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Charlene Ponto is a facilitator, researcher, and program manager passionate about bridging the gap between environmental and social justice movements. As the Project Coordinator of the SFU Local Food Project at Simon Fraser University, she coordinates community engagement initiatives and local food distribution projects designed to reduce campus food miles while strengthening regional food networks. Charlene’s international experience includes working on sustainable waste management projects in a rural village in the Dominican Republic and partnering with a Burmese grassroots women’s organization to support nursery school education and women’s economic development projects in refugee camps along the Thai/Burma border. More locally, she has facilitated numerous public dialogues, including an interactive dialogue on climate change and food sustainability at the Canadian Conference for Dialogue and Deliberation. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of SFPIRG, SFU’s social and environmental justice resource centre, and has recently joined the Board of Check Your Head, a youth-driven organization aiming to get young people involved in global justice issues. Charlene holds a degree in Cultural Anthropology, a minor in Dialogue, and a Certificate in Sustainable Community Development.