Researchers, not Faculty Associates, actively involved in MELAW-related research projects or initiatives. Post-doctoral researchers are also eligible. Membership by a Faculty Associate nomination, a letter of application to the MELAW Director and a consensus decision by Faculty Associates.
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Aderonke Adekeye is a maritime lawyer with over 15 years of experience advising on ocean policy, sustainability, and compliance in Nigeria's maritime sector. She currently serves as an Assistant Director at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, providing expert legal counsel and overseeing compliance programs.
Ms. Adekeye holds an MPhil in Ocean Governance and International Maritime Law from the World Maritime University in Sweden and the International Maritime Law Institute in Malta. She also earned an LLM from the University of Plymouth and an LLB from the University of Leicester. She is a member of the Nigerian Bar, WISTA, and other professional associations.
With extensive expertise in international law, ocean governance, maritime regulations, legislative review, risk management, blue economy principles, labour relations, environmental protection, and capacity building, Ms. Adekeye specializes in developing and reviewing legislation and policy initiatives. Her work focuses on increasing efficiency, safety, transparency, and collaboration in Nigeria's maritime sector to advance regional maritime strategic priorities and blue economy goals.
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Polina Baum-Talmor is an Ocean Nexus Research Fellow, working with Dr. Sherry Pictou to advance an Indigenous land and water-based governance approach that is driven by Indigenous women’s ways of knowing focusing on women participating in fisheries. Polina is a Social Scientist with over 13 years of research experience, focusing mostly on issues relating to people and the ocean. She is a Nippon Foundation alumna, recipient of the NF-SIRC (Seafarers International Research Centre) PhD fellowship. Her PhD from Cardiff University (UK) focused on careers and labour market flexibility in global industries, using the case of seafarers. Polina also holds an MA in Anthropology, and a BA in Sociology, Anthropology and Human Resources from the University of Haifa (Israel). Polina is an Adjunct at the Marine Affairs Program (Faculty of Graduate Studies) at HÂþ» University, Associate Fellow at the Seafarers International Research Centre (SIRC) at Cardiff University (UK) and a Research Associate at the Haifa Research Center for Maritime Policy and Strategy (Israel).
Using mostly qualitative research methods, Polina’s previous research focused on equity seeking groups, including seafarers, focusing on issues relating to labour, careers, and wellbeing. Previous research topics also include climate change and emotional wellbeing, digitalization and its impact on skills and training, seagoing labour issues, and multifaceted aspects of food in the workplace. She developed a genuine interest in seafarers after finishing her BA, which almost led to her joining the maritime industry as a Merchant Navy officer.
More information can be found on
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Scott Coffen-Smout, B.Sc., DMA, M.Sc., is an oceans management biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Halifax, Canada. He studied biology and marine affairs at HÂþ» University and marine environmental science at Bangor University, Wales. He previously consulted in Somalia and Niue, South Pacific. Affiliations include: research associate at the Marine & Environmental Law Institute, HÂþ» University, co-editor of the Ocean Yearbook (Brill Nijhoff), alumnus of IOI-Canada’s training program, and senior research fellow at IOI-Canada. Areas of practice at DFO include marine spatial planning, spatial data and information management, sustainable fisheries certifications, coastal and ocean management, and area response planning. |
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Erin Dobbelsteyn is a PhD candidate in environmental law at the University of Ottawa and a Schulich Fellow at the Schulich School of Law for 2023-2024. She has a BSc in Neuroscience from McGill University and a JD from HÂþ»'s Schulich School of Law with a specialization in health law and policy. After practising health law and professional regulation in Toronto for half a decade, she returned to academia and obtained an LLM in Global Sustainability and Environmental Law from the University of Ottawa. She is currently engaged in research and community initiatives related to environmental rights, climate justice, and public and planetary health. She is a board member of East Coast Environmental Law and an active member of the Global Network for Human Rights and the Environment. |
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Veronica Dossah, is a research associate at the Marine & Environmental Law Institute, HÂþ» University. She recently completed a Master of Laws program at the Schulich School of Law, HÂþ» University. She undertakes research projects on issues relating to business, human rights and the environment; the extractive industries; gender and; marine plastic pollution.
