CEC Steering Committee

CEO, Canadian Wildlife Federation

Sean Southey has over 30 years of experience in the international development and communications field. He is the CEO of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, one of the largest environmental organizations in Canada working to conserve and inspire the conservation of Canada’s wildlife and habitats for the use and enjoyment of all. 

With a multi-sectoral background, Sean started his career with 5 years in the Canadian Ministry of Environment, followed by 12 years working with United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) environment team. His NGO experience was enriched through work with ICLEI (Secretary General), Rare (Vice-President) and ten years as President of PCI Media. Sean has led the development of over 100 campaigns world-wide, won over 100 awards for this work, and has literally reached billions of people with life and planet saving information.

From 2016 to October 2025,  Sean was elected Chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Commission on Education and Communication (CEC). In this role, he has worked tirelessly to enhance IUCN’s use of strategic communications for social change. This included a lead role in designing and implementing IUCN’s #NatureForAll campaign, promoting Nature-based Education and helping grow and support the work of the CEC and its 1,800 members. 

Sean is a dual Canadian and South African citizen and has lived, worked, and traveled in over 125 countries. He holds a MSC from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics from University of British Columbia, and has a wonderful daughter, Safia.

Margaret (Meg) Beckel is an accomplished leader in the museum, post-secondary and arts & culture sectors. Her skills and experience include senior administration, fundraising, finance and operations, brand framing, strategic planning, board governance and change management as well as oversight of major construction projects. Meg has championed and led transformational challenges in the national organizations she has served and with her success, earned a reputation for being direct, transparent, committed, honest, tenacious and fair. She has also managed to maintain a sense of humour.

Meg recently retired from the role of CEO of Canada’s national museum of Natural History’s where she eliminated their deficit through new revenue generating programs, a new brand framework and institutional positioning, a new value-based pricing structure and a contribution/business case approach to public program planning and research/collections management.  Meg's volunteer work includes serving on the Board of the Canadian Canoe Museum as a Chair of the Nature Canada Women for Nature Initiative and on the Executive Committee for the National Capital Region chapter for the Institute of Corporate Directors. 
 

Meg has served on the Canadian Committee of IUCN as a member, Chair and observer.  She currently serves as Deputy Chair for the IUCN Commission for Education and Communications and is a member of the IUCN Urban Alliance.  While CEO of the museum, she was vote holder for the Canadian government agency members of IUCN.   Meg has a in BA Political Science, Queen’s University, Canada and a Masters of Business Administration,  University of Western Ontario, Canada.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. 
 

Jason couples his qualifications and experiences in environmental science and education (maths and science) to advocate for the advancement of nature-based education. Since is first role as a teenager in environmental restoration, his career spans diverse roles across various non-profits, such as the World Wide for Nature (WWF), and several government departments in Western Australia. As an impassioned young person for environmental causes, he was awarded the Western Australian Young Achiever Award – Environment in 2019. Now in his early thirties, he continues to combine his passion for education, science, and sustainability with a deep commitment to inclusivity and community engagement.

Jason has been instrumental in pioneering nature-based education programs tailored to diverse audiences from early-years to adults. Throughout his professional journey, Jason has honed a versatile skill set encompassing stakeholder engagement, environmental science, curriculum design, and program management. His approach is deeply collaborative, emphasising the importance of inclusivity and diverse perspectives in achieving shared goals. Jason has demonstrated his dedication to fostering equitable opportunities with First Nations peoples, multi-cultural backgrounds, lower socio-economic communities by spearheading several innovative solutions to environmental challenges including ReWild Perth and river restoration projects.

Currently, he works in policy and strategy development to dismantle barriers for underrepresented groups to access education and entre the workforce in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). The aim is to create more diverse, accessible, and equitable pathways for everyone to enter and thrive in STEM careers contributing towards the sustainable development goals.

Previously, Jason served in leadership positions at organisations such as the Botanical Gardens and Parks Authority and Perth NRM, where he oversaw the development and implementation of biodiversity conservation, community engagement, and environmental education projects. Notable achievements include managing initiatives targeting endangered species, spearheading collaborative efforts to address climate change, and working with diverse partners to address urban biodiversity loss.

Jason's contributions extend beyond his professional endeavors, as evidenced by his publications and active involvement in professional and community-based associations. Jason remains at the forefront of environmental education and advocacy, championing initiatives promoting sustainability and inclusivity on a global scale. These roles include Vice-President for the Australian Association for Environmental Education and as Co-chair of the World Environmental Educators Congress Organising Committee.

Co Chair IUCN #NatureForAll  

Steering Committee Member IUCN Commission on Education & Communication

Dr (Ms) Vasanti Rao is the Director General of CMS (Centre for Media Studies) - a research based think tank in India (www.cmsindia.org) and also directs CMS VATAVARAN, the Asia’s largest international film festival and forum on environment & wildlife (www.cmsvatavaran.org).

Vasanti has her PhD in Media Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University and has double Masters degrees in Psychology and Management. She specializes in strategy development, designing, researching and evaluating development programs communication initiatives. Vasanti also advises, studies and writes on: the communication media and regulatory issues; mass and new media trends and consumption patterns; strategies for development programs & social issues in popular media (entertainment & NEWS); Communication & Media Research; Behavior & Social Change Communication & Entertainment Education Strategies.

Conservation, Gender and Children are three key areas of her concern and passion. Vasanti has to her credit numerous policy inputs, program evaluations, designing and organizing multi stakeholder events and research based publications.  

