The UBC School of Creative Writing brings creative writers and climate experts together for a fun, generative workshop at the intersection of climate research and creative expression.
Climate researchers Dr. Jiaying Zhao, Dr. Tara Mahoney, and Janna Wale will share their innovative work and faculty members Tanya Kyi, Mandy Len Catron, and Alix Ohlin will guide participants through writing exercises arising from it.
This multi-genre exploration aims to illuminate our unique position as writers to bridge knowledge, imagination, and possibility.
About the Speakers
Dr. Jiaying Zhao (aka JZ) is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia. She’s also a faculty affiliate with the Center for Effective Global Action at UC Berkeley, and an invited researcher at J-PAL at MIT. JZ completed her PhD in cognitive psychology at Princeton University. JZ holds a King Charles III Coronation Medal and Killam Research Prize. She uses psychological principles to design behavioral solutions to address financial and environmental sustainability challenges. Specifically, she examines the cognitive consequences of poverty and designs cash transfer interventions to reduce homelessness. Moreover, she develops behavioral interventions to encourage climate action, recycling, and biodiversity conservation.
Dr. Tara Mahoney is the Director of Research and Engagement at Simon Fraser University’s Community-Engaged Research Initiative (CERi), where she leads innovative projects that connect academic research with community-driven solutions. With over 15 years of experience in community organizing and a PhD in Communication from SFU, she oversees CERi’s publications and flagship programs, including the 312 Main Research Shop and the Graduate Fellowship Program.
Tara has published widely on community-engaged research and public engagement with climate issues. Before joining CERi, she co-founded Gen Why Media, taught in the Civic Innovation Change Lab at RADIUS SFU, and served as a Research Fellow in Climate Change Communications at the David Suzuki Foundation. She also teaches climate communications in SFU’s Climate Action Certificate Program. More at creativepublics.ca.
Janna Wale is Gitxsan from Gitanmaax First Nation and is also Cree-Métis on her mother’s side. Where possible, Wale uses a complex human-environmental systems approach and believes that this lens can be used when looking for ways to bridge western and Indigenous climate work.
In 2025, Wale received the Women of Influence Nanaimo (WIN) Award for STEM, as well the Youth Leadership Ecostar Award. She was selected as a Top 30 Under 30 Sustainable Youth Leader in Canada by Corporate Knights in 2024. She was also a finalist for the Community Advocate of the year award through Foresight Canada and was selected for a Community Award – Emerging Leader through the B.C. Achievement foundation. In 2023, Wale was the recipient of the Anitra Paris Memorial Award for female youth climate leadership through Clean Energy BC. She has published two reports in collaboration with the Yellowhead Institute and was named as an Indigenous Trailblazer through Diversity in Sustainability.
Wale holds a Bachelor of Natural Resource Sciences (B. Nrsc.) from Thompson Rivers University, and a MSc in Sustainability from UBC Okanagan, where her work focused on climate resilience in Indigenous communities, using a seasonal rounds model.
Access
The School of Creative Writing is committed to making our events as accessible as possible. If you have questions or requests about access, please reach out to Sheryda Warrener at s.warrener@ubc.ca.
