MREM Intern Candidates 2023

Annie Abedi has always been sensitive about how waste is treated and its potential as a new material for a great innovation. Growing up in Ghana (west Africa), Annie experienced how badly waste materials are handled and the impact it had on her environment back home.

Annie completed her Bachelor’s in Art with concentration on Textiles, Leatherworks and Product design. Having a background in the arts industry, she used different natural sourced materials to create beautiful integrated art pieces and gained valuable experiences in fieldwork during long scheduled breaks in her honours program. Working as a Textile Artist in a fashion house using natural and recycled materials fuelled her passion for Sustainability, and propelled her to seek out a career focused in managerial section in her future industry.

Annie is passionate about integrating and blending Sustainability, Textiles and Recycled Solid Waste. She hopes to learn from various interdisciplinary approaches across management and environment in MREM, together with support from her colleagues and lecturers.

Eyum Adode grew up in Lagos State, Nigeria and she has seen firsthand how natural resource mismanagement has negatively impacted the aquatic food chain which is a provider of food to her and other Nigerians. This made her passionate about environmental sustainability. She graduated from Covenant University with a BSc in Industrial Chemistry and a love for environmental chemistry. After her undergraduate program, she worked with an Environmental Consulting Firm and gained knowledge of environmental impact assessment & management plans, compliance monitoring, and site assessment. She learned the foundations of impact assessment, performance standards on environmental and social sustainability, integrated management system, and also practical skills to empower and help her grow her skills within the industry.

Eyum is looking to gain more insight into environmental issues and provide scientifically sound management services to organizations. The Resources and Environmental Management Program is great as it combines both theoretical and practical experience.

Hunar Arora started her journey to make impactful contributions in the world by completing her undergrad in Agriculture Sciences with a purpose to improve the current scenario of farming community, which comprises 60% of India’s economy. She interned as an Agriculture Extension Specialist where she critically evaluated local Indian farmers’ fields, analysed the shortcomings and devised sustainable field management plans to improve productivity by 20-25%.

Soon after starting in this profession, she realised that not just the agriculture but the whole global economy was being affected by climate change, unsustainability and waste management problems. This evoked in her a passion to utilise her skills to analyse and construct management plans towards building sustainability and effectively reducing waste from our economy, globally. She is interested in the concept of integrating Circular economy and Industrial symbiosis to manage these issues.  After her current masters program, she aims to work as an environmental consultant specialising in sustainability and industrial waste management.

Sian Borden.  Raised in Montreal’s Black community spaces, Sian has been working in that grassroots non-profit sector for over four years as a way to pay it forward. She recently graduated from Concordia University with a B.A. in Human Relations, with a concentration in Community Development. She was also a member of the Loyola College for Diversity & Sustainability. Noticing a gap in care for environmental measures in her work environment, Sian looked towards her Barbadian and African Nova Scotian roots to see how these types of issues were mitigated in other locations. Realizing that this is an intersectional systemic issue, her interest in sustainable community development was reaffirmed. 

Sian is pursuing a Master of Resource and Environmental Management to strengthen her environmental skills with the goal of better serving communities in climate change adaptation. Her areas of interest are sustainable community development, environmental education, marine conservation, coastal community resilience, and environmental racism.

Brianna Bowes (she/her) spent her childhood outside; going for family hikes, rockhounding or exploring the outdoor world on her grandfather's farm.  There she learned to love and respect the environment, which would ultimately become her main passion in life.  In 2022, she graduated from Acadia University with a BSc. (Honours) in Environmental Science.  Throughout her undergrad Brianna worked at the Acadia Mercury lab as a student researcher, gaining experience in both lab work and field research methods.  During this time, she also discovered her interests in environmental restoration, as well as science communication.

Through Dalhousie’s MREM program, Brianna hopes to expand her knowledge on the intersections between science communication and policy development.  She is particularly interested in environmental conservation and restoration efforts here in Nova Scotia, and how community engagement can shape the outcome of such endeavors. Overall, she is very excited to see what her future in the program has in store for her!

Emma Brooks grew up in downtown Toronto but spent most of her summers in the woods. She fell in love with the East Coast on a family trip to the Maritimes in 2005 and moved to Halifax in 2011 to complete her BSc (Hons) in Biology and Spanish. For her honour’s thesis, she focused on identifying critical habitat characteristics for at-risk species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora using a citizen science-based methodology, in collaboration with the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute.

