Suzanne Chew

Background

About Suzanne Chew

Suzanne is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto Mississauga, appointed across the Departments of Anthropology and Geography, Geomatics and Environment. She completed her PhD in Geography at the University of Calgary, researching inclusive participation, voice and intercultural communication in environmental decision-making, learning from Inuit communities in the Canadian Arctic. Suzanne is an avid storyteller and communicator, and has published poetry and stories in literary magazines and gallery collections. Prior to graduate studies, Suzanne worked extensively in the climate change field in both the private and non-profit sector in Europe and Asia; she held the positions of Alliance Director at the international non-profit Nexus in Singapore, focused on low-carbon, poverty-alleviation programmes in Asia and Africa, and Regional Manager at TFS Green in London, UK, focused on financing global, low-carbon projects. Her project management experience includes managing complex, multi-country projects from design to implementation, with stakeholders including local communities, institutional donors, social enterprises and local partners, across climate-friendly technologies including household energy, water purification, small scale renewable energy, clean cooking solutions and waste-to-energy, efficient lighting, brick manufacturing, bio-energy from agricultural waste rice husk, run-of-river hydropower, and biogas recovery and utilization, across countries including Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, India. She brings key skills in successfully managing complex projects, strong communication and facilitation, and building strategic partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders. Suzanne started her career as a strategy analyst with the management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company. She graduated in Physics from Imperial College London (MSci, Hons), and has a Masters in Environmental Technology, majoring in Environmental Economics (MSc Distinction). Key skills: project management and coordination, intercultural communication, team facilitation and leadership, strategic analysis and problem-solving, community outreach and engagement, climate change mitigation and adaptation, fundraising, donor management, business development, project management, technical analysis.