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Joel Finnis Lead (WP2, IWP2) Dr. Joel Finnis is an associate professor with the Department of Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Originally trained in the Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, his interests have gradually expanded from climate dynamics and machine learning applications to include research at the intersection of the natural and social sciences. Recent efforts include development of novel hazard climatologies; analyses of marine forecast application, communication, and implementation; and critical reviews of climate perception research. His work is currently used to inform climate adaption efforts in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and is central to a provincial adaptation training program (Building Climate Resilience). With Drs. Ron Pelot (Dalhousie) and Amber Silver (SUNY-Albany), Dr. Finnis coleads the Coast and Ocean Risk Communication Community of Practice (CORC-CoP), a network of scholars, practitioners, and stakeholders motivated by a common interest in reducing the impact of hazards on coastal communities and industries. The current proposal will build in these recent activities, incorporating Finnis’ expertise in coastal and ocean hazard mitigation, climate change adaptation, and science communication into a broader analysis of coastal sustainability and long-term planning. Dr. Finnis is the lead of FOCI research Work Package 2 (WP2) and Integration Work Package 2 (IWP2). He is spearheading research activities connected to WP2.1 (Forecasting for diverse needs) and co-leading WP2.2 (Utility of Climate Guidance Products) and WP2.3 (Trees as Natural Infrastructure for Coastal Adaptation), with Daraio and C. Brown respectively.

Grenfell Campus, Memorial University Priscilla Antwi Master's Student (WP5) Priscilla Antwi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Resource Development with Sociology from the University of Ghana and currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Environmental Policy at the Memorial University, Grenfell Campus. Understudying lecturers, as a Teaching assistant, at the Department of Geography and Resource Development at the University of Ghana and working as a Research Assistant for Non-Governmental Organizations such as Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and Participatory Development Associates (PDA) in Ghana heightened my already existing passion for advanced research and teaching. This experience, coupled with industry knowledge and other experiences improved my research skills and expanded my data analysis toolkit. Working with FOCI’s WP5 – ‘Building collaborative interdisciplinary research infrastructure in Atlantic Canada’s lobster fisheries’, my research is centered on women's empowerment in lobster fisheries, climate change adaptation, and coastal vulnerabilities, all aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the Atlantic Canada lobster fisheries.

Cameron Forbes Co-investigator (IWP4) Through painting, drawing, and collaborative projects, Cameron Forbes’ visual arts practice considers social space. Forbes’ current project, Active Site, observes and supports interventions in Western Newfoundland’s built environment through facilitating collective actions by visual artists, faculty, students, and community members. She has exhibited across the country, with recent shows at the McClure Gallery (Montreal), aceartinc. (Winnipeg), and the University of Saskatchewan’s Kenderdine Gallery (Saskatoon). From 2008-2011, Forbes was the executive director of Winnipeg’s Art City. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University (Halifax) and a Master of Fine Arts from Concordia University (Montreal). Forbes is an assistant professor in Visual Arts at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University. Of settler descent, she was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Treaty 4 Territory. She now lives in Corner Brook/Elmastukwek, Newfoundland and Labrador, with her partner and three children.

Memorial University Matthew Addison Master's Student (WP5) More to come.

Memorial University Christine Knott Postdoctoral Fellow (WP9) Dr. Christine Knott is a post-doctoral fellow with the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) in the Department of Geography at Memorial University, working with Module M3 – Social License and Planning in Coastal Communities. Her research expertise aims to develop a better understanding of the current gendered and racialized labour processes within the aquaculture and seafood processing industries and their dynamics within communities and workplaces. These explorations allow Dr. Knott to investigate the significance of the interactions among resource dependent communities, government policies, global corporate capitalism, ecological and economic mobility regimes, and animal enclosure and commodification. Dr. Knott will be affiliated with FOCI Work Package 9, Inclusion, social justice and equity in urban and rural coastal communities.

