Jennifer O'Neill Email & Phone Number

Sidney, British Columbia, Canada

I manage a portfolio of Cascadia Seaweed's Nature-based Solutions Projects. Presently:2023-2026: Conservation and Sustainable Management of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems (COSME), Coastal Province, Kenya (Global Affairs Canada, Plan International)- Scale up resilient livelihoods for Kenyan women in the Blue Economy through nature-based solutions, including climate-resilient small-scale seaweed farming with a strong value chain and more robust market options.2023-2024: Seaweed Reforestation Using Green Gravel, Canada (ISC-TS, ISED, NRC)- Design, build, and deliver a self-contained green gravel production system for deployment in remote locations to reforest kelp. Test the cultivation and outplant with NRC Canada at Ketch Harbour Marine Station, Nova Scotia. 2020-2023: Analysis of Capacity of West Coast Vancouver Island Coastal Communities to Deliver Ocean Farming of Seaweed (Province of BC, Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood).- a study exploring the capacity of Vancouver Island communities to support a growing seaweed farming sector. Supported by the BC Rural Dividend Fund, the aim of this study is to assess the infrastructure, services, and resources available to support the sector in the north and west coast island regions, and identify gaps for opportunity. The report will be released in late 2023.

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Jennifer has worked with artisanal miners and stakeholders in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, Ecuador, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Kenya, and Mozambique. She firmly believes in the power of working directly with beneficiaries to understand needs and challenges, identify appropriate and helpful collaborative solutions, and assemble practical data to advocate for these solutions. Technical and policy strategies exist to improve livelihoods, health of communities and the surrounding environment, and strength of the broader economy, but often missing are the conversations required to identify them and the concrete data required to garner support for their implementation. As a project manager, she led completion of the AGC’s 6-year project “Sustainable Development of ASGM in Indonesia” (Global Affairs Canada) in 2022, launched “Reducing Mercury Use in Papua New Guinea’s ASGM Sector” (USDOS) and helmed the Access to Finance component of planetGOLD Global. As a research scientist, she has led field excursions and mercury inventories to help provide understanding about ASGM sectors around the world. She facilitates workshops for governments, academic groups, and NGOs, enabling Parties of the Minamata Convention to form a data-basis for mercury reduction strategies. With a specialization (MSc) and industry experience in remote sensing, she has also led remote mapping projects from image acquisition through calibration, analysis, map creation, and on-the-ground validation. Lead author of “Estimating Mercury Use and Documenting Practices in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining,” a UNEP guidebook and suite of data tools to explore and understand the ASGM sector at a country scale and produce defensible estimates of mercury used, gold produced, and miner population.

"Reducing Mercury Use in Papua New Guinea's ASGM Sector" is a four-year project funded by the USDOS and executed in close collaboration with the Mineral Resources Authority of PNG. It focuses on deep exploration and data work in the ASGM sector, capacitation of the health sector in identifying and addressing impacts of mercury on health, and increasing domestic stakeholder collaboration on mercury trade policy. The project contributes preparatory work in lead-up to PNG's anticipated ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.Funder: US Department of State (USDOS)Executing Agency: AGCPartners: Mineral Resources Authority of PNG, Morobe Goldfield Small-scale Miners Association

Victoria, Canada

As a research scientist and field lead, carried out mercury inventory and exploration of the formal and informal ASGM sector around the world. As an educator, facilitated workshops for governments, academic groups, and NGOs on the topic, enabling Parties of the Minamata Convention in Mercury to formulate data-backed mercury reduction strategies for the ASGM sector. Locations: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, Ecuador, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Kenya, and Mozambique.In 2022, represented the AGC at the 4th Conference of the Parties of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in Bali, Indonesia. The Minamata Convention is a United Nations treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury.Contributed the ASGM portion of the AMAP/UN Environment Global Mercury Assessment (GMA) 2018. The GMA aims to provide the most recent information available on worldwide atmospheric mercury emissions, releases to the aquatic environment, and the transport and fate of mercury in the global environment.

