Nature lover, sustainability professional, faucet dancer—all these phrases describe our latest Pimlott Award Winner, Julie Gelfand. For 35 years, Julie has been a champion of the setting in each the private and non-private sectors, and has had nice success in bringing individuals collectively throughout the sectors. She has served because the federal Commissioner of the Setting and Sustainable Improvement, Vice President of Sustainability with the Mining Affiliation of Canada, and Vice President of Setting and Social Duty for the Rio Tinto Iron Ore Firm of Canada. She is presently Vice-Chair of the Board at World Wildlife Fund Canada and sits on the board of Clear Seas for Accountable Marine Transport. And let’s not neglect her sixteen years as Government Director of Nature Canada (1992–2008).
“I made a decision I wished to work on the Canadian Nature Federation (now referred to as Nature Canada) once I was eighteen years previous and a third-year biology pupil at Carleton College,” says Julie. “I used to be within the biology membership room and pulled out a replica of the Nature Canada journal. Proper then and there, I made a decision that I wished to work at Nature Canada… and I received the Government Director position at thirty-one!
In a 2022 interview with Nature Canada, Julie elaborated on her very fruitful time with the group: “I imagine Canadians have a world obligation to guard as a lot nature as we are able to. After I was Government Director at Nature Canada, I used to be very proud to help the crew that achieved quite a few wonderful milestones collectively.”
These milestones included defending thousands and thousands of acres of nature in new nationwide parks, pushing for the first-ever federal legislation to guard Canada’s endangered species, founding the Inexperienced Finances Coalition and figuring out all of Canada’s Vital Chicken Areas. Julie continues to help Nature Canada as a Guardian of Nature Month-to-month Donor, a Girls for Nature founding member, and a Whittemore Legacy Circle Donor.
Julie Gelfand, Pimlott Award Winner
“When I’m in nature,” says Julie, “I really feel linked to it, and to the those that have been right here earlier than me and the individuals who shall be right here after me.”
A kind of individuals she would possibly nicely really feel linked to is Douglas H. Pimlott (1920 – 1978), famend wildlife biologist and environmentalist. The Pimlott Award was created over thirty years in the past in his identify and is awarded to a person whose excellent contributions to Canadian conservation encourage us all.
And after thirty-five years, our latest Pimlott Award winner continues to be inspiring a large viewers. A licensed coach with the Worldwide Teaching Federation, Julie advises nongovernmental organizations on management, strategic planning and advocacy. She is Chair of the Canadian Nuclear Security Fee Departmental Audit Committee and a member of the Statistics Canada Departmental Audit Committee. Not too long ago she was named Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Munk College of World Affairs and Public Coverage on the College of Toronto. In her retirement years, she has taken up mountain biking, snowboarding and faucet dancing.
As we have a good time Nature Canada’s eighty fifth anniversary, it’s with pleasure and gratitude that we acknowledge Julie’s achievements in all her chosen areas of endeavour!