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Sandeep Agrawal, Director

Sandeep joined the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Land Institute as Director in July 2023. He is Associate Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and is a Professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. He also served as an Associate Chair in the department and Inaugural director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning between 2013 and 2023. Sandeep is an urban and regional planner and his research interests include land use planning and design, international planning, climate resilience, multiculturalism and human rights.

Sandeep is also the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Institutional Lead for the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) funded project.

David Poulton, Senior Advisor

Dave Poulton is a researcher and consultant focusing on conservation policy. His research interests include environmental compensation and offset systems, market-based conservation and decision-making in the environment field. He is Senior Advisor at the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Land Institute. Previously he spent 11 years practicing law in Calgary, followed by 9 years advocating for parks and protected areas with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

He holds a B.A. and M.A., in political science from the University of Calgary, and LL.B. from Dalhousie University, as well as an LL.M. from Natural Resources, Energy and Environment program at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law. Dave is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the School of the Environment at the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia, with his research focusing on federal (Canadian) perceptions of mitigation options in project development.

Nilusha Welegedara, Research Manager

Nilusha is the research manager at the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Land Institute and the Urban Environment Observatory lab at the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ. She earned her Ph.D. in Land Reclamation and MSc in Animal science at the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ.

She has expertise in the areas of environmental modelling, climate change, remote sensing, and GIS applications. Her research interests focus on climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, greenhouse gas emissions from cities, sustainable agriculture, remote sensing and GIS applications in environmental monitoring and risk management.

Aysha Wu, Communications Officer

Aysha is a graduate of the MacEwan University Professional Communications degree program with a minor in journalism. They currently work as the communications officer for the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Land Institute and the .

Aysha has experience in communications and marketing in pharmaceutical testing, environmental sciences and in the non-profit sector working with unhoused 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and emerging adults. Aysha is passionate about communications and storytelling as an avenue for enacting positive social change.

Kate Forer, Institute Coordinator

Kate is the institute coordinator at the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ Land Institute and administrative assistant for the team. Kate has been a lifelong Edmontonian, with a wonderful academic experience in the humanities in Atlantic Canada. Kate returned to the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ where she began her academic journey with experience in University External Relations, and departmental administrative coordination.

Kate has a degree in english and creative writing from Mount Allison University. Her areas of expertise are project coordination/management, event planning and team communication.