CPAWS Trustees


Oliver Kent, President 		Oliver Kent has been a trustee of CPAWS since 2006, and was national Treasurer until being elected as President in 2009. He was previously Treasurer of the Ottawa Valley chapter. Oliver spent most of his 35-year professional career as a partner in the management consulting practice of Price Waterhouse, which became part of PricewaterhouseCoopers and was later acquired by IBM. He provided advice to federal, provincial and municipal governments and Crown corporations across Canada on business, operational and technology strategy; program management; and the implementation of change. He also had local and national leadership responsibilities for consulting in the public sector. When he retired from IBM in 2008, Oliver returned to graduate school and earned an MA in Economics focusing on resource and environmental economics. He also has a BA in Economics, an MBA, and is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC). Oliver has been an outdoor enthusiast for five decades. He has enjoyed canoeing, backpacking, cycling, cross-country skiing, and running in every province and territory of Canada. He spent Christmas of 2008 climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with his daughter. His wife, Martine Jaworski, is a paediatrician focusing on learning and behavioural issues. Together, they have three adult children.

Marie-Eve Marchand, 		Marie-Eve Marchand is from Quebec. She moved to Boulder in 2009 to join the Wild Foundation, and has recently returned to the Canadian Rockies. She has a business degree, a Masters in Environmental Sciences and has extensive experience with non-profit management such as budgeting, fundraising, staff recruitment and development, board liaison and communication. As a former Executive Director of the CPAWS Quebec chapter she helped develop the idea of Wilderness in French “Nature sauvage” and played a key in role in the Quebec government’s commitment to protect at least half of Northern Quebec. She also received the Golden Leaf Award from the Canadian Council on ecological Integrity for the work she led to protect the Dumoine watershed. She is a member of the World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN-WPCA). She is currently working in a campaign to bring the plains bison back to Banff National Park in Canada as well as working on the Nature Needs Half program with WILD.
André Valillee, André Vallillee has a BA in Environmental Studies & Political Science from the University of Victoria and a Masters in Planning from UBC. He also has specialized training in community-based research, project management, and capacity building strategies. He is currently Program Manager for Province-Wide Environment Grants at the Trillium Foundation, the largest funder of ENGOs in ON. He was previously Resource Development Manager with United Way Peterborough, Environmental Planner Smart Growth BC, and a researcher with SFU’s Centre for Sustainable Community Development, UBC’s Centre for Human Settlements, and UVIC’s Centre for Co-op & Community-Based Economy.

Julie Davidson, Vice President 		Julie has a strong passion for the outdoors and wild places, coupled with experience in environmental project funding and board leadership which led her to become a volunteer on the CPAWS-BC board. She has twenty years' experience in the human resources field, most recently board-related in the not-for-profit business sector. Julie worked with Mountain Equipment Coop’s board through ten years of rapid growth. As a recent graduate from Simon Fraser University, she is embarking on a new path in social policy issues. Julie is experienced in strategic planning and board leadership, and she will bring good communication and dialogue skills to the board. She has a good understanding of CPAWS governance issues, and will be a judicious advocate for a strong CPAWS. She is committed to working towards a unified organization and an integrated national conservation plan, which will be achieved through a strong community-based structure and dynamic board leadership. Now with adult children, Julie and her husband are exploring a new chapter in their lives; they have recently moved to BC’s Sunshine Coast, where they look forward to pursuing their artistic and outdoor passions.
Susan Ellis, Susan has enjoyed a career of consulting to profit and not-for-profit organizations on an amazing array of human and organizational effectiveness projects. Her background includes an M.A./A.B.S., adult education and a mixture of business administration. She has served on a number of boards and was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee medal in 2002 for her various leadership and community contributions. Born and raised in Edmonton, AB she now lives in Calgary. Working for the health of important ecosystems, is a natural step for Susan, as she has always had an affinity for the great outdoors. Canoeing the Churchill River from Saskatchewan border to border was one of her most memorable trips.

