bio
Zana is a marine socio-ecologist, program manager, and science communicator working at the intersections of the climate crisis, communities, and coastal ecosystems.
A multidisciplinary ecologist and anthropologist, Zana brings 15 years of experience in scientific research and writing, program development, media production, and stakeholder engagement with government, scientists, Indigenous peoples, communities, and ENGOs.
Zana is at home in the field and has spent extensive amounts of time living and working in remote environments and with Indigenous communities across Canada, South and South-East Asia, Caribbean, and West Africa. She is working on her Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia in Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, researching how coastal communities can better mitigate and adapt to climate change by protecting and restoring wetland ecosystems. She holds a M.A. in Anthropology and a B.Sc. in Biology and Environmental Science from Trent University, with her work focused on the intersections of climate policy, ecosystem science, and community-based conservation values.
Raised between India and Canada, Zana’s lifelong passions are climate action, wildlife protection, ethnobotany, gender equity, telling better stories about people and nature with her words and her camera, and everything related to the ocean. She loves to explore the outdoors through rock climbing, hiking, birdwatching, and diving. Zana currently lives between Nogojiwanong, traditional territory of the Michi Saagig Anishinaabeg Nation (Peterborough, Ontario), and the traditional territories of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh Nations (Vancouver, British Columbia).
ORGANIZATIONS ZANA HAS WORKED FOR
