Jennifer brings over fifteen years of experience with environmental non-profit organizations, including in governance and in local and national conservation issues. Born and based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal and fluent in French, Jennifer served as a board member for SNAP Québec for 6 years, including as president, vice president, and director of the Planning and Conservation Committee. In addition to SNAP Québec, she has worked for CPAWS Nova Scotia and CPAWS National Office and has volunteered with CPAWS New Brunswick and CPAWS Southern Alberta. She is a founding member of Pour nos enfants / For Our Kids Montréal, a group of families working on solutions to the climate crisis, and serves on the National Council of For Our Kids. She has also worked for the Nature Conservancy of Canada in Alberta. With a master’s in biology, Jennifer currently works as an Associate Director of an editorial team in the sciences.

Based in Vancouver, BC, Richard Paisley is a practicing lawyer and the Director of the Global Transboundary International Waters Governance Initiative at UBC. His current research, teaching, graduate supervision, and advisory interests include domestic and international water and energy law and policy, international business transactions, international negotiations, and environmental mediation/conflict resolution. Richard served as a board member of CPAWS BC for 7 years.

Based in Calgary, Lana is a finance leader with over 15 years of experience in strategy and financial planning and analysis. She has spent the last several years successfully delivering projects spanning profitability improvement, commercial and supply chain strategy, and financial systems integration. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant and has a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University. Lana has non-profit Board experience serving on the boards of CPAWS Southern Alberta and the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation. 

Alexandra is an experienced charities and not-for-profit lawyer in Ottawa. After many years in private practice, she is now a Director of Legal & Compliance at the MasterCard Foundation. She is an executive member and the former Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Charities & Not-for-Profit Section, and has served on the boards of various charities.

Michael has over 30 years of experience with the federal public service of Canada, as a scientist and senior executive at Environment Canada and Parks Canada. For over 15 years, he directed the development and implementation of natural resource conservation programs in Canada’s national parks, marine conservation areas and other protected areas, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as the Executive Director for Ecological Integrity at Parks Canada. As the Regional Chair for North America for the IUCN World Commission on Protected Area (2012-2023), he provided leadership in the Inspiring a New Generation theme at the 2014 World Parks Congress and co-chaired the IUCN Task Force for #Nature for All. Michael is a recipient of the 125th Anniversary Confederation of Canada Medal (1992) as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) honouring Canadians who have made significant contributions to fellow citizens, to their community or to the country.

Charles Côté is a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Previously, he was a journalist for more than 20 years, covering the environment at La Presse in Montreal for most of his career. He was trained in law, graduating from Université de Montréal (LL.B. 1989). He practices many outdoor activities, hiking, canoeing and cross-country skiing with his wife and two teenage children.

Ina is a communications professional who currently works as a Communications Advisor for the Government of Alberta, Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General. She has previously worked for the City of Edmonton, the Edmonton Police Service, and in media with CityTV.

Ina served on the board of the CPAWS Northern Alberta chapter from 2013-16. She immigrated to Canada from the Philippines and links her interest in working on nature conservation to growing up in a country where it is not a priority.

Don McMurtry is a retired sales executive, a seed-stage investor, management consultant and general manager of a small medical imaging software company. His sales and marketing career included eight years as Vice President of Sales at Research In Motion from where he retired in 2006. Don McMurtry was educated at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario and has a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Don lives in Waterloo, Ontario and is also a board director with Engineers Without Borders Canada and Ridley College.

Cinthia Nemoto is a strategic marketing, engagement, and growth professional with over 18 years of experience in Latin and North America. She has been managing the expansion, rebranding and international positioning of companies in Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific for 10 years. Cinthia has been assisting numerous for-profit and non-profit organizations with their domestic and international marketing strategies to grow their business. Originally from Brazil, Cinthia has been in Canada for 15 years and has served on the board of CPAWS Southern Alberta chapter from 2017 to 2021.

Kathy recently retired from her role as President of K. Scalzo & Associates, a Vancouver-based consulting group. For over 25 years, she provided expertise in strategic planning, organizational development, change and transitional planning, and facilitation. Much of her work was conducted in the health care sector.

Kathy currently serves on the British Columbia board, having joined last year. Her previous board experience includes serving as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Governance Committee for the Alzheimer Society of BC, President of the Board of the BC Rehabilitation Society, and President of HOPE House Cancer Society.

Denise is a leadership coach who’s been helping social and environmental changemakers grow their impact for 35 years. She discovered her passion for wilderness as a white-water kayaker on the Ottawa River in the early ’80s and has spent her life finding ways to explore and protect it ever since, as an award-winning filmmaker, non-profit leader, and change consultant.

