Angela Loder recently received her  Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in Geography and the Centre for Environment.

See LinkedIn Profile here.

GENERAL RESEARCH AREAS

Green Cities, Nature, Health, Well-being, Place, Green Building, Green Roofs, Workplace health, Urban Agriculture, Sustainable Communities, Urban Planning

CURRENT RESEARCH AREAS

Developing and testing metrics to better understand the link between green building features such as green walls and green roofs on occupant health, well-being, and productivity that can be used in Pre and Post Occupancy Evaluations (PPOEs).

THESIS FOCUS

Urban greening projects and their impact on health, well-being, and green buildings. In particular I looked at how green roofs influence our sense of place, our ideas about urban nature, and our health and well-being in the workplace in Toronto, ON and Chicago, IL.  I conducted my fieldwork in Chicago on a Canada-U.S. Fulbright.

PARTNERSHIPS

I collaborated with the City of Chicago, the USDA Forest Service North Central Branch, and the City of Toronto.  I am also co-founder of a Health and Green Building Research Group with the U.S. Green Building Council, which  had its first meeting November 2010 at Greenbuild and brought together over 30 leading researchers, designers, and policy makers on issues of green building and health.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• Core Member of the National Institutes of Health Health in Buildings Roundtable

• Canada-US Fulbright Alumni and Mentor

• Member of the U.S. Green Building Council Chicago Chapter, Research and Education Committee
• Member of the American Association of Geographers
• Member of the Canadian Association of Geographers
• Member of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, Research Committee

EDUCATION

2004-2011: PhD, Department of Geography and Planning and the Centre for Environment, University of Toronto, Ontario.
• Primary Research area: ecological cities, nature, health and place.
• Secondary Research area: urban agriculture, community gardening, sustainability

2002-2003: Master of Arts in Political Science and Environmental Studies, University of Toronto, Ontario.
• Research focus on urban environmental policy, governance, globalization, waste management and transportation.

2001: Bachelor of Humanities, College of the Humanities, Carleton University, Ontario. Highest honours.
• Program centered on seminal Western thinkers from the pre-Socratics to the postmodernists.
• Developed critical thinking through the analysis of primary sources and weekly seminar presentations.
• Research focus on concepts of political community and the individual, and the impact of gender, technology, religion and science on both.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

2009-2011         Research Assistant, SSHRC-funded interdisciplinary project on Conservation and Demand Management

• Employer: Centre for Environment, University of Toronto

• Interdisciplinary collaboration on design of conservation behaviour feedback for pilot project; conducting critical literature review of community-based social marketing projects (CBSM) and child and moral psychology; developing ethical guidelines for CBSM projects; developing toolkit for improved CBSM projects; checking project for validity and reliability using interdisciplinary methods

2007-2009: Advisory board member on green building trends and case studies
• Employer: Green Realty Trust, Inc. Chicago, IL.
• Research includes green building growth trends, case studies and current policy that influences green building at a local, state and federal level.

2006-2007: Assistant researcher and policy writer on green roofs
• Employer: Environment Canada
• Project leaders: Beth Anne Currie and Brad Bass, Ph.D.
• Topic: the energy and smart growth benefits of green roofs and their integration with municipal, provincial and federal smart growth policies.

2004-2011: Doctoral Dissertation, Department of Geography and Planning and the Centre for Environment, University of Toronto, Ontario.
• Doctoral thesis focus: the relationship between the perceptions of office workers towards urban nature, here limited to recent green roof projects within sight of their workplace, and their perceptions of their health and well-being. Comparative case studies in Toronto and Chicago.
• Committee: Dr. Ted Relph, Dr. Sarah Wakefield, Dr. Scott Prudham, Dr. Rodney White. External examiner: Dr. Robert Mugerauer. Internal examiner: Dr. Ingrid Stefanovic.

