Council members' biographies

• Jennifer Angel (Chair)
• Peter Weltman (Vice-Chair)
• Sara Brown
• James Dunn
• Joanna Eyquem
• Graham Gagnon
• John McKendrick
• Doug McNeil
• Catherine Morency
• Ren Thomas
• Judy Whiteduck

Jennifer Angel, Chief Executive Officer, Evergreen Canada (Chair)

Jennifer Angel is the CEO of Evergreen Canada, an organization that brings private, public and community capacity, ingenuity and investment together to build inclusive, sustainable public places that attract people and investment, support climate adaptation and mitigation, and contribute to well-being for all. Prior to Evergreen Canada, she was the President and CEO of Develop Nova Scotia, a provincial crown corporation, where her team engaged cross sectoral partners to develop and steward some of Nova Scotia's most visited public spaces, and multiple award-winning projects, including the Halifax and Lunenburg waterfronts and Peggy's Cove.

Jennifer was recognized in Atlantic Business Magazine's Top 50 CEOs in Atlantic Canada in 2021, and among the Most Powerful Women in Atlantic Canada in 2022. She received the Inaugural Wije'winen Allyship Award 2022 from the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre, and the Spirit of Halifax Award from Discover Halifax in 2021.

She is Placemaking Fellow with the Canadian Urban Institute and a member of the International Women's Forum. She is former Chair of the Board of both Discover Halifax, the destination management organization for Halifax, and the Downtown Halifax Business Commission. She was a Director and Chair of the Fundraising Cabinet for United Way Halifax, and served on the Executive Committee of the National Executive Forum on Public Property.

Peter Weltman, Director, Technomics Inc., Former Financial Accountability Officer of Ontario (Vice-Chair)

Peter Weltman serves as Director and Employee Owner at data analysis and cost engineering company, Technomics Inc. Previously, he was Ontario's Financial Accountability Officer from 2018 to 2023, where he and his office produced reports on the state of the province's economy, fiscal position, and a first-of-its-kind analysis of the cost of climate change impacts on publicly-owned infrastructure. Peter is also a member of the Peel Transition Board, advising the Government of Ontario on the restructuring of the Region of Peel.

Peter also has extensive experience working at the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) in Ottawa serving as Director of Executive Services, Communication and Parliamentary Relations, and as Senior Director, Costing and Expenditure Management to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Peter is also a Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, where he supports the Institute's objective of providing policy advice and research to support and enhance all Canadians' standard of living. He is also a founding member and former President of the Canadian Chapter of the International Cost Estimating and Analysis Association (ICEEA). Peter holds an undergraduate degree in political science, and an MBA with a concentration in finance and governance. He is fluent in French and English.

Sara Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Northwest Territories Association of Communities

Sara Brown is Chief Executive Officer of the Northwest Territories Association of Communities (NWTAC), where she leads a diverse team in supporting and advocating on behalf of member communities in the Northwest Territories.

Sara has held a number of board and advisory positions, including as Director, Municipal Asset Management Program Steering Committee for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Government of Northwest Territories Waste Reduction and Recovery Advisory Committee, and as Co-Chair of the CSA Foundations in Permafrost Committee (Guide for Climate Change Adaptation), and as Chair of various Technical Committees for the Standards Council of Canada, Northern Infrastructure and Standards Initiatives.

Sara holds a professional membership with the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists. Sara has extensive experience working for municipal governments including as the Senior Administrative Officer for the Town of Inuvik and City of Iqaluit, and Director of Public Works for the Town of Huntsville, County of Foothills, and Town of Ajax.

James Dunn, Associate Dean, Research, Faculty of Social Sciences, McMaster University, Director, Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative

James Dunn is Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Social Sciences at McMaster University. His research investigates the health and social impacts of housing, urban form, and income policies and programs. He is the Senator William McMaster Chair in Urban Health Equity, and Director of the Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative.

James is an author and editor, and has published numerous journal articles, books, book chapters, reports and policy documents related to housing, urban development, health, and social policy. He is the founding co-lead of the Hamilton anchor institutions leadership table, an informal, cross-sectoral group of CEO-level leaders from the public, non-profit and private sectors. They collaborate on evidence-informed decision-making and horizontal policy alignment in areas such as, housing, urban development and population health and well-being.

He has also provided policy advice in his areas of expertise to numerous organizations, including municipalities in southern Ontario, the Government of Ontario, the Privy Council of Canada, the National Housing Research Committee of Canada and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe.

Joanna Eyquem, Managing Director, Climate-Resilient Infrastructure, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation

Joanna Eyquem is Managing Director of Climate-Resilient Infrastructure at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, focusing on practical measures to reduce flooding, erosion and heat risk, in particular working with nature and the financial sector. In this role, Joanna is leading national efforts to develop and mobilise guidance and standards to accelerate climate adaptation, and mainstream nature-based solutions across Canada. She is also responsible for the Intact Centre's activities in Quebec and is fully bilingual.

Joanna serves on over 30 boards and committees, including supporting the National Adaptation Strategy, two of the National Research Council of Canada's Research Centres, several CSA Group standard development committees, the Government of Quebec's Expert Group on Adaptation, and as Vice Chair of the Board for the Natural Assets Initiative.

Joanna has 25 years of professional experience working on climate adaptation, natural hazard management, and nature-based solutions in Europe, North America and Western Africa. She is a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.), Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV. SP.), Chartered Water and Environmental Manager (CWEM), and Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv.). Prior to joining the Intact Centre, Joanna was the Global Technical Practice Lead for Climate Resilience at AECOM, building on previous consultancy roles at Royal Haskoning DHV, and Jacobs Engineering.

Graham Gagnon, Dean, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Director for the Centre for Water Resources Studies, Dalhousie University

Graham Gagnon is Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning and is the Director and Professor in the Centre for Water Resources Studies at Dalhousie University.