Since graduating in 2016, she has been working in the non-profit sector, with a focus on community food security and urban agriculture. She hopes to expand her scope to work on sustainable food systems and combine this with her interests in community-led conservation, pollinator support, and holistic land management. She is also in the process of starting her own farm in Petite Rivière, Nova Scotia.

Makayla Carnevale’s interest in biodiversity and environmental management was sparked by a Neotropical Biodiversity course in Ecuador. There, she witnessed the consequences of failed environmental policy on biodiversity, and it ignited within her a determination to develop strategies that sufficiently addressed actual drivers of biodiversity loss. After graduating from Queen’s University with a BSc (Honours) in Biology she banded birds at Hilliardton Research & Education Centre, and it was here that she discovered her passion for avian conservation. 

Makayla is deeply committed to biodiversity stewardship and native species conservation. She is excited to continue learning strategies on improving ecological connectivity and resilience, and eager to begin addressing biodiversity loss in her career. She looks forward to working with communities and institutions in the development of policies that provide interdisciplinary solutions to this multi-faceted problem.

Katherine Dalby.  Raised in the GTA, Katherine’s connection to nature came from family camping trips and walks after school. She learned how to identify local bird and fish species and about natural processes. These early experiences created an interest in learning and sharing this information with others. In their undergraduate degree, this became a passion for communication and environmental science. Recently graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology, Katherine has used her education and interests to give back to her community by helping peers and local youth find their voice in climate action. Focusing on science communication in various leadership roles, Katherine has 2 years of experience in environmental education, public engagement, youth outreach and social media marketing.

Katherine’s interests include marine conservation, coral reef ecosystems, coastal community resiliency, environmental education, and public policy. She hopes to pursue a career in integrated oceans management and conservation and looks forward to making connections and giving back to the SRES community.

Hanah Dhanani. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Hanah has spent years exploring the forests, wetlands, and mountains around Vancouver. Her interest in the natural world grew during her time at the University of British Columbia, where she completed her Bachelor of Urban Forestry with a Minor in Greenspace Management in 2021. During her undergraduate degree, she worked for Fresh Roots, a non-profit organization in Vancouver, as the lead facilitator for a farm-based youth program. In this position she worked one on one with at risk youth, to help promote connection between the individual, community and the environment. After graduation, Hanah worked as a Consulting Arborist for Woodridge Tree Consulting Arborists, a small firm in Surrey, British Columbia. Through her work experience and undergraduate degree, she became a Certified Arborist and Tree Risk Assessor through the International Society of Arboriculture.

Hanah is interested in many aspects of urban forestry and greenspace management. She is particularly intrigued by municipal tree policies and bylaws, wildlife management and youth empowerment. During her time in the MREM program, she is looking forward to learning more about resource management and using her new knowledge to succeed in her career.

Sarah Donovan.  From an early age, Sarah had an outstanding interest in the environment. She spent every summer in Cape Breton, exploring the forests and coastline at her cottage. Her passion for the natural world further developed as she pursued a Bachelor of Science in both Biology and Environmental Studies at Davidson College, a small liberal arts university in North Carolina. She learned about the complex interactions between the environment, humans, and wildlife, influencing her to pursue a career within the environmental sector.

After graduation, Sarah worked as an environmental technician, focusing on environmental site assessments and hydrogeological assessments. She is currently completing a Master of Resource and Environmental Management at Dalhousie University and is excited to learn about new aspects of the environment. She is now focused on exploring areas such as industrial sustainability, climate change mitigation, and carbon emissions.

Mercy Fiamavle connected with nature during her formative years in a suburb of Accra, Ghana. As a child, she helped her mother cultivate a backyard garden and often dug out red clay to mould her little pots. She developed a special connection with nature through hiking which informed her decision to study BSc in Environmental Science at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana and graduated with Honors in 2010. During her undergraduate, she was a recipient of the Dean’s Honour Award and the Africa Education Initiative (NEF) Internship Award in Environmental Toxicology. She loves to travel and has over 10 years of experience in Occupational Health and Safety. Through her professional career, she gained awareness of the detrimental health and environmental impacts of electronic waste in Accra, where she had lived all her life. Mercy decided to add her voice to curbing this menace and hence developed interests in Industrial Sustainability, Environmental Impact Assessment, and compliance. 

