Webinar recording: From National Adaptation Strategy to local climate resilience

In her fifth term as a municipal politician in the Town of Collingwood (ON), the Councillor has provided leadership and led many valuable initiatives for her municipality. In her 16^th year of public service Kathy has participated on FCM Committees and the National Board of Directors for 11 of her 16 years as an elected official.

Councillor Jeffery has filled leadership roles at FCM chairing standing committees, working groups and task forces, and in 2020 was appointed as the governance representative to the Jordan Municipal Support Project, FCM's only international program in the Middle East. This position included liaising between the FCM National Board of Directors and project partners, and an important part of the role was to monitor the involvement and contribution of our members to the project.

As an appointed Volunteer Canadian Expert Kathy has just returned from a FCM mission to Ghana, West Africa where she trained the Women’s District Caucus of NALAG in developing a Strategic Plan to increase the participation of women in local leadership under FCM’s PMI-WILL program (Partnerships for Municipal Innovation – Women in Local Leadership). Additionally, Kathy met with key partners and local elected and appointed women officials to share ideas in which they could be more effective if supported with training, resources and allyship.

In her hometown Kathy is the Past Chair of the Collingwood Police Services Board. The Councillor has also served on the Steering Committee, Small Towns Habitat - Collingwood World Summit in partnership with the Joint Urban Economy Forum and UN Habitat and to the COVID Economic Support and Recovery Task Force.

Kathy has volunteered for more than 35 years for many local fundraising groups and youth support/sporting organizations.

Don served as Edmonton’s 35^th Mayor from 2013 to 2021 with a guiding leadership principle to make things better for the next generation. This long-term view is now embedded in: Edmonton’s smart-growth City Plan; City Council’s Energy Transition Strategy; and Edmonton’s nation-leading climate resilience Citywide Flood Mitigation Strategy.

Since retiring from City Hall, Don continues to live in Edmonton. He works part-time with Co-Operators as Executive Advisor for Climate Investment and Community Resiliency. Don is also ramping up Civic Good, a public policy advisory practice working on climate, housing, governance and civic innovation projects with like-minded clients ranging from startups to governments. He has accepted an appointment as a School of Cities Canadian Urban Leader at the University of Toronto and he volunteers as Board Co-Chair of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

Julie took on the role of Director at Partners for Action in December 2020. Previously, she led Waterloo Global Science Initiative (WGSI) through its start-up phase to successfully launching a decade-long Summit series that tackled global decarbonization, the redesign of secondary education, the acceleration of global energy access, and the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Canada. Prior to working at WGSI, she spent ten years in  communications and public affairs roles for companies, clients, and campaigns in the tech, cultural and non-profit sectors at the forefront of sector disruption. Julie is also the Ward 7 Councillor for the City of Waterloo.

Sarah has a policy background focused on climate policy, conservation and natural resource management, and the clean economy. She has worked as an independent consultant, providing research, policy advice, and strategic planning services to non-profit organizations and government. She previously worked as Director of Policy and Strategy for the BC Greens in the BC Legislature. Sarah holds an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford and a BSc from the London School of Economics.