Agency

Advisory Committee

Dr. Nola-Kate Seymoar

Dr. Nola-Kate Seymoar is the President, and CEO of the International Centre for Sustainable Cities (ICSC), an award winning institution dedicated to bringing theory into action in Canada and around the world. Dr Seymoar spearheaded the Centre's approach to creating peer learning networks to accelerate the transfer of best practices, technologies, and policies from city to city. ICSC uses participatory action research to generate and transfer knowledge and is recognized for its work in integrated long-term planning for sustainability and in building neutral knowledge collaboration across boundaries of sectors, disciplines, departments, and nations.

Herb Barbolet

Herb Barbolet is one of the leading food activists in Canada is a consultant on food policy and programmes. He consulted on the establishment of the Vancouver Food Policy Council, was founder and executive director of FarmFolk/CityFolk (www.ffcf.bc.ca), He appears regularly in all media, Herb is an Associate with Simon Fraser University's Centre for Sustainable Community Development and was a founding member of numerous non-profits,cooperatives and limited companies.

Kate Humpage

Kate Humpage is Director, Community Approaches and Initiatives Division, HRSDC. In her work over the past 25 years, Ms Humpage has focused in particular on social development, gender equality, human resource development, poverty alleviation, and strengthening institutional partnership machinery and capacity for NGOs, governments and community groups.  She has extensive experience in participatory decision-making, policy development and implementation, and consensus and partnership development.  Kate's background includes policy, research, and operational work on a wide range of social issues such as labour force development, equity group participation & gender analysis, international development, strategic partnerships, poverty alleviation, learning, voluntary sector relations, rural development and aboriginal affairs.  A constant theme throughout her career has been consensus-building and partnership development.
Prior to her current position, Kate was Director, Horizontal Initiatives, Aboriginal Affairs Directorate, HRSDC, and Manager, Research and Analysis, Rural Secretariat.

Dr. Rick Kool

Dr. Rick Kool has been a science teacher in Ucluelet Secondary School; a biology and ecology instructor at a Douglas College in New Westminster BC; and a post-secondary instructor at both the University of Victoria and now at Royal Roads University. Outside the formal education system he managed the public programs department at the Royal BC Museum and developing environmental education and park interpretation programs for the BC Government.

Dr. Rick Searle is president of EKOS Communications, Inc. which specializes in public, community and stakeholder engagement through innovative blends of ICT and face-to-face group processes. Currently, his company leads a Natural Resources Canada funded project to facilitate knowledge transfer between municipal government representatives and scientists on the issue of water infrastructure adaptation to climate change within the Fraser Basin. He has also taught upper level resource management courses within the Department of Geography at the University of Victoria for the past 17 years.