Mark enjoys the privilege of being the Executive Director of the Bow River Basin Council and has held the position for the past 9 years. In this role he is blessed by the opportunity to work with great colleagues, both staff and volunteers. Working with the Council offers both challenges and rewards and is never boring. Mark and his family came to Alberta in 1998 from Winnipeg where he had spent the previous 14 years in Emergency Management, where he learned a great deal about the value of planning and teamwork. These two skills lend themselves well to the operations of the Bow River Basin Council. Mark also learned that the secret to success is to know what you’re doing and to surround yourself with really good people. He has the latter covered and is always working on the former.
Mark holds an undergraduate degree in biology from Queen’s University. He has both a Certificate in Public Sector Management and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Manitoba. Mark’s recent studies include the pursuit of an Environmental Management Certificate from the University of Calgary and a Non-Profit Management Certificate from Mount Royal University.
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In
addition to directing Water Matters, a province-wide organization
dedicated to the protection of Alberta's watersheds, Danielle also sits
on the Alberta Water Council and serves as chair and coordinator for
the Alberta Environmental Network's water caucus. Prior to founding
Water Matters, Danielle directed Bow Riverkeeper, a regional
organization based out of southern Alberta, whose mission allowed her
to paddle the entire length of the Bow River in 2005. Prior to arriving
in Canada in 2004, Danielle served as policy director at American
Rivers, a national and Washington D.C.-based organization. In 1998,
Danielle founded and directed the Tennessee Clean Water Network, a
state-wide rivers protection organization. Between 1997 and 2000 she
was the associate regional director for the National Parks Conservation
Association's southeast office. Originally from Arlington, Virginia,
Danielle holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of
Law and a bachelor's degree from James Madison University (Honors
Scholar).
As
executive director of Miistakis, Danah oversees multiple landscape
ecology and land use projects that focus on the integration of spatial
(GIS) and biological information in collaboration with both government
and non-government organizations. Prior to her work at the Miistakis
Institute, Danah worked as a wildlife biologist in Banff National Park
focusing on large mammal movement through corridors. Danah completed
her B.Sc. in biology at McMaster University (1994) and her M.Sc. in
ecology and environmental biology at the University of Alberta (2001),
and has worked at Miistakis for the past seven years. Danah joined
Alberta Ecotrust's Grant Review Committee in 2008.
Coming soon.
Paul
has worked on a wide range of environmental issues associated with the
energy sector. Since 2003, he has managed EnCana's Environmental
Innovation Fund, a program that provides financial support for the
development of innovative clean energy technologies. He has a B.Sc. in
Earth Sciences from the University of Waterloo and an M.Sc. in Water
Resources Management from the University of Calgary. He lives in
Calgary with his wife and two children and enjoys cycling, skiing and
photography.

Drew has over 20 years of environmental solutions experience both in Canada and internationally. He is a General Manager at Newalta where he oversees the operations of the company's Western facilities. Prior to joining Newalta in 2008, he was the Chairman of the Terra Group in Dubai, UAE, President of Valiant Environmental in Alberta and held various senior positions with Laidlaw Environmental Services and ECL Environmental Services. He enjoys playing squash, hiking, travelling and camping in Kananaskis with his wife, son and daughter.
Stewart is the representative for the ATCO Group and currently serves
as corporate co-chair on Alberta Ecotrust's Board of Directors.
Margot
is a naturalist living and working in Grande Prairie. Actively involved
in conservation and natural history in Alberta for the past three
decades, Margot currently works as an interpreter for provincial parks.
As part of her ongoing effort to promote the natural history of the
Peace region, she has produced guidebooks for two local natural areas
and writes a weekly nature column for the Peace Country Sun. Margot has
served on the grant review committee of Alberta Ecotrust for nine years.
Klaus graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1962. After
completing post-graduate training in veterinary pathology, he worked
for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and later for Health Canada. He
has been retired for eight years, but he still has a keen interest in
how the world works and the impact we have on it. He is trying to make
his small contribution to make us walk more gently on this earth.
Equipped with a biology and environmental engineering background, Nikki
headed east from Vancouver to work at Alliance. As part of the
Environment Team, she has a wide range of responsibilities, including
implementation of the Environmental Management System and coordination
of environment-related regulatory approvals for construction and
operations in Canada. In addition to her participation on Alliance's
Corporate Community Investment Committee, she also began representing
the company on the Alberta Ecotrust Grant Review Committee in May 2006.
Being involved with Alberta Ecotrust's Grant Program has been an
inspiring opportunity to witness and encourage environmental
stewardship at the grassroots level.
