#ZONTAVANCOUVER
Speakers
Meet our Keynote Speakers
MELINA LABOUCAN-MASSIMO
Melina Laboucan-Massimo is Lubicon Cree and was born in her community of Little Buffalo, Northern Alberta. Melina has worked on social, environmental and climate justice issues for the past 20 years.
She is the founder of Sacred Earth, co-founder of Indigenous Climate Action, and the inaugural Indigenous Research Fellow at the David Suzuki Foundation, where her research focused on climate change, Indigenous knowledge, and renewable energy.
Melina holds a master’s degree in Indigenous Governance with a focus on energy transition from the University of Victoria and has been involved in Indigenous media making since 2004. She hosts the TV series, Power to the People, which profiles sustainable climate solutions from renewable energy and food security to eco-housing in Indigenous communities across Canada, currently airing in Canada on The Weather Network, the Knowledge Network, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, SBS Australia and FNX in the United States.
She has written for a variety of publications and produced numerous short films on climate change, environmental justice, just transition, water issues, energy sovereignty, MMIWG2S and Indigenous cultural revitalization. Melina’s most recent publication of her research and work is The Just Transition Guide - Indigenous-led Pathways Toward Equitable Climate Solutions and Resiliency in the Climate Crisis.
Melina has studied, campaigned and worked in Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Canada and across Europe, focusing on environmental justice, resource extraction, climate change impacts, media literacy and Indigenous rights and responsibilities. Melina has campaigned to build sustainable futures alongside icons such as Jane Fonda, Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Klein, David Suzuki and Bill McKibben. She has been invited to speak before hundreds of audiences over the years, including the U.S. Congress, the Harvard Law Forum, British Parliament, CTV’s The Social, National Geographic, Sustainable Production Forum and numerous universities and international organizations like Friends of the Earth and Amnesty International, while campaigning globally for environmental and climate justice.
Melina has also worked on the issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women since 2013, after the suspicious death of her sister Bella, whose case remains unsolved in Toronto.
Melina has served as a board director with NDN Collective, the David Suzuki Foundation, 350.org and the national steering committee of Indigenous Clean Energy, as well as on advisory panels with the Canadian Climate Institute, the Indigenous Leadership Fund and Environmental Climate Change Canada.
In 2021, Melina was named one of the 26 Climate Champions in Canada by the Canada Climate Law Initiative. She received the Canadian Eco-Hero Award in 2019 from Planet in Focus and has been profiled and recognized for her work over the years in Elle magazine, CNN, Global Citizen, Chatelaine, Flare, CBC, Earth.org, 350.org and Refinery29.
SALLY ARMSTRONG
Sally Armstrong is a renowned journalist, humanitarian and author who has covered conflicts worldwide, from Bosnia to Somalia, Congo to Afghanistan, Iraq to Guatemala.
Armstrong claims a new world is dawning for every mother’s daughter worldwide. In February 2024, the new book called OUTSPOKEN by Dr Sima Samar, with Sally Armstrong, tells the story of what happened in Afghanistan and to Afghan women – the betrayals, the backroom deals, the shenanigans. Dr. Samar’s life as an Afghan woman proves that women are the way forward.
Sally’s speeches on the complexities of conflict provide her audiences with valuable insights and the part each of us plays in seeking peace. Sally Armstrong, renowned as the global war correspondent focused on women's issues, delivers riveting firsthand accounts from conflict zones worldwide. Sally Armstrong's compelling storytelling emerges from close interactions with people facing severe adversity in crisis. Her firsthand reports captivate audiences, evoking strong emotional responses that range from shock and tears to laughter and inspiration.
Sally Armstrong is a four-time Amnesty International Canada Media Award winner and a former member of the International Women’s Commission at the UN. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada and has received 11 honorary doctorate degrees and one honorary diploma. She is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from Women of Influence.
She was named the Massey Lecturer in 2019; the five lectures broadcast across Canada were based on her book Power Shift: The Longest Revolution. She also delivered the Judy LaMarsh Lecture at Victoria College/ University of Toronto. She holds a Bachelor of Education degree from McGill University and a Master of Science degree from the University of Toronto
