Meet the Judges

Chris Fonseca
Councillor, Ward 3
FCM Board Member

Chris Fonseca was elected in October 2010 as Councillor for Ward 3 in Mississauga. She currently sits on the FCM Standing Committees on Environmental Issues and Sustainable Development, Increasing Women's Participation in Municipal Government and Social-Economic Development. She is involved in regional committees such as the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Committee, Enterprise Programs and Services Section of the Debt Issuance Committee and she chairs the Audit and Risk Committee. She also sits on the Community Environment & Noise Advisory Committee at Toronto Pearson as well as Partners In Project Green at the TRCA.

Previously Chris ran her own successful business in the Health and Wellness sector. She has also worked extensively with not for profit organizations that understand the importance of responsible fiscal planning and management. While an Undergraduate and Medicine and Physiology Studies Masters student at the University of Toronto, Chris volunteered with many local charities throughout Mississauga.

Today Chris lives in Ward 3 with her husband and twin boys. She enjoys running, walking and cycling on the many trails in Ward 3, Mississauga.

Yves Hennekens
President, YHC Environnement

Yves Hennekens has more than 30 years of experience in the environment, economic and policy analysis sector. His extensive expertise in the field of climate change action has enabled him to put in place rigorous tools and working protocols for the implementation of inventories and action plans for the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs). As part of these projects, he has worked on national issues related to GHGs while advising clients on Government of Canada programs, including the Partner for Climate Protection (PCP) program. Yves Hennekens has worked with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) for nearly 10 years as a peer reviewer for the Green Municipal Fund (GMF).

Since 2013 at YHC Environnement, Yves Hennekens has led several innovative pilot projects on sustainable mobility by developing the SAUVéR concept. In 2020, in response to the growth of his client base and the popularity of SAUVéR, he created the YHC Mobilité division, which is dedicated to the development of smart public transit and sustainable mobility.

Hope Jamieson
Program Manager, Community Housing Transformation Centre

Hope’s interest in community housing began when she worked with refugees at a small grassroots organization in her youth, and continued throughout her career, working with diverse populations in St. John’s, NL, and Vancouver. In 2017, Hope was elected to St. John’s city council, becoming the second-youngest person to earn a seat there. She headed the City’s Affordable Housing portfolio and oversaw the development of the 10-Year Affordable Housing Strategy. Hope has been a program manager at the Community Housing Transformation Centre since 2020, and as part of the Centre’s partnership with FCM acts as a Regional Energy Coach to support community housing providers as they plan and action energy-efficiency projects.

Irfaan Hasham
P.Eng, CEM, CMVP

As the founding Principal at Simply Sustainable Energy Solutions, Irfaan has developed a great deal of experience in both the consulting and utility worlds. He is a Professional Engineer and holds a bachelors of Engineering in Electrical Engineering (B.Eng) from Ryerson University. With several years of experience working with or for government entities, he has a solid understanding of the current market and political landscape with respect to electricity, GHG emissions and asset management. He is an Energy Coach at the Cooperative Housing Federation of Canada, where he is helping co-ops get started on improving energy efficiency. Irfaan has been involved in delivering complex multi-million-dollar conservation/asset management plans and projects on time and within budget for several utilities and clients across the province.

Donna Chiarelli
Asset Management Advisor

Donna Chiarelli is the owner and principal of Planet A Consulting.  With over 20 years experience helping to build healthy, prosperous and resilient communities, her consulting work focuses on strengthening decision making of local governments and the people they work with, related to asset management, environmental sustainability and climate action.  She is working on multiple projects with the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative to support communities across Canada to integrate natural asset management into infrastructure management and decision making. She is the co-author of an asset management practice guideline published by Engineers and Geoscientists BC and has developed multiple tools and workshops to support learning and progress on asset management. She is also an associate of the Climate Risk Institute, where she supports the development and delivery of training on asset management and climate resiliency.

