Robert William Sandford
Robert (Bob) William Sandford is the Senior Government Relations Liaison, Global Climate Emergency Response at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (UNU-INWEH). He is the co-author of the UN’s Water in the World We Want report on post-2015 global sustainable development goals relating to water. He is also the author of some 30 books on the history, heritage, and landscape of the Canadian Rockies, including Water, Weather and the Mountain West, Restoring the Flow: Confronting the World's Water Woes, Ethical Water: Learning to Value What Matters Most, Cold Matters: The State and Fate of Canada’s Fresh Water, Saving Lake Winnipeg, Flood Forecast: Climate Risk and Resiliency in Canada, Storm Warning: Water and Climate Security in a Changing World, North America in the Anthropocene, Our Vanishing Glaciers: The Snows of Yesteryear and the Future Climate of the Mountain West, The Weekender Effect: Hyperdevelopment in Mountain Towns – Updated Edition, and The Weekender Effect II: Fallout. He is also a co-author of The Columbia River Treaty: A Primer, The Climate Nexus: Water, Food, Energy and Biodiversity in a Changing World, and The Hard Work of Hope: Climate Change in the Age of Trump. Robert lives in Canmore, Alberta.
Deborah Harford is the executive director of ACT (the Adaptation to Climate Change Team) at Simon Fraser University. She is responsible for development of the initiative’s pioneering vision and its unique partnerships with the public and private sectors, as well as overall coordination and management of the program. Deborah also directs and produces ACT’s policy recommendations for effective adaptation strategies at all levels of government, as well as communication and promotion of the program’s outcomes. Through her efforts, ACT has created networks between local, national and international climate change research practitioners, NGOs, industry representatives, all levels of government, First Nations groups and local communities. Deborah’s work with ACT has gained her national recognition as a resource for those seeking information on climate change adaptation and practical coping strategies. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Dr. Jon O’Riordan is senior policy and research adviser to ACT, providing science-based and strategic advice. Formerly a deputy minister of sustainable resource management and an assistant deputy minister of environment with the British Columbia government, Jon is currently an adjunct professor with the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia, where he teaches resource planning and governance. He is also a research associate with the Polis Project on Ecological Governance at the University of Victoria. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.