Alex Bielak

About

Alex is a well-reputed, impactful food, drink and travel writer & photographer whose work - including interviews with leading chefs like Davy Tissot, Susur Lee, Jason Bangerter, Camilla Wynne, Matt Kershaw, Michael Smith, Zane Kaplansky, John Placko and Jonathan Gushue - has featured in various Canadian and overseas media. He's also acclaimed internationally as a pioneering expert in Science Communication, & Knowledge Translation and Brokering, and known as a strategic thinker who is also a dynamic & widely-published speaker, including as a repeat guest lecturer for a graduate-level integrated course at the University of Waterloo. In 2019 he co-founded Harehope, Southern Ontario's most exclusive dining and spa club.Before heading his own firm and eventually mostly retiring, Dr. Bielak held senior positions in the U.N., Govt. Departments, & NGOs. At the United Nations University, as Senior Research Fellow and Knowledge Broker with the Institute for Water, Environment and Health, he led the global K* initiative & served as Senior Advisor to UN-Water's Chair. Dedicated to making a difference, past appointments include: Member of the Management Board of the Canadian Rivers Institute; UNU-INWEH Associated Fellow; & External Expert Member of the Advisory Board for the EU’s multi-partner MARINA project. At Environment Canada, he was appointed A/Director General in a new S&T Branch. His group pioneered award-winning sci-policy linking KT & KB tools and approaches adopted across Cdn. federal govt. departments. Recognised by the U. of Waterloo, where he did his PhD as a NATO Scholar, with an inaugural Alumni of Honour Award, he was also Adjunct Professor in Communication Studies & Multi-Media at McMaster University. He participated in the first Banff Centre Science Communications Residency, and, over the years, received many awards including the Paul Harris award from Rotary International, a "2013 Citation of Excellence" recognizing "outstanding innovation demonstrated in connecting people to science" and the Ted Williams Conservation Award for Journalistic Excellence.Specialties: Current focus - Alex is currently focusing on longer-form writing, including a second book of family stories. He is also known for food writing, restaurant reviews, cooking. Knowledge Translation, Brokering & Mobilization, Science Communication, Public Speaking, Sci-Policy linkages. Storytelling, Writing. Editing. K*, KStar, cuisine, fly-fishing, conservation.