Ashleigh Downing Email & Phone Number

Canadian Centre For Climate Services

https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/canadian-centre-climate-services.html

• Provides advice to managers;• Relationship building with stakeholders and clients (Indigenous and NGOs);• Project management;• Funding strategy development;• Review of project reporting and budget updates;• Proposal review;• Contract negotiation for contribution agreements;• Administration of contribution and funding agreements (Atlantic Ecosystems Initiatives and Environmental Damages Fund);• Strategy development and ADM briefing deck for large Environmental Damages Fund Fine in Indigenous context;• Knowledge of freshwater issues ;• Participated in Canada Water Agency Forum as a facilitator;• Responding to inquiries and requests for advice;• Experience working virtually as part of team – MS Teams, shared drives, sharepoint.

Montreal, Canada Area

- Indigenous Relations- Fieldwork and Reporting for; vegetation (species at risk, management, invasive/non-native, monitoring), fish, bird, marine mammal (including bats), reptile (brown snake) and amphibian.

Montreal, Canada

As a technician in the pharmacology department, I helped to plan and carryout bioassays that would test the antidiabetic activity of plant extracts in liver and muscle tissue in-vitro models. This complements previous work experience from my master's where I used a diabetic neuropathy model (2009).

Nunavik, Canada

Wild Berries, Plants and Seaweeds and their Health Benefits in a Changing Canadian Arctic ProjectThis pilot project is a collaboration between Universities, Biopterre (a bioproduct development company), the Nunavik Board of Health and Social Services and community partners (government, educational and cultural). It focuses on the promotion of wild plants for nutrition in the Inuit communities of Ivujivik, Kangirsualujjuaq Tasiujaq and Inukjuaq, Nunavik.Role: Brought in as a consultant, I helped to address these communities in order to assess their needs and interests in promoting traditional foods. Topics surrounding food transformation and small business partnerships were discussed. I completed an extensive literature review to support the writing of related grants and reports for this project.

Montreal, Canada

Our Land Our Knowledge ProjectTraditional ecological knowledge on changing climatic and environmental conditions was collected across Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut by several university partner researchers (UQTR, Memorial University, IRBV and University of British Columbia). In parallel to this project, partners collected berry samples to test climate change hypotheses. Role: I was responsible for the compilation of a series of 27 plain-language community outreach posters. I also conducted antioxidant bioassays on the berry material collected from these communities.

Montreal, Canada

Our Plants our Land ProjectThis interdisciplinary position focused on the use of plants for medicine, food and tools as usedby the Inuit of Nain Nunatsiavut. Project partners included ArcticNet, Avataq, Health Canada, Parks Canada, University of Montreal, Memorial University, Nunatsiavut Ressource Centre, and community partners (government, educational and cultural).Role: My responsibilities included project planning, community partnership brokerage, data collection (ethnobotanical interviews), student training and supervision, data analysis and emission in both plain and technical language. I organized and led cross-generational workshops and community updates and produced tangible published outputs that are outlined herein.

Montreal, Ottawa, Waskaganish, Nemaska, Mistissini, Eastmain; Canada

CIHR Team for Aboriginal Antidiabetic Medicine ProjectA multipartite project researching the antidiabetic activity of plants used by the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the Cree Board of Health.Role: As a student ambassador in First Nations communities, I helped to bridge cross-cultural communications while independently managing and fulfilling my project goals. I was responsible for the documentation and the proper handling of traditional knowledge as well as dissemination of project results to the community. I have participated in many cross-cultural meetings and workshops related to this project. Upon completion of this project, I served as a student mentor for the continuation of ethnobotanical studies and partnerships.

Master Of Biological Science, Thesis Focus: Medicinal Plant Use By The Cree Of Eeyou Istchee Qc.

Supervisor: Dr. Alain Cuerrier Co-Supervisor: Dr. Timothy Johns

Bachelor Of Biological Science, Honours, Major: Plant Biology, Graduating Accolade: Highest Gpa In Major

Education record