This conversation features David Fortin, Professor, University of Waterloo School of Architecture; and Kelsey Leonard, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Waters, Climate and Sustainability, University of Waterloo.

David Fortin is a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (MRAIC), a LEED accredited professional, and a registered architect in the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Edinburgh in 2009 and has since taught undergraduate and graduate courses in architectural design, history and theory, in the UK, USA, and Canada. At the McEwen School of Architecture, he developed and taught an introductory building science course emphasizing the impact of climate change on architectural thinking and maintains research interests in speculative thinking in design. David was the inaugural Associate Director of the Maamwizing Indigenous Research Institute and the Director of the McEwen School of Architecture from 2018-2021. He is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario and member of the RAIC Indigenous Task Force that ‘seeks ways to foster and promote Indigenous design in Canada.

Dr. Kelsey Leonard is a water scientist, legal scholar, policy expert, writer, and enrolled citizen of the Shinnecock Nation. Her work focuses on Indigenous water justice and its climatic, territorial, and governance underpinnings for our shared sustainable future. Dr. Leonard represents the Shinnecock Nation on the Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean, which is charged with protecting America’s ocean ecosystems and coastlines. She also serves as a member of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission. Dr. Leonard has been instrumental in safeguarding the interests of Indigenous Nations for environmental planning, and builds Indigenous science and knowledge into new solutions for sustainable water and ocean governance.