Senior Advisors

Peter Boyd enjoys working where strategy, marketing and sustainability meet. In 2014 he moved from launch director and COO of the Carbon War Room, to independently launching The Time4Good Group. This now spans a social startup and consultancy, that includes advising The B Team on its Net-Zero initiative, and an Executive Fellowship at Yale’s Center for Business and the Environment.

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).

Carl has over 35 years of experience in project management, engineering and planning for a wide range of projects in the water & wastewater, urban infrastructure and brownfield development, and power sectors.

Carl is Senior Vice President of Hatch Infrastructure, responsible for strategy and business development. His responsibilities in that role include: Working with clients and project teams to achieve project expectations for cost, schedule, scope and community benefits; Assisting clients in liaising and coordinating with key project stakeholders; Business unit strategy. He was also the Water & Wastewater Practice Leader for Canada from 2005 to 2016. Carl is regularly invited to moderate and participate in expert panels on subjects such as infrastructure funding, the value of water, sustainability and urban resiliency. He has also contributed to several thought-leadership reports on water and urban sustainability. Between 2011 and 2016, Carl was the Chair of the Ontario Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure, an umbrella group of six professional organizations (MEA, MFOA, OGRA, OPWA, OWWA and WEAO) working together to promote safe and sustainable infrastructure in Ontario.

Carl has also served on the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Global Committee. As a past member of the Infrastructure Committee of the Toronto Region Board of Trade (TRBoT), Carl developed policy positions and advocated for the strong infrastructure important to the Greater Toronto Area’s economic competitiveness and quality of life. He is currently a member of the Smart City Working Group jointly chaired by the City of Toronto / TRBoT and also chairs the Stakeholder & Outreach sub-group. Carl is currently a member of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s Source Water Protection Committee.

Alec is a globally recognized leader in Operational Risk, Resilience & Security Planning. He is headquartered in Toronto, as principal of Southern Harbour; and at the University of Toronto, as an adjunct professor focused on infrastructure strategy and the operational resilience of communities and corporations. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and expert advisor to CEOs and senior decision-makers on the impacts of climate change on business and community infrastructure, and what’s required for translating future readiness strategies into sustainable action.

Previously: DIALOG Resilience & Security practice leader; British Royal Engineers specialist for over 25 years in fortifications and infrastructure development in various global assignments (the Americas, High Arctic, South Atlantic, Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Asia); and, Infrastructure Protection planner for the NATO estate in Afghanistan.

A Chartered Engineer, licensed in Alberta and Ontario, Alec is a Fellow, mentor and peer reviewer of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Royal Engineers. He is also International Secretary of the Register of Security Engineers and Specialists.

Other qualifications include: founding Director of the University of Toronto Centre for Resilience of Critical Infrastructure; Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers Capacity Building Panel, responsible for futuring civil engineering competencies in the 2025 international marketplace and beyond; Founding Trustee of the Explora Foundation and director of its veteran widows and orphans education charity and research not-for-profit; Author; and a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Alexander Hay was an RSI Director from 2014 to 2019.

Mike is a purpose-driven, problem-solver with more than 20 years’ experience strengthening individual and community identity in the non-profit, educational, and corporate spaces. He has led or been part of teams raising more than $50M for higher-education and community organizations. His leadership in hundreds of grassroots outreach programs has helped recruit more than 20,000 participants for causes in Montreal and Toronto.

Mike currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kindness.org, which leverages scientific research to inspire and educate people all over the world to choose kindness. Mike’s mandate is to help: strengthen the Board of Directors; refine and spread the organization’s brand story; and double the organization’s Mezzanine funding within two years.

An outcomes-based leader, Mike currently serves as Executive Director of The House – an Agency of UJA Federation of Toronto. He is tasked with increasing the relevance of community and cultural identity in the lives of Millennials. Under his guidance since 2017, the organization has: doubled its program recruitment, participant engagement, and revenue; and secured strategic partnerships to transition community members between agencies and secure life-long involvement in community.

Mike also led the innovation initiatives for Forum Properties - researching and experimenting with processes to: increase footfall and client engagement time at retail properties; increasing value per square foot for residential tenants; and building community around commercial and residential spaces. He was also responsible for raising internal efficiencies by streamlining inter-departmental processes.

