The Green Municipal Fund (GMF) Council does critical work to guide and support GMF, a fund that invests in innovative and effective environmental programs across Canada. The Council also provides advice, as required, to FCM's Board of Directors.
The members of the GMF Council are leaders from the federal, municipal and environmental sectors. One-third of Council members are Government of Canada representatives, one-third are elected municipal officials appointed by FCM's Board of Directors, and one-third are external members representing the public, private, academic and environment sectors. We're proud to have these innovators and champions of environmental sustainability on the GMF Council.
Members representing the municipal sector
Alan DeSousa
Mayor DeSousa is serving his sixth term as the Mayor of Saint-Laurent, QC and has served on the City of Montreal's executive committee for over 11 years. He also served on the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) council from 2002 to 2017 and was a member of the MMC executive committee for eight years. In 2022, he was named Chair of the Green Municipal Fund Council. Mayor DeSousa is the architect of Montreal's sustainable development and environmental policies, taking them from planning to implementation. Under his leadership, Saint-Laurent became sustainable municipal territory in 2019 and became the same year the first Québec municipal entity with over 100,000 residents to complete the final phase of the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program.
Shanon Zachidniak
Shanon is serving her first term as the Ward 8 City Councillor in Regina, SK. In that role, she is the co-chair of the Community Advisory Group for the city’s Energy & Sustainability Framework. A passionate community builder, her work has included management roles with several organizations. She has a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies and a Bachelor’s in Journalism. She has served on the board of several non-profits and is the founder of Regina’s award-winning EnviroCollective & co-founder of Food Regina. Shanon and her husband, John, have two sons—Wylie and Ivan—and a dog named Penny.
Gabrielle Blatz
Gabrielle Blatz was first elected to city council in Wetaskiwin, Alberta in 2019. As a Metis woman, she has always had deep roots and passion for environmentalism. With her role on council, she has been able to transfer that passion for the environment into her community. In 2021, Wetaskiwin became home to an edible urban forest after she highlighted the benefits of urban forests in a presentation. This became the catalyst in her career for exploring ways for smaller municipalities to become leaders in accessible sustainability practices. Climate action, sustainability and green initiatives are the future of our country, and it will take communities of all sizes to make a positive impact on generations to come.
Brittany Merrifield
Brittany Merrifield is the Mayor of Grand Bay-Westfield, President of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick, and a dedicated community leader known for her advocacy in sustainable growth, fiscal reform, and climate action. She contributes to national policy as an active member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Board of Directors and brings local insight to broader conversations. A small business owner and mother of four, Brittany also co-leads 100 Women Who Care of Greater Saint John, helping raise over $1.1 million for local charities through collective community giving.
Claire Holloway Wadhwani
Claire is serving her first term on Council in Port Hope, Ontario, where she chairs the municipality’s Environmental Advisory Committee. She championed the development of Port Hope’s first Community Climate Action Plan and is working with staff and residents to lead its implementation. Claire also chairs Community Power Northumberland, a renewable energy co-op advancing community-owned sustainability projects. With over 15 years’ experience as a consultant to NGOs and community initiatives, her work centres on equity, climate resilience, and community-led development
Members representing the federal government
Ben Copp
Ben Copp is the Director General of the Office of Energy Efficiency at National Resources Canada. Prior to this role, Ben was Senior Director of the Strategic Policy and Analysis Division in the Office of Energy Efficiency. Ben has worked for the Government of Canada for 19 years, and prior to his current role, has held positions as the Director of Resource Division at Treasury Board Secretariat, as the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at Natural Resources Canada and as Senior Advisor in the Priorities and Planning Sector at the Privy Council Office. Prior to joining the federal government, Ben worked in the Ministry of Finance with the Government of British Columbia and in two municipal governments in British Columbia.
Jocelyn Millette Ph.D, P. Eng.
Director general of CanmetENERGY in Varennes since February 2019. CanmetENERGY is Canada’s leading research and technology organization in the field of clean energy, namely in Buildings and Communities, Renewables, Industrial Processes and the world-leading RETScreen tool. From 1996 to 2019, he worked for LTE - the Hydro-Québec research institute's energy technology laboratory - as a researcher and later as the head of the LTE. His domains of expertise are energy conversion, heat and mass transfer and building physics.
