Sophia Sanniti is currently the Ecological Economics intern at the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. She is completing her PhD in Social and Ecological Sustainability at the University of Waterloo, and has been an active Board member and Advisor to the Canadian Society of Ecological Economics (CANSEE) for the past five years. Sophia has a proven track record for advancing ecological economic research principles in practice, holding leadership positions in several regional and national institutions, and building meaningful and lasting collaborations with community partners – all central tenets of the transdisciplinary field. She has a strong desire to bring these capacities to the ISEE community.  

In 2017, Sophia joined the CANSEE Board where she coordinated: two national conferences, three student academies, and the first-ever Indigenous-led dialogue on an Indigenous Ecological Economics for Canada, in partnership with Indigenous Climate Action (ICA). Sophia takes seriously the importance of embodying the change we wish to see, and implements this through principles of dialogue, partnership, and organizing. This included for example, providing free childcare at the 2019 CANSEE conference to minimize barriers to accessing academia – particularly for women.  

With her recent appointment as researcher and advisor to the Vatican, Sophia is in an optimal position to advance the understanding and application of ecological economic principles at an international scale. In particular, through Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ Goals (EE #3) and Action Platform, Sophia will be spearheading a grassroots approach to equipping individuals, universities, organizations and corporations to adopt practices that mobilize the collective shift needed for alternative economic futures. Serving on the ISEE Board would be an ideal opportunity to expand this impact alongside the international membership. Sophia’s skill set in leveraging network connections is a particular asset for fostering more coordinated actions and discourse across the Regional societies and beyond.