Climate Chats with MCIC

Tassaduq Hussain (Program Coordinator - Community World Services Asia)

Tassaduq Hussain has been associated with the development sector in Pakistan for almost 16 years. He is the Program Coordinator for several portfolios and has been involved in humanitarian response and early recovery activities focused on climate-induced disasters in Pakistan. His team is partnered with MCIC members Presbyterian World Service & Development to respond to the climate emergencies in Pakistan, addressing the food security situation through climate-smart agriculture practices and capacity building with communities.

Lydia Carpenter (Holistic Management Farmer - Luna Field Farm)

Lydia Carpenter farms cattle and hogs with her husband and young child in southwest Manitoba. They use planned grazing methods on their farm to improve forage growth and water retention. Lydia has a master's degree in Natural Resources Management from the University of Manitoba with a research focus in rural livelihoods. She has been involved in farm policy and advocacy work and attended COP22 in Morocco.

Léo Tremblay (Humanitarian Action on Climate and Environment - Médecins Sans Frontières Canada) 

Léo Tremblay is a meteorologist and a humanitarian who has worked with MSF as a Water and Sanitation Specialist in Africa and in the Caribbean region between 2013 to 2017. He is the Investigator of Meteorological and Climate Anticipation and was the project manager for Climate, Environment and Health with MSF in Haiti. He lives in Montréal.

Katherine MahpiyaSka Whitecloud (Dakota Knowledge Keeper)

Katherine is a Dakota Knowledge Keeper, advocate, and Grandmother from the Wipazoka Wakpa Dakota Nation. She serves on the National Knowledge Keepers Council and Regional Knowledge Keepers Council. Katherine's role is to share the knowledge of her ancestors; that all of creation is interconnected, that what we do to one we do to all, our word is sacred, our purpose in life is to be a good relative to all, and that we only have today to do what we have been blessed to do.

Dr Kawser Ahmed (Adjunct Professor - University of Winnipeg)

Dr Kawser Ahmed leads a Winnipeg based not-for-profit organization named Conflict and Resilience Research Institute Canada (CRRIC). He is currently a post-doctoral fellow for Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada at the University of Winnipeg, with research interests in conflict resolution, counterterrorism and counter-extremism. He will share how climate change is a catalyst for conflict and violence, including persecution of the Rohingya in Bangladesh.

M. Ramesh Babu (Executive Director - The Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission On Relief)

Ramesh has 26 years of experience in development in India and has represented EFICOR at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change since COP-17 in Durban. In his career he has led projects on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and food security. He specializes in capacity building and community mobilization. EFICOR works with marginalized communities in India, including work on climate mitigation.

Florence Nduku (Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator - Canadian Foodgrains Bank)

Florence has helped lead grassroots community mobilization in climate change adaptation, including rainwater harvesting through sand dam technology, terracing and agroforestry, and drought-resistant crops. She has worked as a monitoring and evaluation coordinator supporting gender equality and climate-resilient food systems in East Africa with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank network. Florence has over 17 years of work experience in community development. She lives in Kenya.