Grenfell Campus, Memorial University Ajith Raj Doctoral Candidate (IWP1) Ajith Raj is a graduate student in the Transdisciplinary Sustainability program at the Grenfell campus of the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Ajith is part of the FOCI (Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructures) Integrated Work Package-1 which is about the foresighting future ocean infrastructure. Before joining FOCI, Ajith lived in the western Indian islands called Lakshadweep and worked with the pole and line fisher community to develop a co-management system for the fisheries on the islands. His research focuses on the political economy of the blue economy, foresighting the future of sustainable ocean infrastructure for island communities and fisheries resource management. Ajith completed a Master’s in Development with a sustainability specialization and worked for a Fisheries conservation NGO in India.

Joe Daraio Co-investigator (WP2) Dr. Joe Daraio is an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He has research experience in ecology, environmental hydraulics, and hydrology, and his primary research interests are in the integration of natural and built environment towards climate change adaptation and resilient design of civil infrastructure. His recent work has focused potential climate change impacts on storm water system design parameters, including peak flows, at local scales, and on development of relatively simple methods for design engineers to incorporate climate change impacts on flow frequencies using flow duration curves. He is principal investigator on a project funded by Natural Resources Canada working with the provincial government on Building Climate Resilience (BCR) to train professional engineers and planners to incorporate climate change into design and planning of infrastructure. This work provides a means to directly apply his research on climate change impacts into practice, and will identify important knowledge gaps for design of storm water infrastructure under climate change. The current proposal will expand on this ongoing work though the direct inclusion of coastal aspects of infrastructure, and by reaching beyond professionals directly to stakeholders and members of the public who have an important part to play in developing resilient and sustainable coastal communities. Dr. Daraio will co-lead with Finnis on WP2.2 (Utility of Climate Guidance)

Grenfell Campus, Memorial University Natasha Olekshy Research Assistant (Core/IWP1) To learn more about Tasha Olekshy – Environmental Policy Institute (grenfell-epi.com)

Barbara Neis Lead (IWP4), Co-investigator (WP2, WP5, IWP2), Advisory Chair Professor Barbara Neis is a John Lewis Paton Distinguished University Professor, Department of Sociology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is a member of the Order of Canada (C.M.), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (F.R.S.C.), corecipient of the Vanier Institute of the Family’s Mirabelli-Glossop Award for Distinguished Contribution, member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Council of Canadian Academies and a former Fellow of the Trudeau Foundation. She co-founded and co-directed Memorial’s SafetyNet Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Research over much of the period from 2001 to 2019. She is a former member of the Ocean Frontier Institute research management committee and co-leads the work package on aquaculture OHS within Module M. Over her career, a central focus of Professor Neis’ research has been the relationship between work, community and larger-scale societal and environmental change with a particular focus on rural and remote, resource dependent coastal communities. She has extensive experience in designing, securing funding for and completing major interdisciplinary programs of research using a community-engaged, partnered framework. Many of her research programs have focused on diverse aspects of marine and coastal communities ranging from sustainability, through governance, to local knowledge and science, health and safety, gender and fisheries and work-related mobility.

Memorial University Kaitlyn Hawkins Research Assistant (WP4) More to come.

Memorial University Khaled Helal Doctoral Candidate (WP1) I am currently a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Memorial University, having graduated in Egypt in 2012 as a Mechatronics Engineer working on mobile robotics. I am currently contributing to Work Package 1 at the FOCI. My research focuses on autonomous underwater gliders for passive acoustic survey missions. I investigate their potential as an alternative to stationary passive acoustic observers for monitoring ocean ambient noise, marine life, and anthropogenic noise. In addition, I am engaged in the study of the relationship between vessel noise signatures and their structure and air-borne noise. These studies will contribute to the field of designing more quiet vessels.

