Voices at the forefront of sustainability integration

Dr. Sarah Burch is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Canada and holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Transformative Climate Governance.  

She is the Executive Director of the Waterloo Climate Institute, a Lead Author with the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (including the recently launched Special Report on Climate Change and Cities), and helped to lead expert input into the development of Canada’s first National Adaptation Strategy. Her research uncovers transformative responses to climate change at the community scale, the political and justice dimensions of sustainability transitions, and the unique contributions that small businesses can make to this solving these complex challenges.  Dr. Burch has served as expert advisor and consultant to the federal government (on climate change adaptation and climate fundamentals education), and dozens of municipalities (on climate change and sustainability action plans).  

Dr. Burch holds a PhD from the University of British Columbia, and held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Oxford. She was named to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars in 2017, and one of Canada’s Clean 50 in 2021.

As Indigenous Knowledge Keeper, Elder Myeengun Henry provides strategic leadership Indigenization and decolonization for the Faculty of Health and throughout the University. Elder Henry identifies and fosters reciprocal, respectful relationships with Indigenous individuals and communities, helping to create meaningful pathways for collaboration and understanding. He is a member of the UW Indigenous Advisory Circle, leads annual Indigenous commitment ceremonies and co-carries the University Eagle Staff. 

Elder Henry is a former elected Chief of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, band councillor, Manager of Indigenous Services, and Professor of Indigenous Studies at Conestoga College. He conducts Indigenous ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, healing, and naming. Elder Henry is a traditional medicine practitioner, environmental protectionist, Hummingbird researcher/bander, Wampum belt holder, Indigenous social counsellor, and radio and podcast host. 

He is the current elder for the Ontario Provincial Police Indigenous advisory circle, and Chair of the Elder council for the Law Society of Ontario. He created the Waterloo Region Hospital Indigenous Advisory Council and is currently creating a Southern Ontario Indigenous Traditional Healers consortium, further strengthening Indigenous representation and advocacy in health and healthcare spaces. 

Prof. Michael A. Pope is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo and a core member of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology.  

He earned his B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering from McMaster University and completed his PhD at Princeton University, where he developed early approaches for integrating graphene and other two-dimensional materials into electrochemical energy storage systems.  

Following his PhD, he spent two years at Vorbeck Materials, one of the first large-scale graphene producers, where he led an ARPA-E–funded project in collaboration with researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory focused on the development of graphene-enhanced lithium–sulfur batteries.  

Since joining Waterloo in 2014, his research has focused on the scalable synthesis, assembly, and integration of nanostructured materials—particularly graphene and other 2D materials—into advanced electrode architectures for next-generation battery systems, including lithium-ion, sodium-ion, lithium–sulfur, and emerging solid-state technologies. This work has also led to his role as co-lead of the NSERC CREATE International Training Program Scalable 2D-Materials Architectures (2D-MATURE), a Canada–Germany collaborative training initiative focused on advancing the scalable production, processing, and device integration of 2D materials. Furthermore, WatCO managed IP originating from his work on 2D materials processing, led to Pope co-founding Evercloak Inc. – a deeptech company commercializing graphene-based dehumidification systems for more energy efficient HVAC.  

Complementing these research and training efforts, Prof. Pope co-leads the recently established Ontario Battery and Electrochemistry-research Centre (OBEC) at Waterloo—supported by a $5M award from the Canada Foundation for Innovation with institutional matching—which provides advanced infrastructure for battery materials development, operando and ex situ failure analysis, and pouch-cell prototyping to support both academic discovery and industrial translation.