Working with clients from governments and educators to scientists and start-ups, Denise has done things like promote clean energy, protect endangered species, preserve ecosystems, advance Indigenous health care, and accelerate climate action leadership. Her storytelling work has inspired millions of people around the globe to take action for good, through media channels that include Discovery, CBC, National Geographic, the UN, and Financial Post. Most recently, she helped an ocean non-profit almost double its size, revenue, and impact in less than a year.

Denise has served on several boards, including spending two terms as Vice-President of the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC. For fun, she hikes and paddles the wet coast of Vancouver Island with her two dogs, and starts campfires in the rain.

Dolorès André is a member of the Innu Nation from the community of Matimekush-Lac John located in north of Quebec, Canada. She resides in Montreal and has extensive experience with the environmental and cultural challenges faced by indigenous peoples in Québec. For the past 8 years, she has volunteered in this field and is now acting as the Project Manager of Uapashkuss, a non-profit organization working toward the recognition and protection of Innu natural sacred sites. Dolorès possess 26 years’ work experience as Coordinator for the Montreal Urban Service of the First Nations Human Resources Commission of Quebec and was also involved in various boards and working committees in implementing programs and services for the on and off reserve communities in Quebec.

Born and raised in Mayo, Yukon, she belongs to the Wolf Clan of the Na’cho Nyäk Dun First Nation, (FNNND), one of three Northern Tutchone communities in central Yukon. Having completed 25 yrs in her chosen career with Transport Canada/Nav Canada as Flight Service Specialist, she took early retirement. Wanting to become more engaged with her First Nation, she got involved and completed several elected leadership roles with NND. Her mother was a Knowledge-Keeper, teaching the ways of their people through stories and language. They were fortunate to practice and live these teachings out on the land. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she is a Knowledge-Keeper and becoming part of the CPAWS team aligns with her vision of tomorrow and generating long-term wealth and health to ensure the ongoing stewardship of our lands, animals, and waters. She has been treasurer of the Board of CPAWS Yukon and has participated in many outreach and conservation activities with the chapter.

Peter has worked and volunteered in the conservation and outdoor recreation field for more than 30 years, most recently retiring in 2023 after 23 years with Nova Scotia’s protected areas program where he served as Director for more than a decade. Educated in Parks & Outdoor Recreation and Natural Sciences at Lakehead University, and Canadian Heritage Studies at Trent University, Peter has worked as an outdoor leader and educator, consultant, and conservation planner. Peter’s diverse leadership experiences include 4 years co-leading the Canada-Sea-to-Sea student canoe expeditions, and 6 months at sea on a tall ship with Class Afloat’s educational sailing program. Peter has proudly served as an active member of the Canadian Heritage Rivers System national Board, the Lake Superior Binational Forum, North American Watertrails Board, and Pathway To Canada Target One (Conservation 2020) National Steering Committee, and was part of the training team for the Canadian Parks Council’s national leadership development program. Peter is keen to share the vision for effective and equitable land and water conservation in Canada, and lives in his home province in Hubbards, Nova Scotia where he and his wife have raised two daughters and continue to value and explore the natural world.

Based in Vancouver, Catarina Moreno (she/her/hers) supports non-profit organizations during strategic and operational challenges, provides coaching and consulting around change leadership and serves as Interim Executive Director during leadership transitions. She grew up in Berlin (Germany) and since then has lived and worked in the UK, Ecuador, and Colombia before arriving in Canada. She has been calling Canada home for the past 15 years and is deeply grateful to now live, work and play on the ancestral and unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She served six years on the board of CPAWS BC, four of these as chair of the board.

Nigel is an emeritus professor of law, having retired from the University of Calgary in 2021. Nigel spent much of his 37-year career working in the areas of energy and natural resources law, as well as international environmental law. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) and has provided consulting advice to federal, provincial, and territorial governments as well as businesses, NGOs, and Indigenous governments and organization. He has served on the boards of several charitable organizations and is currently on the board of CPAWS, Southern Alberta. Nigel enjoys spending time in the mountains, cross country skiing, hiking, and backpacking, and is proud to have raised, with his wife Jane, two young adults with a similar love of the outdoors.

John Grandy is a retired financial services executive and research analyst, based in Toronto. He is now dedicating his life to working with Canadian environmental causes. In addition to his work with CPAWS, John is a Director of the Ontario regional board of Nature Conservancy of Canada, Executive Vice President of the Bruce Trail Conservancy, and a director of Wildlife Preservation Canada. In 2013, he wrote Environmental Charities in Canada, the first research report on the Canadian environmental not-for-profit sector, on behalf of Charity Intelligence Canada. John was educated at the University of Toronto and at Oxford University.