Tim Gray, Chair, Conservation Committee 		Tim is the Program Director at the Ivey Foundation. Tim’s professional focus has been in the areas of forest policy and practice, conservation design and land-use planning. He has specialized in project development and management, negotiation, market development and government relations. Tim has been a member of several Ministerial Advisory Committees including the Ontario government’s Old Growth Forest Policy Advisory Committee, the Forest Accord Advisory Board and the Ministers Council on Forest Sector Competitiveness. He co-led the ENGO intervener group in the Ontario Timber Class Environmental Assessment and the Partnership for Public Lands ENGO collaboration during Ontario’s Lands for Life land-use planning process. He also has taken roles related to the development and use of market mechanisms to achieve conservation change and been involved in the development of FSC Canadian regional standards and of procurement policies in Central America. Tim was a founding Board member of Global Forest Watch Canada and his current commitments include membership on the Ontario Provincial Forest Policy Committee and the Boards of Directors of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada and the leadership group of the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. Tim worked as an executive and senior program manager with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society from 1990 until 2005. Tim joined the Ivey Foundation as Program Director in November 2005. Tim obtained an undergraduate degree in Biology from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario in 1987 and a M.Sc. in Botany/Environmental Studies from the University of Toronto in 1992.

David Lang, Treasurer 		David Lang ,BA,BEd, MEd, lives on a farm an hour north of the city of Toronto with his wife of 34 years. He is currently retired after careers in agriculture and education. He maintains many contacts in the business community through his involvement in various investments. David is a life long canoeist and cruising sailor with a passion for wilderness adventure and preservation. The summer of 2009 was spent cycling from Vancouver to Toronto with an old friend. He became a director of the Wildlands League in 1991, a position he has proudly maintained to the present. He served as secretary of the League for many years, and as its president since 2004. For the past few years he has also served as an elected trustee on the national board, and as a member of the executive committee.
Philippa “Pippa” Lawson, Pippa is a lawyer with 19 years experience working as a public interest advocate with and for NGOs across the country. After 12 years as counsel at the national Public Interest Advocacy Centre, she started up the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa, where as Executive Director she was responsible for all aspects of clinic management including staffing, fundraising, website, publications, litigation, legislative advocacy, media relations, and student education. She is a nationally recognized privacy and consumer advocate and has been a frequent media commentator and presenter at conferences on issues arising from new technologies. In 2008, Pippa and her spouse moved to Whitehorse, Yukon, in part to enjoy the extensive wilderness that makes Yukon such a special place. She now works part time for the Department of Justice, Yukon Government and is active on the Board of CPAWS-Yukon as well as the Whitehorse Cross-Country Ski Club. Although her career has focused on consumer protection, Pippa’s biggest passion is environmental protection. She is most happy skiing, hiking or paddling in the unspoiled backcountry. She is also a competitive cross-country skier and keen cyclist. She has been a supporter of CPAWS for many years, and is committed to the protection of large, connected expanses of wilderness throughout Canada.
Stephen Mayor, Stephen Mayor is currently a board director for CPAWS NAB. He previously served as a board member and vice-chair for CPAWS NL. Stephen is also currently a PhD student at the University of Alberta, studying ecology. His research investigates large scale biodiversity changes in response to human impacts (oil/gas, forestry/agriculture) across boreal Alberta, and to a lesser extent, across all of boreal Canada. His MSc research focused on caribou habitat selection in Newfoundland. He has been awarded numerous research grants and scholarships, and has published in top ecological journals. Stephen’s love for wilderness began with canoeing and backcountry travel. He has paddled multi-week trips in Yukon, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland, previously leading expeditions for vulnerable youth. Stephen began his ENGO work with student organizations at Trent University and Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he served as vice-president and president, respectively. He also helped found the Northeast Avalon group of the Sierra Club of Canada, and was a member of the Trout Pond Habitat Caucus, working to prevent dumping of mine tailings into fish bearing waters.
Raymond Plourde, Ray’s career in the ENGO and the private sector has primarily been in the areas of wilderness conservation advocacy, government and stakeholder relations, media and marketing. In particular, he has been active, both professionally and as a volunteer in ENGO work in the area of wilderness conservation in Nova Scotia. As the Wilderness Coordinator for the Ecology Action Centre for the last six years and a Director of the Nova Scotia Salmon Association for over a dozen, he has had the opportunity to play a leading role in a number of successful conservation campaigns in Nova Scotia. As the leader of the Nova Scotia Public Lands Coalition (www.publicland.ca) he developed significant experience in grassroots conservation campaign planning and execution. He acted, in turn, as strategist, organizer, advocate, spokesman, fundraiser and lobbyist regarding wilderness conservation and inland fisheries issues. In his professional career prior to joining the Ecology Action Centre, Ray worked in the communications field, including creative concept development, production management in various media, and broadcasting. He is very familiar with CPAWS, having worked over the last six years with local CPAWS staff, board members and volunteers on a number of successful campaigns. His organization and CPAWS are currently planning a Big Wild trip together into their latest wilderness area target – Ship Harbour Long Lake.

