GOOD24
Surviving Change Panel
Christine Tu
Director of the Office of Climate Change and Energy Management, Peel Region
Christine Tu is the Director of the Office of Climate Change and Energy Management at the Regional Municipality of Peel, the second largest municipality in Ontario. Climate change is the defining challenge of our time. As a leader, Christine has dedicated herself to transparently and equitably meeting that challenge. She brings her technical expertise, authentic passion, and collaborative style to inspire a rapid transition of municipal services to net zero carbon while employing evidence and data to inform issues of transition risk and ensuring the material climate risks to $36B worth of public assets are understood, prioritized and adapted for a safer and resilient future. Currently, her work focuses on guiding the strategic implementation of Peel’s ambitious 10-year Climate Change Master Plan, which was instrumental in supporting the largest investment in climate action made to-date by Peel Regional Council ($40M in the 2023 budget).
Christine was identified as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Toronto for 2023. Christine also proudly mentors next-generation climate leaders, sits on the Peel Housing Corporation Board of Directors, is a member of Partners in Project Green’s Executive Management Committee and is the Secretariat Director for the Peel Climate Change Partnership.
Prior to arriving at Peel Region, Christine held several successive roles at the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, including Senior Aquatic Ecologist, Watershed Specialist and Manager of the Ontario Climate Consortium Secretariat. She received her undergraduate and Master of Science degrees in environmental science from the University of Toronto.
Dan Murray
Director Technology Innovation and Services
City of Kitchener
Dan Murray is Director of Technology Innovation and Services for the City of Kitchener, a tech savvy and progressive city located in southern Ontario with a population of 270,000. Dan has worked in Information Technology for 29 years - 26 of those with the City of Kitchener holding various roles.
Dan has advanced strategic technology initiatives throughout his career including facility planning, mobile computing, telecommunication strategies, cyber-security and technology innovation
Dan was the project sponsor for the development of Digital Kitchener - the City’s first ever digital strategy. Digital Kitchener was developed with significant input from the community and establishes four clear themes for supporting initiatives: Connected, Innovative, On-Demand and Inclusive. Digital Kitchener led to foundational smart city initiatives including the deployment of a city-wide narrowband wireless network and the establishment of the Digital Kitchener Innovation Lab located at Communitech, Kitchener’s technology hub and startup incubator.
Merlin Chatwin
Executive Director
Open North
Over the last decade, Merlin Chatwin’s professional and academic pursuits have focused on supporting governments to more effectively identify and address the needs of residents. He spent four years working directly with local governments in Ghana, founding a Canadian start-up that supported valuation-led taxation reform in different regions of the country. He worked alongside local and national government officials to build contextually appropriate, sustainable processes. Returning to Canada to complete a PhD at Western University, Merlin worked within the public sector and adjacent civic focused organizations supporting all levels of government. In 2018, Merlin was awarded the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship in recognition of his research in urban policy and local governance globally.
Merlin’s extensive domestic and international experience focusing on public consultation, policy development and local government reform led him to Open North. As the Executive Director, Merlin is steering the Montreal-based organization onto an international stage, with a fully remote workplace operating on a 4-day workweek.
As an avid researcher and a life-long learner at the intersection of academia and practical implementation, Merlin has turned many of his professional experiences into journal articles, practitioner reports, training and blog posts. Merlin has publications in political science, geography and public policy journals. He has contributed chapters to UNDP and UN-Habitat’s global reports on urbanization and sustainable development.
Merlin is a frequent lecturer and presenter across Canada on smart cities and data governance and provides training on monitoring and evaluation for digital strategy.