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TRI at Adaptation Canada

Our team recently had the opportunity to attend, run a booth, and present at the 2026 Adaptation Canada Conference. It was a busy week connecting with many folks and organizations who are making strides to support climate adaptation across the country. One of our key takeaways that was echoed throughout many sessions and conversations was that building meaningful relationships is necessary to advance climate resilience—this hit home for us.  

After several days of networking, inspiring sessions and conversations, two members of our TRI team—Brooklyn Rushton, Postdoctoral Fellow and Cassidy Grimes, Senior Coordinator—co-presented on a panel titled “How We Tell the Story: Communicating Across Experience” alongside Christey Allen, Managing Director at the Prairie Institute and Dr. Douglas Robb, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at University of Calgary.  

The panel explored how we can use storytelling as a tool to build resilience in a changing climate. Our team shared insights learned from several editions of Stories of Resilience, a signature program of The Resilience Institute. Through this thematic learning program, communities develop personal narratives and artwork to reflect on local climate risks. These examples illustrate how creative expression and sharing lived experience can strengthen resilience both before and after climate-related disasters. During the presentation, attendees were invited to participate in a reflective exercise to capture their own climate resilience stories.  

Our panel complemented Dr. Douglas Robb’s presentation, who showed how drawing and design can be used as a tool for climate knowledge and action, highlighting that climate stories become more powerful when they are anchored in place.   

Thank you to everyone who attended our session and visited our booth! We have left feeling inspired and hopeful.

Carole Beaton

Science Communicator and External Engagement Specialist

Carole brings over two decades of small-business ownership experience, having built and run several ventures across construction, food production, and retail. Through running her own companies, she became self-taught in bookkeeping, administration, and financial management, developing a close eye for numbers and a disciplined approach to expenses. She also brings experience supporting executive leadership in a nonprofit setting. A longtime Canmore resident, Carole spends her free time mountain biking and Nordic skiing, and is glad to bring her community roots and hands-on administrative skills to TRI’s finance team.

Nakita Rubuliak

Science Communicator and External Engagement Specialist

Nakita is a science communication professional with extensive experience in knowledge synthesis, fieldwork, art and design, and creative collaboration. Using a multidisciplinary lens, her work bridges research and storytelling, translating complex scientific topics into engaging messages and compelling graphics that resonate with a range of audiences.

Before joining TRI, Nakita worked as a Science Illustrator and Writer at Fuse Consulting and later with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, experiences that nurtured her skills in science communication.

Above all, Nakita has a passion for connecting with people and communities, both in person and through visual storytelling. She approaches projects with a place-based lens and a deep respect for diverse perspectives and knowledge systems. 

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.