Join us in Toronto!

Matthew Child is a Physical Scientist with the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Regional Office in Windsor, Ontario.  His primary role at IJC is to support the Commission’s Science Advisory Board which is charged with providing advice to the Commission on a range of scientific matters. At the meeting, Matthew will be providing information on the Science Advisory Board’s recent project to develop a Great Lakes Decadal Science Strategy.

Brandon Krumwiede is a Physical Scientist serving as the Great Lakes Regional Geospatial Coordinator at NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management and is located in Duluth, Minnesota. His work is focused on utilizing remote sensing and geospatial data for analysis to address coastal and nearshore issues in the Great Lakes and provide meaningful and timely information to coastal partners. He is currently helping to lead the GLRI benthic habitat mapping project, is actively involved with the Coastal Assembly Coastal Wetlands Framework, and sits on NOAA’s Artificial Intelligence Executive Committee. Brandon has a Master of Science in geography from the University of Montana, where he studied glaciers and geomorphology in Mongolia, and received his Bachelor of Science in  geography with minors in geology and international studies from Bemidji State University in northern Minnesota. In his free time he enjoys traveling, fly fishing, diving, canoeing, hiking and spending time with his family and friends.

Carl Gouldman took the helm as Director of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS^®) Office in February 2017.  Prior to becoming the director, Carl served as the Deputy Director of the program since June 2014 and has been in NOAA since 2000. U.S. IOOS is our eyes on the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes, and we are an integrated network of people and technology gathering observing data and developing tracking and predictive tools to benefit the economy, the environment, and public safety at home, across the nation, and around the globe

Before NOAA, Carl spent 3 years in the education department at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation where he led field programs teaching students about bay ecology and conservation. He holds a B.S. in political science from Duke University and a Masters (MEM) in Coastal Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke.

Ray is the Chief Technology Officer of the Tula Foundation and has worked with Tula since 2008. Ray spent most of his career building and leading cross-functional, distributed and collaborative teams that have created and sustained several successful large scale data-centric solutions. In addition to leading projects at Tula, Ray co-chairs the technical committee of the Canadian Integrated Ocean Observation System (or CIOOS), an integrated ocean observing system, aligned with international standards and best practices. Ray actively supports various regional, national and global technology organizations and initiatives

Barbara is a Bodwewaadmii Anishinaabekwe of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Shawnee, Oklahoma and traditional knowledge holder. She is a committed learner of Anishinaabemowin, incorporating the language into all aspects of her life.  

Barbara is a professor in Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies and teaches in the Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences program, and Director of PhD studies. She has a diverse educational background, holding a BS in Geological Engineering from Michigan Technological University, MS in Civil Engineering from University of California Berkeley, and PhD in Indigenous Studies from Trent University. 

Beyond academia, Barbara is a Professional Civil Engineer, mother, auntie, daughter, and Grandmother. She spends time with the water – kayaking, canoeing and making sweet water into sugar.  

Dr. Mary-Claire Buell has been working at the intersection of knowledge systems for the past several years and has developed relationships with a number of Indigenous Nations within Ontario and the Great Lakes Basin. This has been through her work as CEO and founder of the company Collective Environmental. Her company facilitates cross-cultural environmental research through the bringing together of scientific tools, community knowledge, and community experts to create environmental solutions that are culturally appropriate and sustainable. 

She is currently a teaching faculty at Trent University in the Chanie Wenjack School of Indigenous Studies, Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences program and will be beginning a new position as a tenure track faculty cross appointed in the Trent School of Environment and Department of Forensics this summer, where her research will focus on environmental justice issues related to contaminants, food security, and vulnerable communities. 

She holds a PhD in Toxicology from Trent University as well as an MSc from Trent University and an Honours BSc in environmental biology from the University of Guelph.

Mr. O’Donnell has over 25 years of experience in the development and application of mechanistic models that have been used to address hydrodynamic and water quality issues in several of New York City’s drinking water reservoirs and New York’s Finger Lakes. Most recently, he has applied water quality models to assess the impact of climate change on lake hydrodynamics and water quality with an emphasis on evaluating the likelihood of increased occurrences and intensity of harmful algal blooms. He has over 20 years of experience in the design and application of autonomous monitoring systems, including the configuration and deployment of over 25 autonomous buoys (including several profilers) and creek-side sampling stations for near-real-time monitoring of meteorological, water quality and hydrodynamic parameters. He has also developed shipboard sampling systems for monitoring optical water quality. Most recently, he has successfully designed and deployed a real-time overwinter platform on the bottom of Lake Ontario. He has over 40 publications on topics including water quality modeling, the application of autonomous monitoring systems, underwater optics and remote sensing.