Senior Advisors
Our Senior Advisory Team provides RSI with an unparalleled resource of extraordinary expertise and performance, in business, government and academia. Each one stands at the top of their field, combining a record of pioneering innovation in sustainability and future-ready management, with a reputation for thoughtful engagement and decisive action.
Our Senior Advisors collaborate with RSI at the highest leadership level to deepen and enrich our strategic insight, and to expand our expertise in developing organizational, technological, social and economic solutions, for energy and climate preparedness on a medium- and long-term horizon.
- Laura Barnett, MBA
Senior Advisor, Governance Committee - Peter Boyd
Senior Advisor ,Yale Professor, and CEO of the Time4Good Group - Darla Campbell, P.Eng.,CSR-P
Senior Advisor, Former Director - Sylvain Charlebois, PhD
Senior Advisor, Researcher and professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University - Nigel Etherington, Director, M.Sc., P.Eng.
Senior Advisor, Former Director - Richard Fitzgerald
Senior Advisor, Former Vice Chair - Aidan Grove-White, M.Sc.
Senior Advisor, Past Vice Chair - Matt Hammond
- Senior Advisor, Former Director
- Thomas Hawkett
Senior Advisor, CEO, Connect4 Growth - Sandra Leigh Lester, Director
Senior Advisor, CEO of Affecting Change Inc. - Peter Love
Senior Advisor, a Founding Director - Pooja Mathur, CPA
Senior Advisor and Past Treasurer - Kevin Smith, PhD
Associate Professor at Technical University of Denmark (DTU) - Madelyn Webb M.Sc., M.B.A.
Senior Advisor - Troy Wright
Senior Advisor, a former Chair
Equipped with her BA in Linguistics from York University, Glendon and MBA in Risk Management from Walden University, Laura has used her educational background to connect her people-focused skills with operational efficiency in both her professional and volunteer community work. She is passionate about supporting people to discover and develop their skills for betterment of their own local communities.
Laura has served on not-for-profit boards in Toronto and has been involved in several community development projects, both in Toronto and through partnership with organizations internationally.
He has over fifteen years of commercial experience with the Virgin Group, latterly serving as CEO of Virgin Mobile South Africa. He started his career with McKinsey & Co. after graduating BA Hons. from Oxford University reading Philosophy, Politics & Economics.
In parallel to his work at Time4Good, he is a member of the board of trustees at Earthplace and serves on the mayoral Green Task Force in his hometown of Westport, CT (which also recently targeted a ‘Net-Zero by 2050’ sustainability goal).
As an executive and/or co-founder he has launched three start-ups – E-Trade Canada, Potentia Solar, and Isla Power – which collectively have raised over $130 M in investor capital, and two of which have seen successful exits for the founders. Nigel has served as chair and independent board member of Efficiency Capital Corp, a spin-off of The Atmospheric Fund, and the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA/CanREA) where he was the President’s Award winner in 2013.
His mission is to co-create and/or accelerate the execution of business strategies with triple bottom line benefits – economic, environmental, and social – serving client enterprises from start-ups to multi-nationals.
Over a 30 year career he has provided CEO leadership for international and domestic consumer packaged goods and beverage companies. He led the planning and implementation of growth and innovation focused sales, marketing, operations, mergers and acquisitions. He has served on Canadian corporate, NGO and NFP Boards—creating impressive and sustained growth in shareholder value.
Rick is a Director of VIVO Cannabis Inc., and Founder/Chair of the Socks4Souls not-for-profit charity. Previously, he was Chair of the Board of Dillon Consulting, he served for eight years, as an Ontario Power Authority Director, Diageo Chairman, and Richmond Hills Philharmonic Orchestra Director and Chair.
He is a sought-after keynote speaker and advisor to CEOs and senior decision-makers on key issues that impact their businesses and address how to translate future readiness strategies into sustainable action.
Clients quickly come to rely on Aidan’s candour, empathy, foresight, and ability to identify opportunities when charting new strategies, developing trust among their audiences, and overcoming stubborn challenges.
His overarching focus is on how biodiversity and ecosystem principles can pave the way for a more resilient future - whether in an urban farm or an ecosystem. As a post-doctoral fellow at McMaster University, he led a research program on the purposeful design of ecosystems to produce food and other valuable services like education. At the same time, he collaborated with the French National Centre for Scientific Research to develop methods for uncovering how biodiversity keeps natural ecosystems stable. He has helped secure numerous research grants, including a top-finalist in the prestigious NSERC Discovery Frontiers competition.
He has also worked on the wicked problems – and solutions – of conservation. He served as a Wildlife Ecotoxicologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, tracking the impacts of industrial pollution on the Great Lakes. He was also a consultant for the Bermuda Government and Bermuda Zoological Society, supporting the mapping and protection strategies of critical coral reef habitats. As a doctoral researcher, he innovated statistical tools for better biodiversity accounting and predicting ecosystem change. He continues to contribute to the science and conservation of biodiversity through publishing, conferences, advising and mentoring.
