Dr. Robert Newell is the Canada Research Chair (tier 2) in Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainability at Royal Roads University and a Research Associate at the Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley. Newell’s research focuses on integrated planning and policy, stakeholder engagement and sustainable community development. He applies system thinking to identify relationships and tensions among critical sustainability imperatives, particularly climate change mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity conservation, and other local and regional objectives. His research often employs community-based, participatory approaches for developing knowledge and tools for supporting planning and decision-making, such as systems maps, integrated models and visualizations. Newell also teaches courses on critical sustainability issues and approaches to sustainable development.