Dr. Peter Carter
Board Member
Regular Panelist
Paul Beckwith
Regular Panelist
Regina Valdez
Regular Panelist
Heidi Brault
Executive Director
Board Member, Co-producer
Charles Gregoire
Deputy Executive Director
Board Member, Co-producer
Julie Johnston
Board Member
Jeff Brown
Board Member
Treasurer
Herb Simmens
Board Member
Team Details
Dr. Peter Carter
Peter is a regular panelist on the YouTube videos as well as a member of the Board of Directors.
He is a medically-qualified doctor, with a background in environmental health policy. He is the director of the Climate Emergency Institute, as well as an IPCC Expert Reviewer and co-author of Unprecedented Crime: Climate Science Denial and Game Changers for Survival.
He is also published on environmental health, climate change, and biodiversity.
Peter is based in southern British Columbia, Canada, where he lives with his wife, Julie Johnston.
Paul Beckwith
Paul is a regular panelist on the YouTube videos.
He is a Climate System Scientist who has taught at the University of Ottawa in the Laboratory for Paleoclimatology, as well as at Carleton University. He has degrees in Engineering and Physics, and has also studied physics and climatology at the doctoral level. Without a doubt, Paul is one of the most prolific climate change educators on YouTube with more than 1,200 videos pertaining to climate science and extreme weather events.
Paul is based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where he lives with his wife, Susan, and is also an avid chess player.
Regina Valdez
Regina is a regular panelist and host of the YouTube videos.
She is a Climate Reality Leader and Mentor based in New York City. She has a Master’s Degree in English Literature and is working to complete a Master of Science degree in Sustainability Management at Columbia University. She is also a GreenFaith Fellow and a LEED Green Associate. In addition to participating in panel discussions at UN climate conferences, Regina has conducted interviews and produced videos.
Heidi Brault
Heidi is the Executive Director of Climate Emergency Forum, a co-producer of the YouTube channel videos, and leads and organizes the team’s attendance at the UN climate conferences (COP).
Heidi is a Climate Reality Leader and has a BA in Psychology as well as a Library & Information Technician Diploma and a translation certificate. Her career was mainly in the information field as a metadata/library technician. She has also developed and taught online language courses and has taught English as a Second Language.
Based in Magog, Quebec, Canada, Heidi lives with her husband and co-team member, Charles Gregoire. They enjoy tandem cycling and travelling.
Charles Gregoire
Charles is the Deputy Executive director of Climate Emergency Forum, and the acting Secretary of the Board of Directors. He is co-producer of the YouTube channel videos, provides tech support for the YouTube channel, Website, and social media. He also assists with planning for the team’s participation at the UNFCCC Climate Conferences (COP).
Charles is a Climate Reality Leader with a background in engineering. He has a BSc in Electrical Engineering and worked in the high tech field for over twenty years as an electrical engineer and a manager.
Based in Magog, Quebec, Canada, Charles lives with his wife and co-team member, Heidi Brault.
Julie Johnston
Julie Johnston is a member of the Board of Directors of Climate Emergency Forum.
She is a sustainability education coach and consultant with GreenHeart Education (www.greenhearted.org), working with teachers around the world to help them green the heart of education. She also teaches an introductory course in sustainable development to international students at Royal Roads University near Victoria, BC, Canada, and works on climate change and food security issues as an associate with the Climate Emergency Institute. Julie is a huge fan of permaculture, and believes that compassion for the children (of all species) will be what moves us to safeguard the future.
Julie has a Master’s in Adult Education and is also a Climate Reality Leader. She is based in southern British Columbia, Canada, where she lives with her husband, Dr. Peter Carter.
Jeff Brown
Jeff is a member of the Board of Directors as well as the Treasurer of Climate Emergency Forum.
He brings extensive experience in the areas of for-profit and non-profit management, and has a background in accounting, insurance, compliance, and business ownership in the US and Canada.
Herb Simmens
Herb Simmens is a member of the Board of Directors of the Climate Emergency Forum and will be joining the team at the next UN climate conference.
Herb Simmens has been a pathbreaker much of his life. He was the youngest county administrator in the county in Atlantic County NJ when casinos were legalized in Atlantic City, the award winner creator of New Jersey’s long range smart growth master plan in 2000 as Executive Director of the New Jersey’s State Planning Commission, and the leader of one of the first consortiums of higher education institutions to fight climate change in the early 2000’s.
He’s also been a city manager, taught politics and urban planning at Stockton University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, both in New Jersey, and owned and operated a wellness center in Washington, DC.
Herb has degrees from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and international Affairs from Princeton He’s also studied at the London School of Economics.
A Climate Vocabulary of the Future is Herb’s first book. He lives in Silver Spring, Md and is active in local civic life.
