Course Instructors

Atlanta-Marinna Grant (She/Her/Hers)

Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Science
Climate Justice; Climate Law, Planning, and Policy; Climate and People; Complex Systems Thinking; Climate Adaptation and Resilience

As an Iroquois woman growing up, my worldview was centred round the land as Teacher. Presently, as an academic, I’ve witnessed extreme gaps in how the conversations of climate change engage in Indigenous knowledge, and the incredible role it can play in mending our natural environment. How can we engage in Indigenous ecological knowledge in ways that promote reconciliation, humble collaboration and (most importantly) a way in which we listen to the land as stewards for its ultimate protection. 

Dana James (She/Her/Hers)

Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Science
Climate Justice; Climate and People

As an environmental social scientist and settler scholar-activist, I rely on critically engaged, anti-racist, and anti-colonial teaching approaches that provide space for students to reflect on and challenge their assumptions and consider taking action in pursuit of social change. With a primary focus on land, food, and climate justice, I draw upon theories and concepts from political ecology (and geography more broadly), environmental sociology, settler-colonial studies, and land-use science.

Kasey Stirling (She/Her/Hers)

Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, Science Climate Science, Climate Justice, Climate Law, Planning and Policy, and Climate and People

As an Indigenous graduate student and biochemist working in partnership with the First Nations Fisheries Legacy Fund in co-developing a more culturally-relevant framework for watershed health assessment, I have a range of expertise in climate research methodologies. My thesis focuses on both the ethical practices involved in research with Indigenous Peoples and an environmental DNA assessment of diatom assemblages as a metric of aquatic habitat health.

Sarah-Louise Ruder (She/Her/Hers)

Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Science
Climate Justice; Climate Economics; Climate and People; Complex Systems Thinking

My work examines power, justice, & sustainability in the context of food systems and technological change. I have 3 years of experience teaching interdisciplinary environmental studies in person & online at UWaterloo and UBC. In 2020, I co-taught GEOB504 Perspectives on the Anthropocene (graduate seminar). As an educator, I draw from the accredited university teaching program I completed at UWaterloo and 7 years of facilitation experience in academic and community contexts for groups of 5–500.

Fiona Beaty (She/Her/Hers)

Zoology, Science
Climate Science; Climate Law, Planning, and Policy; Climate and People; Complex Systems Thinking; Climate Adaptation and Resilience

My climate expertise connects with marine social-ecological systems, adaptive marine spatial planning, stewardship and sense of place. I study how the ocean is responding to climate change (e.g. ocean acidification & warming). I also study how maps can inform community-led planning and adaptation strategies to build resilience to climate change. I employ a decolonizing and place-based approach to my research and teaching, centred in the experiences of communities and waterways in the Salish Sea.

Promit Ananyo Chakraborty (He/Him/His)

School of Population and Public Health, Medicine
Climate and People

In the last cohort, I have delivered guest lectures in undergraduate courses on climate change with a special focus on its effect on vulnerable populations. Particularly, I underscored the application and importance of applying intersectional lenses to examine environment-related issues. Especially, an important part of my lectures included an overview of research methodologies used across disciplines. I have also conducted workshops on intersectional environmentalism. I estimate that, through my lectures and workshops, I have reached over 300 UBC students so far.

Nigel Deans (He/Him/His)

Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Faculty of Science 
Climate Science; Climate Justice; Climate and People; Complex Systems Thinking; Climate Adaptation and Resilience; Other

For the past 2.5 years, I have worked for Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC as Research Coordinator for SSHRC and NRCAN funded research conducted by the Resilience by Design lab and the Adaptation Learning Network. In this capacity, I have facilitated interactive workshops on climate change and climate action with over 100 youth age 15 to 24 and presented our research to government, academic, and public audiences.

Andrea Hoff (She/Her/Hers)

Language and Literacy Education, Faculty of Education
Climate and People; Climate Adaptation and Resilience

I have taught and designed the curriculum for Rhetoric in New Media at Quest University, as well as guest lectured in Graphic Forms at UBC in the Department of Creative Writing. In the Winter Term, I will be teaching "Teaching Literature" in the School of Education and will continue my work (remotely) as a guest lecturer in Climate Comics with the Vancouver School Board. I employ participatory methods, creative practice, and foster a safe environment open to artistic exploration and discussion.

