Jade is an environmental scientist and dedicated climate change practitioner with 17 years of experience in the field. Currently serving as the Director of Sustainability Climate Change for the Delphi Group, Jade’s passion for trees and expertise in climate change have driven her to enhance the importance of healthy urban forests.
Jade’s passion for working in the environmental sector was inspired by her employment with the Eden Project, UK where she spent 4 years promoting the world’s largest indoor rainforest and international environmental charity. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Plymouth (UK) and a Master’s degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. Jade moved to Canada to pursue her career in environmental sustainability. She spent 12 years gaining valuable experience in municipal government before moving to consulting. Jade has been at the forefront of leading sustainability and climate change initiatives for both the Town of Ajax and Whitby, where she spearheaded the sustainability portfolio that intersected with urban forestry through community planting programs, climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, carbon budgets, tree protection policies and regulations, green development standards, climate risk assessments, habitat restoration, native plant nurseries, and green infrastructure projects (to name a few). Jade is deeply passionate about community well-being and equity and strives to consider equity through all of her work, ensuring that urban forests can benefit members of the community equally. This includes ensuring everyone has access to the benefits of trees, while also ensuring the arboriculture employment sector is a welcoming, supportive, and diverse workforce.
In her spare time, Jade also volunteers with Forests Ontario Conference Committee and Envirothon Program, teaches part-time at the University of Waterloo in the Carbon Accounting program or will be found at home with her partner tending to her veggie garden, tapping maple trees or taking her horses and dog out into the woods.
