Join Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) for this virtual event featuring a panel discussion on the connections between climate change, health, and equity in the Greater Toronto Area.
Climate Change Symposium 2022 will feature a multi-disciplinary panel discussion about the impact of climate change on health inequities.
The purpose of the symposium is to identify the actions needed – including research, policy, and grassroots mobilization – to address health inequities made worse by climate change in the Greater Toronto Area.
Dr. Shannon Johnson Dr. Shannon Johnson is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University and a Registered Clinical Psychologist/Neuropsychologist. Her firsthand observations of the valuable role that nature can play in improving the lives of her clients and community members inspires her environmental psychology research program. Dr. Johnson’s research examines the various ways that spending time in nature benefits people of all ages. She is particularly interested in utilizing nature exposure to improve cognition, resilience, and mental health. Dr. Johnson and her research team utilize behaviour change theory to guide their research. They are currently identifying barriers and facilitators to nature connection for different groups and developing programs/interventions that will increase opportunity and motivation for nature-based experiences.
Dr. Sean Kidd Sean Kidd is a Clinical Psychologist, Senior Scientist, and the Division Chief of Psychology at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and an Associate Professor in the University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry. His areas of focus have included developing and trialling interventions for individuals with severe mental illnesses and youth who have experienced homelessness. His research has included trials of cognitive and critical time interventions for schizophrenia spectrum populations, housing stabilization interventions for homeless youth, digital health interventions for severe mental illness, and global health work in the area of climate change and homelessness. Sean Kidd is the Founder of the Global Climate-Homelessness Network.
Dr. Catherine MacDonald Catherine Macdonald is a Knowledge Translation Specialist at the Alliance for Healthier Communities. Her work includes sharing knowledge and amplifying messages from the Alliance’s members and partners about the intersections of climate change and human health; the inequitable impacts of climate change on health and wellbeing in Canada; and how health and social care organizations are partnering with their communities to reduce these impacts. She is a co-author of Climate Change and Health Equity: Newcomers, Women, and Youth, published by the Greenbelt Foundation, and of the climate change and health equity chapter of Health Canada’s recent report, Health in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action.
Dr. Fiona Miller Dr. Fiona A. Miller is a Professor of Health Policy in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She holds the Chair in Health Management Strategies and is a Connaught Scholar. Dr. Miller directs the Centre for Sustainable Health Systems at the University of Toronto and a national initiative for climate action and awareness in healthcare: CASCADES. In these roles, she leads and supports efforts to improve the sustainability of health systems through research, education, practice change and policy development. As a policy scholar, Dr. Miller brings a critical political economy perspective to the analysis of technological innovation and sustainability transitions.
Dr. Imara Ajani Rolston Dr. Imara Ajani Rolstonis a social psychologist, policy maker, and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Dr. Rolston has contributed to research and publications in the areas of HIV/AIDS, health promotion and community development and has advanced racial justice and urban responses toclimate changewith the City of Toronto’s Resilient TO Office and the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit. He has over 15 years of experience working across Sub-Saharan Africa with organizations including the Stephen Lewis Foundation, Oxfam Canada, and Greenpeace Africa. Dr Rolston earned a BA in Political Science and a MA in Adult Education from the University of Toronto. He earned his PhD in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Dr Rolston has appeared on the CBC’s The National. He is the founder and director of the Dalla Lana supported Community Climate Resilience Lab advancing racial justice approaches to climate resilience through community action, research, and policy engagement.
