Environment alumni named to Top 30 under 30

Three Waterloo alumni have been named to the annual Corporate Knights magazine Top 30 Under 30 list for their work in shaping Canada’s sustainable future.

“These young professionals exemplify the next generation of environmental leaders,” said Jean Andrey, dean of the Faculty of Environment. “Their achievements reinforce the responsibility we have here at Waterloo to harness student energy and passion to make the world a better place; giving them the skills, confidence and tools to be the future generation our planet needs."

The Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders list highlights activists, entrepreneurs, students and professionals from across Canada and around the world. This year approximately 80 nominations were received and three Faculty of Environment alumni were among those who came out on top.

Dana Decent

In the few short years since graduating from the Environment and Business program, Dana Decent has acquired an impressive breadth of experience across the non-profit, private and academic sectors. She worked as Operations Coordinator at Sustainability Colab, a non-profit organization that supports networks of local businesses in setting and achieving sustainability targets. As a Sustainability Analyst for Sunlife Financial, she led the submission of sustainability rankings, including the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Decent now works as the Manager for the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation (ICAA) in the Faculty of Environment, a national applied research centre that focuses on mobilizing practical and cost-effective solutions to address climate change and extreme weather events. Decent began a new challenge this fall, enrolling in the Masters of Sustainability Management program, to study the health impacts of flooding.

Tahnee Prior

2015 Trudeau Scholar, Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar, and Doctoral Candidate at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Tahnee Prior researches how to design resilient institutions for rapidly changing and complex environments, like the Arctic. Her highly interdisciplinary doctoral work draws on complexity theory, environmental law, and the broader field of global governance. Aside from her Ph.D. work, Prior is a team member on the Finnish Academy research project Human Security as a Promotional Tool for Societal Security in the Arctic (HuSArctic); a research assistant working on EU-Canada Arctic Strategies; and a contributing author to the Arctic Resilience Report (2016). Prior sits on the Board of the Thousand Network, a global community of young change makers who excel and collaborate across their respective fields, and is currently a Visiting Researcher with the Arctic Futures Initiative at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxemburg, Austria.

Morgan Book

Those who work with Morgan Book call her the backbone of the Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps (NSYCC), one of the leading environmental charities in the Maritimes. NSYCC delivers programs through the Clean Foundation, an organization Book started with as an intern in 2012. She has held several positions within the organization and in 2014, the year she graduated from the Master of Climate Change program, became the Coordinator of NSYCC and Community Programs. Book spearheaded the innovative Aboriginal Leadership Program, focused on training and internships for youth at risk of underemployment. The program has since tripled in size and has been exported to new countries, including a pilot program currently underway in Barbados. Morgan volunteers for GOT Parks, sits on various provincial environmental caucuses, supports local food projects and is the Chair of Personnel for Sherbrooke Lake Camp.

The Faculty of Environment now boasts five Top 30 Under 30 picks. Previous winners include School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability student Dominique Souris, Sustainability Management graduate Sean Campbell and Master of Environment and Business student Jillian Rodak; all recognized on last year's list.