Leadership & Policy

Our Principles

Leadership as a System Lever

Sustainability challenges are not only technical—they are organizational, financial, and governance challenges. Leadership plays a critical role in shaping how evidence is interpreted, priorities are set, and solutions are scaled.

Planetary Health leadership emphasizes:

Strategic alignment across sectors
Trust and transparency in decision-making
Long-term systems thinking over short-term fixes

Evidence-Informed Policy

McMaster contributes to Planetary Health policy by generating and mobilizing evidence that supports effective governance across climate, health, and sustainability domains.

This includes:

Translating research into policy-relevant insights
Supporting data-driven decision-making
Informing regulatory, financial, and institutional frameworks

The goal is not advocacy, but clarity—ensuring decisions are informed by robust, interdisciplinary evidence.

Governance, Equity & Accountability

Planetary Health transitions affect communities differently. Effective governance must therefore address equity, inclusion, and accountability alongside environmental and economic goals.

Work in this area examines:

Distributional impacts of sustainability transitions
Inclusive policy design
Governance mechanisms that promote fairness and resilience

Equity is treated as a core dimension of system performance, not an afterthought.

Convening & Collaboration

Planetary Health leadership requires spaces where researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and community stakeholders can engage constructively.

McMaster plays a convening role by:

Facilitating cross-sector dialogue
Connecting research with decision-makers
Supporting shared problem-solving across institutional boundaries

These collaborative processes help reduce fragmentation and accelerate coordinated action.

Outcomes & Influence

Leadership and policy engagement contribute to:

More coherent sustainability strategies
Stronger alignment between evidence and action
Improved institutional capacity to manage complex risks
Fairer and more resilient transitions

Engagement Pathways

Planetary Health leadership and policy work is collaborative.

Opportunities include:

Policy-relevant research partnerships
Decision-support and advisory engagement
Leadership development and convening initiatives

Our People

Executive Committee

Dr. Heather Sheardown

Co-Academic Champion

Dean, Faculty of Engineering

Dr. Khaled Hassanein

Co-Academic Champion

Dean, DeGroote School of Business

Dr. Bruce Newbold

Co-Academic Champion

Acting Dean, Faculty of Science

Dr. John Preston

Research Champion

Interim AVP, Nuclear, Office of the VPR

Saher Fazilat

Operations Champion

Vice-President, Operations and Finance

Lili Litwin

Operations Lead

Vice-President, University Advancement

Ashley Downey

Operations Lead

AVP, Pan-University Advancement, Faculties & Units

Dr. Elkafi Hassini

Academic Lead

Associate Dean, DeGroote School of Business

Valerie Terejko

Advancement Lead

Director of Development, Planetary Health

Executive Team

Michael Cassabon

Executive Director, Advancement, DeGroote School of Business

Craig Montford

Director of Development, Faculty of Science

Aleksandar Zakonovic

Director of Advancement, Office of the Vice-President Research

Dave Cano

Director, Sustainability

Daniel McAlister

Project Coordinator, Planetary Health

Nick Markettos

Consultant, DeGroote School of Business

Dr. Ahmed Moussa

Scientific Planning & Coordination Lead, Planetary Health

Academic Champions - The DeGroote School of Business

Dr. Brent McKnight

Associate Professor, Strategic Management, Director, Integrated Business and Humanities, Committee Chair, Interdisciplinary Minor in Sustainability

Dr. Goran Calic

Director of the MBA Programs, Michael Lee-Chin & Family Professor in Strategic Business Studies, Chair in Entrepreneurial Leadership at the DeGroote School of Business, Visiting Scholar at Harvard Business School

Academic Champions - Faculty of Engineering

Dr. Sarah Dickson-Anderson

Associate Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Professor, Department of Civil Engineering

Dr. Jim Cotton

Director, McMaster Institute of Energy Studies and Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Founder, Chief Exective Officer & Board Member, HARvEST Systems

Dr. Mark Lawford

Chair, Department of Computing and Software Engineering and Member, McMaster Institute of Energy Studies

Dr. Ali Emadi

Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate, Canada Research Chair in Transportation Electrification and Smart Mobility, Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Enedym Inc. and Founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of Menlolab, Inc.

Dr. Zoe Li

Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering

Academic Champions - Faculty of Science

Dr. Gillian Goward

Associate Dean, Research & External Relations, Faculty of Science

Dr. Altaf Arain

Professor in the School of Earth, Environment & Society

Dr. Alexander Hall

Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Science, Science in Society Lab

Dr. Sean Carey

Professor in the School of Earth, Environment and Society and Director, McMaster Centre for Climate Change

Dr. Elli Papangelakis

Assistant Professor, Earth, Environment & Society

Academic Champions - Faculty of Health Sciences

Dr. Sujane Kandasamy

Assistant Professor, Mary Heersink School of Global Health and Social Medicine, Department of Medicine / Co-founder and Director of Education with The Starfish Canada / Co-Lead & Knowledge Translation Lead, PEACH Health Ontario

Dr. MyLinh Duong

Associate Professor, Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences

Dr. Zahira Khalid

Associate Professor, Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences

Dr. Myles Sergeant

Assistant Clinical Professor, Family Medicine, Co-Founder and Co-Lead, PEACH Health Ontario, Department of Family Medicine and Executive Director, Canadian Coalition of Green Healthcare

Academic Champions - Faculty of Humanities

Dr. Jessica van Horssen

Associate Professor, History, Faculty of Humanities

Dr. Derek Woods

Assistant Professor, Communication Studies & Media Arts

Academic Champions - Faculty of Social Sciences

Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill

Professor Emeritus, Indigenous Studies Co-chair of the Indigenous Education Council (IEC) and Professor, Anthropology and Indigenous Studies

Dr. Jevan Cherniwchan

Associate Professor, The Spencer Family Professor of Economics, Department of Economics?

Dr. Thomas Marois

Professor, Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Public Banking, Director, Public Banking Project