Soudeh Jamshidian

Education and International Relations

Dr. Soudeh Jamshidian is a passionate leader, experienced in crafting dynamic and creative solutions for addressing environmental and social justice challenges. She is a strategic problem solver experienced in policy design, community engagement, research, and education.

Soudeh’s professional life started at the age of 19 when she founded an environmental NGO called Daumoon in Iran, which focuses on community participation in conservation. Her life journey has taken her to Iran, India, Afghanistan, Mali, and Canada to collaborate with local communities, policy makers, international organizations, and academics for conservation and resource management initiatives. She has worked as a project manager, designer, and consultant for UNDP, IUCN, IIED, and Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCA) Consortium. Soudeh worked as Environmental Education and Outreach Expert for the United Nations Environment Programme in Afghanistan (2009-2010), where she designed the strategic principles for community participation in Protected Areas (PAs).

Her PhD research at SFU focused on indigenous conservation in management of Protected Areas in India, Iran, and Afghanistan in which she explored community conservation challenges through the lens of equity, co-management, and international aid frameworks. Soudeh is a core member of IISAAK OLAM’s team and plays a lead role in curriculum development, knowledge mobilization, and international relations for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs).

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Other Team Members

Chief of T’Sou-ke Nation and Clean Energy Innovator
Gordon Planes (Hya-Quatcha) has been the elected chief of T’Sou-ke Nation on southern Vancouver Island since 2008 and has embarked on a 100-year process ...
Director of Communications
IPCA Planning and Research Lead
Dr. Justine Townsend holds a cross-appointed position with the IISAAK OLAM Foundation (IOF) and Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute. ...
IPCA Infrastructure and Systems Design
Eric is a PhD candidate in Civil Engineering at the University of Victoria. His position with the IISAAK OLAM Foundation is made possible by ...
Goldman Environmental Prize Recipient
Marilyn Baptiste is a former councillor and former Chief of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation in British Columbia, one of the six First Nations ...
Research and Engagement Coordinator
Isabel's interests can mostly be pinned at the intersections between community planning, ecology, and regenerative economic development. ...
Tla-o-qui-aht Elder and Cultural Educator
Levi Martin was born in Opitsaht, a Tla-o-qui-aht Nation village on Meares Island, on the west coast of Vancouver Island near Tofino. As a ...
Education and International Relations
Dr. Soudeh Jamshidian is a passionate leader, experienced in crafting dynamic and creative solutions for addressing environmental and social justice challenges. She is a ...
Award-Winning Producer, Author, Director and Scriptwriter
Barbara Todd (Metis/Cree), owner of Aarrow Productions, Inc., is a producer, author, documentary director and scriptwriter. She is the daughter of Judy Todd (Sharp) ...
Cross-Cultural Relations Coordinator
Anaïs Brusel is an aspiring leader and entrepreneur in Transpersonal Psychology, dedicated to inner healing and community development. Hailing from Northern France, she embodies ...
CEO & Founder of the Indigenomics Institute and the Global Centre of Indigenomics
Carol Anne Hilton, MBA is the CEO and founder of the Indigenomics Institute and the Global Center of Indigenomics. Carol Anne is a dynamic ...
IPCA Mapping Coordinator
Astra has been working with IOF since 2022, when she began as a Mitacs intern while completing her MSc in Environmental Studies at the ...
More coming soon...
WEST COAST IPCA CONSERVATION COORDINATOR
Abby is passionate about catalyzing creative and holistic solutions that address complex conservation challenges. She approaches her work with an artistic lens, woven with ...
IISAAK OLAM Foundation Co-founder, Director and CEO
Eli Enns is an internationally recognized expert in Indigenous-led conservation. From Tla-o-qui-aht Nation on his father’s side, and of Dutch Mennonite heritage on his ...
President of the Board
Terry is from TLA-O-QUI-AHT FIRST NATIONS from the House of Hi-you-eah which is represented by the SEITCHER family. In 2003, when he got married ...
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Monica is a highly strategic, creative, and solutions-oriented leader, acknowledged for her ability to transform visions, concepts and ideas into successful programs and initiatives. ...
Officer of the Order of Canada
Dr. John Borrows is one of the world’s leading scholars on Indigenous law. Dr. Borrows is a full professor of law at the University ...
Film Director
Benjamin is a filmmaker based in the Tseshaht & Hupacasath territories of the Alberni valley. Benjamin's work centers around restoration and protection of land, ...
Ethical Space Education Coordinator
Candice Steven is a passionate outdoor enthusiast with over two decades’ experience leading outdoor adventures and nature connection activities and learning opportunities for youth ...