Born on the West Coast but raised in the East, Erin studied microbiology and social anthropology in her undergrad before pursuing a law degree from Dalhousie University. Following several formative years at a boutique litigation firm in Toronto, Erin felt the call of the East and returned to her home. Looking to shift her focus to working with both communities and the environment, Erin completed her graduate degree in Resource and Environmental Management in 2011. Since then she has been privileged to work in the non-profit environmental sector on everything from energy efficiency to habitat restoration, plastic waste reduction and low carbon transportation alternatives. An advocate of a healthy living and community engagement, Erin is also a part-time fitness instructor, Girl Guide leader and member of the Board of the Back to the Sea Society.

Chris Konczal Ortenburger has had a ecological bent since her childhood in Virginia, enjoying animals and nature, and getting involved in conservation projects. After graduating from veterinary school, she came to Prince Edward Island for a short-term job at the Atlantic Veterinary College. Family life, homeschooling and homesteading were primary occupations for the next years, in addition to volunteer and community involvement. Opposing a misguided highway project in 2012 near the Bonshaw woods was a fast education in citizen-engagement and environmental legal issues, and though the highway was built, she helped form the Citizens' Alliance of P.E.I. to keep communication going and foster positive change. She produces a daily newsletter of events, consultation opportunities, and articles related to democratic and environmental issues.

Dawn is the Director of Finance and Administration, Ancillary Services with Dalhousie University. A Chartered Professional Account (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA) with over 31 years of experience as a financial professional, including working with some of the regions leading employers. In addition to commitment to her work and profession, Dawn has always strived to give back to her community through her volunteer work with non-profit organizations like East Coast Environmental Law. Dawn is very excited to use her skills and experience to support the mandate of East Coast Environmental Law.

Tricia is a mom, environmentalist and a lawyer. She holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and Biology from the University of Victoria. Before starting law school, she developed her love for the environment through her work with the Land Conservancy in Penticton, British Columbia and an Outdoor Leadership Semester at the Yamnuska Mountaineering School in Canmore, Alberta. In 2005, she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws, specializing in environmental law from Dalhousie University. While a law student, she co-chaired the Environmental Law Students’ Society and earned the Elizabeth May Award for Environmental Service. Tricia practiced law for 5 years in Halifax and was a founding board member of East Coast Environmental Law. She has been a full-time caregiver for 8-years and during her time away from office work, she served on the board for Ecojustice, a national environmental law non-profit, and chaired the board in her final years. Tricia has also served on the boards of the Dalhousie Law School Alumni Association, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and co-chaired the Green Space Committee at her children’s elementary school.

Mark was Marine Coordinator and subsequently Policy Director with the Ecology Action Centre for 23 years, during which time the organization grew from 1 1/2 staff and an Apple fax machine to 40 plus staff and over 5000 members. At the EAC, he undertook policy development, government relations, media, fundraising, and more, all in the service of protecting nature and making the world a more just place. He has sat on a number of federal, provincial, and municipal advisory bodies, including Nova Scotia's Roundtable on Environment and Sustainable Prosperity from 2007 to 2019. Before working at the EAC, Mark worked as a marine educator, a fisheries consultant both in Canada and overseas, and as a deckhand on commercial fishing boats. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees in Environmental Studies. Mark likes to grow food, watch birds, spend time with his children, and think about ways to make change. He has a great appreciation of the contribution East Coast Environmental Law is making to strengthen the environmental fabric in Atlantic Canada and is delighted to contribute to this work as a Board member.

Charlotte is a law student at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University. She has a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science from the University of Ottawa. For her undergraduate thesis, she studied the effect of non-native dandelion on native bee reproduction. After her bachelor’s degree, she learned about local food systems while working at a small, independent grocer. Charlotte studied wetland conservation law through an internship with East Coast Environmental Law this past summer. She is happy to remain involved in East Coast Environmental Law’s work as a board member and to act as a voice for students.

An Ontario transplant to Nova Scotia, Meggie studied International Relations at Carleton University but was drawn to Halifax for her Masters in Resource & Environmental Management at Dalhousie University. During her Masters, she worked on risk-mitigative research involving critical cold-water coral species on the Scotian Shelf. A lover of the outdoors, she has also spent work terms with the federal government in Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, and Cape Breton Highlands. Meggie is a current law student at the Schulich School of Law, where she is involved with the Environmental Law Students’ Society in advocating for student engagement in environmental justice.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Erin has a love of water and can often be found swimming in the ocean, reading on the beach, or hiking along a coastline. After obtaining an undergrad in science and her law degree from the Schulich School of Law with a specialization in Health Law & Policy, Erin worked at a boutique health law and professional regulation firm in Toronto for half a decade. Driven by a concern for the ways that human-driven environmental change is harming the health and well-being of humans, other species, and the Earth’s natural systems, she left legal practice to pursue an LLM in Global Sustainability & Environmental Law at the University of Ottawa. Erin is currently completing her PhD in environmental law and engaged in research and community initiatives related to environmental rights, climate justice, and planetary health. Most recently, she represented Friends of the Earth Canada as an intervener in the first human rights-based climate change lawsuit in Canada to have a hearing on the merits and supported a United Nations’ consultation on children’s rights and the environment as a member of the Global Network for Human Rights and the Environment. Erin has previously volunteered with Ecojustice, the University Health Network’s research ethics board, the Refugee Sponsorship Support Program, and as a judge for springboard and platform diving competitions at the provincial and national level.

