Rebecca is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Centre for Global Engineering, working with Professors Amy Bilton and Nikki Weckman. She leads or supports active research projects on the topics of health facility electrification, decentralized domestic water procurement systems, and antimicrobial resistance in global health settings. Prior to University of Toronto, Rebecca studied Biomedical Engineering (BS'18, MS'20) and Industrial Engineering (MS'22, PhD'25) at the University of Wisconsin, during which she completed 15 months of research exchange at ETH Zurich (Switzerland) in the Power Systems Lab and Global Health Engineering groups through the Fulbright and NCCR Automation programs. Broadly, her research leverages human-centered design, community-based participatory research, and advanced analytics methods (e.g., mathematical optimization and machine learning) to mitigate the human and environmental health effects of anthropogenic change. Past thematic areas have included production and movement of essential goods during communicable disease pandemics, clean electrification of global health facilities, and decarbonization of the last-mile logistics sectors in low- and middle-income settings. Beyond the US and Canada, Rebecca's experience spans three continents with study/research collaborations in Colombia, Malawi, and Switzerland, as well as Ecuador, Guatemala, Kenya, and Uganda.
Peter Sloboda is a fourth-year Bachelor of Commerce student at the University of Toronto, specializing in Management with a focus on Strategy. His work lies in the field of sustainability, policy, and social impact. Through the UofT Consulting Association, Peter worked on international carbon credit market analysis and modeled blockchain-based verification infrastructure to support transparent, scalable climate action. His 2026 Policython brief - awarded Second Place in Environmental Policy - proposed a multi-tier governance framework for Ontario's transition to small modular reactor technology, centering Indigenous equity, community benefit agreements, and long-term clean energy replicability. As Senior Lead with Consult for Impact, he led a team developing a citywide youth engagement strategy for a Muslim community services organization in Toronto, translating research into actionable programming for over 140,000 youth. These experiences reflect a commitment to justice-centered, systems-level thinking across environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development. Peter is passionate about connecting business strategy, policy design, and meaningful community outcomes in service of the UN's global goals.
Sarah Kaplan is Distinguished Professor, Founding Director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE), Professor of Strategic Management and Fellow of the Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Her latest book—The 360° Corporation: From Stakeholder Trade-offs to Transformation—is based on her Aspen Institute award-winning course at the Rotman School. In it, she shows companies how to avoid simple “greenwashing” or “pinkwashing” in addressing corporate social responsibility. She lays out a roadmap for organizational leaders who have hit the limits of the supposed win-win of shared value to explore how companies can cope with real trade-offs, innovating around them or even thriving within them. Her current research focuses on applying an innovation lens to social challenges such as gender inequality. She was a strategic lead in developing the 2020 Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada. In 2021, she co-authored with Peter Dey, 360º Governance: Where are the Directors in a World in Crisis which outlines corporate director responsibilities for the 21st century. She regularly advises corporations, governments and agencies on policies related to environmental, social and governance issues such as board diversity, board governance, care work, employment, pay equity, gender-based analysis and other topics. She was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women Executive Network.