The MREM program offers a unique cocktail of Mercy’s interests. She is particularly looking forward to adopting the circular economy approach to conduct sustainable Environmental Impact assessments and resource recovery from industrial waste.

Sohini Gadhvi.  Growing up Sohini had the opportunity to see her family members involved in various environmental welfare related works. Her grandparents were environmental activists and leaders of social transformation, her uncles are in the field of climate research and geological research, and her father is in the field of international procurement and supply chain management. Sohini has lived in remote villages of Kachchh district of Gujarat, India and modern cities such as Dubai and several places in Africa. Her stays in these places have given her firsthand experiences of different cultures, geographies and environment and their interconnection.

Sohini's upbringing, opportunities to live with people of different cultural backgrounds and her education in Economics, allows her to see the economic influence on the environment and vice-versa. With her Academic background and current experiences, she wishes to further contribute to the field of sustainable industrial development and management. Sohini would like to contribute to the integration of economic development with environmental sustainability.

Shawn Innocent was born in India and spent the better part of his childhood there before moving to Canada with his family. Growing up, he garnered interest in nature during one of his many trips across India, with the most influential being a trip to the Himalayas. After moving to Canada, Shawn’s interest in the outdoors increased exponentially. Shawn decided to pursue his passion and recently graduated from Carleton University with a BSc (Honours) in Environmental Science. In his fourth year, Shawn co-authored a published paper on how to become environmental problem solvers, and this is where he discovered his interest in environmental management and becoming an environmental problem solver.

Shawn is particularly interested in setting up and updating policies in which environmental problem solving becomes more favourable for the environment and its species over everything. Shawn is also interested in learning about the corporate attitude and plan of action towards environmental management. He is very excited to be learning from professors and other professionals that have been a part of the industry.

Patrick James was raised along the lakeshores of Nova Scotia and spent his youth camping, exploring forests, and paddling the endless lakes and rivers the province has to offer. These experiences are where he developed his passion for the world’s natural beauty and the environment. Patrick graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in 2019 with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering. Following this he spent three years working as a Marine Systems Engineering Officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. Most recently Patrick spent the spring and summer as a volunteer with Common Roots Urban Farm in Woodside, Nova Scotia.

Patrick has keen interests in the conservation of biodiversity, landscape planning, and sustainable agriculture. He is looking forward to gaining new knowledge and skills related to the environmental field, as well as adding to his existing managerial and leadership abilities through the MREM program.

Kim Jones grew up in rural Northern Scotland before moving to a very different rural region of Petawawa, Ontario. Inspired by her surroundings, she developed a passion for food security, agriculture and sustainability with the hopes of improving practices within communities. After graduating from Queen’s University in 2021 with a Batchelor’s degree in Global Development studies, Kim explored her interests within the environmental non-profit world, developing projects which focused upon art, community, health, waste management, agriculture, and tourism to name a few. In her free time, Kim loves to bake and climb. 

Moving to Nova Scotia to pursue the MREM has given Kim a new perspective on environmental issues and the tools to make change. She hopes to engage with work that is making a genuine difference in the sustainability sector through this unique opportunity.

Sarah Landry was born and raised in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where she spent most of her summers bouncing between beaches in the area – specifically Arisaig and Seabright, where she has family ties. Many of her relatives are engineers, and she was inspired to follow in their footsteps by completing a Bachelor of Engineering in the environmental discipline, to try and learn more about how the world, including soil and water, works and can be used to improve lives.

After a brief stint nannying in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, she started working in the consumer product manufacturing industry in a shellfish processing plant and a cannabis growing and processing facility, responsible for the quality of consumer products. Currently, she is a registered Engineer-in-Training with Engineers Nova Scotia with Professional status due in 2023. The MREM program is a chance to combine her work experience with her education, as well as to learn about real and practical solutions to the managing of the natural world.

Sara Lax comes to the MREM program from Southern Vancouver Island (unceded territories of the Coast Salish First Nations) with a keen interest in environmental stewardship, habitat conservation, and impact assessment.

From a young age, Sara was fascinated by the ways in which communities and cultures have shaped coastal ecosystems. In 2013, this fascination grew as she pursued an undergraduate degree at the University of Victoria, double majoring in geography and environmental studies.