He has held a number of board and committee appointments through his career with non-for-profit agencies, such as the American Water Works Association (AWWA), on government committees, such as the Minister's Roundtable on the Environment and Sustainability, in technical leadership, such as Editor in Chief for the Royal Society Chemistry's journal Environment Science: Water Research & Technology, and professional groups, such as the Board of the Design and Construction Institute in Nova Scotia. Since 2009, he has been dedicated to working with Elders, Chiefs, and water operators across Indigenous communities in the Atlantic Region in the establishment and operation of the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority.

In 2024, Graham was awarded the distinction of Fellow by the Canadian Academy of Engineering, which recognizes his outstanding achievements and service to engineering in Canada and the world. In addition to this recognition, Graham has received Albert E. Berry Award from the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) for his work in the field of environmental engineering and the Fuller Award from AWWA for his constructive leadership to the water industry. He is a member of Engineers Nova Scotia (NS), AWWA, CSCE, the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP), and the International Water Association (IWA).

John McKendrick, Former Executive Vice President, Infrastructure Ontario

John McKendrick is a former senior executive and consultant offering strategic and planning advice for building and infrastructure projects. He brings over 25 years of experience in project delivery, financing, and management of over 75 projects.

As the Executive Vice President of Social Projects, Project Delivery at Infrastructure Ontario, John was responsible for the planning, development, and procurement of major public infrastructure projects. His portfolio included hospitals, colleges, courthouses, a data centre, and the Pan Am Games' infrastructure projects. John came to Infrastructure Ontario with over 17 years of experience in the provincial government including as Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal (now the Ministry of Infrastructure).

John is a Board Member of the Children's Health Foundation of Vancouver Island, Chair of the Building Committee (Nanaimo Home Away From Home), and Member of the Finance Audit Investment and Risk Committee.

Doug McNeil, Former Chief Administrative Officer, City of Winnipeg & Former Deputy Minister, Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation

Doug McNeil is a professional engineer with 36 years of public service to the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba. Doug has been involved in most aspects of water resources planning, operations and management, including hydraulics, hydrology, storm water management, and water control structures.

Previously, Doug was Vice-President of Hydraulics and Vice-President of Engineering & Construction at the Manitoba Floodway Authority. He was also Deputy Minister of Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation, responsible for a vast infrastructure network including drains and culverts, multi-functional dams and reservoirs, diversion channels and flood pumping stations, as well as hydrologic (flood) forecasting and the Emergency Measures Organization.

Following his retirement as Chief Administrative Officer of the City of Winnipeg in May 2019, Doug started his own consulting firm and was named Ontario's special advisor on flooding. He has clients in the public sector and one First Nation client. He is also an engineer-in-residence at the University of Manitoba.

Catherine Morency, Professor of Transportation, Polytechnique Montréal

Catherine Morency is a civil engineer and full professor at Polytechnique Montréal, where she holds the Mobility Research Chair, focused on assessing and implementing sustainability in transportation. She also holds the Canada Research Chair inMobility of People.

Catherine holds several positions on boards of directors and advisory committees. She is notably a member of the boards of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and the Agence de mobilité durable de Montréal, as well as a member of the Aéroports de Montréal Community Advisory Committee and the Government of Quebec's Climate Change Advisory Committee. She is also President of the Palais des congrès de Montréal Ambassadors' Club.

Catherine has received a number of awards, including the Polytechnique Excellence in Research and Innovation Award, the Palais des congrès de Montréal and the Fonds de recherche du Québec Award for holding an international conference on transportation, the Antoine-Grégoire Award from the Association du transport urbain du Québec (ATUQ) and the Josef-Hode-Keyser Award from the Association québécoise des transports (AQTr) in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the field of transportation.

Ren Thomas, Associate Professor at the School of Planning, Dalhousie University

Ren Thomas is a Registered Professional Planner (RPP), an Associate Professor at the School of Planning at Dalhousie University, and a Founding Fellow of the MacEachen Institute of Public Policy and Governance. Ren conducts research in housing policy and transportation policy and planning. She is particularly interested in case studies, which allow her and her students to conduct in-depth analysis of policies and programs, comparisons across policies, and meta-analysis to determine more generalizable trends.

She has worked in a variety of public, private, and non-profit settings, including for the Ontario Growth Secretariat, University of Oregon, University of Amsterdam, TransLink, and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. She has served as a board member for the Canadian Institute of Planners (2020-2023), and the Community Housing Transformation Centre (2023-2025).

As a research consultant, she has conducted studies for diverse organizations such as BC Non-Profit Housing Association, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Infrastructure Canada, Phoenix Youth Programs, Autism Nova Scotia, and Institute for Public Policy Research.

Judy Whiteduck, Former Senior Director, Economic Development & Infrastructure and the Rights & Justice Branch, Assembly of First Nations

Judy Whiteduck recently retired after 23 years with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) as a Senior Director for the Economic Development and Infrastructure Branch, and the Rights and Justice Branch.

Judy has worked for more than 30 years to increase socioeconomic benefits and economic involvement for First Nations. In her over 20 years with the AFN, she held a number of other positions including Director of Safe, Secure and Sustainable Communities, and Director of Health & Economic Development, and was involved in a number of international summits. Following her retirement from the AFN, she has continued her work in economic advocacy, more specifically for the Algonquin Anishinabe Nation Tribal Council's procurement program. Prior to this, she also served as the Senior Director and Vice President of Policy and Programs at the Native Women's Association.

Judy currently serves as a member of Blueprint ADE's Better Evidence Council and has served on various working groups including as an Adhoc Steering Group member, Trade and Indigenous Peoples Programme for the World Economic Forum.

Judy is Algonquin from the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation.