Hadewych de Groot van Embden

Member of the Panel

Hadewych de Groot van Embden is a systems change strategist and leader in regenerative solutions, currently working at Kelp Blue, a pioneering seaweed company that plants giant kelp forests in Namibia, New Zealand, Alaska, and soon Chile. Kelp Blue’s underwater forests rewild our oceans and have the potential to sequester large amounts of carbon. From a small percentage of the biomass Kelp Blue creates a range of products to transition agriculture to sustainable practices.

In her dual roles, she leads the company’s expansion to Chile as its upcoming Managing Director and drives global strategic partnerships, focusing on carbon credit programs, biodiversity initiatives, and financial mechanisms for regenerative agriculture. Her contributions helped position Kelp Blue among the top 20 finalists in the Elon Musk Gigaton Carbon XPRIZE. With expertise in regenerative agriculture, ocean restoration, and nature-based solutions, Hadewych is dedicated to advancing long-term, holistic sustainable solutions that generate positive financial, social, and natural returns.

Jordi Vilanova

Member of the Panel

Jordi Vilanova is a trophic and climate change ecologist, passionate about the biodiversity crisis and the decline of insect populations worldwide. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Concordia University in Montreal, where he studies the shortcomings of diet ecology, trying to understand how to fill in the gaps in knowledge in this field to better monitor predator populations and their interactions with the biosphere. His work involves odonates, environmental DNA analyses in air and biological materials, and analyses of community assemblages.

Jordi is also a global representative of the Quebec Center for Biodiversity Science, a multi-sectoral group of Quebec researchers and experts from the provincial ministry, public and academic institutions that aims to strengthen biodiversity studies in Quebec and support public policies.

His advocacy for the insect declines has led him to panels on systems thinking, COP summits, and working groups on biodiversity monitoring worldwide. Through his work and advocacy, Jordi hopes to bring awareness to the biodiversity crisis.