Veronica is also a teaching assistant at the Schulich School of law, HÂþ» University.
She has been called to the Ghanaian Bar and practices law in areas including corporate-commercial law litigation and advisory services, and alternative dispute resolution.
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Cecilia Engler, LLM, PhD, is a Research Associate with the Marine & Environmental Law Institute at the Schulich School of Law, HÂþ» University. Her doctoral thesis work addresses aquaculture governance in the context of the ecosystem approach. Her research interests include the law of the sea, international fisheries, the oceans and climate change regime, the ecosystem approach to oceans management, and ecological law.
She held a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, 2012-2015; an honorary Izaak Walton Killam Predoctoral Scholarship, 2012-2013; and an Izaak Walton Killam Predoctoral Scholarship 2008-2010, and was awarded the HÂþ» University Governor General’s Gold Medal in Humanities and Social Sciences 2011 for her Master of Laws thesis work. She has also been distinguished with several other academic awards both in Canada and Chile.
She graduated as a lawyer from the Universidad de Concepción, Chile. She worked for the Chilean National Fisheries Service and the Undersecretariat for Fisheries and Aquaculture from 1998 to 2008. In that capacity, she worked on policy and regulation development for the fisheries and aquaculture sector and on enforcement of fisheries regulations.
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Olga Koubrak, PhD, is researching and developing national and international legal approaches and tools to improve conservation outcomes for marine species at risk and management of marine living resources in general. She has co-written articles on transboundary fisheries management in light of climate change and dynamic management of marine industries to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, to name some. Olga is working through regional mechanisms (SPAW Protocol and WECAFC) in the wider Caribbean to improve protections for sawfishes and sea turtles, as well as develop management measures for shark and ray fisheries in the region. |
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Keith MacMaster is a Ph.D. candidate and a Lecturer at the Schulich School of Law, HÂþ» University. Keith concentrates on legal issues in environmental finance for banking and ocean-based industries. One research area aims at improving responsible finance and creating new sustainable investments. At the heart of this research lies theories of materiality and the lack of environmental and human rights data in companies' disclosure documents. The second research area investigates the policy and legal framework for seabed mining. This research aims to enable an environmentally and socially sustainable mining industry for the post-pandemic, low carbon world. |
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Abdul Hafez Mahamah is a legal professional with a diverse background spanning international and Canadian law, focusing on environmental regulations and natural resources. Holding a Master of Laws from HÂþ» University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a concentration in International Environmental Law & Climate Change, Abdul Hafez brings a unique blend of global perspectives and local expertise to the table.
His academic achievements include major papers and a thesis that delve into pressing environmental issues, such as assessing Canada’s obligations in ocean fertilization and exploring perspectives on Fossil Fuel with Carbon Capture and Storage. His thesis, "Towards Effective Governance of Marine Geoengineering in West Africa," provides a nuanced understanding of global best practices in environmental governance.
Abdul Hafez's professional journey is marked by impactful roles, including Research Assistant at the Schulich School of Law, HÂþ» University, where he contributed to research on climate change law and policy intersecting with the law of the sea. This experience honed his ability to conduct in-depth literature reviews and engage in high-level academic research, skills directly applicable to Canadian environmental law research.
Previously, as a legal practitioner in Ghana, Abdul Hafez ensured adherence to Ghanaian and international laws, offering comprehensive legal opinions across various domains. His expertise encompasses representing clients in courts and tribunals, drafting commercial agreements, and ensuring compliance with industry regulations.
Additionally, Abdul Hafez's contributions to legal academia and community service underscore his commitment to the legal field. Notably, his involvement as a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Ghana School of Law and his role in community organizations demonstrate his dedication to legal education and public service.
As a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana and a member of the Ghana Bar Association, Abdul Hafez possesses a solid foundation in legal practice.
His blend of academic excellence, practical legal experience, and commitment to environmental law and policy aligns well with Canadian legal frameworks.
