The GGS Executive 2015-16
Melissa K. Ward
co-President
This will be my first year as co-president of GGS, I participated as secretary two years ago during my M.Sc. I enjoy being involved in my community and am excited for the experience and challenge of being co-president. My main goal this year is to bring together all graduate students in geography and encourage friendships and cohesion. In particular, I think this is a good opportunity for students coming from small labs within the department.
I am a first year PhD student in permafrost geomorphology, supervised by Wayne Pollard. I am studying the response of ice-rich permafrost, composed largely of ice wedges and massive ground ice, to climate change. My work takes place in the Fosheim Peninsula, on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut and I am mostly based out of the Eureka Weather Station. I have been in love with the Arctic since my first field season in 2013 (my love persists even after sleeping in -35°C in a tent in the High Arctic). My research interests include geomorphology coupled with other disciplines (e.g. geochemistry, GIS) to gain a better understanding of the ‘whole picture’.
email: melissa.ward@mail.mcgill.ca
web: http://www.melissakward.com
Geoffrey Battista
co-President
I am currently in my first year as Co-President of the Geography Graduate Society. I look forward to continuing the good work of the previous administration while building relationships with like-minded organizations across McGill, in order to help geography students engage with outside opportunities as well as augment the voice of geography’s (nearly 100) graduate students at the campus level. This strategy will deliver a stronger organization to a highly-skilled and -connected cohort of leaders by the end of my term.
About me: I am a second-year PhD student studying urban and transportation geography through Dr. Kevin Manaugh. My research investigates the determinants of walking and biking policy from the individual to the regional level using tailored methods, from surveys to discourse analysis to qualitative GIS. I strive to make my results accessible to non-academic communities in order to inform more inclusive policies in transportation planning and governance, particularly in the Ville de Montreal where the majority of my field work will be conducted.
email: geoffrey.battista@mail.mcgill.ca
web: http://www.geoffreybattista.com/
Alicia Cavanaugh
Social Coordinator
As Social Coordinator, I am excited about helping create a vibrant community within the department. Previous membership on the GGS Social Committee has given me insight into planning department social events, preparing me to take over this new role. A social butterfly at heart, this position allows me to flex my stellar organizational skills honed by stints as an office assistant – think Mad Men with a lot less booze. As a PhD student in Economic Geography, I work with Sebastien Breau, focusing on urban income inequality. My research interests include income inequality, development policy, urban space, social justice, community engagement, environmental policy, sustainable consumption and production, and subaltern discourse.
Kate Trincsi
Sustainability Coordinator
I am working as the GGS Sustainability Coordinator in order to join the on-campus effort to increase sustainability at McGill. I have been a student here for the past several years and have watched as the students, staff and faculty have increasingly incorporated sustainability into McGill’s culture and future. I look forward to contributing to (and shaping) this movement.
I am currently in the first year of my masters program working on land-use-land-cover change in upland Vietnam with Professor Sarah Turner. My research interests include landscape ecology, natural resource management, agroforestry and food security.
email: ktrincsi@gmail.com
Sarah Macvicar
Treasurer
As treasurer, my job is to ensure our events are fun(ded). In addition to making bad puns, I’m the person to go to for reimbursements and budgetary inquiries for any events you are planning. I have plenty of experience with spreadsheets and cash boxes from my past lives as treasurer for my rugby team and as a high school teacher and camping gear manager.
I am in the second year of my MSc and I am supervised by Professor Lea Berrang Ford. I combine my undergraduate studies in Earth Sciences with my graduate training in human geography to study how climate change may affect maternal and newborn health in rural Uganda. My research interests are in Indigenous health, the effects of climate change on health, health equity, and creating useable science for health adaptations.
email: sarah.macvicar @ mail.mcgill.ca
web: http://leaberrangford.ca/about
Andrea Price
Secretary
Having represented the GGS on the PGSS council during the 2013/2014 school year and having attended various GGS events over the last two years, I was very interested in becoming more involved with the society as an executive member. I am also involved with other student led initiatives and am currently a student representative for the Atlantic Canada Coastal and Estuarine Science Society (ACCESS), and a member of the PGSS Appointments board.
I am a third year PhD candidate supervised by Prof. Gail Chmura. For my dissertation I am investigating the relationship between dinoflagellate cysts (the fossilizable life stage of planktonic dinoflagellates) and water quality parameters in North American coastal waters. My three main study areas are the northeast US, the northern Gulf of Mexico and Prince Edward Island, and my research interests include: Micropaleontology, (paleo)oceanography, coastal eutrophication, Quaternary environments, and Earth system science.
email: andrea.price@mail.mcgill.ca
web: www.andreamprice.com
Joseph Ariwi
Communications Officer
As an amateur photographer with a passion for design, it’s a privilege to channel these interest through a new position within the GGS Executive. My goal is to maintain launch a dynamic web space with relevant information for both current and prospective graduate students.
As a student I am in the first year of my Masters working under Bernhard Lehner, my research will look at the modeling of global river temperatures. My research interests revolve around the use of GIS for the modeling of large scale hydrology, the development of global datasets and the dynamic visualization of spatial data.
email: joseph.ariwi@mail.mcgill.ca