Results of IAIA's 2023 election
IAIA is pleased to share the results of the recent Board of Directors election. Join us in welcoming President-Elect/Director Alan Ehrlich and Directors Mireya Archila and Francesco Mazzei. Learn more about these three new Board members below. Alan, Mireya, and Francesco join an active, dedicated, international group of existing Board members. We look forward to working with them in forwarding IAIA’s mission and vision.
We extend our sincere appreciation to Charlotta Faith-Ell, Pablo Barañao, and Jeffrey Jacquet who dedicated their time, energy, and enthusiasm in standing for election. They were indeed worthy candidates, and we look forward to their continued engagement with IAIA.
Alan Ehrlich is the Manager of EIA for the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, a court-like Indigenous co-management board that conducts impact assessments (IAs) and makes decisions regarding major industrial developments in northern Canada. For over 27 years, Alan has conducted and reviewed high profile, politically sensitive IAs in Canada and internationally. He led the IA of Giant Mine, the largest remediation project in Canada’s history.
Internationally, Alan is known for his award-winning writing, speaking, and thinking about IA. He was lead author for a paper that was awarded Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal’s Best Paper of 2015 by IAIA. He regularly gives webinars, presentations, interviews, and panel talks on best IA practices.
Alan loves IAIA. He has been a member for 20 years, and he has sat on the Executive Board of the IAIA Western and Northern Canada Affiliate for the past 22 years, including three as President. He helped organize three IAIA international conferences (and presented at many more). Alan is familiar with board governance and knows how to find consensus in culturally diverse groups of Board members. He is also a skilled communicator and knows how to inspire others as a leader.
The Earth appears to be entering the Anthropocene epoch. Promoting effective tools for wise long-term decision making—as IAIA does—has never been more vital. As President, Alan plans to work hard to help the new CEO understand and meet the needs of IAIA members, both practitioners and academics (he has a foot in both worlds). He will also encourage greater integration between the many sub-disciplines of IA, to reflect and better assess impacts on interconnected systems of people and the environment.
Mireya Archila is a geologist with specialization studies in geochemistry, environment, and risk management. She has more than 30 years of professional practice, having held public posts as General Coordinator for Environment of the Presidency of Guatemala, President of Council of Protected Areas, and President of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development. In private practice, Mireya has been Manager of Safety and Environment, Compliance Officer, and corporate soil remediation expert. Since 2006, she has been the Executive Director and Senior Consultant of Geoambiente, coordinating multidisciplinary teams for social and environmental services in Guatemala and Central America.
Mireya is a founding member of associations related to environmental management, having held positions such as President and/or Director in: Association of Environmental Companies, Services, and Products of the Chamber of Industry; Association of Environmental Consultants of Guatemala; and Export Association (and its Sustainability Committee).
Mireya has been participating in IAIA annual conferences since 2002, obtaining benefits of professional updates and interaction with experts from around the world. As a member of the IAIA Board, Mireya hopes to enhance IAIA participation by promoting new IAIA chapters where current participation is scarce in order to strengthen social and environmental practice, as a contribution to sustainability, public participation, gender inclusion, and human rights. Additionally, she will make efforts to promote the interaction of experts to generate knowledge sharing and innovation in the environmental practice of all IAIA associates, through regional symposiums and seminars.
Francesco Mazzei has over a decade of professional experience in the areas of health and social impact assessment and community health and safety management. He was introduced to the field of impact assessment while completing his undergraduate degree and has devoted his professional career to this discipline ever since, first as a researcher, then as a junior specialist, and now as a Senior Corporate Management Associate with Arrowsmith Gold Incorporated.
Francesco is also privileged to be a founding member and Director of the Asia Pacific Foundation for Climate and Health, a newly established non-profit organization that focuses on providing a range of critical health and well-being support services to communities, governments, and public institutions as it relates to climate and development projects.
Since attending his first IAIA event in 2017, Francesco has participated in three annual conferences and completed numerous training courses. His interest in joining the Board centers on expanding participation and membership amongst his peers located around the globe. He specifically hopes to draw on his diverse professional and academic experience to support IAIA achieve goals targeted at expanding young professionals/student engagement as outlined in the organization’s most recent Strategic Plan, including: elevating IAIA’s profile on the world stage via increased social media exposure; extending IAIA’s reach and depth by expanding student membership; and empowering IAIA’s partnerships and collaborations by establishing strong relationships with academic institutions from around the world.