Prior to that, Mike led an innovation incubator on personal identity and community for a partnership between the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Family Foundation and Federation CJA. There he honed his creative skills, running an innovation laboratory that launched more than 150 initiatives for the benefit of individuals and the community.

As an applied psychologist I am focused on building citizen dialogue and action on climate change. This initiative is inspired by the 2018 IKEA/GlobeScan international survey “Climate Action Starts at Home.” This public document shows that Climate Skeptics make up only 10% of global citizens and most citizens are taking some action to reduce climate change. However, the biggest barriers to doing more include government, business, and peer-group inaction. People are looking for leadership and social permission/encouragement for doing more.

I have assembled a small group of leading online companies to create an interactive microsite (act4us) and will be encouraging Canadians (and their family members, friends and neighbours) to discover where they stand on climate change and how to speak with peers to encourage more action. This initiative is critical during the 2019 election year in Canada and it can serve as a pilot project for the 2020 U.S. election. June 2019 is the launch date. Sponsor and partners are encouraged to contact me to participate.

Dr. Ratcliffe is a Founding Board Member of Rethink Sustainability Initiatives, a member of Citizen’s Climate Lobby (Canada) and he is profiled on ca.linkedin.com/in/billratcliffe. Bill brings 40 years of marketing research, business management, marketing/communications experience to this initiative - along with an abiding interest in what it takes to influence human behaviour. Bill worked with Health Canada to de-normalize smoking. Now we need to de-normalize fossil fuel use.

An award-winning engineer, Jeanette Southwood is Vice-President - Strategy & Partnerships at Engineers Canada, the national organization of the 12 engineering regulators that license Canada's 280,000 members of the engineering profession. She leads a team focusing on the future of the engineering profession, in particular strategies to sustain and grow the profession for the continued benefit of society.

Prior to joining Engineers Canada, she led the Canadian Urban Development & Infrastructure Sector and the Global Sustainable Cities teams at a large global consulting firm where her teams focused on the strategic integration of cutting-edge international innovation and knowledge into value-creating solutions for public and private clients. For more than 20 years, she has directed and participated in numerous projects related to urban intensification and the sustainable revitalization of communities.

A dedicated volunteer on several Boards over the years, Jeanette is a Fellow of Engineers Canada and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, a recipient of the Province of Ontario “Leading Women Building Communities Award”, and a Canada’s Clean50 2014 honouree. In 2015, she received the Ontario Professional Engineers Awards (OPEA) Engineering Excellence Medal and was named one of the WXN Top 100.

Melanie Steiner is Chief Risk Officer for PVH. Based at the company’s New York City headquarters, Melanie is responsible for managing risk efficiently and effectively within PVH. This position includes overall responsibility for internal audit, enterprise risk management, corporate social responsibility, and human rights

Prior to joining PVH, Melanie worked at Ernst & Young as Market Leader, Climate Change and Sustainability Services. There she provided her clients with assistance across a range of services including risk assessments, internal audits, strategy development, and non-financial reporting advisory and assurance. Before that, she spent 15 years in law and policy, first practicing commercial and environmental law, and then working as a Senior Policy Advisor at the international level.

Melanie lives in Toronto and attended Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, where she received a Bachelor of Laws. She also holds a Master of Laws from the University of London. Melanie sits on various boards and committees and is a regular speaker on corporate social responsibility and risk management.

Jim has over 41 years of experience in applied atmospheric research. He has served on international scientific panels and is the author of over 100 scientific and applied papers and articles. Jim is President of Jim Young Atmospheric Services Inc. in Toronto, Ontario, which he created in March 2005 after 33 years in the private sector (as VP and Senior Air Quality Expert with SENES Consultants Limited), the federal government (Acting Director General Research, Atmospheric Environment Service) and as Chief, Air Quality Section, Environment New Brunswick. Jim joined RWDI in 2015 as a Senior Consultant to grow their weather related services. Jim was Canadian Co-Chairman of the International Air Quality Advisory Board of the International Joint Commission for 12 years providing advice and guidance to the Commission on transboundary air quality issues. Jim is a Past Director of the Air and Waste Management Association (Ontario Section), Past President of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS) and is a Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario.