Zack Polanski AM is the Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, elected in 2025 after serving as Deputy Leader since 2022. Under Zack’s leadership, the Greens have experienced an unprecedented surge in popularity. They have over tripled their membership from 60,000 less than a year ago to over 230,000 today, and have seen their highest ever polling, peaking at 21% and consistently over 15%. 

Under Zack’s leadership, this momentum has translated into electoral wins, with the Greens winning their first parliamentary by-election, their first members of the Senedd (Welsh Assembly), their first directly elected Mayors in Hackney and Lewisham, and a record-breaking 587 council seats in May’s local elections. 

Zack is a London Assembly Member, the Economy, Fire, and Budget Committees. He has previously chaired both the Fire and Environment Committees. Before entering politics, Zack worked in community theatre, specialising in Theatre of the Oppressed with marginalised communities to help them tell their own stories. He also spent many years in hospitality, working in bars and nightclubs.  

Outside of politics, Zack still loves the theatre, supports Forest Green and lives in Hackney with his partner Richie, who works in palliative care.

Kerrie Blaise is an accomplished environmental lawyer based in North Bay. She is the founder of the organization Legal Advocates for Nature’s Defense (LAND) – an environmental law non- profit dedicated to advancing access to justice in Northern Ontario, to protect nature and Indigenous rights. LAND’s stated mission is to advance indigenous-led conservation efforts, protect endangered ecosystems and ensure Canada meets its international commitments to combat climate change and preserve biodiversity.

Kerrie is a driven advocate, representing those who have been most affected by development, environmental hazards, and systemic racism, and she works to amplify their voices – whether in the courts, before lawmakers, or within their communities – to precipitate change.

Panelist: Mike Balkwill, Small Change Fund

Mike Balkwill is Small Change Fund’s Vice
President of Campaigns and Engagement.
He develops effective campaign and
advocacy strategies to impact public policy
and shift decision-makers towards policies
that help people, communities and the
environment. In his 40 years of campaign
and community organizing experience, he
has helped numerous communities oppose
development projects that seemed to be
“done deals” and win victories with broad
public benefits. Mike is the co-author of the
Campaign Planning Handbook and author
of A Winning Campaign and has lectured at
colleges and universities on community
organizing, social change and social
movements.

Panelist: Kayla Weiler, Canadian Federation of Students (Ontario)

Kayla Weiler (she/her) is the Government
Relations and Policy Coordinator for the
Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario.
She served several terms as the elected
leadership of the student movement, both
at the CFS-Ontario and as the VP External
for the University of Guelph Central Student
Association. Kayla is passionate about the
fight for free education and the protection
of public water services for all.

Panelist: Kerry Le Clair, Pivot Centre for Collective Action

Kerry Le Clair(she/her) is a community advocate, researcher, facilitator and neighbourhood organizer with the Pivot Centre. She began to work and volunteer in the climate justice field as a response to her own experience of disproportionate environmental burdens living in one of Hamilton, Ontario’s most adversely affected neighbourhoods. Kerry has an intrepid approach to taking on
corporations, businesses and decision makers who are accountable for conditions of injustice. Kerry has worked with Hamilton’s Ward 3 Councillor Nrinder Nann as the community climate action coordinator since 2019.

Panelist: Ian Borsuk, Environment Hamilton

Ian Borsuk is the executive director at Environment Hamilton and is passionate about advocating for a resilient and adaptable Hamilton in the face of a changing global climate through good municipal policy on transit, green infrastructure, and more. Ian is deeply invested in empowering others to engage
with local governance. He can also be found wearing other hats organising and taking action beyond his work at EH on issues of environmental, economic, and social justice.

Plenary is the part of the convention that is attended by all participants (as opposed to the other breakout sessions throughout the weekend). In the GPO, we use the term plenary to refer to the parts of our convention where we consider and vote on constitutional, policy and directive resolutions.

To learn more about how we vote on the policies during the convention, please read our Plenary and Voting information.