GreenPAC is proud to host Canada’s first Parliamentary Internship for the Environment, a leadership development program that places young environmental stars with MPs from across the political spectrum. For nine months our interns immerse themselves and learn the inner workings of federal government, as well as attend workshops, leadership development training, and sit-downs with environmental champions.
We’re excited to introduce our four new interns taking part in the 2020-2021 Parliamentary Internship for the Environment! This is a highly ambitious team with experience in everything from political campaigns to student leadership to grassroots organizing — and they plan to take Ottawa by storm.
Clément Badra
Clément holds a BSc in Biology and a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development and Governance from the Université de Montréal. Prior to joining GreenPAC, he worked as a project manager for an environmental nonprofit to protect biodiversity in cities as an adaptation to climate change. He is the Green Party’s Youth Representative in Quebec and in the 2019 federal election, he ran as a Green party candidate in Montreal. He is also on the Universal Design Committee of a municipal political party to improve accessibility in cities for people with disabilities, as he himself is in a wheelchair.
Zhenglin Liu
Zhenglin recently graduated with his Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Toronto. While at UofT, he was Sustainability Commissioner of the student union and a student representative on the university Governing Council’s University Affairs Board. As an executive and later co-president of the University of Toronto Environmental Action student group, Zhenglin was a youth delegate at the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP24) in 2018 and launched a program to send delegations of UofT student activists to future COPs.
Jessica Mayes
Growing up in rural Manitoba, Jessica saw firsthand the connection between agricultural practices and environmental health. She furthered her understanding by studying Agricultural and Environmental Science at McGill University, where she also worked as the Sustainability Advisor for the Agricultural and Environmental Science Student Society. Jessica later studied with the Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes Lab at UBC and gained experience with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture in Barbados, where she worked on a project to boost youth participation in agriculture.
Joshua Swift
Josh grew up in the country and spent his early years on a farm in Beeton, Ontario. He later completed a BA in Environment and Health with a Minor in Political Science at the University of Western Ontario, where he also worked as a Research Analyst in Western’s Leadership and Democracy Lab, and held executive positions in the Western Wildlife Conservation Society and the Western Liberals. After graduating, Josh worked in the U.S. as an organizer with Green Corps to build grassroots advocacy campaigns around the country.