Kendra Jewell (She/Her or They/Them)

Anthropology, Arts
Climate Justice; Climate and People; Climate Adaptation and Resilience

Kendra Jewell (she/they) is a queer white settler and PhD Candidate in Anthropology at UBC. Their research looks at climate change impacts in Florida, and interrogates the connections between whiteness, coloniality, and climate change denial (in all its forms). Blending queer theory, critical race theory, and ethnography, they ask: what is climate change denial? How might we all engage in it, even without knowing? And, how can we responsibly live with/in the (ongoing) horrors of climate change?

Temitope Onifade (He/Him/His)

Law
Climate Justice; Climate Law, Planning, and Policy

Living and working as a lawyer in the Niger Delta initially shaped my interest in the environment. Later, I helped clients dealing in renewable resources and technologies look for finance, but faced serious policy challenges. Looking for how to address the challenges led me to the climate justice framework. Today, I draw on my professional and research experience to teach students and communities about climate law, policy, and justice. I learn, teach, and mobilize knowledge across countries.

Utkarsh Lohan (He/Him/His)

Civil Engineering, Applied Sciences
Climate Justice, Climate Law, Planning and Policy, and Climate Adaptation and Resilience

I have a background in Civil Engineering and over eight years of experience in both the public and private sectors, including more than four years in irrigation and water recharge projects. I have a masters in Environmental Law and Justice from a top law university in India with high academic achievement in International Environmental Law and Indian Environmental Law Framework. I have been teaching peers and juniors since my undergraduate days, and attained A+ in both Environmental Engineering 1 and 2 during my bachelors in Civil Engineering degree.

Anber Rana (She/Her/Hers)

Civil Engineering, School of Engineering
Climate Science, Climate Justice, Climate Economics, Climate Law, Planning and Policy, Climate and People, and Climate Adaptation and Resilience

My teaching experience spans over five years, where I taught students from architecture, engineering, environment, and management departments. In addition, I have served as subject matter expert for K-12 educational material development related to energy for local utility in BC. I base my teaching on active learning techniques and ensure student-centered lesson plans. I use formative and summative assessment techniques to gauge student learning and tailor my teaching accordingly.

Farrukh Chishtie (He/Him/His)

Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine
Climate Science; Climate Adaptation and Resilience

My approach in teaching is interactive and engaging. I am a founding member of the Space Science Department at the Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad where as an atmospheric scientist I have developed and taught courses in environmental and atmospheric science, meteorology and remote sensing. I can also share my own experience and ongoing work in climate change related disasters such as floods and droughts in Asia.

Sadia Ishaq

Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science
Climate Science; Climate Justice; Climate Economics; Climate Law, Planning, and Policy; Climate and People; Complex Systems Thinking; Climate Adaptation and Resilience; Other

I have worked as a Teaching Assistant for four courses and facilitated discussion groups, graded students’ assignments, recorded progress and attended course meetings. My approach to conducting tutorials is based on being interactive, connecting assignment questions to lecture material and past knowledge, sharing relevant examples, listening carefully, and encouraging group discussion.

Don Shafer (He/Him/His)

Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice; Faculty of Arts 
Climate and People

My experience in media, teaching, public speaking, and working with various community organizations has allowed me to develop a hybrid or blended teaching style that follows an integrated approach. I adjust it based on the task, curriculum, interests with staff or students and the desired outcomes as required. Teaching journalism and the art of communication, the science of climate change and the psychology of denial, or making meaningful connections within a community to initiate significant social change have become lifetime themes. As an adjunct instructor with Kwantlen University, BCIT and City University, I taught Media and Ethics in Communication. This is my second year with the Climate Teaching Connector.

Balsher Singh Sidhu (He/Him/His)

Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Faculty of Science
Climate Science; Climate Justice; Climate Law, Planning, and Policy; Climate and People; Climate Adaptation and Resilience; Other

I led a team of academicians (including 4 faculty members) to design and teach a course on Climate Change and Energy Futures in UBC's 2018 and 2019 Vancouver Summer Programs. In addition to multiple field trips, class hours were divided equally between instructor-led lessons and group activities, with special focus on collective problem-solving and interactive learning (e.g. model UNFCCC).

Imranul Laskar (He/Him/His)

Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, Faculty of Science Climate Science; Climate Justice; Climate Law, Planning, and Policy; Complex Systems Thinking; Climate Adaptation and Resilience

I have had the privilege to lead tutorials, mark assignments, develop rubric and prepare and mark final case studies for several disciplinary and interdisciplinary sustainability-focused courses. We initially set the learning goals for the tutorials, and designed our tutorials in a way that is geared towards the profiles and career interests of the class. This helped the students grasp sustainability and system thinking concepts better, and in a personalized manner.