Meet our Team

Chris Adam has taught at Dawson for 30 years. He has been recognized for his abilities in the field of education both nationally and internationally, combining his background in wildlife & fish management, education, and leadership training. He coordinates the Living Campus platform at Dawson College, is the president of several public and private organizations, and sits on the board of the Dawson Foundation.  His expertise is in communicating environmental issues to the public at large and engaging people of all ages in action projects that contribute to well-being for all.

Jenn de Vera was an entrepreneur for 16 years, founding and operating “Ethan’s Playground”, a successful pre-school in Montreal and now anchors the Sustainable Dawson movement at the College. She brings her dynamic work ethic and organizational skills to the Sustainability Office and is, amongst other responsibilities, coordinating volunteers, planning major events, making sure the Dawson gardens are thriving, and outreach is taking place in schools from pre-kindergarten to universities. Jenn has a background in Community Studies and is planning a master’s in sustainability. She is an avid gardener and biker.

Richard Dugas works in Dawson Facilities Management on tracking and improving the sustainability performance of operating systems. Richard has worked in sustainability and environmental education since 2000. Before Dawson, Richard worked in Sustainability at Vanier College, coordinated sustainability related employability programs, and initiated and managed climate and bicycle related projects. Richard has also been known to teach Geography and guide wilderness adventure trips.

Véronique is an environmental engineer who has managed projects involving decontamination of sites, wastewater treatment, refurbishment of dams and water installation in remote Canadian regions. She joined Dawson Facilities in 2013 and leads the team responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the building as well as renovation projects in the College. She oversees the energy savings file and supervises all projects relating to sustainability that involve facilities.  Véronique has studied in both Canada and Mexico and continues to use her experience to reduce the ecological impact of operating one of Quebec’s largest colleges while creating a comfortable working & learning environment.

Kinga has been working at Dawson College for 12 years, mostly in supporting program evaluations. She uses her organizational skills to give order and clarity to projects she is involved with. She considers it a privilege to work in the sustainability field. Her childhood dream was to drive a street vacuum! Her work at Dawson is allowing her to have a much larger – and gas-free – impact on the environment.

Katherine McWhaw is the Coordinator of Quality Assurance and Planning. She was involved in the development of the College’s current Strategic Plan and is also responsible for monitoring its implementation, which includes meeting Dawson’s sustainability goal. Her office is the first non-academic department within Canada whose staff completed a course in Sustainable Happiness. Prior to Dawson, Katherine was as a research coordinator with the Centre for the Study of Leaning and Performance at Concordia University She has published in several peer-reviewed journals. She holds a Master of Arts in Educational Technology. Outside of work, Katherine is a passionate tango dancer.

A consummate ‘academic’ with a passion for cities, social justice and education, Azra has worked as a teacher, researcher, and human rights fieldworker in educational institutions and international organizations in Montreal, London and Jerusalem. She is friendly, curious, and is mother to two boisterous young people that keep her laughing. Azra works at Dawson in the department of Human Resources, where she aims to connect people and innovative initiatives across the college.  

Dana Dragomir is a Communications Officer at Dawson College, working mostly on College-level initiatives while lending her expertise to specific departmental projects. She draws on her diverse experience in communications strategy, digital marketing, public relations and content management to develop an integrated communications plan that makes sense in today's increasingly pluralistic communications ecosystem. With a passion for impact projects, Dana has been involved in promoting environmental, educational and cultural causes, such as a social media literacy program for elementary school students, a crowd-sourced documentary for Canada’s 150^th Anniversary and a cross-country binge-drinking prevention tour.

Chris uses his background in psychology, marketing, and information technology to develop and design Dawson’s web platform. He brings both his experience in consulting for IT firms and in founding a web development marketing business to his work helping Dawson share its leadership in sustainability with others.

Cesar is a sustainability standards, compliance, and policy consultant with 18+ years of experience in design, construction, field supervision, and quality control.  He helps nonprofit, and private organisations in Canada, Mexico, and Colombia align with existing industry standards and stay in the forefront of environmental sustainability change while meeting UN sustainable development goals. He works with researchers and managers developing plans, setting goals, and implementing changes.  Some of the actions include mapping sustainability content in programs, activities, and plans; implementing an inventory of relevant course offerings; tracking pertinent organisational data; promoting, and fostering sustainability solutions for energy efficiency, water conservation, green building, and waste management.