Hanying has nearly 30 years’ experience in sustainable development at the national, regional and international level. She has worked with State Environmental Protection Administration of China (the former Ministry of Environment and Ecology), China Environmental Protection Foundation, National People’s Congress, P. R. China, and two important international organizations on nature conservation - IUCN and World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Hanying’s work covers a variety of topics, especially nature conservation, environmental protection, climate change, gender balance, poverty alleviation, green finance and etc. She is interested in nature-based integrated solutions for global challenges.

In recent years, Hanying has been dedicated to promote nature education in East Asia in her capacity as Regional Vice Chair of IUCN CEC (2016-2025), through membership recruitment and collaborative activities with various partners. During this time, Youth engagement and Intergenerational diallage - one of the four priority areas - was greatly enhanced in East Asia. 

Hanying holds an M.S. degree in Organizational Management from the School for International Training Institute, Vermont, U.S.A., and a B.L. degree in International Political Sciences from Peking University, China.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Vice Chair
 

Dr. Alex Zavarzin  is currently director of the AI in Agrobiotechnolgy center of the ITMO University (https://en.itmo.ru) combining this position with advisory to the State selectional achievements commission of Russia (https://gossortrf.ru).  Previously he combined university professorship with service  of vice-provost for biology, geography, geoecology and soils of St.Petersburg state university. Dr. Zavarzin also worked for the All-Russia center for talented children “Sirius” recently established at the former Olympic infrastructure in Sochi and later as a deputy director of Vavilov Center opf Plant Genetic resources (VIR). For many years Dr. Zavarzin combined his academic research with work in environmental NGO “Baltic Fund for Nature” followed nowadays by a membership in the IUCN Member organization - All-Russian Society of Nature Protection-Leningrad region office. (https://voop.spb.ru) where he is the academic leader for the biodiversity projects.

Dr. Zavazrin has been an active member in a number of professional societies. He participated and led many international environmental projects in Russia and NW Europe, sponsored by WWF, Programmes of European Union, UNDP with many of them being implemented under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidance. He has wide experience in promoting biodiversity field studies, networking of protected areas, implementation of environmental legislation and transboundary collaboration, enhancing youth involvement into decision making and introducing of education for sustainable development and communication.

Dr. Zavarzin is a regional vice-chair of the IUCN CEC and vice co-chair for IUCN ICENCA, as well as a member of the IUCN Russian National Committee.

#NatureForAll Co-Chair

Cheryl Charles is an innovator, entrepreneur, educator, author and organizational executive. Throughout her career, Cheryl has focused on the well-being of children, families, communities and the environment that supports us all. She is the Co-Founder, President and CEO Emerita of the Children & Nature Network (www.childrenandnature.org), an international NGO with its mission to connect all children, their families and communities to nature in their everyday lives.

Cheryl serves as a member of the Steering Committee for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Commission on Education and Communication (CEC). A member of the Commission since 2005, she previously served on the CEC’s Steering Committee from 2006—2012 and again beginning in 2018. Deeply committed to the importance of connecting people of all ages with nature for their own health and well-being and that of the Earth itself, she is one of those who helped develop the concept for IUCN’s #NatureForAll and serves as one of its three international co-chairs. She was lead author and coordinator of #NatureForAll’s report, Home to Us All: How Connecting with Nature Helps Us Care for Ourselves and the Earth.

Cheryl currently is Research Scholar and founding Executive Director of the Nature Based Leadership Institute at Antioch University New England (AUNE), and an elected school board member. She is a member of the board of trustees of both the Brandwein Institute and the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. She served as foundation National Director of the pioneering K-12, interdisciplinary environment education programs, Project Learning Tree and Project WILD.

Cheryl is author, editor and designer of a wide variety of publications including books, articles, and educational materials. Cheryl has given hundreds of public presentations and workshops including scores of keynote addresses; and has facilitated a wide variety of civic, business and educational meetings on a range of topics from developing community leadership to leading the worldwide effort to reconnect children with nature. Cheryl has a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Washington. She lives near her son, daughter-in-law and nature-based grandchildren on a forest family farm in southern Vermont, USA.

Natalie Cox is a Program Officer with IUCN, based in Washington D.C. and supporting the Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) and the North America Regional Office.

She joins IUCN with 10 years of experience managing large-scale international education initiatives at the intersection of education, environment, and diplomacy across France and the United States. Previously, Natalie was Deputy Director of Campus France USA at the Embassy of France in Washington D.C., where she led a team supporting study abroad and research initiatives under the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Higher Education, Research, and Innovation, including bilateral climate research programs. She led the design of a new French government scholarship supporting graduate students and launched communications campaigns highlighting the alignment of higher education pathways with the UN SDGs. Under the French Ministry of Education, Natalie managed the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) and the French Teaching Intern Program, the largest bilateral young professional exchange programs between France and the United States. 

Natalie chaired the Forum on Education Abroad's Working Group for Advancing the UN SDGs, and is a volunteer evaluator for U.S. State Department-funded exchange programs. Natalie started her career in philanthropy working at a foundation in Boston supporting domestic conservation efforts and youth organizing around environmental justice. She has also consulted with NGOs on public policy advocacy in the areas of investment in education, health, and environment. Natalie grew up in California and Washington State, and holds a Master of Public Administration from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and a B.A. with honors in Linguistics and French from the University of California, Santa Cruz (Rachel Carson College) where she also studied environmental and climate science and became a tireless advocate for the natural world. A passionate environmental educator, Natalie has led outdoor education canoe expeditions in Voyageurs National Park, volunteered in the Virgin Islands National Park, and served as an organizer for the March for the Ocean and the DC Environmental Film Festival.