Waterloo sustainability leaders named to Top 30 under 30

Three sustainability leaders from the University of Waterloo have been named to the annual Corporate Knights Top 30 under 30 list. The list honours young entrepreneurs, activists, corporate professionals and students making social and environmental change worldwide.

Dominique Souris, an Environment and Resource Studies (ERS) student; Jillian Rodak, a graduate student in the School of Environment Enterprise and Development (SEED) and Sean Campbell a program coordinator at GreenHouse, an accelerator for social entrepreneurship at Waterloo’s St. Paul’s University College, were among the 30 young Canadians honoured.

“These three young people don’t only represent the best the Faculty of Environment has to offer, but also all of Canada,” says 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 by giving them the skills, confidence and tools to be the future generation our planet needs."  

Corporate Knights is a national business magazine that focuses on corporate sustainability.

Dominique Souris

Souris, 22, is currently an environmental management intern at the United Nations Environment Programme in Geneva, Switzerland. Souris, who plans to return to campus this fall to finish her undergraduate studies., was a youth delegate at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP19) in Warsaw, Poland in 2013. She also represented the voice of Arctic youth at the Arctic Circle Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland. Souris was the Co-op Student of the Year for the Faculty of Environment in 2012 for her time working at the Ontario Energy Board.

“The supportive and innovative nature of the Faculty of Environment, and particularly of the ERS program, allowed me to deepen my knowledge and passion for environmental issues and solutions; and to identify new opportunities to make a difference,” says Souris. “Also, my involvement in extracurricular activities at Waterloo, has made me the sustainability champion I am today.”

Sean Campbell

Campbell, 27, a graduate student in the Faculty of Environment’s Sustainability Management program, is a strong advocate for sustainability on campus and in Waterloo Region. As program coordinator for GreenHouse, he’s had the opportunity to coach students as they turn ideas into action. Campbell has also worked with the environmental non-profit Sustainable Waterloo Region and is the co-founder of Scaled Purpose, an agency focused on scaling the social and environmental impact of social purpose organizations. 

“I have had the opportunity to support and be supported by the University of Waterloo in my efforts to seed more sustainable communities. I appreciate Corporate Knights for recognizing me and am grateful for my many mentors in this great community."

Jillian Rodak

Currently enrolled in the unique Master of Environment and Business (MEB) program, Jillian is able to get her graduate degree while working full-time as a program manager at the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization that addresses Canada’s complex social, environmental and economic challenges. Rodak was also an intern at FlipGive, a social finance organization in Argentina. At FlipGive she helped ompanies develop and hone their corporate social responsibility programs.  

“My vision of sustainability is a world that has the natural capital and the social and economic systems to sustain itself. Being chosen as one of the Corporate Knights Top 30 Under 30 is a huge honour. MEB at Waterloo helps me walk my talk; it puts my passion into practice, giving me the knowledge and tools I need to help lead the unavoidable shift toward Sustainable Development in Canada.”