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.
Elara Neath Thomin
Head of Development of Partnerships
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.
Gabrielle Plowens
Content and Outreach Coordinator
Gabrielle Plowens is a lifelong
quest to champion the rights of nature. Her academic voyage led her to a
master’s degree in Nature, Society, and Environmental Governance from the
University of Oxford and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the
University of British Columbia. For example, her master’s dissertation delved
into the implications of legal personhood models for rivers on the
representation of Indigenous stakeholders and the distribution of impacts and
benefits, particularly concerning nature-centric worldviews and more-than-human
rights. These academic adventures have nurtured her deep understanding of
environmental justice issues, non-human personhood, indigenous stakeholder
relationships, water management and policy, and our intricate ecological
systems.
Complementing her scholarly
pursuits, her professional landscape has further shaped her mission. Here role
as a project coordinator at the Smart Earth Project afforded her experience in
project management, research coordination, and fostering collaboration among
experts. Her time at UBC Camps, where she managed our aquatic daycamps, has
allowed her to exhibit adaptability and commitment to inclusivity. Her
professional palette also extends to areas such as sustainable marketing,
community and stakeholder engagement, and digital communication.
Her overarching goal is to
translate her unwavering love for the rights of nature into tangible actions.
With a diverse skill set encompassing academic rigor and practical experience, she
is determined to address environmental challenges and pave the way for a
sustainable, harmonious future for all. In my free time, she loves to sing in her
local choir, go on long hikes with her partner, and read about our changing
world.
Elisa Mairet
Co-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.
Inès Carine Singhe
Head African Chapter
Inès Carine Singhe is an environmental researcher with a varied background. She holds a Master’s degree in management and a Master’s degree in environmental development and management, and a PhD in geography from Laval University. Her research focuses on climate change, transboundary governance and sustainable management of water resources in the Lake Chad basin.
An expert in project management, environmental advisor, scientific advisor and consultant, Inès has worked on several environmental projects in Quebec and Africa. Since 2020, she has been coordinator of the research theme Water governance and management at the Centre québécois de la recherche sur l’eau (CentrEau) at Université Laval.
A fellow of the International Organization of La Francophonie and recipient of the Université Laval’s sustainable development leadership fellowship for her commitment to environmental preservation, she believes in the importance of protecting Nature and the rational use of natural resources for a flourishing society and a prosperous world.
Kelsey Watt
Head Ontario Chapter
Kelsey Watt is an environmental humanities scholar at Queen’s University. From there, 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 study of indigenous epistemologies and policy. In previous publications, she has explored the relationship between feral cats, domesticity and animal rights. Her current project looks to expand upon the concept of ferality as a transformative power in the ecological imagination.
From her first year in university, Kelsey has been involved in public affairs and student activism. As a member of the Undergraduate Studies Committee, the co-founder of the Quilt Undergraduate Literary Journal and president of the Department Student Council, she developed inclusive policies and objectives in first-year curriculum design, undergraduate literary publication, and student advocacy.
Beyond her academic career, her more recent work with legal professionals in the province of Ontario, has strongly emphasized the importance of Nature’s rights in the practice of sustainability. As Head Ontario Chapter, Kelsey is working with the OIDN to raise awareness for the St. Lawrence River Alliance in hopes to expand its supporters across the province of Ontario.
In her spare time, Kelsey enjoys horticulture, tennis and walking alongside her two beloved Australian shepherd companions – Teddy and Blossom.
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.
Helena-Vallée-Dallaire
River protection awareness agent
Helena is passionate about decompartmentalization: intergenerational and interdisciplinary contact, and connections between people of all ages and backgrounds is what drives her at all times. A visual artist, she has studied with several leading artists of the figurative revival in the United States and Europe and holds an masters degree from the New York Academy of Art. Her work primarily addresses the relationship between humans and their natural environment. Since 2018, she has been working as a cultural mediator at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and is actively involved in various environmental protection projects, notably through ENvironnement JEUnesse’s Jeunes Leaders en environnement program, as well as in the citizen group MARE Laurentides (Mouvement d’Action Régionale en Environnement). As a project manager for À la rencontre du fleuve, she is involved in environmental education with the organization Waterlution to raise awareness about water protection and to take part in shoreline cleanups. She hopes that her love for the beauty and importance of the river can be contagious!
Julie, aka Lilie Neishka
Amélie Delage
Intern
Amélie Deluge is 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.
Abdoulaye Sock
Intern
Currently a doctoral student at Laval University in Geographic Sciences, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and a Master’s degree in Geography, specializing in Coastal Environment at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. His doctoral research topic is “Analysis of the decision system of municipalities in the area of road salt application in the St. Lawrence River Valley” under the direction of Professor Nathalie Gravel. As part of his university research, he has been interested in the field of water pollution by hydrocarbons, stormwater and wastewater and the impact on the terrestrial and marine environment. In this regard, he conducted a field study in 2020 on marine oil pollution around the autonomous port of Dakar. He has also done internships at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (sustainable management of marine protected areas in the face of threats related to anthropogenic activities) as well as at the City Hall of Guédiawaye: (preservation of natural resources and fight against wastewater discharges in the city). He has also done training in : QHSE (Quality, Hygiene, Safety and Environment) and Environmental Impact Assessment on major projects.
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.