Dr. Chris McLaughlin, who teaches ARTSSCI 4EP3 / Environmental Policy Inquiry, has worked in the environmental sector since 1990 as an educator, author and editor, consultant to governments and foundations, and chief executive of non-governmental organizations. He is currently the executive director of the Bay Area Restoration Council in Hamilton, a charitable non-profit corporation that leads and engages in collective action to revitalize Hamilton Harbour and its watershed through outreach, education, collaboration, leadership and knowledge mobilization.

Dr. McLaughlin has a BES in environmental studies from the University of Waterloo and an MSc in ecology from the University of Guelph. He holds a PhD from McMaster University for research into Great Lakes policy and governance. He is an adjunct faculty member in McMaster’s School of Earth, Environment & Society and has published numerous water policy-related reports, book chapters and peer-reviewed articles.

Dr. McLaughlin is the incoming Canadian co-chair of the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board. He’s also co-lead of the Board’s Climate Change Adaptation Work Group and a member of the Canadian Environmental Law Association’s Healthy Great Lakes Advisory Committee.