Speakers
Jesse Winter
Jesse Winter is an award-winning photographer and writer currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has reported from north of the Arctic Circle to the mangrove forests of Nigeria’s Niger Delta. His recent work focuses primarily on social justice, the environment and government accountability stories. His work has appeared in The Guardian, The Toronto Star, The National Post, The Ottawa Citizen, The Winnipeg Free Press, The Yukon News, Up Here Magazine and numerous other publications.
In a past life, Jesse represented Canada on the international stage as a competitive cross-country ski racer, competing at the 2008 Junior and Under 23 World Championships.
As a journalist, Jesse brings the same commitment and drive to telling stories. He is available for freelance work combining both carefully crafted words and images. He is most at home on the road armed with his camera, note pad and a few gallons of coffee.
Read “Burning Out on the Front Lines”
Nancy MacDonald
Nancy Macdonald is a national reporter for The Globe and Mail, based in Vancouver, Canada. She joined The Globe after 12 years at Maclean’s magazine, where she has covered everything from British Columbia and federal politics to indigenous issues to women’s hockey — a sport she once played semi-professionally.
She has won a CAJ Award for “The Great Escape,” on the Fort McMurray wildfire, an NMA for “This is How I’m Going to Die,” on the sinking of the Leviathan II off Tofino, and a Canadian Magazine Award for “Justice is Not Blind,” on race and the Canadian justice system. She was also a finalist for the CJF’s Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Read “Out of the Fire”
Colleen Hagerty
A freelance multimedia journalist specializing in disaster reporting and based in Los Angeles, California, Colleen Hagerty’s work can be found in outlets including The New York Times, BBC News, The Guardian, and The Washington Post, among others. Colleen also publishes a weekly newsletter about disasters called My World’s on Fire. She is a 2023 Solutions Journalism Network Complicating the Narratives fellow.
Moderator
Laura Lynch
Laura Lynch is an award-winning journalist and is the host of What On Earth. In the course of her career, she has reported from across Canada and around the world.
In the 1990’s she covered the Supreme Court of Canada as it broke new ground with precedent setting Charter of Rights rulings.
Laura also covered Parliament Hill, covering everything from gun control, to abortion to international trade.
Internationally, Laura was based in Washington D.C. during and after the attacks of September 11, 2001. She was posted to London for 9 tumultuous years that featured political turmoil and violent attacks blamed on terrorism. Laura also reported from Pakistan where Benazir Bhutto was attacked and then assassinated, from Israel during the war with Lebanon and its ongoing dispute with the Palestinians, from Saudi Arabia where she was detained, from Syria as the country descended into civil war and from Africa, where she reported undercover from Zimbabwe when western journalists were barred.
She reported from many other nations and conflicts too numerous to list.
After many years abroad, Laura is back where she started in Vancouver using her years of experience to tell Canadians what they need to know about climate change, its challenges and solutions.
Over the years, Laura has won the prestigious Nieman fellowship from Harvard University, awards from the British Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association, RTNDA (Canada and U.S. ), Overseas Press Club of America, Amnesty International, RNAO and the Gabriel awards.
Laura has a law degree from the University of Victoria and a journalism degree from Carleton University.
