Biographies
Youth Caucus Steering Committee 2010-2011

Marc Beaudin, Calgary, Alberta, The BeanStalk Project

Marc is studying electrical engineering in an energy and environment program at the University of Calgary, but is known on campus for walking around barefoot. He has three passions: youth leadership, international development and sustainable development, and for his career, he hopes to one day bring these fields together to change the world. He likes eating his kiwis whole, including the peel, but one time a kiwi was so hairy that he used a razor to shave it first!

Nicholas Cherlet, Nature Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB

Nicholas is currently on the Steering Committee of the Manitoba Environmental Youth Network (MEYN), an organisation that encourages, strengthens and connects the youth environmental movement in Manitoba.  He is also a member of Nature Manitoba, has canoed with them several times, and will be leading a canoe trip this summer.   He is an avid skier, cyclist and canoeist, and enjoys the great outdoors as much as possible.  Since high school students are often overlooked, he is excited to be representing them on the national stage. 

Amber Church, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canadian Youth Climate Coalition

Amber is the National Director of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and a M.Sc. student in Earth Science at Simon Fraser University.  She studies glacier retreat, climate change, water, and natural hazards in the Yukon.  She founded and co-chaired the International Polar Year Youth Steering Committee (now the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists – APECS).  The committee’s goals are to involve youth in all aspects of polar research and policy, to increase collaboration between the sciences, arts and education, and to foster respect for different ways of knowing.  Amber’s passion is climate change.  She was part of the official youth delegation to the UN Climate Change Meetings in 2005 and was one of 200 Canadians selected by the Climate Project Canada to be trained by Al Gore to present an updated version of the award-winning Inconvenient Truth slideshow.  She was recently honoured to lead the Canadian Youth Delegation to COP 15, the United Nations Climate Change Meetings taking place in Copenhagen in December 2009.  She travelled to Antarctica in 2006 with Students on Ice as part of their education staff and joined them again in August 2008 for their Arctic Expedition.  She is currently working with SFU’s Adaptation to Climate Change Team and the Canadian Parks Council; volunteering with Me to We and Apathy is Boring; and in her free time facilitates workshops for Waterlution, a non-profit organization who brings young professionals together around complex water issues.  She and her husband, Tyler Kuhn, live in Whitehorse, Yukon while they try to pool enough financial resources for their next adventure.

Kirsten Falkenburger, Oakville, Ontario

Kirsten Falkenburger currently lives and works in Southern Ontario. She has been working with Protect Our Water and Environmental Resources for almost 2 years now trying to educate youth about biodiversity and the need to protect it. Through her work she was selected to be the Canadian Youth Biodiversity Champion for 2010 and promotes biodiversity every chance she gets. She is passionate about both the environment and traveling, seeking ways to do both. She will be moving to British Columbia in the fall to attend the University of British Columbia for Natural Resource Conservation. She plans to continue working with youth, while exploring her new backyard – the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

Raili Lakanen, Sierra Youth Coalition, ON

Growing up in Sudbury, Ontario inspired Raili’s passion for environmental restoration, local stewardship, and community sustainability. She is currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Environmental Urban Planning at the University of Toronto and received her Honours Bachelor Degree in Environmental Studies and Geography from Queen’s University. She has engaged in environmental education through her positions at the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area and the Greater Sudbury Lake Water Quality Program. She is proud to have been a youth intern for the innovative Foodshed Project’s Farmyard Gardens in summer 2009, which engaged youth in the process of local food production through organic farming.

While at Queen’s, Raili was co-chair of the Queen’s Earth Centre, a unique non-profit student-run environmental resource centre and store, and co-chair of the ASUS Committee for the Environment.  Presently, she is a Junior Fellow and Co-chair of the Environmental Committee at Massey College.  In addition to her environmental interests, Raili enjoys taking ballet classes and performing as an improviser with a local theatre company.

Stephanie Levy, Evergreen, Vancouver, BC

Stephanie graduated from Queen’s University with a BaH in Environmental Science.  She currently works for Evergreen, an environmental not-for-profit which combines on-the-ground restoration with community engagement.  She has been involved in many different stages of the environmental movement; as an educator with Ocean Educations, Youth Leadership Developer with Ghost River Rediscovery, Sustainability Coordinator with Lester B. Pearson United World College, and works presently as a Project Manager.  She was recently named as the official youth delegate for the Canadian Delegation to the Commission on Sustainable Development years 18 and 19, and travelled to Copenhagen as a young expert during COP15.   She has experience working with municipalities, corporate sponsors, schools, First Nations, multi-cultural groups, and adults and youth alike in international and domestic settings.  She believes there is nothing more important than giving youth both experience and a voice.  A fervid foodie and outdoor enthusiast, Stephanie lives in Vancouver and splits her free time between camping in the summer and snowboarding in the winter. 

Anthony Maher, The Shea Heights Community Folk Festival

Born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Anthony Maher is currently a third-year student at the University of Ottawa, majoring in International Studies & Modern Languages. In 2007, Anthony was chosen as a recipient of the TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership. Upon being awarded Killam Fellowship in 2009, Anthony spent fourth months studying at the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA. In addition, during the 2007-2008 year Anthony worked as a Parliamentary Page, and since 2008 has maintained a part-time job with the Information Services division of the House of Commons of Canada. Having a vested interest in the field of international relations, Anthony pursued an internship at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC during the summer of 2009. Anthony has been active with the Canadian Environmental Network (RCEN) through its outreach efforts, and was selected to be a Youth Delegate at the RCEN's 2009 Annual General Assembly. He was recently elected a Steering Committee Member for the RCEN Youth Caucus, and will be serving in this capacity for a two-year term. Anthony is also active in environmental initiatives in his home community of Shea Heights, Newfoundland, having devised and implemented a waste reduction strategy at a series of local outdoor festivals. In terms of personal career goals, Anthony hopes to pursue graduate studies in political science or law.

Marie-Pierre Daigle, Intern, RCEN Youth Caucus

During her five year association with the Federation of the Franco-Ontarian Youth (FESFO), Marie-Pierre has had the opportunity to get involved with young francophones across Canada. While being a Senate Page, she got to better understand the intricacies of the Canadian political system from behind the scenes. She obtained her degree in International Studies and Modern Languages with a Minor in Russian at the University of Ottawa. She would like to pursue her Masters Studies in the environmental field with the goal of determining the best ways to increase youth’s environmental awareness regarding their daily practices.