UTERN Team
This is the new executive team for the 2015-2016 year! The UTERN team works together to encourage and aid in environmental projects, inform environmental practice and sustainability, and improve communication and partnership between all who work for the environment on all three campuses.
President – Gabriela Ansari-Correa
Hello everyone! My name is Gabriela and I will be fulfilling the role of UTERN President for the 2015-2016 academic year. I am currently in my fourth year, pursuing a Specialist degree in Political Science and a Minor in Environmental Studies. Although this will be my first time on the UTERN executive, I have past experience volunteering at the School of the Environment. This includes taking part in the Environmental Students’ Union (ENSU) executive last year as Secretary and assisting with the COP21 Planning Committee over the last few months.
The executive and I will continue to strive towards improving communication and outreach across all three campuses. Moreover, as an umbrella organization for environmental groups, I hope to maintain a strong relationship with these groups and work towards promoting UTERN to undergraduate and graduate students in the university community. I will ensure that all funding applicants receive timely responses and consistently provide organized and effective meetings.
I am enthusiastic about this opportunity to contribute to the environmental movement at the University of Toronto and encourage any and all student groups planning environmental-related events to send us applications throughout the year.
I look forward to receiving those applications and working with you all in the coming year!
email: gabriela[email protected]
Treasurer – Nathan Warkentin
I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto in 2014. I did a major in Biology and Environment & Science, as well as a minor in Environment & Energy. Upon graduation, I enrolled in the new Masters of Science in Sustainability Management at University of Toronto Mississauga and will graduate in 2016 (if you’re interested, check it out, it’s awesome!).
I recently completed an internship at QUEST (Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow), where I did research in smart energy community planning, utility resilience to climate change, and reviewed policies and publications. Previously, I did research in Platelet Immunology, Botany and Passive Energy Technology/Policy (not all at the same time, of course). My main academic interests lie in sustainability, energy, and policy; I am also personally interested in transportation, food systems, and sustainable investing. Away from school, I am an avid road cyclist, semi-professional photographer, movie buff, and sports fanatic.
email: [email protected]
Executive Secretary – Michelle Newson
Hello everyone! My name is Michelle Newson and I am in my fourth year of undergrad with a major in Environmental studies and a double minor in human geography and political science. Throughout my time at university I have participated in many environmental events and projects. I am interested in environmental sustainability not only on a global scale but across the university campus as well. I will be UTERN’s secretary for this school year, and look forward to working with everyone!
email: [email protected]
Project Manager – Monica Dario
Hello, my name is Monica and I am in my fourth (and final!!!) year of undergraduate studies. My main environmental interests are the global distribution of economic externalities, and the different ways knowledge is used to tackle environmental issues.
Other than that, I am a big fan of musical theatre, fermenting and pickling, and sleep. I am also part of the Environmental Students’ Union, and I sing in an amazing choir in a suburban area of the GTA.
Overall, I’m hoping to end this year with a very expensive degree and a lingering contempt for OSAP.
If you want to find me, I’m often at our office, ES1042A, so if you are around the area, feel free to pop by!
email: [email protected]
External Executive Liaison – Alix Ali-Dib
Hello! My name is Alix Ali-Dib; I am currently in my fourth year at University of Toronto studying Environmental Studies, Urban Studies and Human Geography. My passion for the environment and sustainability stems from having grown up in Doha, Qatar, a small country in the Persian Gulf. There, I witnessed first hand the immense environmental destruction that oil and gas production brought to Doha. This year I have taken on the role of External Executive Liaison with UTERN. As external liaison, by job is to represent UTERN at various meetings on and off campus, and ensure that the community knows what our group can offer them for their sustainability initiatives. In addition, I hope to leverage my network in the environmental community in Toronto to bring new and exciting partnerships to UTERN.
email: [email protected]
Internal Executive Liaison – Daniel Jubas-Malz
I am a fifth year student specializing in Psychology and minoring in Environment and Behaviour. I have recently started an environmental club in the support of entomophagy , or the consumption of insects, as an alternative and sustainable option to many commonly used ingredients. My general goal is to create a community on campus by bringing together as many people and groups as possible, so we can work together on environmental initiatives. Ultimately, I want to introduce students to fun, engaging environmental lifestyles that they would love to make into their own and by creating a dialogue across groups and students, we can really work to instill environmental values within every student on campus. If you have any ideas for events, please, please get in touch!
email: [email protected]
Environment Week Coordinator – Geneva Speakman
Hey everyone! My name is Geneva Speakman and I am UTERN’s 2015-2016 Environment Week Coordinator. I’m currently in my fourth year of my undergraduate studies, completing a double major in Environmental Studies and Environmental Geography. That means my sister tells people I want to save the whales and my mom is worried about me joining a doomsday cult (still a possibility). Their stereotypical misconceptions aside, I am fiercely passionate about the environment and I will work towards making Environment Week run as smoothly as possible and make sure the student body (you) is informed and engaged! If you’re a current student or member of an environmentally-minded student group and you have any potential event ideas for this year’s Environment Week, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. I’m more than happy to discuss your ideas via both email and/or meet with you in person.
email: [email protected]
Outreach Coordinator – Jessica Maitland
Hi everyone! My name is Jessica Maitland and I am currently a third year student studying Environmental Sciences and Health Studies. I am interested in the way that the environment affects our health and what we can do in order to protect the earth and everyone who lives on it. I will be UTERN’s Outreach Coordinator for the 2015-2016 school year. I hope to raise awareness about environmental issues and get students at UofT involved with environmental projects.
email: [email protected]
Director of Technology – Elspeth Mathau
Hi everyone, my name is Elspeth! I am passionate about raising environmental awareness around campus by promoting community action. I am pursuing a double major in Environmental Studies and Psychology and minor in Biology to learn more about environmental issues from different perspectives. As director of technology, I manage the UTERN website and listserve to awareness about our group to help students to achieve their goals of creating environmental initiatives on campus. With the help of UTERN and three of my peers, I cofounded a sustainable food initiative called Bug Bites- the U of T Entomophagy club, which promotes insects as a protein alternative for urban farming. An am the main intern and campus agriculture coordinator for the newly founded U of T Food Policy Council. When I’m not working or studying, you can usually find me baking vegan treats, drawing, or skating since I am an athlete on the U of T Varsity Figure Skating team.
I’m very excited to see what environmental projects we can help foster this year!
email: [email protected]
Graduate Student Rep – Marina Freire-Gormaly
Marina Freire-Gormaly is a graduate student in Mechanical Engineering studying water purification systems for remote communities powered by renewable energy. She hopes to leverage the network built through energy seminars to bring excellent speakers, and value added from these professionals for the students of UofT. Marina believes environmental sustainability is a crucial issue facing society, and students can play a key role. The support UTERN gives to student-run initiatives, and the support the faculty and industry can provide, is crucial to enabling students to change society towards a more sustainable future.
email: [email protected]
UTM Representative – Nathan Warkentin (see above)
MAILING ADDRESS: 33 Willcocks Street, UTERN mailbox 1016V
FIND US AT: Earth Sciences building, 5 Bancroft Ave. ROOM 1042A
EMAIL CONTACT: [email protected]
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