Current Team
Dr. Kathleen Manion, (she, her) is a Professor at Royal Roads University and an Associate at the International Institute of Child Rights and Development. She has been working in research, social and community services, and academia for over thirty years. She loves to work on projects that support children and young people to thrive. Having lived and worked all over the world, she now calls Victoria, BC, her home. Living in such a beautiful place, she is keen to work with children and young people to protect this amazing planet.
Valeria Cortés is a practitioner/scholar who loves to co-create inclusive learning spaces where all can learn from each other, feel connected, and be inspired to effect positive change. Originally from Mexico, Val draws from her lived experience as a culturally and linguistically diverse educator in Canada. Her research interests intersect with the fields of leadership studies, applied theatre, curriculum and instruction, and systems change. She is particularly interested in studying ways to naturalize Nahua teachings in leadership education.
The Original Team
We were a part of a coalition of leading children’s rights academics and participatory researchers in the lead up to the North American Phoenix Consultation, organized by the David Suzuki Foundation, the Children’s Environmental Rights Initiative, and the International Institute for Child Rights and Development, affiliated with Royal Roads University.
Rebeccah Nelems, Associate, International Institute for Child Rights and Development (IICRD), and Associate Faculty, Royal Roads University
Dr. Kathleen Manion, (she, her) is a Professor at Royal Roads University and an Associate at the International Institute of Child Rights and Development. She has been working in research, social and community services, and academia for over thirty years. She loves to work on projects that support children and young people to thrive. Having lived and worked all over the world, she now calls Victoria, BC, her home. Living in such a beautiful place, she is keen to work with children and young people to protect this amazing planet.
Catherine Howe (In remembrance of a wonderful human being), Catherine was a Child and Youth Care Practitioner, M.A., R.P. Catherine loved romping through the woods, gardening, art & photography. She was a strong supporter of the Indigenous and youth-led climate justice movement.
Yolanda Muñoz, Ph.D. (she/her) has been a full-time wheelchair user for more than 25 years, and she very much enjoys promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities in social justice movements all over the world. She was born and raised in Mexico, but she is currently based in Montreal. She is co-investigator of the Disability-Inclusive Climate Action Research Program with the Faculty of Law at McGill University. She is a Senior Research Associate with the Canada Research Chair in Human Rights and the Environment. Yolanda has taught the course Gender and Disability at the McGill Institute for Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies since 2006.
You may contact her at: yolanda.munoz@mcgill.ca. https://www.disabilityinclusiveclimate.org/
Carolyn Rakka (she/her) was a research assistant at Royal Roads University’s School of Humanitarian Studies. Upon completion of her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Justice Studies (2020) from Royal Roads University, she paused to contribute towards the Covid-19 Pandemic Response and is currently working with Alberta Health Services in the Alberta COVID-19 Exposure Response Team (ACERT). During this past year she was inspired to further her studies in Disaster and Emergency Management and returned to Royal Roads University as its vision of change-making, sustainability, climate action, equity, diversity and inclusion, speaks to her heart. In addition, as the mother of a child with cerebral palsy, she is passionate about disability rights and is committed to child/youth rights and activism in the battle for climate justice. Recently, she has researched youth court cases in the world, which are making a meaningful, significant and urgent difference towards climate justice. When she is not “filling her bucket” with her love of research, you will find her painting and/or enjoying nature in her garden.
Martha Pitre (she/her) was a B.A. student at the Frank McKenna School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. When not providing research and admin support at the IICRD, Martha is probably exploring the NB trails or playing her fiddle.
The wider Phoenix Consultation
This project is part of the wider activities that lead up to the North America Consultation on the Right of Children and Youth to a Healthy Environment: Building an Agenda for Justice, Equity and Empowerment (the Phoenix Consultation). This exciting initiative supports the North American Consultation hosted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment.
