Our Team
Louis Gabriel Pouliot
Scientific affairs and geomatics
Louis Gabriel Pouliot holds a bachelor in geography and a Master in water management from the University of Montreal as well as a graduate diploma in comparative anthropology from the University of Quebec in Montreal. Hydrogeomorphologist by trade, he’s working towards developing a fine understanding of fluvial dynamics in all due modesty for their complexity. Sailing across disciplines in order to contribute to the protection of waters, he believes in the potential of the legal personality of watercourses as a tool of ontological dialogue and integral protection of the land.
Amélie Delage
Co-Head of Political affairs
Amélie Deluge was an intern at the Observatoire as part of Canada’s national Pro Bono student network. Amélie is currently studying law at McGill. Amélie also holds a doctorate in political science form York University.
Prior to her law studies, she was involved in the word of alternative education and alternative pedagogy. Amélie has a passion for the outdoors and is grateful to be part of such a dynamic team defending the rights of Nature.
Elara Neath Thomin
Co-Head of Political affairs
Elara Neath Thomin is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts in political science and international development at McGill University. Before joining the Observatory, it was through her engagement with the student fossil fuel divestment movement that she expressed her desire to see a greener world come to life. She firmly believes that the rights of nature can transform our relationship to the environment and open the door to a fairer future.
Elisa Mairet
Head of Communications
Elisa holds a Master’s degree in European Law from the University of Paris XII (2020) and began her professional career in immigration law in Barcelona. She is very interested in issues related to the protection of human rights and the environment. She is currently working as an immigration Paralegal in Montreal while studying environmental law.
She also began her environmental and climate activism by joining the French association Notre affaire à tous to help draft the 2023 Report – Multinationals’ climate vigilance benchmark.
She firmly believes that the recognition of Nature’s rights is an essential element in providing humans with effective legal tools to protect the environment and its ecosystems.
In her spare time, Elisa enjoys reading, doing sports and spending time with her family and friends.
Uapukun Metokosho
Innu Leader, Rights of Nature
Uapukun Mestokosho is a young leader from the Innu community of Ekuanitshit, located on the North Shore of Quebec, Canada.
She is always looking for ways to live with different peoples and cultures. She loves to travel around the world and has visited France, Sweden, Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Brazil and the United States.
Her greatest passion is to travel her ancestral territory in search of her identity in order to discover the way of life of her ancestors and to protect her territory for future generations.
Already a guardian of Nitassinan, the ancestral territory of her Innu community, Uapukun is working with the OIDN to become a guardian of the Magpie River, the first river in Canada to receive legal status.
She is also candidate for Québec Solidaire in the provincial electoral district of Duplessis.
Julie, aka Lilie Neishka
Illustraror
Currently a gardener for the City of Montreal, Julie also studied Fine Arts in Illustration. Represented under the name Neishka in digital art, she specialized in video game game art and ended up training in Concept Art in Montreal, after graduating as a 3D designer-director. Her love of the environment caught up with her, and she now concentrates her time in the city, helping to make our streets and parks welcoming, while maintaining her artistic passion in her spare time.
Her curiosity knows no bounds and leads her to a wide range of activities. However, her desire to play a more active role in defending the rights of Nature is stronger than anything and has followed her for years. Her skills will help awaken our eyes and move your hearts. She’s convinced that it’s high time to take action, to build a brighter future for our planet and all the beings that live on it.
Kelsey Watt
Co-Head of Ontario Chapter
Kelsey Watt is an environmental humanities scholar. From Queen’s University, she holds a Bachelor’s of Honours in English and Philosophy, a Master’s degree in English and is currently completing her Master’s at the school of Environmental Studies. Kelsey is passionate about the intersections between Indigenous epistemologies, policy and management. Some of her work explores the relationship between feral cats, divisions of natural/wild/invasive and animal rights. Her current graduate project looks to expand upon her work on ferality in a case study on Australia’s “Feral Cat Pandemic” where she examines the role of the Pintupi communities of the Gibson Desert in reimagining invasive species management policies.