Coming soon.
Cindy is the manager of safety, health and environment in
Imperial Oil Limited's products and chemicals division. She works with people across Imperial,
ExxonMobil, governments and outside stakeholders on strategies to improve our SHE performance and to be recognized
for those improvements. Cindy is
married and has
one daughter. She enjoys spending time with her
family, good friends, her church, and outdoor
activities such as gardening, kayaking, hiking and canoeing.
Growing up in the Bow Valley, Kathryn developed tremendous respect and
awe for the environment, as well as a keen interest in how people can
minimize their environmental footprint. These influences shaped her
education choices, volunteer activities, and career in the
environmental field. Kathryn's formal education includes a Bachelor of
Science in animal biology from the University of British Columbia and a
Masters of Environmental Design from the University of Calgary. She
connected with Alberta Ecotrust Foundation through her company, Nexen,
where she works as an environmental analyst in upstream oil and gas.
Kathryn enjoys being exposed to a plethora of worthwhile environmental
projects and meeting the dedicated people behind them. Kathryn is also
a volunteer member of Bow Valley WildSmart and the Bighorn Corridor
Environment Committee (BCEC).
Coming Soon.
Natalie is the executive director of Green Calgary and a member of the Alberta Ecotrust board of directors.
Born in Holland, she immigrated to Canada from England and has lived in
Calgary for most of her life. Natalie is an alumnus of the University
of Calgary and Royal Roads University, where she completed her M.A. in
Environment and Management. Natalie became interested in
community-based environmental initiatives when living in Ostersund,
Sweden. The Swedish tradition of holding town hall meetings that
include community members, students, government, and commerce was a
turning point for Natalie as she saw challenges met through community
inclusion and innovation. This area of interest took Natalie to Ecuador
where she volunteered in a mountain community near Quito. Staying
involved in environmental and human rights initiatives, Natalie is
always happy to return to Calgary and the Rocky Mountains. Natalie is
settled here with her own family. They spend lots of time on the bike
path and playing soccer.
As
part of the Government and Public Affairs Team, Melanie supports BP
Canada's natural gas liquids and oil sands businesses. She has been
with BP since early 2007. A degree in environmental and conservation
science as well as diplomas in journalism and public relations has
opened up exciting doors in Melanie's career, one of the highlights of
which includes being a published author of eight science textbooks
currently being used in schools in both Canada and the United States.
Melanie joined Ecotrust's Grant Review Committee in 2008 and is excited
to participate in this unique partnership.
Philip
is committed to making a positive contribution to the natural
environment and health of the planet wherever he can. He is both
fascinated by and passionate about nature. One of his biggest concerns
is the increasing pressure that a growing global society places on the
earth. He believes it is vital that current and future generations
develop a healthy relationship with the natural world, where they are
both knowledgeable about nature and prepared to take action on behalf
of the environment.
Bio Coming Soon
Jim
Pissot brings nearly 30 years experience advocating western wildland
and wildlife conservation, responsible management of Crown lands,
agency oversight, and sustainable rural economic opportunity. Jim
served for two years as executive director of the Yellowstone to Yukon
Conservation Initiative, working with Canadian and U.S. scientists and
advocates to identify, protect and connect wildlife habitats in the
Rocky Mountains. In five years with Defenders of Wildlife, he has led
efforts to secure adequate wildlife mitigation on the Trans-Canada
Highway through Banff National Park, end the grizzly bear hunt in
Alberta, and convince Canada's railways to commit $40 million to repair
rail cars that leak grain, attracting grizzly bears and other wildlife
to their deaths on the tracks.
Prior to his environmental career, Jim worked as a machinist for 15
years. He holds a masters degree in resource management from the Yale
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. A long time western
resident, he is particularly interested in effective advocacy to
promote large-scale ecosystem protection, sustainable economic
opportunity at the community level, and innovative human practices that
are compatible with ecological processes. Jim and his wife Valerie
enjoy backpacking, back-country skiing, canoeing and photography.
Bio Coming Soon
Jeff
Reading is an environmental specialist with the City of Calgary's
Ecological Footprint Team. He has been an environmental and outdoor
educator for close to thirty years, working as a teacher, consultant
and program specialist with the Calgary Board of Education. Jeff has
served on numerous boards, including the Global, Environmental and
Outdoor Education Council of the Alberta Teachers Association, the
Association For Experiential Education, and the Safety Committee for
Outward Bound Canada. His wife, Shelagh, and their children David and
Meghan share a love of international travel and exploring natural
environments together. Jeff has been an active member of the Alberta
Ecotrust grant review committee since 1994 with a two-year hiatus in
2002-2003.
