener and more affordable cities and communities. He was named one of London’s Top 20 Under 40 in 2019.

Jesse is a graduate of University of Waterloo (BA) and Queen’s University (MPA) and is currently a PhD Candidate in political science at Western University, where his research focuses on the political participation gap between homeowners and tenants (www.greatsuppression.ca). He teaches part-time at Western in the local government program and at Huron University College in the governance, ethics and leadership program. Jesse lives with his wife, Kate Graham, and their daughter, Flora, in Old North.

Holly Hendershot brings over 15 years of experience in strategic communications, public affairs, and organizational transformation. She has led communications for some of Canada’s most recognized organizations, including one of Ontario’s largest pediatric rehab centres and has overseen public affairs and investor relations for TSX- and NYSE-listed companies.

Holly specializes in aligning communications with business strategy, ensuring that organizations effectively engage stakeholders, build trust, and drive meaningful impact.

Holly has been actively involved in the social sector for over a decade, serving in leadership roles such as Board Chair for Habitat for Humanity Guelph Wellington and Chair of Fundraising for UN Women National Committee. Holly is a Certified IAF Endorsed Facilitator and Certified Adaptability and Change Practitioner.

She is passionate about helping organizations communicate with clarity, inspire action, and drive transformation.

Shahid is a Senior Research Associate in Resource Economics and Circular Economy Policy at Smart Prosperity Institute. He holds a Master’s in Resource Management degree from Simon Fraser University and a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Guelph.

He has a passion for energy-economy modelling and data analytics – and his research interests include the economics of energy and climate policy, sustainable renewable & low carbon fuel production, and deep decarbonization.

Prior to SPI, Shahid worked as an analyst for Clean Energy Canada, as a research associate at Navius Research and The Canadian Energy and Emissions Data Centre, and as a research assistant with the Energy and Materials Research Group.

Outside of work, Shahid is busy exploring the Canadian wilderness and trying to perfect his grandma’s recipes.

Anik Islam is a Senior Research Associate at Smart Prosperity Institute. He leads policy research and data analysis work on sustainable finance, net-zero industrial transitions and clean technology development to help Canada meet its climate objectives and achieve economic prosperity.

Prior to SPI, he worked at an international consulting firm based in Dhaka, Bangladesh and provided macro level and business case solutions in renewable energy market development, natural resource pricing & management, infrastructure/structured financing, public private partnerships and sustainable development goal implementation. Anik holds a M.A. in Economics from the University of Ottawa and a M.Sc. in Finance from Queen Mary University of London.

Mykensie is a Research Associate with the Smart Prosperity Institute. Previous experiences include being a policy analyst for the Government of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment and the Director of Research and Policy Development for the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce.

Mykensie holds a Master of Public Administration from the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Queen’s University. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, volunteering, hiking, and cycling in the summer.