The Canadian Youth Climate Coalition Council is made up of one representative from each of our current organizational members. We are investigating ways to better represent indivudal members in the council currently. The current council members are:
Elly Adeland (Polaris Institute Representative; CYCC Treasurer)
Elly Adeland, joined the Polaris Institute as the Water and Energy Campaigner in February 2009. In this role Elly, kick’s tar sands and bottled water butt with youth from across the country! Prior to joining Polaris, Elly received her degree from Carleton University in Public Affairs and Policy Management, specializing in Environmental Development. Born in Chicago, Elly has actively worked in both the US and Canada on environmental and social justice issues. In Elly’s words: “Now is the time to jump-in, make change, and let the good times roll!”
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Angelo DiCaro (Canadian Auto Workers Youth Network Representative)
Angelo DiCaro is a national staff representative in Communications with the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW), the largest private sector union in the country. Angelo is also the CAW young workers liaison and sits on the Executive Council of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition. He received his Masters of Industrial Relations degree from the University of Toronto in 2006 and holds a degree in Labour Studies and Sociology from York University (2004). A labour activist prior to coming on staff, Angelo held a number of elected union positions as a member of CAW Local 414 while working as a part-time meat clerk at Dominion Stores in Toronto.
Erin Harrison (Canadian Labour Congress Representative; CYCC Secretary)
Erin Harrison is the National Youth Representative at the Canadian Labour Congress. She began her activism within her home union the Canadian Auto Workers at the age of 18. As a delegate from CAW local 222, Erin was quickly elected as the first Durham Region Labour Council Youth Executive Board Member at Large. She started to change the union demographics within her local by chairing and re-forming CAW local 222’s youth committee, and ensuring youth were involved in all issues and campaigns. Through her labour council activism, Erin became one of Durham Region’s CLC Municipal and “Better Choice” Campaign organizers. Erin was seconded to the CLC in March of 2008, where she is the liaison for youth within the labour movement, and works hard to insure that youth are involved in all aspects of the union movement.
Adam Lynes-Ford (CYCC Co-Chair)
Adam served as National Director for the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition for an interim term from February to September 2009. He is the proud father of two, an avid cook and gardener, and a passionate devotee to climate justice. Raised on a small island on the west coast, he worked for many years on farms and various construction sites. He is the founder of Eatable East Van, a community food sustainability network. Adam is also a Board Member of YouthCO AIDS Society, a former educator with the Gulf Islands Centre for Ecological Learning, and worked as Education Director for Check Your Head: the Youth Global Education Network. He is an experienced educator and facilitator and has delivered workshops on social and environmental justice in many contexts, including high schools, community halls, prisons, labour union events, and elementary schools. His passions include protecting the public health care system and he has served as a BC Health Coalition steering committee member, where he co-developed an initiative to educate and engage youth in BC around the issue of publicly- vs. privately delivered health care services. When he’s not up to all that, he publishes articles in local publications and writes songs that get played in various bars and dives around BC. He holds a B.A. from the University of British Columbia in Geography and Creative Writing. He lives in BC with his beloved partner, their children and Romeo the dog.
Liam O’Doherty (TakingITGlobal Representative)
I’m a trained improviser and actor currently studying Sociology and Semiotics at the University of Toronto. Favourite pastimes of mine include riding my bike, playing piano, photography, cooking without recipes and drinking copious volumes of tea. Local community organizations I am involved with include: UTERN- The university’s environmental resource network, A funding and networking body which develops eco projects on campus. Toronto Public Space Committee – where I’m orientation leader & campaign coordinator for Art Attack, which engages Toronto in public space issues through guerrilla art installations. Greenpeace : Volunteer and Action teams. Forest Crimes Unit Toronto: a campus based organization which lobbies to implement changes in paper purchasing and use.
Rachel Parks (Bringing Youth Towards Equality Representative; CYCC Co-Chair)
Rachel Parks is the Executive Director of a progressive youth serving organization located in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. B.Y.T.E. attempts to create healthy communities where youth voices are heard and creative potential has space for expression. B.Y.T.E. envisions a community of individuals, young and old alike, who meet without judgement and fear, and instead cultivate tolerance, understanding, compassion and respect for one another. Rachel came to B.Y.T.E. in October 2006 with two University degrees one in Education, and the other Social Science. Rachel is also the current Co-Chair of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition as well as sits on numerous other national and local panels and committees. Rachel has taught young people from all walks of life (physically and mentally disabled, young offenders, non-English speaking, first nation and non-first nation). She also joined B.Y.T.E. and C.Y.C.C. with extensive managerial experience, office administration and relationship building skills. Before B.Y.T.E. Rachel worked for a Yukon First Nation Government, taught in the education system, was a Child and Youth Worker, and a Community Programs Coordinator. Overall Rachel is an upbeat, positive individual who has a passion to work towards an environmentally sustainable future.
Kaitlin Pelletier (Check Your Head Representative)
Kaitlin is the Co- Director of Check Your Head: the Youth Global Education Network, a non-profit organization based out of Vancouver. Through CYH she works to develop educational initiatives that engage young people around connecting issues of social, economic and environmental justice. Kaitlin is a council member of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition (CYCC) and is passionate about ending this culture of violence, both as it pertains to gender, and nature. Kaitlin holds an interdisciplinary Masters degree in environmental health science and women’s studies, and a diploma in Intercultural Education and Training.
Ben Powless (Indigenous Environmental Network Representative)
Ben Powless is of Mohawk and Ojibwe ancestry, having grown up in Ottawa. He is in his 6th (yes, 6th) year of his undergrad degree, having switched programs and universities four times before settling on Human Rights, Indigenous and Environmental Studies at Carleton University. Way back when, he was even a co-founder of the CYCC, and went on to start a successful Ottawa chapter before it went dormant. He has been employed by and sat on the board of the Youth Environmental Network (now defunct), and the National Council of the Canadian Environmental Network. He works as well with the Indigenous Environmental Network on issues of climate justice. He is often found hopping from meeting to meeting around the world, taking photos as he goes. He also loves learning languages, speaks Spanish and a reasonable amount of Brazilian Portuguese and French.
Laura Read (Sierra Youth Coalition Representative)
Laura hails from downtown Toronto and studied International Development at the University of Guelph. As a student activist, Laura became involved with Oxfam and Greenpeace, and focused on campaigns to address the privatization of water and climate change. Her experience with Greenpeace took her to Washington D.C. to lobby members of Congress, and to Eastern Europe to protest the development of a uranium mine. Laura now works as the National Coordinator for the Sustainable Campuses Project at the Sierra Youth Coalition. She has been selected as part of the Canadian Youth Delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference this December, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her hope as a Delegate, is to include the youth voice in the discussion around climate change. Independent media, including blogging and making ‘zines, are more of her passions.
Erica Young (Manitoba Environmental Youth Network Representative)
As Coordinator at the Manitoba Environmental Youth Network, it’s my job to help connect and support environmental youth groups in Manitoba. Being an “environmental youth” is a big part of who I am. To me that means feeling a deep connection to this beautiful planet we live on, caring like crazy about what happens to it and all the people I share it with, and always learning new things about how to put my ideals into action. Right now, food security is one of my passions. During summer and fall, I spend a lot of time in the garden or at the farmers’ markets and in my kitchen, preserving food. This year I’ve been learning about how to save seeds from heritage vegetables. I like to read, knit, ride my bike and just hang out outside. I earned a degree in Environmental Science from the University of Winnipeg in 2007 for all of the classes I went to but so much of what I learned came from my involvement in student groups. I’m excited to continue that involvement through my job and as a member of the CYCC Council.