Meet the SEEDS Team

As Manager, Liska is responsible for the strategic planning, development and implementation of the SEEDS Sustainability Program. Since 2003, she has honed the now internationally recognized Campus as Living Laboratory program into what is today. She leads the development of SEEDS strategies, goals, research priorities and partnerships that can advance UBC’s operational sustainability and wellbeing commitments, and integrate UBC’s operational and academic efforts in sustainability.  

Liska has an educational background in food systems and sociology. She brings knowledge and experiences in Community-Based Action Research (CBAR), food systems,  whole systems approaches, and program management. She holds much institutional knowledge and is involved with several  campus committees that inform the development and implementation of sustainability policies and plans though fostering impactful collaborations and research. She chairs/co-chairs interdisciplinary committees including: Campus Biodiversity Initiative: Research & Demonstration (CBIRD), Climate Change in Urban Biodiversity (CCUB), UBC Food System Project (FSP), Climate-Friendly Food Systems Action Team. She is an active member of many other groups to advance the university’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments, such as the Climate Action Plan, AMS Sustainability Action Plan, Wellbeing Strategic Framework, and Healthy Beverage Initiative. She is a member of the International Campus as Lab Community of Practice and helps advise other campuses in setting up similar Campus as Living Laboratory programs.  

Additionally, Liska teaches Leadership in Food System Sustainability in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, which examines and addresses food system sustainability challenges and opportunities on the UBC-Vancouver campus.  

As Climate Action & Food Systems Applied Research Coordinator within the SEEDS Sustainability Program, Laure works closely with the Climate Action Plan (CAP) team in Sustainability & Engineering.  She is in charge of coordinating student-led Community-Based Action Research and interdisciplinary partnerships that can help inform climate and food policy and practices as part of the CAP 2030. Her role is to continue and to expand SEEDS research and partnerships around the development, launch and evaluation of a UBC’s first Climate-Friendly Food system Label, GHG food Assessment, Food Waste Prevention & Reduction strategy,  Food Recovery Programs, Procurement, Food Circularity and more. She co-chair the Climate-Friendly Food Systems Action Team. Her work is aligned with the university’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments and targets, such as the Climate Action Plan 2030, AMS Sustainability Action Plan, Wellbeing Strategic Framework, the Zero Waste Plan and Healthy Beverage Initiative. 

Laure has expertise on Zero Waste and the Circular Economy, with a background in business, communication and sustainability. Before joining the SEEDS Sustainability team, she worked for more than 8 years on projects to support companies and the food sector to integrate environmental approaches through certification systems. 

Since she arrived in Canada, after several volunteer experiences (e.g. Zero Waste Canada, the Vancouver Farmer Market...) she embarked on a new adventure with her business partner Ben by co-founding Rethink2gether, a food consulting company with an expertise in food waste prevention. Rethink2gether's mission is to help commercial kitchens prevent food waste and improve their bottom line. 

Laure is originally from France, more precisely from Alsace, a region where viticulture is very famous for its quality and diversity of vineyards.

As Climate Response Applied Research Coordinator within the SEEDS Sustainability Program, Georgia works closely with grant partners from the Faculties of Forestry, Arts, and Sciences, and folks in Sustainability & Engineering.  She coordinates student-led Community-Based Action Research and interdisciplinary partnerships on critical intersectional topics to advance UBC’s Climate Emergency Declaration (CED) commitments and inform UBC’s Climate Action Plan 2030 and Wellbeing Strategic Framework. Her role is to establish new and ramp up existing interdisciplinary research, partnerships and knowledge mobilization to support UBC’s climate emergency priorities through two interconnected research clusters: 1) ecological and human health and wellbeing, and 2) sustainable, just, and secure food systems. 

Georgia brings over a decade of experience in non-profit management, sustainable food systems, communications, and research to her new role with SEEDS.  

She strives to build meaningful connections and create system-wide change that benefits people and the planet.  She’s applied these qualities to her work strengthening regional food systems with the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets, Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC) Farmland Ecosystem Services Project, the Vancouver Food Policy Council Leadership Team and more. 

As Project Developer, Jenalee plays a key role in facilitating SEEDS research and development activities and helps implement strategic aspects of the SEEDS mandate to advance UBC’s sustainability, climate, and wellbeing commitments. Working with academic and operational partners across the campus, Jenalee develops and manages broad based research clusters, partnerships, and program activities spanning climate action, green buildings and infrastructure, circular economy, wellbeing, and other priorities. Her work advances the SEEDS mandate in ways that provide impactful student learning and research experiences.

Jenalee has a background in adult education, sociology, and climate action. With years of experience as a researcher, educator, and community organizer, Jenalee has been involved in various sustainability initiatives. She brings extensive knowledge and experience in community-engaged research, systems thinking and sustainability, and justice-centered approaches to climate action. Jenalee is passionate about bringing people together to re-imagine the ways we relate to the Earth and each other, and to create meaningful change through systemic approaches and justice-centered solutions.

Prior to joining SEEDS, Jenalee was a Climate and Environmental Justice Fellow with UBC’s Sustainability Hub, where she led projects focused on justice-centered climate policy and planning. Jenalee also completed her PhD in the Department of Educational Studies at UBC, where she undertook community-engaged research focused on decolonial learning in movements for climate and environmental justice.

As Climate Action & Food Systems Applied Research Coordinator within the SEEDS Sustainability Program, Juan works closely with the Climate Action Plan (CAP) team in Sustainability & Engineering.  He is in charge of coordinating student-led Community-Based Action Research and interdisciplinary partnerships that can help inform climate and food policy and drive action as part of the CAP 2030. His role is to continue and to expand SEEDS research and partnerships around the development, launch and evaluation of a UBC’s first Climate-Friendly Food system Label, GHG food Assessment, Food Waste Prevention & Reduction strategy, Food Recovery Programs, Procurement, Food Circularity and more. He co-chairs the Climate-Friendly Food Systems Action Team. His work is aligned with the university’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments and targets, such as the Climate Action Plan 2030, AMS Sustainability Action Plan, Wellbeing Strategic Framework, the Zero Waste Plan and Healthy Beverage Initiative.

Juan holds a PhD from UBC where he researched inequality in access to food and its implications for food consumption GHG emissions and key sustainable development goals (UN SDGs). As a member of UBC’s Land Use and Global Environment lab, Juan has cultivated a broad understanding of the global food system challenges and interactions with deep understanding of Food Security and Food System Sustainability. He joined the SEEDS team as staff after being a student member of the Climate-Friendly Food System Action team since its creation. At SEEDS he aims to advance local action on global food system issues.