Formally
trained as a wildlife research biologist, Amit specializes in managing
natural resource and biodiversity issues for Devon. Amit's expertise is
primarily with large carnivores, including grizzly bears, black bears
and wolves – he has even worked on special assignment with tigers in
India, but he has also written conservation plans for songbirds and
tiny endangered orchids. Prior to joining Devon in 2007, Amit spent the
past 15 years working as a wildlife biologist for Parks Canada, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several environmental consulting
firms. Amit has a B.Sc. in forest ecology from the University of
Alberta and a M.Sc. in conservation biology from Arizona State
University. He joined Alberta Ecotrust's Grant Review Committee in
2008. Born in Edmonton, Amit now lives in Calgary with his wife and
young daughter.
Neil
is responsible for Suncor's sustainable development and environmental
reporting. He works with the socially responsible investment community
and provides support on greenhouse gas policy development. Prior to
joining Suncor, he worked on policy and issues management with respect
to climate change, land-use and boreal habitat protection, and
participated in multi-stakeholder groups including the Greenhouse Gas
Emission Reduction Trading Pilot and the National Round Table on the
Environment and the Economy's Boreal Forest Task Force.
He volunteered to represent the Suncor Energy Foundation on the Alberta
Ecotrust Grant Review committee because he is passionate about
supporting local action on environmental issues. My interest in the
outdoors led me to previous careers as a naval officer, trekking guide
and whale watching pilot. He continues to pursue his outdoor passions
through climbing, sea kayaking, trekking and snowboarding.
Bio Coming Soon
Gareth
Thomson is executive director of ACEE and has twenty years experience
in environmental education, working first for the Government of Alberta
and then as the first education director of CPAWS – Calgary/Banff.
Gareth currently serves as a judge for the Alberta Emerald Awards, has
been a board member of several key environmental education groups and
grantmaking foundations, served on Canmore's municipal Town Council,
and taught at an International Baccalaureate high school. Gareth has an
engineering degree, an M.Sc. in environmental geology, and is a
certified teacher. He has been honoured by a lifetime achievement award
from the Global Environmental and Outdoor Education Council (GEOEC) of
the Alberta Teachers Association, and the 2008 Outstanding Individual
(non-profit) award from the Canadian Network for Environmental
Education and Communication (EECOM). A proud father of two children,
Gareth can still occasionally be sighted on the hiking trails around
Canmore.
Jason
Unger received his law degree, with a specialization in environmental
law, from Dalhousie University and was admitted to the Alberta Bar in
2002. After articling in Calgary he practiced in general litigation,
regulatory and administrative law and later went on to work for the
Alberta Wilderness Association. Prior to practicing law, he worked as a
summer student at the Environmental Law Centre. He also worked in the
field of biology following completion of his B.Sc. in biology from the
University of Winnipeg. Jason's current areas of focus at the
Environmental Law Centre include water law, species at risk and
wildlife law, conservation tools on private lands, and administrative
law. Jason is an avid Ultimate player and enjoys other outdoor
activities like hiking, camping and backpacking.
Coming Soon.
Peter Zimmerman
is currently the Manager of the Environment, Regulatory, and Stakeholder
Engagement oilsands group. Peter has over 30 years of broad experience in
the upstream oil and gas industry before joining Conocophillips in July
2008.
Peter has managed a wide
variety of projects and sustainability issues, at both the operational and
strategic planning level. This includes environmental impact
assessment & management planning, environmental auditing &
management systems, climate change and energy efficiency, biodiversity
conservation, life cycle assessment, liability management, remediation and
reclamation, and stakeholder engagement. This has included working with
various Aboriginal communities and many special interest groups.
Peter
is an active member of the conservation community. He has been a long
time member of CPAWS, including a term as a National Trustee, and also
represented several ENGOS on the Alberta Grizzly Bear Recovery Team. He
holds a Master's degree in Environmental Design from the University of
Calgary. Peter and his wife Dianne live in Calgary with their daughter
Grace.
Jesse
works directly with communities in exploring opportunities for
sustainable community planning, implementation of smart growth
concepts, and the development of sustainable energy systems. He also
works with companies and various orders of government to explore
opportunities for promoting and adopting sustainable energy
technologies and practices, including the integration of the
triple-bottom-line principles into decision-making. Jesse holds a B.Sc.
in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta and is a
registered Professional Engineer in the province of Alberta. He joined
Alberta Ecotrust's grant review committee in 2007.