RETURN TO WORK AFTER WORK INJURY OR ILLNESS: CHALLENGES FOR MARINE AND COASTAL WORKERS IN ATLANTIC CANADA (WP8) FOCI’s Work Package on ‘Return to Work after Work Injury or Illness: Challenges for Marine and Coastal Workers in Atlantic Canada’ carries out research activities that lay the foundations for the development of an evidence-based strategy to design infrastructures to address the barriers and challenges for return-to-work (RTW) among injured and ill workers in changing marine and coastal industries across Atlantic Canada. This Work Package employs a disability inclusion lens to understand the unique complexities of work disability experienced by marine and coastal workers within three important industries in Atlantic Canada: fish harvesting, seafood processing and offshore oil and gas. It considers diverse experiences including those of women, youth and Indigenous workers across these industries within its planned activities. MEET THE TEAM Kimberley Cullen Lead Vicki Kristman Co-Investigator Desai Shan Co-Investigator HIGHLY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL (HQP) Robert Ndum Research Assistant Current Jacob Sargent Research Assistant 2024-25 Contessa Small Research Assistant 2023-25 OUR PARTNERS

Memorial University Morgan Manuel Research Assistant (WP4) More to come.

Sustainability Safety Inclusion Integration Research and Educational Resources Toolkits The Foresighting Toolkit: Empowering Coastal Communities to Develop Long-term Strategies for Success aims to empower and enable practitioners and decision-makers within coastal communities by providing community-inclusive resources for their long-term strategic development. The PLACE Dialogues is a collective approach to transforming communities through bottom-up strategies and home-grown solutions. This infographic is a resource for academics and community leaders who are interested in teaming up to co-create a PLACE Dialogues. Case Studies in Community Resilience Charles, J. (2025). Resisting Rural Resettlement on the Burin Peninsula: A PLACE Case Study of Placentia West Development Association . Charles, J. (2023). A PLACE Framework of Community Resilience Case Study: St. Anthony Basin Resources Inc . Charles, J. (2021). A PLACE Framework of Community Resilience Case Study: The Bonne Bay Cottage Hospital Heritage Corporation . Charles, J. (2021). A PLACE Framework of Community Resilience Case Study: Shorefast . Educational Videos Produced by the Ocean School, through its collaboration with FOCI and Homarus Inc . , Life of a Fisher , explores the co-existence between fishers and North Atlantic Right Whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Coming soon: Letters to Jasmine a short film on equity in the fishing industry. Coming Soon! The PLACE Dialogues | Transforming communitie s focuses on using the PLACE model as a community development tool.

Whitney Lackenbauer Co-investigator (WP3) Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer is the Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in the Study of the Canadian North and a Professor in the School for the Study of Canada at Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario. He is also Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, which encompasses patrols throughout Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. His research focuses on Arctic policy, sovereignty, security, and governance issues; modern Canadian and circumpolar history; military history and contemporary defence policy; and Indigenous-state relations in Canada. This includes a particular focus on discerning ways to strengthen search and rescue (SAR) and emergency response capabilities in the Canadian North by clarifying and harmonizing the roles, responsibilities, and capabilities of the community-based organizations (e.g. Coast Guard Auxiliary, volunteer SAR teams, Canadian Rangers) and devising ways of better incorporating these groups into plans and policies. This research is a component of the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN) that he leads, which is funded by the Department of National Defence Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) program from 2019-22. Dr. Lackenbauer will contribute to Work Package 3 “Search and Rescue in Remote Regions.

Dalhousie University Brenna Sobanski Research Assistant (WP6) To learn more about Sobanski Brenna, (She/Her) — Faculty of Social Sciences (mcmaster.ca)

Memorial University Mohannad AlRefai Co-op Student (WP3) Mohannad AlRefai is a senior Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering student at Memorial University St. John's campus. Born in Egypt, Mohannad would often visit the Suez canal as well as other coastal parts of Egypt, where his passion for naval architecture grew. Mohannad has previous co-op work experience in MUN where he was a research assistant for Dr. Mikko from Aalto University, who was conducting research on ice-ship interaction. Additionally, Mohannad had a co-op work term at local start-up Enaimco. With an expected graduation in Winter 2025, Mohannad aspires to contribute significantly to the field of naval architecture, whether in the field of academia or otherwise.