2003-2004: Researcher, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
• Responsible for new research on green roofs, cities, and urban planning

2002-2003: Major Paper, Master of Arts, Political Science and Environmental Studies, University of Toronto, Ontario.
• M.A. major paper: Social movements and green building as the fourth wave of environmentalism.

RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE

2007-2010: Green Advisory Board Member
• Green Realty Trust, Inc. Chicago, IL.
• Responsibilities include presentations at board meetings, commentary on green real estate investment documents, holdings and investment, and consultancy on the role of green roofs and health and wellbeing to tenants in green buildings.

2003-2004: Director of Memberships and Assistant Conference Organizer
• Conference: Greening Rooftops for Healthy Cities Conference, Awards, and Trade Show, Washington, DC, May 2-4, 2005.
• Conference: Greening Rooftops for Healthy Cities Conference, Awards, and Trade Show, Portland,  Oregon, June 2-4, 2004.
• Responsible for recruiting new members from industry
• Responsible for organizing and administrating the speakers and proceedings from the conference.

SELECTED AWARDS

2011: Arthur and Sonia Labatt Graduate Fellowship

2010: McCuig-Throop Bursary

2009: Arthur and Sonia Labatt Graduate Fellowship

2009: Geography Departmental Fellowship

2009: McMaster Trust Grant

2009: University of Toronto Fellowship

2009: School of Graduate Studies Travel Grant

2007-2008: Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program Student Award.
2007-2008: Arthur and Sonia Labatt Graduate Fellowship.
2007-2008: Eric Baker Krause Graduate Fellowship.
2006-2007: CPHS Lupina/OGS Doctoral Fellowship.
2006-2007: Ontario Graduate Scholarship.
2005-2006: Arthur and Sonia Labatt Graduate Fellowship.
2005-2006: Eric Baker Krause Graduate Fellowship.
2005-2006: F. Kenneth Hare Scholarship in Environment for academic
excellence.
2005-2006: Women In Doctoral Studies grant.
2005-2006: University of Toronto Fellowship.
2004-2005: University of Toronto Fellowship.
2002-2003: Ontario Graduate Scholarship for consistent academic excellence.
2001: Senate Medal for academic excellence upon graduation from Carleton University, Ottawa
1996-2000: Maintained President’s Scholarship at Carleton University for the
duration of my undergraduate studies.
1996-1997: Recognized as the top student in the College of the Humanities.
1996: Awarded Entrance Scholarship at Carleton University for being one of the top 15applicants from the Ottawa-Carleton Region.

SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Loder, A., Heerwagen, J., Grey, Whitney Austin. (2011 October). Why Research Matters. Session presented at Greenbuild 2011: Toronto, Ontario.

Loder, A. (2010, December). Green Roofs and Health: Exploring the Connection in Toronto and Chicago Workplaces. Paper presented at Cities Alive: 8th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference, Vancouver British Columbia.

Loder, A. (2010, November). Cracks in the pavement: Exploring spaces of possibility and release in the modernist city. Paper presented at the International Association of Environmental Philosophy, Montreal, Quebec.

Stefanovic, I. and Loder, A. (2010, January). Energy Demand Management: The Human Factor. Paper presented at the Energy and Environment Conference, Phoenix, Arizona.

Loder, A. (2009, November). There’s a meadow outside my workplace: Explorations of place and wellbeing for office workers in cities implementing green roofs. Paper presented at the International Association of Environmental Philosophy, Arlington, Virginia.

Loder, A. (2009, July). Nature in the City: Exploring the impact of green roofs on office worker health and well-being in Toronto. Paper presented at 2009 International Medical Geography Symposium, Hamilton, Ontario.

Loder, A. (2009, March). Dwelling in the Concrete Jungle: are green roofs shifting the place experience of office workers in central business districts in Chicago? Paper presented at the 2009 Annual General Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), Las Vegas.

2007: Dwelling in the Green City: Exploring the role of Nature in Health and Place
• Topic: preliminary exploration of interview results of office workers’ perceptions of nature, green roofs, and their health in Toronto and Chicago. Contextualized in an evaluation of Chicago and Toronto’s urban greening and green roof policies. Presented paper at Nature Matters Conference, Toronto, Oct 25th-28,th 2007.

