My professional experience spans academia, watershed management, international development, consulting, and organisational leadership. Across these settings, I connect environmental evidence with practical decisions.
September 2026–present
Developing REAL Decision Lab and undertaking active Mitacs Accelerate research with Healthy Lake Huron partners; Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) is the formal Mitacs partner. Current watershed project →
September 2022–August 2026
PhD research in precision conservation, agricultural water quality, geospatial analysis, machine learning, and process-based modelling. Graduate Research Assistant, May 2024–August 2026; Graduate Teaching Assistant, September 2022–April 2024.
June–August 2024
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority
Analysed long-term water-quality data using statistical and machine-learning approaches, supporting watershed interpretation and monitoring and quality-assurance planning.
August–November 2022
Co-developed climate-resilience and ecosystem-based adaptation proposals with multidisciplinary teams.
January–August 2022
ICCCAD, Independent University, Bangladesh
Coordinated a research portfolio and the Locally Led Adaptation Program, including partnerships, resource mobilisation, capacity development, and research communication.
March–August 2022
Research and assessments on climate-resilient seeds, bio-pesticides, sustainable agricultural investment, ESG, financial inclusion, and smallholder digital services.
April 2018–January 2022
Led project development, climate-adaptation implementation, environmental and social safeguards, and climate-smart agriculture initiatives. Built partnerships and contributed to institutional climate-resilience frameworks.
October 2016–March 2018
Climate-adaptation and resilience research, GIS analysis, policy research, technical writing, proposal development, and capacity building.
October–December 2016
GIS analysis and mapping for wildlife conservation planning and Vulture Safe Zone initiatives.
As a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Guelph (September 2022–April 2024), I supported five undergraduate geography courses through laboratories, seminars, student consultations, assessment, and hands-on GIS instruction.
My teaching focus is practical: helping students connect environmental questions with data, maps, and clear reasoning. My experience includes explaining GIS workflows, helping students resolve technical problems, and providing detailed feedback on laboratory work.
Selected anonymous feedback from GEOG*3480 highlights technical support and detailed laboratory feedback.
“Excellent TA who was able to handle all technical issues and problems thrown his way”
“Zion gave very helpful and detailed feedback on the labs. … Helps you improve.”
My teaching interests include GIS and geospatial analysis, environmental modelling, watershed science, agricultural sustainability, and environmental decision support. Remote sensing and GeoAI (AI for geographic data) are developing areas for future teaching.
My future teaching development will focus on clear instructions, practical tasks, constructive feedback, and support for students with different levels of technical experience.
My work at BRAC and ICCCAD connects research with implementation through: