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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 […]

Voices from Piikani Youth – Draven’s Story

Mentored by award-winning Blackfoot Artist Adrian Stimson, several youth from the Piikani Nation in southern Alberta explored what it means to be resilient in the face of a warming planet.    These are excerpts from Draven Morning Bull’s Story of Resilience, where he reflects on the changing climate of the Piikani reserve lands and the growing […]

Climate Week NYC coincides with the annual UNGA

Climate Week NYC, the largest climate-related gathering in the world after the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP), and the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) coincided this past September, both taking place in New York City.   Guided by this year’s theme of peace, development, and human rights, delegates at the […]

Canada’s Clean50 Top Project of the Year

The Resilience Institute is honoured to announce that they have been named Canada’s Clean50 Top Project of the Year (https://clean50.com) for their collaboration with the Piikani Lands Department on their “Seeding our Future with Sweetgrass” initiative.   The Clean50 Award annually recognizes projects from across Canada that have made exceptional contributions to advancing climate sustainability. Projects […]

Jill Decker

Controller

Jill brings 20 years of experience in financial reporting, assurance, and compliance, with a strong specialization in the not-for-profit sector.  She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from the University of Saskatchewan (2005) and a CPA (CA) designation, earned in 2010. Jill’s background in public practice has provided her with the opportunity to work with a variety of not-for-profit organizations in Alberta, as well as the joy of serving Canada’s Arctic over the past decade, supporting organizations in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut. 

Cassidy Grimes

Climate Analyst & Coordinator

Cassidy holds a Master’s degree in Climate Change from the University of Waterloo, where she studied topics such as climate science, climate mitigation and adaptation strategies, and community planning for climate change. Cassidy is passionate about supporting communities in preparing for and adapting to climate change through education, community engagement, and applied research. Her work focuses on fostering climate resilience by connecting scientific knowledge with local experiences and community-driven solutions.

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. Saracurrently works as a freelance consultant with the United Nations, governments, and humanitarian organizations on recovery, risk governance, and community-based resilience. Sara 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.