A highly motivated and community-oriented professional, Sara has over 9 years of experience in the field of environment and conservation through her applied academic studies and related work experience. She has dedicated time and skill development to collaborative initiatives that support global environmental sustainability goals through her work with a regional land trust, a cycling education & advocacy not-for-profit, two nature-based tour guiding companies, Parks Canada, and the University of Victoria.

Sara is looking forward to the MREM program providing new opportunities to gain skills and experiences that will further her career in land conservation, stewardship, and management on-the-ground.

Nicole MacDonell was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As a child, she loved to catch minnows and frogs, listen to the loons, and watch for turtles and beavers near her family cottage on Booster Lake. The time she spent near the water provoked her passion for protecting natural environments, leading her to pursue an Environmental Biology and Ecology degree.

As an undergraduate student, she worked as a Heritage Presenter for Parks Canada, fostering her enthusiasm to learn and teach others about history, biology, and natural resource use. After three summers working as a Heritage Presenter, she wanted to gain hands-on experience in the field and began working in environmental consulting. Over the last three years, she has conducted aquatic field studies in various locations across Manitoba, Ontario, and Nunavut.

Spending time in Nunavut, she has become increasingly aware of the threats Northern environments face due to climate change and is eager to help mitigate the problems. Nicole hopes the MREM program will provide her with the knowledge and skills required to pursue a career conserving and managing Northern Canada’s aquatic ecosystems.  

Sam MacDougall was born and raised on Cape Breton Island, where he spent much of his time in or around the Cape Breton Highlands. While spending countless days hiking and swimming around Cape Breton, Sam developed a deep love for and connection with nature. As a high school student, he worked in a lumber yard, where he learned the important role natural resources play in local economies.

Recently, Sam graduated from Mount Allison University with a BA double major in Environmental Studies and Philosophy. Sam also participated in an international exchange program at the University of Stirling in Scotland, where he was able to learn more about international approaches to environmental policy. More recently, Sam has spent his summers throughout university working for Parks Canada within the Cape Breton Field Unit.

The MREM program offered a unique mix of hands-on, practical experience, policy, and theory. Sam is interested in learning more about multi-disciplinary approaches to environmental policy and solutions regarding the climate crisis. On top of loving to work outdoors, he is also passionate about politics and government. Sam is excited learn how to implement management policies that aid in the fight against climate change while also advancing economic development.

Julia Michalski grew up in Toronto, Ontario, which may seem like an unexpected place to fall in love with nature, however, it is within the city that Julia realized people and nature must co-exist. Nature conservation in the heart of a city is crucial to sustainability. Inspired, Julia went to the University of Guelph to complete a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and headed back home to Toronto to explore urban forestry.

Julia started working for the Toronto Nature Stewards; a not-for-profit organization that protects and restores city ravines. Specifically, they focus on invasive species removal and community stewardship programs. Additionally, she presented at multiple City Council meetings to address issues with Toronto’s Biodiversity Strategy and Ravine Implementation Plan.

Julia is completing a Master of Resource and Environmental Management program at Dalhousie University with a goal of working in the sustainability sector. Julia likes to look at the bigger picture and aims to tackle environmental challenges with sustainable solutions.

Sugeet Miglani.  Before moving to Halifax, Sugeet lived in Hong Kong where he worked in investment banking for 13 years. Outdoor sports like kayaking and hiking provided much-needed stress relief on the weekends. Through these experiences, he became increasingly aware of, and concerned about, humanity’s impacts on the environment. Through his kayaking club, he helped hundreds of fellow citizens explore the natural environment hoping this would ignite a desire to help protect nature. However, he eventually realized that changes at the required scale need to focus on governments and the corporate sector. He decided to go back to graduate school to learn about these problems in a more systematic way.

Sugeet is particularly interested in urban environments, marine ecosystems, and food systems and the role of public policies in shaping their impacts on the natural environment. He holds an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from IIT Roorkee and an MBA from IIM Calcutta.

Sophi Newcombe grew up exploring the outdoors on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia, which is why she decided to pursue her BSc with a major in biology. The hope was that this degree would provide the opportunity for a career where she could enjoy being outdoors, while also helping to protect and restore the natural environment. While completing her undergraduate degree, she completed a co-op term with the Nova Scotia Salmon Association where she focused on habitat restoration, and this is where her love for aquatic conservation began. Upon graduation she worked at the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq in the Department of Aquatic Resources and Fisheries Management focusing on the conservation and restoration of fish habitat.

