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A Community of Practice Towards the Global Goal on Adaptation

COP30 participants walking down a brightly-lit hallway, one person wearing a traditional Amazonian feathered headdress.

We are pleased to offer this reflective piece by Dr. Animesh Kumar, Head, UNDRR Office in Bonn, who served on the UNFCCC Expert Group for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) along with TRI’s president / CEO.   Expert group members, Drs Animesh Kumar, UNDRR and Timo Leiter, London School of Economics and Political Science at […]

The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists

A girl smiling and holding a baby goat.

We are inspired by the work of our board member, Igshaan Samuels from South Africa who is the Co-Chair of the newly launched 2026 International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) Global Alliance. Igshaan Samuels IYRP2026 provides a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of rangelands and pastoralists, advocating for increased responsible investment and […]

Mountains at COP30 and beyond

Pink fireweed flowers growing in the mountains.

During COP30, the Mountain Partnership put forward a proposal to hold an Annual Dialogue on Mountains and Climate Change, which was well received by the Parties and will be further discussed next summer.  What is the Mountain Partnership? This United Nations alliance, which includes The Resilience Institute as a partner, is dedicated to improving the […]

How we make knowledge accessible

Two bison in a prairie landscape.

Our online courses continue to play an important role in making high-quality, practical knowledge more accessible, and the recent offering of Bison and Climate Change: Care, Connection, and Good Practices is an example of that mission in action. Learners have described the course as “richly informative, contextualizing, and practical advice for anyone looking to take […]

What does resilience mean for Atlantic Canada?

The sun rising over the ocean, with a rocky shoreline in the foreground.

Southwestern Newfoundland’s climate is changing, and communities across the region are already feeling the effects. Through the Roots for Resilience program, The Resilience Institute and the Canadian Red Cross are working with communities to better understand these changes and efforts to build resilience.   As part of this work, we are creating the Signs of Change in […]

Advancing the Global Goals on Adaptation 

Ten years ago, when the Paris Agreement was established, so too were the Global Goals on Adaptation to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability to climate change. To help advance the goals, Parties (countries) to the Paris Agreement adopted the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience to guide progress on adapting to climate […]

Respect, Gratitude, and Dignity

By Avery Bowe,   Visual Storyteller/ Communications Coordinator, The Resilience Institute  When we talk about building climate resilience, we might describe methods like planting drought-tolerant cultivars, constructing dams and levees, or reviving urban green spaces. We might also think about improving access to air-conditioned spaces or working towards transformative change in food and water security and […]

Presenting at ISIRC

The Resilience Institute’s President and CEO, Laura S. Lynes, and Research Associate, Andy Airey, recently presented at the International Social Innovation Research Conference (ISIRC), held this year at the University of Calgary. The presentation, Reflecting on our Relations: Good Practices in Weaving Science and Indigenous Ways of Knowing, covered topics including:   Developing effective collaborations with […]

Laura Stewart

Board Member

Laura Stewart is the Community Wildfire Resilience Coordinator with Forsite Fire, supporting communities across Canada with wildfire risk assessments, mitigation planning, and program delivery. She has more than a decade of experience advancing wildfire resilience at Indigenous, municipal, provincial/territorial, and national levels. Previously, Laura served nearly eleven years as Alberta’s Provincial FireSmart Specialist, leading community, WUI, neighbourhood, and Home Ignition Zone programs, coordinating funding, and partnering with communities and fire services across the province. She has also served as Board Chair with both the Partners in Protection Association (FireSmart Canada) and the Community Wildfire Resilience Association of Alberta.

 

Sara Walsh, PhD

Board Member

Sara Walsh, PhD, is a disaster risk reduction and climate resilience specialist with more than 15 years of experience spanning Canada, Nepal, the Middle East, and North Africa. Until November 2025, she served as Thematic Lead for Climate and Resilience with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), where she supported Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to strengthen their climate and risk reduction work across the region. Sara currently works as a freelance consultant with the United Nations, governments, and humanitarian organizations on recovery, risk governance, and community-based resilience. She teaches at a Canadian university and holds a PhD in Disaster Risk Reduction. Her work emphasizes anticipatory action, equity, and bridging research with practice to shape more resilient and sustainable futures.

Alison Criscitiello

Board Member

Alison Criscitiello, PhD, is an ice core scientist and high-altitude mountaineer who explores the history of climate and sea ice in polar and high-alpine regions using ice core chemistry. Alison’s work also focuses on environmental contaminant histories in ice cores from the Canadian high Arctic and the water towers of the Canadian Rockies. In 2010, she led the first all-women’s ascent of Lingsarmo, a 22,818-foot peak in the Indian Himalaya. Alison has earned three American Alpine Club (AAC) climbing awards, the John Lauchlan and Mugs Stump alpine climbing awards, as well as the first Ph.D. in Glaciology ever conferred by MIT. She is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Canadian Ice Core Lab at the University of Alberta. She is the co-founder of Girls on Ice Canada.