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Management of the 'Access to Finance' team, piloting a range of models to raise investment capital and access other sources of finance for professionally accredited small-scale miners and their communities.Funder: GEFImplementing agency: UNEPExecuting Agency: NRDC/AGC"planetGOLD works to make small-scale gold mining safer, cleaner, and more profitable. Our vision is a clean global supply of gold from small-scale miners."https://www.planetgold.org/about

"Sustainable Development of Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining in Indonesia," was a six-year empowerment program for the artisanal gold miners in Indonesia, which focused on best practices through tech alternatives to mercury, creating an enabling political atmosphere for formalization of miners, and exploring access to finance through social enterprise. Project areas were located in the provinces of North Sulawesi and Central Kalimantan.Funder: Global Affairs Canada (GAC)Implementing Agency: AGCPartners: GAC, Government of IndonesiaExecuting Agencies: AGC, Yayasan Emas Artisanal Indonesia (YEAI), Lentera Kartini, AMAN

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Worked with Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood LP and Cascadia Seaweed to explore the capacity of Vancouver Island communities to support a growing seaweed farming sector. The aim of the study was to assess the infrastructure, services, and educational resources available to support the sector and identify gaps in the north and west coast island regions. The project is supported by the BC Rural Dividend Fund.

Victoria, Bc, Canada

Authored the UN Environment guide and toolkit: "Estimating Mercury Use and Documenting Practices in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining". The Toolkit is a suite of tools for data collection and analysis, background textbook, and guide for producing (a) field-based estimates of mercury use, gold production, and miner population in a country’s artisanal and small-scale gold mining sector and (b) a comprehensive overview of the sector. Delivered classroom and field training on the above to government agencies, NGOs, and technical implementing teams of Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Academic editor for Cactus Communications Center of Excellence for Environmental Science, Energy, and Sustainability. Role: Substantive editing and copyediting of manuscripts for peer reviewed journal, technical report, conference, and book publication.

Southern Leyte, Philippines

Primary investigator conducting remote mapping of coral, seagrass, and mangrove distribution in Sogod Bay, Southern Leyte, Philippines. Output supported research to evaluate the trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and socioeconomic viability in systematic marine conservation planning in the Coral Triangle.

Vancouver, B.C.

Primary investigator examining the feasibility of mapping Nereocystis luetkeana (bull kelp) on the Pacific Northwest coast using WorldView-2 and SPOT-6 satellite imagery, and validating with ground-truth survey. Resulted in recommendations for a coast-wide remote kelp mapping effort to implement the findings.

West Vancouver, B.C.

Aquatic Biologist in Coastal Ecosystem Research Program (CERP), focusing on interactions between the coastal environment and human activities, namely aquaculture, port development, and ballast water management. Duties:- Field support, oceanographic research cruises;- Statistical analysis and presentation of data;- Visualization and analysis of spatial data;- Video interpretation (ROV);- Data entry and archive;- Calibration & maintenance of field equipment; - Stewardship of fin/shellfish & phytoplankton cultures;- Peer-reviewed publication;- Leading tours of the research program and facility for external agencies;- Health and Safety Committee

Kamloops, B.C.

- Responded to reports of wildfire, dispatched crews and rotary wing aircraft, monitored safety, and mobilized supplies via phone and radio communications- Transcribed all comms in real-time for legal follow-up- Operated geospatial software for monitoring aircraft, environmental indices, fire activity- Collaborated with municipal fire departments- Costed resources on fires- Worked in temporary fire camps on large fires in remote field locations.

Victoria, Bc

Instructed laboratory and seminar sessions for upper level undergraduate courses in the area of remote sensing image processing, field techniques, and GIS.

Kamloops, Bc

Conducted quality control testing of diatomaceous earth and bentonite products. Researched and developed methodology for producing hydroponics fertilizers, growth media, and natural pesticides. Conducted vegetation growth studies. Maintained quality control databases and prepared internal reports.

Master Of Science (M.Sc.), Geography

Remote sensing of coastal ecosystems: Benthic habitat mapping using airborne and satellite imagery.

Remote Sensing

Applications of Ocean-Colour Radiometry for the Study of Marine Ecosystems, including Fisheries, Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, B.C.

Analysis And Application Of Satellite-Derived Ocean-Colour Data, Remote Sensing

Training on the analysis and application of satellite-derived ocean-colour data through the International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group.

Bachelor Of Science (B.Sc.), Marine Biology And Biological Oceanography

Focus on marine biology & oceanography

Bachelor Of Science (B.Sc.), Geography

Focus on remote sensing, GIS, cartography & geomorphology

University Program, Marine Biology And Biological Oceanography

Semester academic immersion at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Field Research Station in Canada. Course work + directed studies thesis.

Bachelor Of Science (B.Sc.), Sciences, General