Sustainable Buildings Canada is pleased to announce that in 2020 we will be supporting 3 college students in the pursuit of their educational goals. After a review of potential candidates, SBC has selected the following individuals as recipients of a $1,000 bursary:
Suzana Espindola – Ph.D. Candidate at UBC – Project & Construction Management
Lizeth Rivera – MASc student at University of Toronto – Civil and Mineral Engineering Department
Megan Haley – Dalhousie University – Combined honours undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and Environment, Sustainability, and Society (ESS)
How does the bursary program work?
Candidates for the bursary must be enrolled in a post-secondary education institution and provide proof of acceptance and enrolment. Programs eligible for the bursary should be focused in engineering, environmental, building science and planning, or trades training that support those disciplines, however candidates in other disciplines that support the industry in areas such as policy, law and finance are also be considered. Candidates should have demonstrated an interest in pursuing a career in the sector and have experience volunteering or supporting SBC programs and initiatives. The Board of SBC selects candidates at its sole discretion on the basis of recommendations from stakeholders, partners and academia.
Read more about this year’s successful candidates:
Suzana Espindola
Suzana is passionate about driving process and strategic innovation and assisting organizations with adapting to change and improving process management. She is currently pursuing her doctoral studies in project and construction management at UBC-Vancouver, focusing on Sustainable Development Management in the Construction Industry. She has committed her career to researching and developing management and quality processes, identifying key strategies for improvement, maximizing growth opportunities. She has a background in business and engineering and is passionate about identifying process improvements to help organizations work effectively. This interest has led her to pursue her bachelor’s degree in business, an MBA focuses on people management, a master’s degree in Production Engineering and currently her doctoral studies in project and construction management, developing a framework for sustainable development management in the building construction industry and identifying the contribution of this field to the SDGs – Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. As an active member of academia and 15 years of experience in the industry, she tries to bring forward unique perspectives on innovations and best practices. She believes in the importance of interdisciplinary studies and the power of using technology to connect people and process and improve communication in accomplishing significant goals.
She acknowledges the financial support from the Brazilian Government – CAPES, UBC, UVIC, and now the SBC in achieving her educational goals.
Lizeth Rivera
Lizeth Rivera is a MASc student in the Civil and Mineral Engineering Department at the University of Toronto. Her research is on improving building sustainability from a life cycle assessment standpoint. She is working on a project with partners and funding from EllisDon, WSP, Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada and Ontario Centres of Excellence. More specifically, Liz is investigating the trade-offs between embodied and operational greenhouse gas emissions in high-rise building enclosures, determining the implications of various energy efficiency measures on life cycle greenhouse gas emissions. Liz’s passion for sustainable solutions in the building sector began early in her career path. As part of her undergraduate thesis, completed at the Industrial University of Santander (UIS), Colombia, she designed a system that results in water savings of more than 40% in single family dwellings. Her professional and academic experience in civil engineering has provided her with a multidisciplinary grasp of sustainable building design. She is excited about expanding her contributions to the building science and sustainability community from a professional position, envisioning far-reaching academia-industry collaborations.
Megan Haley
“I am an enthusiastic third year student pursuing a combined honours undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and Environment, Sustainability, and Society (ESS) at Dalhousie University. In high school I was active in student government, volunteered as a junior leader for Girl Guides of Ontario Sparks group, and loved to read the daily morning announcements! Since starting my studies in Sustainability I have really grown to value community, and brought this to my role as president of YESS, the student society for the ESS program. I worked to create a space for open discussion and building a community of students, educators, and community members who are actively creating a more sustainable world. I have worked in local community gardens, and am currently helping populate a map of Eco-Artists around the world, so I am enthusiastic to keep learning and sharing the fantastic community developments taking on our global environmental issues.
As an environmental scientist, I hope to work in communicating science, and build community engagement in the environment.”
