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Sharmalene Mendis-Millard
Former Associate Director, Centre for Community Research, Learning and Action (CCRLA)
Sharmalene Mendis-Millard joined the Centre for Community Research, Learning and Action (CCRLA) at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2018 as associate director. What sustainability, community capacity and community well-being means practically in different locations within a global context has taken Sharmalene down two career paths: one as an academic and the other in the environmental non-profit sector specializing in lot-level stormwater management and green infrastructure.
As an academic, Sharmalene received both academic and community recognition for her work as a community-based researcher working in Canada’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserves over 17 years (e.g. Clayoquot Sound, BC and Redberry Lake, SK). She has also worked for several research centres (e.g. Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems) and large projects (e.g. Community Conservation Research Network).
Further, she served as a member of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Committee when it was revitalized in 2010, and as the volunteer coordinator for the Canadian Biosphere Research Network, an informal entity linked to the Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association, from 2003–2013.
She continues to collaborate with others on projects to advance Reconciliation in Canada and to volunteer in her community.
With local environmental non-profit organisations, Sharmalene helped to develop and implement the Green Communities Canada RAINCommunitySolutions.ca program in Kitchener, Waterloo and Guelph, Ontario, in partnership with the municipalities. RAIN promotes practical ways of adopting green infrastructure on private and public properties through community engagement and education, with attention to policy changes aimed at flood reduction and pollution prevention. She also was a member of the TransitionKW team that developed a Climate Change Adaptation Toolkit and workshops for Waterloo Region.
- Reed, M.G., Henderson, A., and Mendis-Millard, S. 2013. "Shaping local context and outcomes: The role of governing agencies in collaborative natural resource management." Human Dimensions of Wildlife: An International Journal, 18(4): 292-306.
- Klenk, N., Reed, M.G.and Mendis-Millard, S. 2012. "Adaptive capacity in Canadian model forest communities: A social and regional analysis." In: Beaulieu, M.S. and Harpelle, R.N.(eds). Pulp Friction: Communities and the Forest Industry in a global perspective. Waterloo: Laurier University Press.
- Canada MAB Committee, 2011. Biosphere Reserve Periodic Review: Process for undertaking a periodic review – Canada. Policy document. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Commission for UNESCO.
- Francis, G., Mendis-Millard, S. and M.G. Reed. 2010. Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve: Periodic Review, August 2010. Report submitted to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO on behalf of the Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association Online: http://clayoquotbiosphere.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/CSBR-Periodic-Review-2010.pdf.
- Reed, M.G., Mendis-Millard, S. and G. Francis. 2010. Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Reserve: Periodic Review, August 2010.Report submitted to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO on behalf of the Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association. Online: https://mabrri.viu.ca/sites/default/files/2010_sept_mabr_periodic_review.pdf.
- Mendis-Millard, S. 2008. “The Role of Nuu-chah-nulth Women,” in Daniel Arbour, Brenda Kuecks & Danielle Edwards (editors). Nuu-chah-nulth Central Region First Nations Governance Structures 2007/2008, Vancouver: Ecotrust Canada.
- Mendis-Millard, S. 2008. “Central Region Governance,” in Daniel Arbour, Brenda Kuecks & Danielle Edwards (editors). Nuu-chah-nulth Central Region First Nations Governance Structures 2007/2008, Vancouver: Ecotrust Canada.
- Mendis-Millard, S. 2008. Analysis of the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust Core Priorities. July 11, 2008 report for the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust (CBT).
- Mendis-Millard, S. and M.G. Reed. 2007. Understanding Community Capacity Using Adaptive and Reflexive Research Practices: Lessons from Two Canadian Biosphere Reserves (PDF). Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal, 20 (6): 543-559.
- Mendis, S. 2004. Assessing community capacity for ecosystem management: Clayoquot Sound and Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserves Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Saskatoon: University of Saskatchewan.
- Mendis, S., Yantz, J. and S. Mills. 2003. Building Community Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change in Resource-Based Communities Report to the Prince Albert Model Forest, SK.