The IWA YWP Canada Volunteer Team plays a vital role in supporting the network’s mission and activities across the country. Our volunteers contribute their time, skills, and passion to strengthen professional connections, deliver impactful programs, and foster collaboration within the water sector. Organized across functional teams and regional groups, the Volunteer Team helps drive initiatives in programming, partnerships, communications, publishing, membership, and finance, while ensuring strong regional representation nationwide. Together, our volunteers help build an inclusive, dynamic, and supportive community that empowers early-career water professionals and advances IWA’s global vision in Canada.
IWA YWP Canada is run by volunteers from across Canada. Would you like to join our volunteer team?
Provide your motivations and goals to join the YWP Canada Chapter and apply now!
Communications Team
Edgar Martín Hernández
Newsletter editor
Dr. Edgar Martínez Hernández (he/him) is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mining and Materials Engineering at McGill University. He previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Université Laval, earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad de Salamanca (Spain), and was an ORISE Research Fellow hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). His research focuses on developing strategies and processes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from municipal wastewater treatment, as well as advancing circular approaches for phosphorus recovery and recycling.
Connect with Dr. Edgar on: LinkedIn
Dafne de Brito Cruz
Newsletter editor
Dafne de Brito Cruz (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Water Science, Technology and Policy group at the University of Waterloo. She holds an M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the Aeronautics Institute of Technology in Brazil, where she also served as a lecturer and military engineer. Her doctoral research focuses on advancing microbial risk management and treatment resilience to support the provision of safe drinking water. She is particularly interested in the intersection of water engineering and public health.
Connect with Dafne on: LinkedIn
Asifur Rahman (Asif)
Website Editor
Asifur Rahman (he/him) is currently a graduate researcher at York University, where he develops AI-driven forecasting models for small, urbanized watersheds using high-temporal-resolution hydrometric data. His work focuses on building multivariate, multi-horizon deep learning models to improve the early detection of stormflow-driven high-flow events, while addressing model uncertainty and reproducibility. Previously, Asifur worked with big data technologies to automate data pipelines in the healthcare industry.
Connect with Asif on LinkedIn
Jaime Hicks
Social media content creation
Jaime Hicks (she/her) holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering and a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering (Environmental Engineering Option) from the University of Alberta. She previously worked as an NSERC USRA Research Student at the University of Alberta and was awarded the Women in STEM Scholarship in 2024. Her thesis research focused on identifying baseline conditions and developing site-specific fingerprints using microbial source tracking markers and chemical indicators to assess fecal contamination sources in aquatic environments, with applications to integrated water resource management. She has presented her research at the SETAC PNC 2024 Annual Meeting and the National Water & Wastewater Conference
Connect with Jaime on LinkedIn
Larissa Cisneros
Social media and graphics
Larissa Cisneros (she/her) is a Civil Engineer with professional experience in the design of drinking water distribution, sanitary sewer, and stormwater systems within the Mexican government. She also has research experience in wastewater treatment process design. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at Concordia University, where her research focuses on metal recovery and the treatment of contaminated water. Larissa is an active volunteer with IWA, supporting digital communications and outreach initiatives within the water community.
Connect with Larissa on LinkedIn
Regional Team
Joké Kuye
Coordinator (Western Region)
Joké Kuye (she/her) is a Civil Engineering graduate with a strong interest in water and wastewater engineering, conveyance systems, and municipal infrastructure. She is committed to supporting communities in meeting water quality standards and advancing sustainable water management practices.
Connect with Joké on LinkedIn
Tara Hatami
Event and Program Coordinator (Western Region)
Tara Hatami (she/her) is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Systems Engineering. Her research focuses on the application of remote sensing and machine learning for water quality monitoring. Her work leverages satellite and UAV data alongside data-driven approaches to better understand spatial and temporal variations in surface water systems. She is actively engaged in interdisciplinary research, knowledge exchange, and professional service, with a focus on supporting young water professionals and advancing sustainable, data-informed water management.
Connect with Tara on LinkedIn
Ridwan Olaide Alabi
Volunteer (Western Region)
Ridwan Olaide Alabi (he/him) is a geoscientist and environmental researcher with expertise in groundwater management, environmental impact assessment, and contaminant studies. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, and a Master’s degree in Hydrogeology from TU Darmstadt, Germany. He is currently pursuing further studies in Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta, Canada, where he contributes to research on emerging contaminants. His work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and the application of research to support community-based environmental solutions.
Connect with Ridwan on: LinkedIn
Mehedi Hasan
Event and Program Coordinator (Central Region)
Mehedi Hasan (he/him) is a PhD student at the Biorefining Research Institute at Lakehead University and has been serving as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Chemical Engineering since May 2024. His research interests include biochar, thermochemical conversion of biomass, solid waste management, wastewater treatment, environmental remediation, and pollution monitoring. He is a member of IWA, ISWA, CIWEM, and CSChE, and serves as Vice President of the Graduate Students at Lakehead University. Mehedi has experience working in both independent and collaborative research environments.
Connect with Mehedi on: LinkedIn
Hongyang Ye
RD Community Liaison (Atlantic Region)
Hongyang Ye (he/him) holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Shandong University and is currently a graduate student in Environmental Engineering. Under the supervision of Prof. Bing Chen, his research focuses on modeling approaches for environmental systems, with a particular interest in data-driven and predictive methods applied to QSAR.
Connect with Hongyang on: LinkedIn
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