River Rally Agenda and SpeakersView the complete River Rally 2009 program, session descriptions and speaker biographies.
SpeakersThe Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Society, also known as "Cows and Fish", is a non-profit society striving to foster a better understanding of how improvements in grazing and other management of riparian areas can enhance landscape health and productivity, for the benefit of landowners, agricultural producers, communities and others who use and value riparian areas. They are available to help landowners, communities and local stewardship groups understand riparian area functions and values, access technical advice and educational materials, examine and monitor the health of their riparian areas, and evaluate and suggest management strategies. Norine Ambrose, Cows and Fish Norine is the
Program Manager for Cows and Fish. Born and raised on a mixed farm in central
Alberta, Ms. Ambrose has spent almost 10 years overseeing or leading research
projects completed by Cows and Fish and worked on wetland ecology while at the
University of Alberta prior to joining Cows and Fish. Her expertise in riparian
ecology is based on that academic and research background as well as nearly 10
years involved in extensive development of new outreach and monitoring tools
(including riparian health assessment and inventory methods revision) and
delivering of both written and oral presentations, papers and training to
natural resource staff. Norine focuses
on working with landowners and communities to help them recognize the value of
their riparian areas, and what they can do to maintain these areas as healthy,
productive pieces of our landscape. Eric Eckl, Water Words that Work Eric directs Water Words That Work, a company that assists nature protection and pollution control organizations with their behaviour change, fundraising, and issue efforts. Eric's clients include the National Park Service, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, the Cacapon and Lost Rivers Land Trust, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Before launching Water Words That Work, Eric led promotion and fundraising campaigns, managed media relations, and oversaw web and print publishing activities for a variety of conservation organizations. He has appeared in countless news stories and is a frequent speaker at environmental, marketing, and technology conferences. Curt Horning, Alberta Environment Curt is the Stewardship Lead with Alberta Environment's Partnerships & Strategies Section. With over 12 years experience supporting community-based watershed stewardship groups in the delivery of their local programs and projects, Curt is currently tasked with finding ways to support and build the capacity of Alberta's watershed stewardship community. He was also instrumental in developing Alberta Environment's recently released Handbook for State of the Watershed Reporting. Sheena Majewski, Fisheries and Oceans Canada Sheena is currently the Partnering Coordinator for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Prairies Area. In this role she supports the development and strengthening of partnering agreements, tools and activities that benefit fish and fish habitat across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Prior to this, she spent seven years as a Habitat Biologist with DFO in Edmonton, Calgary and Yellowknife, reviewing projects for impacts to fish and fish habitat and promoting fish habitat stewardship. She also has several years of experience in environmental science and aquatic ecology research, including studies examining impacts of human activities on rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands. Jayme Nelson, North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance Jayme Nelson is a Basin Planning Technician with the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance. With a degree in Human Dimensions of Environmental Management from the University of Alberta, Jayme's background leans heavily to the social and political side of environmental work. During her third year in university, she helped found Active Citizens Television (ACTV), an Alberta-based, not-for-profit, youth-driven new media initiative aimed to educate, motivate and "ACTV-ate" Albertans to discover and pursue sustainable living practices and promote ecological consciousness. Stewardship has always been a large part of her life, and she is honored to be invited to speak amongst such passionate people as those attending River Rally 2009. Kerri O'Shaughnessy, Cows & Fish Kerri was born and raised in the Edmonton area. She graduated from University of Alberta with B.Sc. Environmental and Conservation Science. In 1999 she moved to Lethbridge to begin work with Cows and Fish (Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Society) as a member of their riparian health data collection team. As Cows and Fish expanded into central Alberta, Kerri took on the role of coordinating riparian health data collection with communities and watershed groups in 2001. Eight years later she is still with Cows and Fish as a Riparian Specialist in Edmonton working with producers and communities in the north and central parts of Alberta on riparian issues and extending awareness about how landscapes function and the benefits we gain from keeping them healthy. Sessions: Conference on the River; Alberta Water Stewardship Profiles; Community Riparian Assessment RiverWatch is a non-profit education company offering hands-on field studies to help students monitor aquatic ecosystems and increase their scores on provincial achievement tests. This year, nearly 7000 Alberta biology and science students will travel along an eight kilometer section of their local river aboard large inflatable rafts fully equipped as mobile water quality laboratories. The RiverWatch experience moves students in their thinking from awareness to stewardship action. Don Ruzicka Don and his wife Marie farm near Killam, in east central Alberta. They are third generation farmers on the land that Dons' grandparents settled in 1909. In 2001, Don joined a group of like minded individuals to form the Iron Creek Watershed Improvement Society, whose goal is to create an awareness of the impact that we all have on the watershed. Don feels very strongly that land owners need to pause and take a serious look at how stewardship fits into the overall scheme of things. He has found that when you start to work at cleaning up the water on the farm, the entire farm benefits in ways that were never dreamed of. Kelsey Spicer-Raw, Cows & Fish
Kelsey
is a Riparian Specialist with the Alberta non-profit
organization Cows and Fish. In her
current role as a Riparian Specialist, Kelsey works with community-based
watershed groups to improve their understanding and management of riparian
areas in Alberta. In recent years, the
Cows and Fish program has been awarded both an Alberta Emerald Award in
Education in 2005 and a Canadian Environment Gold Award in Environmental
Learning in 2003.
Originally from the Peace Country in British Columbia, Kelsey
now calls herself an Albertan after living and working in the province for 15
years. Kelsey's first permanent roots in
the province were with her husband on their ranching operation in east central
Alberta near the town of Strome. Since
2004, Kelsey and her husband have been putting down some urban roots and are
living in the Calgary area. Wendy Wilson, River Network Wendy is the National Director of Organizational Development with River Network in the United States. In that capacity she oversees a cadre of professional trainers who assist watershed groups across the country in fund development, board governance and non-profit management. She founded the statewide organization Idaho Rivers United and was the executive director of it for ten years. She was a founding board member of the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition working to protect Columbia River salmon stocks. She has worked with local, state and international organizations such as the World Center for Birds of Prey. Wendy has a degree from the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources focused on environmental advocacy. She has been profiled in many magazines, including Paddler where she was listed among the top ten river conservationists in the U.S. and has run many Canadian wilderness rivers. She lives in Boise, Idaho with her family and summers on the Canadian side of Lake Huron. Jane Zhang, TechSoup Canada Jane has extensive experience in the IT field as well as in the non-profit sector. She has both founded and acted in a leadership role in nonprofit organizations aimed at helping to bridge the digital divide. In her current role at TechSoup Canada, Jane is helping to build relationships between the voluntary, public, and private sectors to make technology more accessible for charity and nonprofits. TechSoup Canada's product donations program now provides over 300 products from over 25 donor partners to the sector. |
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