Contact: mrala006@uottawa.ca
Country of Origin: Madagascar
Institution: Saint-Paul University / University of Ottawa

Joy Ralamboarisoa was a Speaker Ambassador at the Planetary Health Annual Meeting at Stanford University in 2019 and is now a PHCA at Saint-Paul University and the University of Ottawa in Canada. She’s also a National Geographic educator, and currently studies social innovation at the Elisabeth-Bruyère School of Social Innovation. She combines her program with her backgrounds in architecture and environmental studies to better understand how to build a resilient, healthy and inclusive city. Born and raised in Madagascar, Joy developed a love for nature and an interest in understanding the interdependence between the wellbeing of a community and its built environment. She’s passionate about social and environmental justice and uses social entrepreneurship and education as tools for social change. Her work and community engagement lead her to be selected as one of the top 150 young leaders (under 30) in sustainability by Leading Change Canada in 2020. She’s also been a reporter for the UN Climate Week summit at the United Nations headquarters in 2019, with Global Landscape Forum for the implementation of the UN decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and now works towards the achievement of the UN SDG #11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities.