Our Team

Staff

Gabriella Kalapos
gkalapos@cleanairpartnership.org416-948-7125 Bio

Gabriella Kalapos
Gaby has been working to motivate and support local government action on clean air and climate change for over 20 years. Her passion has been on encouraging the uptake, transfer and implementation of clean air and climate change actions and the building of partnerships that enable collaboration and support between the community and all levels of government.
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Kevin Behan
kbehan@cleanairpartnership.org416-460-6320 Bio

Kevin Behan
Kevin Behan is Deputy Director with Clean Air Partnership. Kevin has an Honours Bachelor of Science from University College Dublin and post-graduate qualifications in Business Studies and Information Technology (Dublin Business School) and Spatial Analysis and GIS (McMaster University). Kevin’s research interests include climate change mitigation and adaptation, active transportation, and the importance of effective communication in these areas.
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Nancy Smith Lea
nsmithlea@cleanairpartnership.org416-518-1164 Bio

Nancy Smith Lea
Nancy Smith Lea is the Director of The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT). She has decades of project management experience and specialized knowledge in applied research and policy analysis specific to Complete Streets, safe and inclusive streets for walking and cycling. Nancy has published several articles and led numerous research projects aimed at improving understanding and conditions for active transportation. In 2011, Nancy was awarded the Toronto Foundation’s Vital People grant for “Putting Active Transportation on the map”. In 2016 she was featured in Spacing magazine as a “Safer Streets Crusader” and one of 12 extraordinary women city builders. In 2018, she was featured in LocalLove.ca as one of eight top women change makers in Toronto working hard to make the city a better place. Also in 2018, Nancy received a Wheels of Change award presented to TCAT at the Ontario Bike Summit from the Share the Road Cycling Coalition in the category of Community Collaboration for their important role in the success of the 2016-17 Bloor Street Bike Lane Pilot Project.
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Vanessa Cipriani
vcipriani@cleanairpartnership.org Bio

Vanessa Cipriani
Vanessa Cipriani is the Project Coordinator for CAP’s Transition 2050 initiative. She brings experience in developing innovative policy and programs for both provincial and municipal governments. Previously, she worked at the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services on implementing modernized condominium legislation, and at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing she developed local governance policy. She also has experience in implementing municipal environmental programs, including supporting the City of Guelph’s waste cart collection program and the City of Kitchener’s storm water credit policy. Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a major in Economics and Policy from the University of Guelph. She is passionate about climate change mitigation, active transportation, and sustainable food systems and is dedicated to pursuing both social and environmental justice.
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Desislava Stefanova
DStefanova@cleanairpartnership.org647-907-0747 Bio

Desislava Stefanova
Desislava Stefanova is the Outreach Coordinator at Clean Air Partnership. Previously, she worked with Toronto Public Health on the King Street Pilot Project to assess public perception of the environment (air pollution, safety, and user experience) and behavior changes. She also contributed to the development of Noise Mitigation Strategies that Toronto Public Health released as part of a report on health impacts from noise. Desislava holds a Master of Applied Science and Management Diploma from Ryerson University. Desislava is passionate public speaker and ambassador of ideas, acting as a bridge between science/policy/business and broader audiences.
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Jiya Benni
jbenni@cleanairpartnership.org Bio

Jiya Benni
Jiya Benni is a researcher at The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT). She is an urban designer, working on several TCAT projects at TCAT including Active Neighbourhoods, Bike Parking Site Planning at TCHC Apartment Towers, and Increasing Cycling for Transportation in Canadian Communities: Understanding what works (with U of T). She has called Toronto home for the last several years. Originally from India where she grew up and studied architecture, she later moved to the Netherlands to study urbanism – only to fall in love with biking. In her free time, if she is not exploring Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods (or coffee shops) with her husband, she’ll probably be working on her next art project.
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Midhat Malik
mmalik@cleanairpartnership.org Bio

Midhat Malik
Midhat is the Bike Hub Coordinator at The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT) for the Markham Cycles project, an initiative to increase cycling in suburban communities. With a history of working at environmentally-focused organizations, Midhat aims to improve awareness of sustainable world issues through community engagement, behavior change, and teaching, which she has done with some notable organizations in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and most recently Vancouver, British Columbia. She has also been involved in leading or supporting projects in data analysis, business development, volunteer coordination and project management.
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Francis Nasca
fnasca@cleanairpartnership.org Bio

Francis Nasca
Francis Nasca is a Project Manager at The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT) for the Active Neighbourhoods project. They bring a background in active transportation advocacy and urban design, and they are dedicated to creating more accessible and participatory planning processes. They holds a Master of Arts in Sustainability Studies from Trent University, and they were fortunate to work as an embedded researcher with the ANC pilot project in Peterborough, Ontario. Francis is thrilled to remain engaged with this dynamic project as our partnership works to create accessible and participatory planning processes across Canada.
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Yvonne Verlinden
yverlinden@cleanairpartnership.org Bio