As Head Ontario Chapter, Kelsey brings her interdisciplinary background in a variety of conservation methodologies, critical theories, Indigenous epistemologies as a means of enhancing knowledge mobilization and translation across the watershed conservation space. She is working with the OIDN on a multitude of projects that aim to raise awareness for the St. Lawrence River Alliance by engaging with integral, local stakeholders across Ontario in hopes of granting legal personhood for rivers and other bodies of waters in Canada.
In her spare time, Kelsey enjoys horticulture, tennis and walking alongside her two beloved Australian shepherd companions – Teddy and Blossom.
Susan Robertson
Co-Head of Ontario Chapter
With 20 years experience, Susan is a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and a Registered Professional Planner in Ontario that specializes in community engagement, watershed planning and meaningful Treaty relations, through RESPECT™, an Indigenous Relations Model. Susan believes in building bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples for a better future together and was the first person to be nominated and awarded The Credits Award by the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation for her contributions to promoting Indigenous cultural heritage. Susan is proud to be the Strategic Coordinator for the #MoccasinIdentifier which aims to teach Treaties to facilitate understanding on Indigenous relationship to land and to restore harmony between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. She is also an active Board member of the Shared Path Consultation Initiative. and a Director At Large on the Board of Ontario Nature, as well as the appointed Public Interest Advisory Committee Chair for the Niagara Escarpment Commission for Ontario Nature.
Darío Ernesto Roca
Web Developer
Darío is an enthusiast of technology, languages, and learning. He currently works with digital marketing agencies in the construction and maintenance of websites for various clients in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Additionally, he has a degree in life sciences as a microbiologist and enjoys combining both facets of scientist and developer in a process of constant complementarity and learning.
Books and literature are his other great passion. He is the author of a historical fiction book, “Aluna y El Último Tayrona,” which is about the indigenous people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta on the northern coast of Colombia, where he was born and lives. His curiosity about indigenous cultures and his passion for nature have led him to learn more about these communities and to connect with the valuable teachings they have to offer the world about the care and preservation of the environment.
Michèle-Lise Lepage
J.D. & BCL Candidate – Faculty of Law, McGill University
Michèle-Lise Lepage graduated from the University of Ottawa with an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Conflict Studies and Human Rights. She is currently a third-year law student in McGill University’s BCL/JD program. For the past two summers, Michèle-Lise has worked as a student analyst at the Library of Parliament of Canada, conducting legal research on topics including Indigenous legal traditions, Indigenous rights, constitutional law and environmental law. Her strong interest in social and environmental justice has driven her to further her knowledge in these areas, including by writing a research essay on the present and future protection of Indigenous rights in Canadian environmental law. She hopes to apply her legal education and experience to continue advancing her work in these fields.
Megan Sutherland
Intern
Kimberley Baronet
Intern
Kimberley Baronet graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor of Global and International Studies Honours and a specialization in Global Law and Social Justice. She completed a student exchange in the Netherlands and is passionate about human rights and the intricacies of international law. Currently a second-year law student at McGill University in the BCL/JD program, she is interested in Indigenous rights, legal traditions, and legal system. She completed a course in Anishinaabe law in their Winnipeg community over the past summer and she hopes to use this knowledge in her future legal learnings and practice.
Alicia Howse
Intern
Alicia Howse is a graduate of the Environmental Science Program at the University of Ottawa where she completed an honours research project on fish communities living in natural streams and managed drains. Alicia is now in her second year of studying law (JD & BCL) at McGill University, where she hopes to bridge knowledge between science and law to advance environmental justice. She also has experience working with many environmental groups in various roles and is always looking to explore new projects to learn more about the diverse ways we relate to the natural world.
Bradley Wiseman
Intern
Bradley Wiseman is a recent law graduate of the Université de Montréal (LL.B., J.D.). Keenly interested in environmental law, Indigenous law, and constitutional law, he has worked as a research assistant at the Centre de recherche en droit public and with several law professors specializing in these areas. His work experiences at the Centre québécois du droit de l’environnement and the Indigenous law firm Dionne Schulze have allowed him to see first-hand how the law interacts with these issues of vital importance to our society.
His strong passion for social and environmental justice has driven him to be actively involved in various social causes, notably as President of the Indigenous Law Committee and Vice-President of the Environmental Law Committee of the Université de Montréal. In 2015, he was certified as a Climate Leader by the Climate Reality organization upon completing a training session given by Al Gore.