Jonathan received a Finance degree from McGill University before being trained in the Canadian Diamond and Jewellery industry. He brings with him over 7 years of business development, client relations and project management experience. While working as a diamond buyer and importer he was exposed to various international and commercial settings in Western Europe and South Asia. Jonathan first became exposed to the benefits of renewable energy while working for an energy service company with a focus on solar thermal and geo-thermal technologies. This led him to York's Masters in Environmental Studies to pursue his passion in sustainable energy and energy conservation policy. During his time at York, he has performed contracts with Enbridge Inc., participating in the development of their carbon management strategy, and the Ontario Power Authority, assisting in the development of the Clean Energy Standard Offer Program.

B.Eng, MBA

Manuel is an industrial engineer with 8 years of experience as a business loss prevention consultant and as a planning and control engineer, with expertise in Loss Prevention, Planning and Control, Maintenance, Logistics, Administration and Industrial Safety; overseeing projects in diverse industries such as Oil, Energy, Mining, Textile, Pharmaceutical, Insurance, Gambling, and Construction in Peru and other Latin American countries. As a loss prevention consultant he developed field operations process analysis and audits, identifying operating processes inefficiencies, designing and implementing control procedures and process improvements.

BDes, MES

A graduate of the industrial design program at OCAD, Jennifer is currently completing her Master's degree in Environmental Studies, and a concurrent graduate diploma in Business and the Environment. While at York she has received numerous academic awards, notably a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council graduate scholarship and the Han Shan Sih Buddhist Society Bursary for Environmental Studies for students with a focus on religious, spiritual, or ethical issues. While at OCAD she received several awards for her work in sustainability and design. Jennifer is also affiliated with the Beal Institute for Strategic Creativity, working as a research assistant. Her professional experience also includes freelance graphic design, education, and administration. Jennifer is the marketing coordinator for YSEC.

B.Comm. MES

Roberto graduated from Concordia University's John Molson School of Business in 2004 with a Bachelor of Commerce. During his undergraduate studies he focused on Management Information Systems and eCommerce putting his skills and knowledge into practice through internships in both the public service and the private sector.

Upon graduation, Roberto continued to apply his information systems knowledge developing office-automation applications and providing computer literacy training for the municipal health-care sector in Sucre, Bolivia. These experiences contributed to his decision to pursue an MES degree at York focusing on community-based renewable energy planning. Consequently, as a YSEC consultant he collaborated primarily on projects for clients in the energy sector. Since his time with YSEC Roberto has moved on to work with the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, providing consulting services to communities developing locally-owned renewable energy projects. In his spare time, Roberto volunteers on the board of directors of the Toronto Cyclists Union.

B.Sc., MES

Aaron Goldwater (Finance Director) is President and CEO of Goldwater Solar Services Ltd., a solar water heating company in Toronto, ON. Aaron gained experience in the renewable energy sector and emissions trading while working for renewable energy development companies and a gas utility. He has degrees in Environmental Science from the University of Guelph and from York University's Masters of Environmental Studies Program in the area of business and sustainability. As one of the first generation consultants for YSEC, Aaron helped in the development of YSEC. Aaron brings strategic planning, business development, project management, financial planning, and customer service expertise to the group.

BA, MBA

Simon is the director of Jantzi-Sustainalytics’ Sustainability Services division and the global lead of real estate research. In the former capacity Simon provides direction, coordination and expertise in the areas of sustainability market research, best practices and climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. These services create the foundation upon which corporations can make informed decisions on how to proactively manage environmental and social risks, and implement programs that deliver both shareholder and stakeholder value. As the global lead of real estate research, Simon oversees the analysis of the ESG performances of all real estate corporations on major indices internationally.

Prior to joining Jantzi, Simon owned and operated his own business in Japan. More recently he was the international marketing director for a leading international education company in Toronto, where he was responsible for creating and executing a marketing strategy to penetrate international markets in Europe, South America and Asia.  Simon has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Schulich School of Business, where he focused on developing the skills necessary to drive positive business performance through sustainability. In his time there he won the two largest and most prestigious sustainability case competitions in North America. Simon also has professional certification from the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute.

MA Econ, MBA

In August 2009, Bob was asked to assume the role of Managing Director for Sustainalytics's operations in North America. In this role, he sits on the international executive committee and is responsible for the strategic direction at a regional level. 

Bob joined Jantzi-Sustainalytics in the fall of 2007 as Director of Indices and quickly identified a business opportunity and launched the Sustainability Services team. In the ensuing years Bob was responsible for the growth and expansion of both departments. He oversaw Jantzi's flagship product the Jantzi Social Index and led the development of a clean tech line of indices. At the same time he led the Sustainability Services team, which is now one of the firm's leading business lines. In addition, Bob has worked with Canadian Business for Social Responsibility, to help corporate leaders improve their understanding of how corporate responsibility performance was measured by ranking and rating organizations. To date he has led workshops for participants in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Most recently has been asked to sit on the judging panel for the CERES Sustainability Reporting Award and the advisory committee for the University of Toronto’s Environmental Finance Professional Development Program.

