Nicola Crawhall
Chief Executive Officer
(519) 904-2897 x75880
Email: [email protected]
Nicola has over 25 years of professional experience in leading and supporting municipal networks and shaping water governance and policy. For over a decade, Nicola served as the Deputy Director of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, an association of over 130 Canadian and American mayors that promotes the protection and restoration of one of the world’s greatest sources of freshwater.
Previously, Nicola served as a senior advisor to the Ontario Minister of Environment where she oversaw the introduction of the Clean Water Act, groundbreaking legislation to protect sources of drinking water across Ontario. She has also served as a special advisor to the Regional Public Works Commissioners, where she forged an innovation and technology partnership with Sustainable Development Technology Canada. Most recently, Nicola worked for the Regional Municipality of York where she was responsible for establishing a multi-year research and innovation program to support more effective delivery of environmental services.
Nicola Crawhall
Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]
(519) 904-2897 x75880About Nicola
Sandra Cooke
Director, Communities and Climate
(519) 904-2897 x78937
Email: [email protected]
Sandra is the director of communities and climate at CWN.
Prior to joining CWN, Sandra supported water management in the agriculture and municipal sectors. She came to CWN after 17 years as a watershed water manager with the Grand River Conservation Authority, where she implemented the watershed water management plan, chaired the Water Managers Working Group, led the Authority’s water quality program and championed the development of the watershed-wide wastewater optimization program. Sandra is acutely aware of how important working and collaborating with people is with respect to making positive change happen in the water community.
Sandra holds an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Guelph and a Master of Science from the University of Alberta.
Sandra Cooke
Director of Communities and Climate
[email protected]
(519) 904-2897 x78937About Sandra
Karen Ford
Manager of Finance and Operations
(519) 904-2897 x70953
Email: [email protected]
Karen joined Canadian Water Network in May 2017 and is responsible for managing and overseeing the organization’s finances, administration, human resources and facilities.
Previously, Karen worked for over a decade at the Ontario Centres of Excellence, managing their operations and multiple facilities. Her duties included lease negotiations, IT support, policy development, administrative provisioning and procurement. She also worked as a Research Program Manager at the Centre for Research and Earth Technologies and the Waterloo Centre for Groundwater Research, both predecessor organizations of the Ontario Centres of Excellence.
Karen holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and a Diploma in Accounting from Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a designated CMA and CPA. She holds a certificate in Canadian Risk Management from the Global Risk Management Institute and completed the Enterprise Risk Management Certificate program offered by the Society of Management Accountants of Canada.
Karen Ford
Manager of Finance and Operations
[email protected]
(519) 904-2897 x70953About Karen
Giba Barrie
Engagement and Knowledge Mobilization Specialist
(519) 904-2897 x76833
Email: [email protected]
Giba joined Canadian Water Network (CWN) in May 2024 as an engagement and knowledge mobilization specialist for our Wastewater-Based Surveillance (WBS) Program. In partnership with the National Centre for Collaboration on Infectious Diseases (NCCID), she will help health authorities interpret the meaning of wastewater-based surveillance data for their communities and communicate these results to decision-makers and the public.
Giba holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Calgary, and a Master in Public Health from Western University. She completed her public health practicum with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization at the Public Health Agency of Canada. (PHAC). Gibathen worked at York Region as a policy, research, and initiatives advisor who contributed to strategic planning and policy-related documents. Returning to PHAC, Giba joined the Science in French team as a research analyst and supported PHAC’s mandate of increasing the amount of science-related content produced in French across the agency.
Giba Barrie
Engagement and Knowledge Mobilization Specialist
[email protected]
(519) 904-2897 x76833
About Giba
Simran Chattha
Communications Manager
(519) 904-2897 x72961
Email: [email protected]
Simran joined Canadian Water Network (CWN) in January 2022. In her current role, Simran is responsible for providing communications support for the CWN team. She is also responsible for enabling team members to deliver programs and projects that are aligned with CWN’s corporate strategy, values and brand.
Before joining CWN, Simran worked at Water Canada, WaterTAP and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).
Simran holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from York University, a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Guelph, and an MBA from the University of Toronto.
Simran Chattha (currently on leave)
Communications Manager
[email protected]
(519) 904-2897 x72961About Simran
Meghan Ewing
Climate Program Coordinator
519-904-2897 x74677
Email: [email protected]
Meghan joined Canadian Water Network in September 2023 as a program coordinator.
Prior to entering this role, Meghan worked as a research technician at McGill University’s Geographic Information Centre, where she worked on a variety of socio-environmental research projects. She has a strong background in water management, community science engagement and geospatial problem-solving.
Meghan holds a Bachelor of Science from Queen’s University, where she studied biology and geology. She also holds a Master of Science in integrated water resources management from McGill University. When she’s not working, you can find Meghan hiking, baking, reading or spending time with loved ones.