Prior to consulting, Donna worked for 15 years for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, where she managed and contributed to dynamic teams for FCM’s international and domestic programs, including FCM’s Green Municipal Fund (GMF). Previously, Donna coordinated the Canadian component of an international, multi-stakeholder training program for mid-career professionals called Leadership for Environment and Development, delivered through the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. Donna is a lifelong advocate of women’s empowerment, global equality and environmental sustainability. She has been privileged to study or work in many countries and has lived briefly in Kenya, India and the UK.

Kim Fowler, MCIP, RPP
Manager, Long Range Planning, Sustainability and Energy
Regional District of Nanaimo

Kim Fowler has over 30 years’ experience working as a professional planner and sustainability expert with local government. She has a proven record of successfully implementing projects, including: Managing the visioning, planning and land sale of the Victoria Dockside Green lands; Designing a Sustainability Initiative for the City of Port Coquitlam, including the first Triple Bottom Line assessment for development applications in North America and the first green roof regulation in Canada; Turning two bankrupted hotels into integrated housing for the City of Victoria; Implementing the Waterfront Area Plan for the Town of Ladysmith in collaboration with the Stz’uminus First Nation.

Christina Seidel
Executive Director, Recycling Council of Alberta

Christina holds a PhD in Engineering Management. She operates sonnevera international corp., a waste reduction consulting firm, and is the current Executive Director of the Recycling Council of Alberta. She served as co-chair of the National Zero Waste Council’s Circular Economy Working Group, and was also a member of Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada Catherine McKenna’s Plastics Advisory Group.

Christina loves rural life, choosing to live on a farm near Bluffton, Alberta, where her and her family train Warmblood horses, and enjoy many other outdoor activities.

Daniel Arbour
Director, Comox Valley Regional District, Baynes Sound / Denman & Hornby Islands, FCM Board Member

Daniel Arbour is the elected rural Director for Baynes Sound, Denman and Hornby Islands at the Comox Valley Regional District in British Columbia.  He started his career at Ecotrust Canada, where he worked for 7 years in community development and sustainable forestry. He is a past Chair of the Canadian Model Forest Network. He then worked as a consultant and economic development officer in his home community of Hornby Island. Daniel was elected to the FCM Board in 2021. He also currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Vancouver Island Regional Library system, and on the board of the Island Corridor Foundation (train track on Vancouver Island). He has a Master from the School of Environmental Studies at Royal Roads University, and a certificate in Public Policy from the London School of Economics.

Dale Littlejohn
Executive Director, Community Energy Association (CEA)

Dale Littlejohn leads a team of 20 professionals as Executive Director for the Community Energy Association (CEA). Dale is a senior advisor to local governments developing actions, calculating their impacts, and implementing plans to save energy and emissions in their operations and communities. Prior to joining the Community Energy Association, Dale was a Senior Manager in the consulting practice of Deloitte where he led corporate strategy, technology strategy and sustainability projects globally.

John Purkis
Senior Associate, The Natural Step Canada
Principal, Purkis Strategies

John Purkis is a sustainability expert, facilitator and systems change specialist with 25 years of experience. He has a degree in environmental science from Brock University and a graduate degree in business from Concordia University. As a senior associate with The Natural Step Canada, John works with municipalities, businesses and others in Canada and globally to generate and implement bold visions for a sustainable future. John is currently working on several multi-stakeholder collaborations related to climate change, Natural Capital, and housing affordability and homelessness with teams across the country. He also completed a report on Sustainable land use practices in Canadian municipalities. Prior to joining The Natural Step Canada, John worked with FCM, where he helped lay the foundation for the Green Municipal Fund and oversaw many innovative municipal planning and infrastructure projects.

Josefina Blanco
Councillor for the City of Montreal

Josefina Blanco is a city councillor in Montreal since 2017. As a trained social worker, she is interested in sustainable community development.

During her first term, she was member of the Commission sur l’eau, l’environnement, le développement durable et les grands parcs, the Commission sur le développement social et la diversité, and the Commission de la sécurité publique of the city of Montreal.

She is also member of the FCM’s Board of Directors since 2019.

Re-elected in November 2021, she was appointed Responsable de la diversité, de l’inclusion sociale, de l’itinérance et de l’accessibilité universelle on the city of Montreal’s executive committee.