Paul Foley - Born and raised on Fogo Island off the northeast coast of Newfoundland/Ktaqmkuk, Dr. Paul Foley is a Professor at the Environmental Policy Institute at Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook. Paul received a PhD in Political Science from York University in Toronto in 2012 after completing a Master of Arts in International Development Studies at Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Arts in History at Memorial University. He teaches in areas of environmental politics and environmental policy, and his interdisciplinary research supports critical approaches to fisheries and oceans knowledge across ecological, economic, social, and governance dimensions. He is currently engaged in several Ocean Frontier Institute research projects, including as co-Principal Investigator of the Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructures (FOCI) collaborative research initiative.

Dr. Patrícia Galvão Ferreira is an Associate Professor with the Marine & Environmental Law Institute at Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University. Dr. Galvão Ferreira’s research centres on transnational environmental law and justice, with particular interests in international climate law, climate justice, climate finance, and sustainable food systems. She is the co-editor of the 4th edition of the Canadian Environmental Law and Policy Coursebook, published by Emond and author of publications addressing a variety of topics, including international law, international environmental law, climate justice, climate finance, environmental justice, law and development, global governance and human rights.

Nick Knutson - An Acadian from Clare, Nova Scotia, Nick currently lives in Annapolis Royal with his partner Brittni, their two cats, and their rescue dog. Nick got his JD from the French Common Law Program at Université d’Ottawa in 2016 and his MSc in Conservation Biology from Acadia University in 2021. Within the larger field of environmental law, Nick is particularly passionate about the conservation of biodiversity and how we can use legal tools to support species at risk.

Dana Lipnicki - East Coast transplant Dana Lipnicki has always had a passion for the natural world, as well as a strong sense of justice for protecting it. After graduating from Dalhousie University in 2013 with a degree in International Development, Dana became particularly interested in the environmental movement in the Maritimes and cut her teeth as a fundraiser, a career path that she is still following today. Dana has worked for various environmental organizations, including the Ecology Action Centre, Community Forests International, and Sierra Club Canada Foundation, and has used her skill sets to increase the impact that these groups could make on local, national, and international levels. Currently, Dana is the Manager, Annual Giving with the IWK Foundation.

Keith MacMaster, a proud Cape Bretoner, obtained his Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 2003, his MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University in 2007, and his Doctorate in Laws (PhD) in 2024. He has practiced law in Nova Scotia and Ontario and has also been a licensed financial planner, working for law firms and financial institutions.

Maria Panezi is an Associate Professor at UNB Law. She received her LLB at the University of Athens in 2005 and her LLM at NYU Law in 2006; she was admitted to the Athens Bar in 2007. She obtained her PhD from Osgoode Hall Law School, during which time she was also a teaching assistant at Osgoode Hall and a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School.

Dr. Sherry Pictou is a Mi’kmaw woman from L’sɨtkuk (water cuts through high rocks), known as Bear River First Nation, Nova Scotia. She is an Assistant Professor in the Faculties of Law and Management at Dalhousie University focusing on Indigenous Governance. Dr. Pictou is also a former Chief for her community and the former Co-Chair of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples. She is a member of the The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Task Force on Indigenous and Local Knowledge. Her research interests include decolonizing treaty relations, Social Justice for Indigenous Women, Indigenous women’s role in food and lifeways, and Indigenous governance.

By academic training and profession, Dr. Ian Stewart is a historian and philosopher of both natural and social sciences, with research and teaching interests in all periods of history. He is also an analyst of contemporary science policy, particularly as it relates to socio-ecological systems. Work in that field includes being co-Director of a pan-Canadian, SSHRC-funded research initiative, working with Canada’s Impact Assessment Agency to deepen academia’s contributions to the methodologies and conceptual approaches of impact assessment in order to better reflect the coupled realities of people and place. He is a senior research member of Dalhousie University’s Environmental Information: Use and Influence research group and sits on the Ocean Frontier Institute’s Scientific Advisory Committee. His private sector work includes being an Associate of Nexus Coastal Resource Management.