Jeff MacDonald
Since 2021, Jeff MacDonald has been the Director General, Climate Change Adaptation at Environment and Climate Change Canada. His directorate includes climate change adaptation policy and the Canadian Centre for Climate Services and is responsible for the development and implementation of Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy. Jeff has held several executive positions over the past 20 years at four federal departments and agencies. He is a skilled negotiator with international, intergovernmental and indigenous experience.
Ramsey Wright
Ramsey has spent the past 5 years developing and implementing national programs at Environment and Climate Change Canada to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As the Acting Director General of the Programs Directorate, he currently oversees the administration of the Low Carbon Economy Fund and the Output Based Pricing System Proceeds Fund. Outside of his federal experience, Ramsey serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Just Food, a nonprofit supporting sustainable food and farming systems in the Ottawa region.
Lo Cheng
Director General of Environment and Infrastructure Policy at Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, Lo Cheng advances low carbon, resilient infrastructure systems that serve communities. Previously, Lo was with Environment and Climate Change Canada where she negotiated internationally, developed policies and regulations and managed programs. Most recently, she established the Canadian Centre for Climate Services to provide Canadians with the data, tools, and training to incorporate climate in their decisions. Lo is an environmental engineer with a Master of Business Administration from Queens University.
Members representing the public, private, academic and environment sectors
Vito Dellerba
Vito Dellerba is currently a Managing Director in the Sustainable Investing team at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). For a year prior to this role, Vito was Head of Sustainability at CDPQ’s commercial real estate lending subsidiary, Otéra Capital. From 2015 to 2023 he spent eight years as Senior Director, Government Credit managing a portfolio of quasi sovereign fixed income. He started his career at Cordiant Capital, a private debt fund manager, where he spent 10 years in the investment team progressing from Analyst to Deputy Chief Investment Officer. In addition to his Chartered Financial Analyst certification, Vito holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Concordia University's John Molson School of Business, and an MBA from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Business in New York.
Ursula Eicker
Ursula Eicker is the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Communities and Cities and Founder and Director of the Next-Generation Cities Institute at Concordia University in Montréal. She works on decarbonization strategies for cities using living labs and urban digital twins for scenario modeling, user engagement and operational optimization. Her research interests cover zero emission and smart cities, renewable energy integration, and sustainable urban infrastructure. With a team of about 50 graduate students and software developers she is working on multiple eco-district projects in Canada and builds the urban modeling and data analytics platform Tools4Cities. To engage users, 3D city models can be accessed via web interfaces or immersive gamification tools. Prof. Eicker has published 8 books, 20 book contributions, over 140 Peer-Reviewed Papers and more than 340 Conference Papers.
Jonathan Frank
Jon has expertise in sustainability-focused finance, development, engineering, construction and M&A in the areas of renewable power generation, energy efficiency retrofits, geothermal heating and cooling, electric vehicle charging and energy storage. He has worked in start-ups, large private and public companies, and regulated financial institutions. Today, Jon is the Chief Development Officer at CABN, a cleantech company advancing prefabricated, net-zero and zero-carbon material buildings. Prior to this, Jon was Vice President at StoneWood Group, a boutique executive search firm, Head of Clean Energy Finance at Vancity Community Investment Bank and Managing Director and Head of Project Finance at CoPower. In addition to GMF, Jon has served on several advisory committees on low-carbon strategies, including the Canadian Green Building Council, the City of Toronto, and MaRS Discovery District.
Graeme Hussey
Graeme Hussey is the Director, Affordable Housing for Windmill Development Group, and a recognized national expert in the creation of affordable housing. Previously Graeme was the Director of Housing Development for Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC) and President of Cahdco. He was the creator of the Toolbox+ by Cahdco, a national affordable housing community of practice and has led the creation of more then 1,000 non-profit affordable homes in Ottawa.
Parminder Sandhu
Parminder Sandhu is an entrepreneur with over 25 years experience operating at the intersection of public policy needs and private sector innovation to deliver market-based solutions. His experience includes starting and scaling businesses, managing investment portfolios, and public service. He has served on several boards and advocates for governance, outcomes orientation, and being mandate driven.
Nancy Desrosiers
Nancy Desrosiers is a committed leader in sustainability, governance, and organizational strategy. An expert in ESG, sustainable finance, and transformation, she has worked with institutional investors and now develops innovative approaches at an engineering consulting firm to support leaders and organizations. A certified director (ASC) with international climate and ESG credentials, she actively contributes to climate governance initiatives. Passionate about positive impact, she works to build more responsible and resilient business models.
