Vanessa Corkal

Vanessa combines her climate change expertise with over nine years of documentary, journalism, and non-profit experience. In her work with IISD Energy, she focuses on topics such as fossil fuel subsidies, just transition, green recovery, and sustainable agriculture, as well as capacity building for community, civil society, and government partners to develop and implement effective and equitable solutions to the climate crisis.

Prior to joining IISD, Vanessa focused on climate change adaptation, including research, communications, and project management for the Prairie Climate Centre (University of Winnipeg) and the First Nation Adapt program (Crown-Indigenous Relations & Northern Affairs, Government of Canada). Her interests include community-based adaptation and mitigation, agro-biodiversity, and biocultural diversity. She holds a Master of Climate Change from the University of Waterloo.

In her documentary film work, Vanessa has researched and produced pieces for international media company VICE and coordinated documentaries for Rezolution Pictures, a Cree-owned, Montreal-based film company. She has a special love of food & agriculture issues and once spent a year working on organic farms in New Zealand.