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 Research & Program Developer, Cindy is responsible for developing and managing interdisciplinary partnerships, research clusters, and knowledge exchange programs at SEEDS to advance UBC’s sustainability and wellbeing priorities. Her work supports UBC’s Campus Vision 2050, Climate Action Plan 2030, Neighbourhood Climate Action Plan, Green Building Plan, Transportation Plan, Wellbeing Strategic Framework, AMS Sustainable Action Plan, and other strategic sustainability initiatives.

Cindy holds a PhD in Forestry from UBC, where her research examined how urban forest policies intersect climate change and urban planning policies in Canadian cities. She explored solutions for better integrating urban forests into the process of building a compact, livable, and climate-resilient city. 

Cindy brings extensive experience in community and youth engagement, applied research, project management, and urban forest governance and planning from her previous roles spanning academia, municipal government, and the private sector. Through her work at SEEDS, Cindy is dedicated to bridging research and practice to drive meaningful sustainability action at UBC and beyond.

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 Resilience and Biodiversity Applied Research Coordinator within the SEEDS Sustainability Program, Georgia works closely with partners from the Faculties of Forestry, Geography, Land and Food Systems, the School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture and more, plus staff partners in Campus and Community Planning, Facilities, the Botanical Garden, Sustainability Hub, UNA and more. She works collaboratively to define and deliver R & D activities on critical intersectional topic areas to inform and advance UBC’s existing and emerging climate, adaptation, resilience and biodiversity commitments. Georgia develops and manages campus-based student research projects and interdisciplinary partnerships with the goal of helping to inform campus policies and practices. Her work is guided by the university’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments and targets, including those within UBC’s Climate Action Plan, Climate Emergency Declaration, Green Building Action Plan, Wellbeing Strategic Framework, Campus Vision 2050, Neighbourhood Climate Action Plan, and emerging Integrated Rainwater Management Plan.  

Georgia brings over a decade of experience working in non-profit management, engagement and communications, sustainable food systems, policy and research. She strives to build meaningful connections and create system-wide change that benefits people and the planet.  She has 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 Circular Economy Applied Research Coordinator within the SEEDS Sustainability Program, Josh works closely with partners from the Faculties of Arts, Sciences, Engineering, and Forestry, as well as partners in Sustainability & Engineering, Facilities Planning, and Financial Operations, among others.  He coordinates student-led Community-Based Action Research and interdisciplinary partnerships to help advance actions in the Zero Waste Action Plan 2030: Towards a Circular Economy, and other related university policies, plans and practices.

His role is to both continue and expand SEEDS research and partnerships around the transition to a circular economy at UBC, with a focus on defining the circular economy idea at UBC, supporting reuse networks, reducing material waste from food systems, and assisting in the creation of sustainable procurement guidelines. Josh’s work is aligned with the university’s sustainability and wellbeing commitments and targets, such as the Zero Waste Action Plan 2030: Towards a Circular Economy, Climate Action Plan 2030, and AMS Sustainable Action Plan.

Josh has a background in circular economy, global development, and political economy. He has worked on a variety of projects ranging from research to support circular districts to adaptation and mitigation for technical systems related to climate change. Josh brings extensive experience and knowledge related to circularity, plastics management, and systems thinking. Josh is passionate about creating system change, as well as shifting personal relationships with the natural world, to support sustainable material use.

Prior to joining SEEDS, Josh was a coordinator for the UBC Microplastics Research Cluster, a sustainability scholar, and a climate analyst for Technical Safety BC. Josh is completing a Master’s degree in the Institute of Resource, Environment, and Sustainability with a focus on examining the social and environmental implications of the various definitions of a circular economy for plastics in Canada.