Wayne Sawchuk, 		A lifelong resident of northern British Columbia, Wayne Sawchuk has worked as a logger, trapper, sawmill worker and wilderness guide, and has become renowned for his work as a conservationist, author and photographer who has fought to protect the country he once logged. He owns and operates a trap line in the remote wilderness of Canada’s northern Rockies, and is a sought after speaker on issues of conservation and wilderness protection. In January 2009, Wayne was made a Fellow of the Explorers Club, a prestigious honour given to a very few individuals around the world who promote new field science and discovery. Wayne’s appointment recognizes the many expeditions of scientists and artists he has led into what is now known as the Muskwa-Kechika area of the Rockies. Wayne began working on environmental issues in 1990 and was a key player in the land use planning process that brought resource industry, environmental, outfitting, trapping and First Nations interests together with government to develop policies that led to the creation of the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. This innovative land use planning and management model has attracted the attention of conservationists and governments around the world.
Evan Sorestad, Secretary

Evan Sorestad has been a CPAWS supporter and volunteer for 20 years, holding various roles as a volunteer from Chapter Board member to national trustee. Evan holds a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan and is a member of the Saskatchewan and Alberta Law Societies. He is currently employed as an Industrial Relations Director with Federated Co-operatives Ltd. in Saskatoon, SK and has experience in collective bargaining, and has been counsel for both arbitration and mediation sessions. Evan has extensive experience with Human Resources issues, and has practiced exclusively in the area of employment law for 10 years.

Evan volunteers for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society because he believes that wilderness has an inherent value and deserves to be protected, and wants to contribute to this goal.
Peigi Wilson, Peigi brings 16 years of experience dedicated to national and international environmental law and policy with a focus in past ten years on Aboriginal rights. She worked for several years with the Assembly of First Nations, including as the Director of Environmental Stewardship, where she drafted many policy briefs and represented the AFN nationally and internationally on environment issues. As a consultant, she assisted Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation in negotiation, communications, and legal strategy, aiding in the peaceful resolution of uranium exploration dispute. She also worked with the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq, the Union of Nova Scotia Indians and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to amend the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. Internationally, she provided advice to UNEP and various developing countries, and was commissioned by the Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity to prepare the Composite Report On The Status And Trends Regarding The Knowledge, Innovations And Practices Of Indigenous And Local Communities Regional Report: North America, in 2003 and 2007. She is a Director of the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, and has been on the board of the Greater Bobs and Crow Lake Association where she organized development of a lake management plan.
David Wright, Dave is a lawyer in practice in Winnipeg. As much as he loves his work as a lawyer, he often yearns to be on a river. Dave has been a member of the board of the CPAWS Manitoba chapter since 2003 and a National Trustee since 2004, first as the Manitoba Chapter Representative and then as an elected trustee. Dave chaired the Manitoba Chapter board for a number of years and continues to serve the chapter as Vice-President, with a focus on finances and operational matters. Dave currently serves on the Executive Committee of the National Board and as Chair of the Participation Committee. As Co-Chair of our Major Donor (Fundraising) Campaign, he provides leadership to our ongoing efforts to expand private funding both at the Chapter and National leve Dave has extensive experience with a variety of NGOs, in both board and senior staff positions. With degrees in law and business administration, and a heart for their opposites, he is firmly committed to the work and vision of CPAWS.