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Adebayo Majekolagbe (Bayo), PhD, Schulich School of Law, HÂþ» University. He researches and has published peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters on subjects including climate change policies and laws, just transition, impact assessment, and business and human rights. His doctoral thesis explores the intersections between climate change, just transition and impact assessment, and how fossil fuel dependent economies can deploy impact assessment as a just transition tool. Bayo has, overtime, taught the processes of justice (in the law, justice and society programme) and climate change law, and assisted in the teaching of global environmental governance (College of Sustainability) and environmental law at HÂþ» University. He is called to the Nigerian Bar and has practised at all levels of the Nigerian judicial system. He is also a Vanier and Killam Scholar. |
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Ted L. McDorman is a Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Before joining the University of Victoria in 1985, Professor McDorman was at HÂþ» University in Halifax, Nova Scotia with the HÂþ» Oceans Studies Program (DOSP). He has been a visiting professor at institutions in Thailand, Sweden, the Netherlands and Canada and has over 120 publications in the areas of ocean law and policy, international trade law and comparative constitutional law.
Since 2000, he has been the editor-in-chief of Ocean Development and International Law. He has undertaken projects for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, including legislative drafting, conducting of workshops and report writing on fisheries and fisheries trade, and written reports on ocean law and policy matters for the governments of Canada, Quebec and British Columbia.
During 2002-2004 and 2011-2013 Professor McDorman was the “Academic-in- Residence†with the Bureau of Legal Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa where he worked on a wide range of ocean law topics including have a small role in the decision and process respecting Canada’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 2003 and the anticipated Canadian submission of information respecting the outer limits of the continental shelf to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in late 2013.
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Akinwumi Ogunranti, PhD, Schulich Associate at the Schulich School of Law, HÂþ» University, Canada. He is a Nigerian lawyer and an expert in private international law, international law, and business and human rights. He has also undertaken research projects on issues relating to the intersection between business, human rights, climate, and the environment. |
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Dr. Tahnee Prior the co-founder and co-lead of Women of the Arctic (WoA). Currently, she leads WoA’s research in the Horizon Europe-funded project ICEBERG, which seeks to comprehensively assess the sources, types, distributions and impact of human and climate-induced pollution on ecosystems and communities in the European Arctic; and how to enhance community-led resilience and adaptation in response. Together with her colleague, Gosia Smieszek, Tahnee also co-leads WoA's research contribution to the Horizon 2020 project Arctic PASSION, which aims to co-create and implement an Arctic observing system that is tuned to address the urgent needs of those who live in the Arctic and has relevance to global society. As a Research Associate at MELAW, Tahnee is also a member of the UArctic-funded Ocean Incubator Network (2023-2025) which will bring together experts, local authorities and educational institutions to develop integrated research and education programs with the objective of accelerating Ocean Literacy to advance Sustainable Development Goals 4 (quality education and lifelong learning for all), 5 (gender equality) and 14 (protecting life below water) across Arctic communities.
In 2023, Tahnee completed a Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Marine Environmental Law Institute, Schulich School of Law, HÂþ» University. She holds a Ph.D. in Global Governance from the University of Waterloo. Her research interests broadly include global environmental governance, international law, complex systems theory, Arctic and oceans governance, and the gender-and-environment nexus.
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Susan J. Rolston is sole proprietor of Seawinds Consulting Services, providing research, writing, editing, indexing, and publication management services. Ms. Rolston’s areas of special expertise include ocean and coastal law, policy and management, maritime transportation, and polar law. She is currently copy editor for the International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law. Ms. Rolston has contributed to numerous marine law and policy publications. She holds a BA (Hons.) from the University of Western Ontario and a MA from HÂþ» University, both in Political Science. |
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Nicole Van Lier is a critical human geographer and Killam Postdoctoral Fellow at HÂþ» University, working with Dr. Sherry Pictou at the Schulich School of Law. Broadly speaking, her research examines the racial, colonial, and capitalist relations that configure state environmental management regimes in North America. Her doctoral dissertation explored the reproduction of racial capitalism through the regulation, management, and financing of urban wastewater infrastructure across Metropolitan Detroit, and its role in deepening a racialized water affordability crisis. Her current project studies the historical and legal evolution of entangled Indigenous and settler colonial fisheries in northern Michigan to understand how expanding Odawa and Chippewa economies have reconfigured the resource management practices of the settler colonial state. She earned her PhD in Geography, with a specialization in Environmental Studies, from the University of Toronto. Her work has been published in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Antipode, and Capitalism, Nature, Socialism. |