Yvonne Verlinden
Yvonne Verlinden is a Project Manager at The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT) for Markham Cycles: Incubating Cycling Hubs in Suburban Canadian Communities and is also responsible for TCAT’s social media presence. Past projects with TCAT include coordinating the Scarborough Cycles initiative, research for the Bloor Street economic impact study pilot bicycle lanes, and a study on the feasibility of offering driver education about sharing the road with bicycles in Toronto. She recently completed her Master’s of Planning at Ryerson University, with a focus on transportation, and cycling in particular. For her Major Research Project, she explored the connection between mobility and belonging through a Photo Voice project with the Bike Host program, which loans a bicycle to newcomers in Toronto (including as part Scarborough Cycles). She has also worked for the Ministry of Transportation as a writer for the GTA West Corridor review. In 2016, she served as a Complete Streets intern at TCAT during which time she produced a backgrounder on Complete Streets in rural areas.
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Board

Susanne Gossage
Global Marketing Communications Manager, KPMGI Bio

Susanne Gossage
Susanne has over 18 years marketing communications experience leading and implementing impactful campaigns for both the non-profit and private sectors. She has helped run one of Canada’s most successful independent PR firms, Media Profile, including HR and operations, and run successful campaigns for Toronto Community Housing, Eva’s Initiatives, Toronto Waterfront Corp, Clean Air Foundation and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, where she’s been involved for over 13 years. Susanne also is the lead for the environmental communications and for Community Leadership team at KPMGI and develops impactful outreach programs for its 300 staff in the GTA. In her personal pursuits, Susanne is an avid commuter cyclist, energy saver and cross country skier.
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Laura Zizzo
Founder & CEO, Mantle314 Bio

Laura Zizzo
Laura Zizzo is a lawyer and strategic advisor with over a decade of experience leading organizations towards a low-carbon and climate-adapted future through the application of law and policy. Laura started her legal career with a prominent Bay Street law firm before founding the first law firm in Canada focused on climate change in 2009. Before entering the field of law, Laura worked in strategic policy research for the Ontario Ministry of Finance and for the Hamilton Region Conservation Authority. In her final year of law school, Laura was co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of International Law and International Relations. She is co-founder of the Climate Change Lawyers Network, a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) committee on Environmental Law, an executive member of the Ontario Bar Association’s Environmental Law section and is a volunteer presenter for The Climate Reality Project. She has a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo and a law degree from the University of Toronto. Laura is called to the Bar of Ontario.
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Brian Kelly
Bio

Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly was the Manager of Sustainability for the Region of Durham. His focus was on climate mitigation, climate adaptation and community energy planning in Durham. He has been the founding Director of the Sustainable Enterprise Academy, an executive education program based at the Schulich School of Business, York University since 1999. From 1997 to 1999 and again from 2010 to 2011, he also taught Business Strategies for Sustainability in the MBA program at Schulich. Over his career spanning 47 years, Brian has also been Director of Environment and Sustainable Development for Ontario Hydro; President of Marbek Resource Consultants; a Director in Energy, Mines and Resources Canada; and a founder of Pollution Probe. His professional specializations include sustainable development, climate change, sustainable business strategy, energy conservation and renewable energy. His background in teaching, consulting, business, government and non-governmental organizations allows him to bring a unique combination of theory and practical experience to his work.
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Daniel Hoornweg
Associate Professor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) Bio

Daniel Hoornweg
Following almost 20 years with the World Bank in Washington, DC, Dan returned to Ontario in 2012 and is now the Richard Marceau Chair and Associate Professor at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), and the Chief Safety and Risk Officer for the Province of Ontario (Technical Standards and Safety Authority, TSSA). Dan's academic background includes degrees in Earth Sciences (University of Waterloo), a Masters in Environmental Engineering (Guelph) and a PhD in Civil (Sustainability) Engineering (University of Toronto, 2015). Dan’s early career included municipal waste management in Guelph Ontario and Bermuda. He is a recognized global expert in urban resilience, sustainable cities, and community consultation and participation for better service delivery. Dan was Lead Advisor in the World Bank’s Urban Development Anchor overseeing the Sustainable Cities and Climate Change programs, and managed approximately $5 billion in infrastructure investments in more than 300 national and sub-national governments, as well as their agencies and utilities. Dan also worked in the oilfields of Alberta and for the Region of Peel, City of Guelph, and Ministry of Works and Engineering, Bermuda.
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Vicki Gagnon
Conservation Business Manager for the Public Sector, IESO Bio