Meghan Ewing
Program Advisor
[email protected]
519-904-2897 x74677
About Meghan
Talia Glickman
Wastewater-based Surveillance Program Manager
(519) 904-2897 x76833
Email: [email protected]
Talia Glickman joined Canadian Water Network in 2023 as an Engagement and Knowledge Mobilization Specialist. She is responsible for engaging wastewater-based surveillance program participants and supporting knowledge mobilization and peer learning activities.
Previously, Talia worked as a gender equality consultant and as a research officer at the University of Toronto’s Department of Anthropology. She has held a variety of non-profit and research roles, focusing on global health and gender equality, as well as water and the environment.
Talia holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science and a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the University of Guelph. Outside of work, Talia can be found baking cookies, trying new restaurants with friends, and reading fiction.
Talia Glickman
Senior Program Advisor
[email protected]
(519) 904-2897 x76833
About Talia
Nancy Goucher
Municipal Program Manager
Email: [email protected]
Nancy Goucher joined Canadian Water Network (CWN) as Municipal Program Manager in March 2025.
Nancy brings over 16 years of professional experience in strategic water management and policy. Most recently, she served as the Knowledge Mobilization Specialist at the University of Waterloo’s Water Institute, where she developed and led initiatives to connect research with real-world needs—including those of municipal water leaders. She supported research projects totaling over $30 million in funding, facilitated stakeholder workshops on critical topics like emerging contaminants, and trained hundreds of emerging water scientists in science communication.
With a strong background in shaping water policy discussions across Canada, Nancy spent more than a decade in the nonprofit sector, holding key roles at Freshwater Future, Environmental Defence, and the Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW). She played a vital role in securing major policy achievements, including the ban on plastic microbeads and the passage of the Great Lakes Protection Act.
Nancy is also a skilled network builder. She spent five years leading the Great Lakes Network, fostering cross-jurisdictional collaboration on water policy solutions. In 2020, she co-founded the University of Waterloo’s Knowledge Mobilization Community of Practice to enhance capacity and peer-to-peer learning.
“I’m thrilled to be joining CWN as the Municipal Water Manager,” said Nancy. “Municipalities are at the forefront of building resilient water systems. Their decisions shape the health, equity, and sustainability of our communities.”
“CWN is known for delivering innovative solutions to Canada’s most complex water challenges,” Nancy continued. “I’m excited to support municipal and utility leaders in making informed decisions about drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services—helping communities thrive today and in the future.”
Nancy Goucher
Municipal Program Manager
[email protected]
About Nancy
Lyle Schneider
Technologist
(519) 904-2897 x79796
Email: [email protected]
Lyle Schneider joined Canadian Water Network in 2011. His tasks include the design, build and implementation of new web applications, day-to-day management of the organization’s IT infrastructure and IT support for CWN’s staff, researchers and partners.
Before joining Canadian Water Network, Lyle worked for three years as an engineering consultant, where he integrated software products into large manufacturing environments. Lyle had the opportunity to consult in a variety of industries, including automotive, food and beverage, steel and solar.
Lyle holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in mechatronics engineering from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Lyle Schneider
Technologist
[email protected]
(519) 904-2897 x79796About Lyle
Amanda Sider
Finance and Operations Coordinator
(519) 904-2897 x73782
Email: [email protected]
Amanda joined Canadian Water Network in February 2018 as the office administrator. She brings more than seven years of administrative and customer service experience to this role, as well as an educational background in environmental science.
From 2011-2018, Amanda was the office manager for Hunter Plumbing, Heating & Excavating Inc. After graduating with a BSc from the University of Waterloo, she completed a summer contract as a research assistant in a local watershed. Amanda is also an entrepreneur and successfully ran two businesses.
When she’s not at work, Amanda enjoys country living, travel and fishing in Ontario’s waterways.
Amanda Sider
Finance and Operations Coordinator
[email protected]
(519) 904-2897 x73782About Amanda
Katina Tam
Senior Program Advisor
(519) 904-2897 x76833
Email: [email protected]
Katina joined Canadian Water Network in 2022 as a senior program advisor.
Through this role, Katina leads and implements various initiatives supporting the Municipal Consortium and other CWN programs. This includes developing high-quality curated content, like reports and case studies, that can be used by network participants to inform decision-making. She also proactively cultivates and nurtures positive relationships with individuals in the water and water-adjacent sectors.
Prior to joining CWN, Katina worked as an environmental program specialist at the City of Red Deer for eight years. In this role, she led the development of the city’s Water Conservation, Efficiency and Productivity Plan. Katina also led other initiatives related to water, stormwater/green infrastructure, wastewater and urban agriculture.
Katina is a professional agrologist with a Bachelor of Science in global resource systems from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Science in integrated water resources management from McGill University. Outside of work, Katina spends her time running, baking, soap-making and exploring local trails and parks with her family.
Katina Tam (currently on leave)
Senior Program Advisor
[email protected]
(519) 904-2897 x76833
About Katina