Justine Townsend

Dr. Justine Townsend (she/her) is a second-generation Canadian of Croatian, English, French and Scottish ancestry, gratefully residing in K'ómoks territory on Vancouver Island. Justine is delighted to be leading a project with the RAD Network that supports First Nations in overcoming obstacles to Indigenous-led nature-based solutions and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs). We are conducting this project in collaboration with Simon Fraser University’s Action on Climate Team (ACT), where Justine holds a postdoctoral fellowship.

Justine has had the privilege of supporting Indigenous leadership in conservation and environmental governance for nearly a decade as a program lead, researcher, and facilitator. Recent roles include IPCA Planning and Research Lead and Instructor in the IPCA Planning Advanced Certificate, both at Vancouver Island University, and Director of IPCA Partnerships at the Indigenous-led IISAAK OLAM Foundation. Earlier in her career, Justine worked on environmental assessments, focusing on Indigenous and public consultation, socio-economic impacts, and land-use studies. In 2022, she earned a PhD in Geography, through which she conducted community-engaged research to support the advancement of IPCAs and reconciliation in Canada.