Bob has worked as a sustainability consultant with Deloitte and previously, Bob created and managed a real estate development firm in Vancouver which specialized in developing sustainable residential multi-family projects. While working in the real estate sector, Bob sat on the City of North Vancouver’s Planning Commission, Environmental Protection Committee and the board for the Vancouver chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

Bob has a Masters in Business Administration, specializing in Sustainability and Finance, from the Schulich School of Business at York University. Previously, he completed a Master of Arts in Economics at the University of Toronto.

MES

Kristopher Stevens (President of the Board) is currently in charge of Policy and Communications at the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) and is in the final stages of completing his Masters in Environmental Studies focused on Systems Planning and Energy at York University. Kristopher served as YSEC's Co-Chair from 2005 - 2007 and brings diverse expertise in non-profit and corporate communications, strategic planning, executive training and recruitment, large scale event facilitation, systems analysis and multilevel stakeholder engagement. Past project work has spanned Canada, Zimbabwe, Malawi and South Korea in the areas of corporate communications, the electricity sector, the automotive sector, conflict resolution, organizational change, community economic development, consumer goods and the high-tech sector.

BAH, MBA

Norm Tasevski is a Social Entrepreneur-In-Residence with SiG@MaRS. Norm brings to SiG@MaRS experience as a social sector consultant, working primarily with innovation-minded organizations. Prior to coming to MaRS, he was a Consultant with Aperio, where he helped clients to idea generate, plan and execute their social enterprises/social purpose businesses. Norm also co-teaches a social entrepreneurism course at York University. He has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, a BAH in Political Studies from Queen’s University and a certificate in Community-Based Research from the Wellesley Institute.

MBA

Ed Whittingham is co-director of the Pembina Institute's Corporate Consulting Services, through which he advises companies on management practices and strategies for sustainability. Since joining Pembina in 2005, Ed has helped to develop the Institute's Corporate Environmental Responsibility assessment tool, authored case studies on top sustainability performers in the Canadian corporate sector and coordinated a review of a major Canadian utility's effectiveness at stakeholder engagement. Ed leads the development of Pembina Corporate Consulting's sustainability leadership training program. Ed has deep experience in the environmental NGO sector and a solid understanding of business. Ed previously managed UTSB Research, a Banff-based conservation group, through which he reported to Canadian parliamentary committees, spearheaded environmental litigation and led policy research projects. Ed also holds an MBA from York University's Schulich School of Business, where he specialized in corporate sustainability and international business. During his graduate studies he was a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada scholar and conducted Japan-based market research for the United Nations Environment Programme. While at York, Ed co-founded YSEC in January 2004, and served as its co-chair from 2004 to 2005.

MA Econ, CFA, MBA

Elizabeth Wirth is currently pursuing an MBA with a specialization in Sustainable Business at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto. Elizabeth spent three years at the Bank of Canada working as an economist in the Research Department where she covered commodity prices and the Canadian economy. From there, she went to the Bank of Montreal where she spent close to ten years as an economist, analyzing developments in the overseas economies, European Monetary Union, foreign exchange markets, various industries, and the Canadian financial sector.

BES, MES

Jennifer is completing her Master's degree in Environmental Studies with a Diploma in Business and the Environment at York University. During her undergraduate career Jennifer worked on several coffee farms in Costa Rica and helped with the marketing and promotion of the Las Nubes sustainable coffee brand for York University. While in Costa Rica Jennifer taught ESL at a coffee cooperative and at the same time took Spanish classes to add to her multi-language abilities. After graduating she completed an internship in Washington D.C., with the National Farmers Union where she researched the role of farmers in the international marketplace. Following her Washington internship she worked in the social justice field advocating and fundraising for local charities.

Sima Patel 

MES 

Sima Patel completed her Masters degree in Environmental Studies in 2009 after working in the health field as a nurse for the previous seven years. Her health work experience includes various positions with the Alberta Cancer Board, Toronto Public Health and Women's College Sexual Assault Centre. It was a volunteer mission in Zambia with Doctors Without Borders that ignited her passion for environmental issues and inspired her to return to school to complete her Masters. She is currently putting her skills and interest in local food and sustainable agriculture to use in the various programming delivered by EcoSource, an environmental non-profit organization based in Peel Region. 

Nicole Lulham

B.Sc., MES 

Nicole is currently working as Coordinator of Projects & Research at the World Green Building Council. She completed her Master in Environmental Studies with an area of concentration focused on green building, urban planning and policy. Her graduate research involved doing a comprehensive analysis of green building trends in China and examining the effectiveness of a number of market transformation mechanisms. She also completed her Bachelor of Science with Honours from McGill University in Environmental and Health Sciences. 

Angela Loknath

B.Sc., MES 

Angela is currently the Customer Service Specialist at ClearlySo Canada (http://www.clearlyso.ca), a national online marketplace for social business, enterprise and investment. She joins the organization with the purpose of managing client relations and building the network of social businesses and enterprises. After graduating from the University of Waterloo with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Earth Science and Business, she went on to York University to complete a Master's degree in Environmental Studies with Joint Diploma in Business and the Environment at the Schulich School of Business. During her time at York, she worked as a Research Analyst Intern at Jantzi Sustainalytics. Her previous consulting experience also includes work for a business process outsource firm which serviced Canadian banks and other commercial clients.