Barb is a strategist, catalyst, and connector, working with companies, government and communities to respond to urgent social, economic, and environmental challenges through civic innovation, regenerative practices, and circular economy strategies. She is committed to the power of a shared vision and mission-driven collective action to create regenerative local economies and communities that are inclusive and thriving in harmony with nature.
As a global leader in place-based innovation, system change, and community capacity building, she recently convened and led a collaboration of local government, business, academic, and community leaders to win Canada’s Smart City Challenge. Built on a shared vision and goals, and a distributed leadership and governance model, they co-produced a portfolio of over 60 system change projects for re-imagining a circular, sustainable regional food system, supported by social innovation, data, and technology. Successfully attracting over $40M in investments, and mobilizing national and international collaborations, this work has created new innovation platforms including a Circular Innovation Launchpad, Climate and Circularity Hub, and Zero Waste Economic Innovation Lab that are testing and deepening regenerative social, economic, environmental practices.