Matt’s conviction is that understanding, protecting and emulating nature is a key to transforming our planet for the better. He holds a PhD in Biology from McMaster University, and an MSc in Marine Science from the University of Otago, New Zealand.
His 30-year career includes progressively more senior sales and business development roles with market leaders CIBC, Lafarge and Command Alkon (construction materials software), Founder & CEO of Connect4 Training and Wolters Kluwer (accounting software system). Most recently he has been working with Canadian startups and scaling companies to raise funds, build traction and revenue in cleantech, SaaS and green buildings.
Tom is a sought-after fractional revenue officer and senior advisor for startups and mid sized companies poised for growth.
He applies a disciplined action focused approach to establishing and developing stakeholder relationships; while delivering value through innovative sustainable solutions, which earns Tom and the companies he works with significant new revenues.
Academic credentials include an undergraduate Economics degree at McMaster University; postgraduate Business Diploma from Wilfrid Laurier; and certificates in project management, problem solving, strategic marketing and sales, and Dale Carnegie leadership skills.
To pay it forward, Tom provides directorship, mentoring, business development and fundraising to support NFP organizations, including 15 years on the boards of Toronto Junior Board of Trade (Toronto Young Professionals) and McMaster Alumni.
She has the rare capacity of being both a building science expert as well as a strategist. Her projects cost-effectively achieve exceptionally high levels of sustainable design performance.
Previously: Sandra worked at HOK Architects as the Sustainable Design Area Leader on projects across Canada and the Middle East. She worked as a design professional for over 25 years on two continents; and did pioneering energy modelling work on off-grid building projects in the early 90’s.
Other qualifications include: Certified Passive House Designer; LEED-accredited Professional (with a Specialty in Building Design and Construction); Certified Sustainable Building Advisor; member of the Steering Committee for the Sustainable Transportation Hub and CMO for the City of Toronto; and Founder of the Cleantech Innovation Centre.
As Director, SOX Operations at RBC over the last 2 years, Pooja led the development and implementation of the bank's centre of excellence for SOX Compliance. She currently oversees the annual assessment of internal controls over financial reporting, risk management practices, corporate governance processes, and fraud prevention and detection across RBC in support of the annual CEO/CFO certification.
“I am excited to join RSI Board of Advisors because its mission aligns with my personal and professional values and passion; for advancing the readiness of individuals and communities to reimagine and co-develop a more sustainable future.”
Liz holds an MBA in Leadership from Royal Roads University. As a lifelong learner and systems thinker, she has completed several executive development programs. In 2019 she was a recipient of the Clean 50 Award which honours Canada’s top 50 contributors to sustainable development and clean capitalism.
As an Associate Professor, Kevin spearheads advanced courses in High-Performance Buildings, Ventilation & Indoor Climate, Sustainable Buildings in Extreme Environments, and Sustainable District Heating, among others, shaping the minds of future industry leaders. His pioneering research intersects massive datasets with advanced simulations to create 'digital twins' of HVAC systems, reflecting his dedication to scalability and the synergy between engineering and digital intelligence.
With over 50 Master's theses under his guidance and a growing portfolio of PhD supervisions, Kevin's influence extends beyond academia. His research in digital twins and artificial intelligence is setting new standards in optimal control and data integration within the building sector. A bridge between continents, Kevin's collaboration with RSI ensures a continuous exchange of knowledge between Canada and Denmark, fostering global sustainability initiatives.
His work is characterized by a blend of technical excellence and a visionary approach to engineering.
Prior to launching his own consultancy in 2015, Joe spent twenty years with Walt Disney Imagineering. During his time with WDI he worked as writer, producer, and internal futurist for Disney’s elite Blue Sky studio. Whether he was designing immersive experiences for global audiences or helping executives discover future opportunities Joe used the power of story to spark imagination and help individuals see beyond the horizon.
Building on his Disney experience, Joe developed his Strategic Narrative Foresight Technique. This unique approach to futures thinking combines rigorous research with the creativity of storytelling to help unlock future possibilities. Joe has used this technique to help fortune fifty companies, nonprofits, and community groups "Imagineer their best tomorrows."
Joe has long been an advocate for others working to expand our imaginative capacities. In 2021, he partnered with Karyn Zuidinga of Nextwave Innovation to start The Practopia Project. The project’s goal is to inspire positive tomorrows by showcasing the latest in imaginative foresight and speculative fiction.
Joe has served on the boards of directors of the Global Future Forum, Association of Professional Futurists, The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, The Blue Community Consortium, and the Whale Center. He is currently a community fellow at the Center for Global Economic and Environmental Opportunity at the University of Central Florida.
Joe's essays and speculative fiction have appeared in professional foresight journals and popular environmental and business periodicals. In addition, his collection of strategic narratives, Reimagining Our Tomorrows, was published in 2018.
He graduated from Emory University with a B.A. in English and received his M.A. in Communication from Florida State University.