Dr. Jean Blair, TorchLight’s Director of Planning and Outreach, has more than a decade of experience working and researching in the cross section of the forest and energy sectors, with a focus on community scale bioenergy and district heating applications. Jean leads the mapping and masterplanning of district heating networks in communities across Canada, working closely with stakeholders to understand needs and values. Jean holds a PhD from the Geography and Planning Department at Queen’s University, where she examined the socio-economic and environmental performance of bioproduct and energy options. Dr. Blair also led creation and updating of the Canadian Bioheat Database for Natural Resources Canada, which includes more than 600 small scale biomass heating projects across Canada and spent time working with Natural Resources Canada, looking at the role the forest sector, and bioenergy specifically, can play in Canada’s low carbon future.