Vicki Gagnon
Vicki is the Conservation Business Manager, for the Public Sector at the Independent Electricity System Operator. She had been with the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) for over 9 years, when the organizations merged in January 2015. In her current role she works with energy managers and sector-based resources to help customers improve the energy efficiency of their facilities and facilitate participation in Save on Energy programs through the Local Distribution Companies (LDCs). Before joining the OPA, Vicki worked at the Ontario Trillium Foundation (6 years), establishing the environmental granting portfolio of the newly expanded granting foundation. And before that she worked in the industrial/commercial sector helping commercialize newly developed environmental technologies with the Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement (OCETA, now Blooms).
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Parag Datta
Director of Corporate Development at Aecon Group Bio

Parag Datta
Parag has over 12 years of consulting and corporate experience in the energy, utilities and infrastructure sector in alternative energy business development, strategy and mergers and acquisitions. At his current role as Director of Corporate Development at Aecon Group, he leads inorganic growth opportunities as well as development of corporate strategy. At his previous role in Enbridge Gas Distribution, he lead strategic business development for the utilities in non-traditional markets and fuels (Hydrogen, Geothermal).
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Stuart Galloway, Treasurer
CEO for Energy Services Association Canada Bio

Stuart Galloway, Treasurer
Stuart is the current CEO for Energy Services Association Canada and also manages his own advisory practice, championing performance based solutions for energy and infrastructure renewal initiatives, resulting in fiscally and environmentally responsible outcomes. His advisory roles include expertise across the UK, European and Canadian infrastructure markets, across both the public and private sector and has over $10 billion capital worth of projects to his acclaim, delivering a number of cutting-edge pathfinders in Canada, leading the way for similar successful projects. Stuart is both technically qualified and financially experienced with specialist expertise for delivering alternative project delivery models, financing structures, partnering arrangements and framework agreements across the energy sector in health, municipalities, transportation, education and housing. He has a passion for improving the impact we are having on our planet
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Lisa Prime
Founder and Principal, Prime Strategy & Planning Bio

Lisa Prime
Lisa values her ability to bring stakeholders together, identify opportunities, and integrate environmental, business and social considerations into major infrastructure revitalization projects, development plans and policy.Previously a municipal planner, a conservation authority planner, and Waterfront Toronto Director Environment and Innovation, for over 10 years, Lisa has worked to meet government and stakeholder needs. Lisa holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Waterloo and York University in Environmental Planning. She also has Executive Business Administration training from McGill.
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Daniel Carr, Chair
Alectra Utilities as Manager, Emerging Domains – Smart Cities Bio

Daniel Carr, Chair
Daniel Carr is an experienced program manager with expertise in the management of innovative, customer-facing energy programs, policy development and regulatory strategy. In his current role at Alectra Utilities as Manager, Emerging Domains – Smart Cities, he develops and leads projects that bring new distributed energy technologies and concepts into practice, with a focus on electric vehicles, demand response and dynamic electricity pricing. Daniel has a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Carleton University, with an undergraduate degree in Government from Cornell University. He holds the Certified Energy Manager and Certified Measurement and Verification Professional designations.
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Sarah Heynen
Chief Development Officer for Peace + Freedom Bio

Sarah Heynen
Sarah Heynen is the Chief Development Officer for Peace + Freedom, an enterprise devoted to unleashing the power of entrepreneurs in remote areas to solve problems by providing them access to energy, internet, transport and financing. Previously, Sarah spent ten years with Evergreen, the visionary charity behind the internationally celebrated social enterprise, Evergreen Brick Works. Serving in various senior roles, including COO and CDO, Sarah brought her passion for people together with systems thinking, fostering the conditions for teams to thrive and revenues to triple. Prior to Evergreen, Sarah worked for WWF-Canada and the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta and an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of Western Ontario. In additional to Clean Air Partnership, she is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Scientists in School, and previously of Planet in Focus: Toronto International Environmental Film Festival.
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Tony Iacobelli, Vice-Chair
Manager of Environmental Sustainability, City of Vaughan Bio

Tony Iacobelli, Vice-Chair
Tony Iacobelli is Manager of Environmental Sustainability at the City of Vaughan. Tony started at the City of Vaughan in 2008 as the Senior Environmental Planner and led projects such as the Special Policy Area Justification Report, the Natural Heritage Network Study and implementing Sustainability Performance Metrics in the review of development applications, a project developed in collaboration with the City of Brampton and Town of Richmond Hill. Tony's work at World Wildlife Fund Canada involved conservation science in support of sustainable forest management, land use planning in northern Canada, and protected areas planning. He was Director of the Forests and Freshwater program from 2005 to 2008.
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Bala Gnanam
VP – Energy, Environment & Strategic Partnerships with the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Toronto Area (BOMA Toronto) Bio

Bala Gnanam
Bala is responsible for managing and facilitating the development and delivery of educational contents, programs, and initiatives that promote energy efficiency, sustainability, and regulatory compliance. Bala is also actively involved with BOMA's advocacy initiatives, working closely with all three levels of governments and industry stakeholders contributing to policies and programs impacting the commercial real estate industry. Bala is an industrial engineer and a Certified Energy Manager with over eighteen years of experience in the energy and manufacturing sectors.
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