2007:Shifting Edges and Moving Up: Green roofs and the Nature/City Divide
• Topic: critical evaluation and comparison of Chicago and Toronto’s urban greening and green roof policies. Focus on social construction of nature and how green roofs fit into this narrative, shifting edges of the nature/city divide, and as the political ecology of their implementation in each city.
• Presented paper at the Annual General Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), San Francisco, April 2007.

2006: Greening the City: Exploring Health, Well-being and Green
Roofs in the context of the workplace
• Paper presented at the Natural City Conference, June 2nd, 2006, University of Toronto, Toronto.

2006: Is Nature Good for Us? A critical systematic literature review and Implications for Urban Greening Projects
• Topic: critical literature review of empirical research on the preferences for and benefits to humans from contact with nature and its relationship to the social construction of nature debates.
• Presented paper at the Annual General Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), Chicago, March 2006.

2004: Green Roofs’ Contribution to Smart Growth Implementation.
• Paper presented on green roofs and infill development at the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Conference, Awards and Trade Show in Portland, Oregon, June 2-4. Peer-reviewed and published in the proceedings.

INVITED TALKS

Loder, A. (2011). Speaker at Grow West Green Roof Symposium, June 16^th

• One of five leading international green roof researchers and practitioners invited to speak at a one-day green roof symposium. Presented an hour-long discussion of my doctoral research: ‘Greening the City: Exploring Health, Well-being, Green Roofs and Perceptions of Nature in the Workplace.’  Denver, Colorado.

2007: Greening the City: Exploring Nature, Place, and Health with urban greening projects
• Paper presented for the OGS/Lupina Comparative Program in Health and Society Seminar Series,   Munk Centre, University of Toronto, January 31st, 2007.

2006: Greening the City: Exploring Health, Well-being and Green
Roofs in the context of the workplace
• Paper presented at the Centre for the Environment Research Day, April 25th, University of Toronto, Toronto.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS PEER REVIEWED

Loder, A., Grey, Whitney Austin, Heerwagen, J. 2011. Why Research Matters. Published as part of the conference proceedings for Greenbuild, the annual conference and tradeshow for the U.S. Green Building Council. October 5-9^th, Toronto. 10 pages.

Loder, A. 2010. Green roofs and health and wellbeing: exploring the connection in Toronto and Chicago workplaces. Published as part of the conference proceedings for Cities Alive Annual Conference and Trade Show. 20 pages.

Loder, Angela. 2007. Shifting Edges and Moving Up: Green Roofs and the Nature/City Divide in Toronto and Chicago. Comparative Program for Health and Society Lupina Foundation Working Papers Series. Ed. Jillian Clare Cohen and M. Bianca Seaton. 2006-2007. Pp. 22-50.

Loder, Angela, Peck, Steven W. 2004. Green Roofs and Implementing the Goals of Smart Growth. Peer-reviewed and published in the proceedings for the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Conference, Awards and Trade Show in Portland, Oregon, June 2-4.

Loder, Angela. Fall 2003. Green Roof Infrastructure helps to Implement Goals of Smart Growth. Green Roof Infrastructure Monitor. Vol 5, no. 2. Bi-annual research and industry journal published by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. Available on-line at www.greenroofs.org.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Gray, W. and Loder, A. Spring issue, 2011. Fieldnotes: Review of the Green Building and Health Workshop at Greenbuild 2010. Article in the Living Architecture Monitor. Quarterly magazine for the green roof industry.  Magazine is both on and offline.

Loder, A. (2010, Summer). Green roofs: Enviro and Mental Benefits. Our Green Home. Published by Corporate Knights.  Tri-annual publication, Greater Toronto Area distribution. Resource is both on and offline. http://issuu.com/ourgreenhome/docs/oghsummer2010?viewMode=magazine