Staff

  • Dr. Sybil Seitzinger

    Executive Director

    Dr. Sybil Seitzinger is an Environmental Studies Professor at the University of Victoria and Executive Director of the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) - a research and engagement network oriented toward delivering evidence-based, impactful climate change solutions. 

    Dr. Seitzinger joined PICS in November 2015 from her position of executive director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) based in Stockholm, Sweden. IGBP’s work involved facilitating and integrating the work of scientists and researchers across Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe on global environmental change. Prior to that, she was director of the Rutgers/NOAA Cooperative Marine Education and Research Program and visiting professor at Rutgers University in the US. As a pioneering scientist, her work at Rutgers centred on land-atmosphere-ocean biogeochemistry, with a focus on changes in the global nitrogen cycle and how humans are affecting it.

    Dr. Seitzinger holds a PhD in biological oceanography from the University of Rhode Island, is an elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union since 2019, and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also a member of the United Nations Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and member of the BC Climate Solutions and Clean Growth Advisory Council. She has been awarded an honorary PhD from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Dr. Seitzinger is highly cited, with more than 130 peer-reviewed publications to her credit, and she served as president of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography from 2006-2010.

    C.V.

    Phone Number: (250) 853-3595

  • Dr. Ged McLean

    Associate Director

    Dr. Ged McLean brings over three decades of academic and industry expertise to PICS. He spent 13 years as a professor of mechanical engineering at UVic, including four years as director of the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic). In 2002, he founded Angstrom Power Inc., later owned by BIC Inc., where he developed state of the art fuel cell systems. McLean has been lead inventor in more than 80 patents with research contributions in areas including design methods, energy systems, art databases, embedded systems and image processing.
    Dr. McLean holds BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo. He was formerly the director of strategic planning with IESVic and science adviser for the Institute for Breakthrough Energy Technology. He also sits on the advisory council for UVic’s School of Environmental Studies and the advisory board for CanAssist.

    Phone Number: (250) 853-3676

  • Sara Muir-Owen

    PICS Program Manager, University of British Columbia

    Sara Muir Owen has a BSc in Agriculture and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of British Columbia. She has more than 10 years of experience in sustainable community planning and has worked in Vancouver, Aspen, CO and Santa Fe, NM. She has been involved in numerous award-winning projects including the Canadian Institute of Planners’ 2010 Planning Excellence Award for the “City of North Vancouver 100 Year Sustainability Vision.” In 2010, Sara joined PICS as the UBC program coordinator.

    Phone Number: (604) 822-4644

    Website: http://www.sustain.ubc.ca/pics

  • Nastenka Calle

    Program Manager, Simon Fraser University

    Nastenka Calle Delgado is the PICS Program Manager at Simon Fraser University (SFU). She has a Master of Sciences degree in Environmental Health Sciences with specialization in Environmental Quality from the University of South Carolina (Columbia, USA), and a Master of Sciences in Environmental Engineering from the University of New Orleans (New Orleans, USA). Nastenka obtained her bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering from the Polytechnic School of Ecuador (ESPOL).
    Her professional strengths and areas of knowledge are focused on air and water quality, environmental planning, environmental auditing, environmental impact assessment, GIS and environmental modeling, hydrology and waste management, and environmental management system implementation.

    Phone Number: (778) 782-8834

    Website: http://www.sfu.ca/climatechange

  • Michelle Connolly

    Program Manager, University of Northern British Columbia

    Michelle Connolly has worked as a coordinator, a biologist, a technical writer, a researcher and a field technician for federal, provincial and local governments, academia and non-governmental organizations. She has a BSc in forestry from UBC and an MSc in forest ecology from UNBC. Michelle loves the wild landscapes of northern BC and is proud to be representing UNBC with PICS.

    Phone Number: (250) 960-6378

    Website: http://www.unbc.ca/pacific-institute-for-climate-solutions

  • Robyn Meyer

    Senior Communications Officer

    Robyn Meyer is responsible for mobilizing engagement and action on the institute’s climate change solutions, as well as strategic planning of outreach events and activities. Climate change is the leading story of our time, and being able to engage and inspire target audiences to act through the creative sharing of innovative research across new emerging platforms is a key motivation behind her work.

    Robyn has 20-plus years’ experience in public relations and media, as a former senior press secretary for the New Zealand Government and as a radio/print journalist, including chief reporter for Radio New Zealand. Professional accolades include a New York Festival United Nations award for environmental reporting, Best Documentary in the NZ Radio Awards, and a UVic President’s Distinguished Service Award for her work at PICS.  Robyn holds a University of Canterbury Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism and a BA in Political Science and History, and her career experience spans Australasia, Europe, South and North America. 

    Phone Number: (250) 853-3626

  • Nancy Chan

    Executive Assistant

    Nancy joined the PICS team in July 2013 but has been working at UVic since 1983 with the Engineering and Computer Science/Math Co-op and Career office. She's very excited to be part of a team that is helping to shape climate change policies!

    Phone Number: (250) 853-3595

  • Kristy Faccer

    Program Manager, University of Victoria

    Kristy Faccer is delighted to be joining PICS after more than a decade of work as an international advisor, researcher and practitioner in the fields of climate change and sustainability.  She has been invited to speak and participate in projects on nearly every continent and in the process, engage with and learn from leaders and innovators across all sectors of society.  Kristy’s written work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, books and the popular media and covered topics from most recently, corporate sustainability and the green economy to climate resilience.  She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor’s of Science from Trent University and is currently in the process of completing her PhD in management at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business.  Her dissertation focuses on how attention to context and collaboration between unlikely allies can positively shape climate action within and beyond the firm.  When not in the office, Kristy is looking forward to reacquainting herself with the wood and water of Vancouver Island.

    Phone Number: (250) 853-3678

  • Dr. Hannah Teicher

    Dr. Hannah Teicher joined PICS in June 2019 as the institute’s first Researcher in Residence dedicated to advancing climate solutions in the built environment. She brings experience in research and practice at multiple scales from the building envelope to regional consortiums. She recently completed a PhD in urban studies and planning at MIT where she focused on cross-sectoral collaborations for adaptation planning. In her dissertation, she analyzed how the climate security agenda is being mobilized across multiple levels of government in the U.S. to develop community/military collaborations for resilience to sea level rise. As a result of this research, she was awarded the highly competitive MIT Martin Fellowship for Sustainability.

    Before beginning her research career, Dr. Teicher practiced architecture with Shape in Vancouver where she played a key role in developing cutting edge, sustainable residential and community projects. She also taught ecological design at Emily Carr University of Art and Design and contributed to strategies for transportation electrification with the Transportation Infrastructure and Public Space Lab at the University of British Columbia. She holds a Master of Architecture from UBC and a B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Swarthmore College. She has written extensively for peer-reviewed and industry publications regarding design and planning for sustainability and adaptation in the built environment.
     

    Phone Number: (250) 721-7211