Now, in her first year of the MREM program she is excited to see what opportunities lay ahead. Sophi’s interests are mainly in the field of freshwater ecosystem conservation and restoration. In her spare time, you can find her hiking, reading, eating delicious food, or chilling with her two rescue cats.

Mary Olivella was raised in the beautiful seaside town of Lunenburg, NS. Her deep-rooted love for the ocean began at a young age, and eventually led to her being a scholarship student onboard a tall ship sailing around the Atlantic Ocean. Mary’s time at sea emersed her in nature for long periods of time while forcing her to think about the environment on a global scale. Living on a tall ship also taught her how to effectively work as part of a team and strengthened her leadership skills.

Mary recently graduated from Acadia University with a BSc in biology, focusing on ecology and conservation. Her volunteer efforts in the environmental field include community clean-ups, conducting hiking trail inspections, and signage inventory. Further, Mary volunteers with Phoenix Youth Centre and at Covid -19 testing sites.

Mary is passionate about the environment, as well as the role that people play in protecting it. Her enthusiasm, spark for life, and desire for knowledge make her an avid learner in all aspects of her life. She is currently in her first year of the MREM program at Dalhousie University and is excited to gain practical natural resource management knowledge from this program. Mary is particularly interested in protected areas, the link between environment and human health, and co-management.

Jillian Ramsay. Although Jillian grew up in Toronto, Ontario, she spent every summer dividing her time between hiking with family in Newfoundland and canoe tripping in Northern Ontario. These experiences are the foundation for her deep appreciation for nature, passion for stewardship and connection to community.

After graduating with Honours from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Social Anthropology and International Development, Jillian moved home to Toronto in 2019. She combined her academic background, experience educating children and passion for the environment to start her career as a Forest School Instructor for The Pine Project. For two years she worked outdoors with children and adults of all ages to strengthen their connection to nature through developing their naturalist and survivalist skills. When the pandemic began, she began her eco-initiative, Re:store Order, focused on strengthening and educating her community on individual sustainable action, promoting and partnering with eco-conscious businesses, and hosting virtual litter clean ups. It became quickly obvious to Jillian that environmental education and community outreach are where her skills and passions meet.

In 2021, Jillian moved back to Halifax to be in a city with better access to nature spaces. She began working for a local forest school, Roots and Boots, and The Tare Shop, a package-free store focused on community building and sustainability. This Fall she started her MREM program at Dalhousie. She looks forward discovering new paths and angles to approach environmental education and opportunities to collaborate with peers and organizations focused on actionable sustainable change.

Mir Sultan is a master’s student at Dalhousie University pursuing Resource and Environmental Management. He completed a BSc in Economics-Business from the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business in 2020.  He has developed strong interpersonal and leadership skills having served as class president for all 4 years of his college career as well as being a campus tour guide and orientation advisor.

Mir’s professional experiences in project management, sales, marketing and economic research have helped develop both qualitative and quantitative skills. He has developed a passion for the environment and resource conservation by being involved in and leading sustainability workshops, environmental conservation projects, and conferences.

Mir gained a global perspective and worldview over the past 25 years living in India, Australia, the Philippines and the US. Interacting with new people, exploring unfamiliar places, and adapting to cultures is a passion of his. He hopes to take these unique experiences, skills and passions forward with his career as he continues his path toward professional development.

Yuge Wang was born and raised in China.  China is facing serious environmental pollutions, such as water and air pollution, and is lacking monitoring systems. These concerns have inspired her to find potential solutions and possible management systems for reducing pollution.

Yuge interned in the Urban Development Research Center of Jilin Academy of Social Sciences. Her job included sorting and analyzing academic materials on ecological environments and cities in Jilin Province, and culminated in her thesis - "C·I·T·Y Strategy: The Choice of Jilin in Face of ZeroCarbon City Era."

While attending Carleton University, Yuge was a Living City team member of Ecology Ottawa, a non-profit organization. Her job involved the analysis of biodiversity within Ottawa and providing suggestions towards “Ecology Ottawa-Bird-Safety” based on “Bird-safe Strategy” from the City of Ottawa. 

Yuge is currently interested in environmental impact assessment and environmental consulting.