Memorial University Alexandria Major Research Assistant (WP1) Alexandria is a Research Assistant II with Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructures (FOIC) at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Her research focuses on fishing vessel safety and in particular aiming to improve and reduce the environmental footprint of marine vehicles by design and operation. She completed her masters in engineering (M.Eng) in Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering at Memorial University. Her masters area of research involved investigating the manual performance and usability of emergency signalling devices for cold maritime environments. From her research she authored a paper in the journal of Applied Ergonomics titled " Investigating manual performance when using push buttons following cold water hand immersion." She was a Teaching Assistant at Memorial University for the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science during her masters program in which she was a TA for a variety of engineering undergraduate courses in the department of Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering. She completed her undergraduate degree in engineering at Memorial University where she had the opportunity to work abroad in Hamburg, Germany and London, England for some of her co-operative engineering placements. Her fields of interests are safety engineering, offshore structures and arctic engineering.

Memorial University Finbar Hefferon Research Assistant (IWP3) More to come.

Yolande Pottie-Sherman Co-investigator (WP9) Dr. Yolande Pottie-Sherman is an Assistant Professor in Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is a specialist in the study of urban geography and Canadian immigration policy, with a focus on new immigrant destinations. In the last 6 years she has authored 11 peer-reviewed articles on migration, including in in top-ranked geography and migration studies journals Geoforum (a leading human geography journal, 5-Year Impact Factor 3.6), and in the highest ranked migration studies journals: International Migration Review, Migration Studies, and the Journal of International Migration and Integration. She co-leads the Adaptive Cities & Engagement (ACE) Space, a research lab promoting social justice and inclusivity in small cities.

Memorial University Pratyusha Akunuri Research Assistant (IWP1) More to come.

Memorial University Jennifer Nicole Brenton Doctoral Candidate (WP7) Pierrette Janes (she/her) is a Master’s of Science in Geography student at Memorial University’s campus in St. John’s, NL, and is co-supervised by Dr. Carissa Brown and Dr. Joel Finnis. Pierrette is from the beautiful, nature-filled province of New Brunswick where she spent most of her childhood exploring local forests. After completing her Bachelor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Leadership from the University of New Brunswick, Pierrette’s interest in forests led her to a position as Stewardship Coordinator for the Nature Trust of New Brunswick, working closely with local conservationists to protect, monitor and restore some of New Brunswick’s unique natural spaces. Pierrette’s research with FOCI will focus on climate smart trees and urban forests as a potential nature-based climate solutions in coastal communities in Newfoundland.

Memorial University Robert Ndum Research Assistant (WP8) Robert Ndum is a Graduate student in the Faculty of Medicine under the Division of Community Health and Humanities, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Robert completed his Undergraduate in Physiology in Nigeria and is distinctly among the first generation Bachelor’s degree holders in his family. Upon completion of his Undergraduate, Robert spent about 2 years working as Lab assistant in a Hospital setting. While engaged as Lab assistant, Robert realized so many gaps and lacuna at organizational levels and in the workplace; and the need for a safe and healthy working environment, and was driven towards Public health systems and policies that support work safety and work-related injury. This drive Robert shares was further informed after he lost his Uncle who was an Oncologist to Cancer. Robert research interests are in the areas of Organizational Health and Safety; Implementation of Public health systems and Policies; and Cancer. Robert works as Research Assistant under Dr Kim Cullen in the SafetyNet Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Research and is currently conducting research on “Return to Work after work injury or illness: Challenges for the Marine and Coastal workers in Atlantic Canada”. Through this research Robert is passionate in conducting comprehensive literature reviews; preparing research reports, manuscripts and publications and in the long-run towards actively addressing key challenges for marine and coastal workers in Atlantic Canada particularly access to Health-care and Insurance.

Paul Foley Co-Principal Investigator Paul Foley is an Associate Professor at the Environmental Policy Institute in the School of Science and the Environment at Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Grenfell Campus, which is situated in traditional Mi’kmaw territory in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. He received a PhD in Political Science from York University in Toronto in 2012 after receiving an MA in International Development from Dalhousie University and a BA (Honours) in History from Memorial University. His research is primarily situated in critical social science fields of political economy and political ecology and developed through interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations, with much of his work focusing on policies and governance for oceans, fisheries, seafood and coastal communities. His work has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) through the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI).