Our People

Leslie has lived in the Kootenays almost her whole life, growing up in Castlegar and now residing in Golden where she has been for almost 30 years. She loves the wilderness and spends as much time as she can outdoors; camping, hiking, swimming and cross-country skiing. Leslie has 7 grandchildren and it is important to her that they are able to enjoy the...

Aita is a born and raised Parson-ite, she moved away for school and life but recently moved back. She is a biologist and map-maker, and joined Wildsight to advocate for our amazing landscapes. She enjoys gardening, the outdoors and connecting with people.

After completing a B.A in Geography and GIS at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Gemma came to British Columbia 'for a visit' and never left. She has been residing in Golden, BC for the past four years where she likes to spend time outdoors enjoying the sun, rain and snow. When she's not working you can find her enjoying a good book,...

Rachel is a registered professional biologist who developed and currently coordinates Wildsight Golden's Columbia Valley Swallow Project and Community Invasive Plant Program. She also developed and managed on the hugely successful Columbia Wetlands Waterbird Survey for Wildsight.  At the top of her class, she graduated with a Master of Science degree in Environment and Management in 2014, and has a Bachelors of Science...

Originally from the UK, my professional focus for the past 17 years has been in business strategy, branding, and design. Now happily settled in Golden, I continue to work with non-profits and small local businesses as a registered 1% for the planet company.  My life long love is the natural world. I am a Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide at The Wild Lifers,...

Golden Branch Director & Biologist on the Golden Rocky Mountain Sheep Project and Project Coordinator for the Plant Awareness Project

As a consulting boreal river ecologist, Annette Luttermann works with Aboriginal communities across Canada primarily investigating the cumulative environmental effects of large hydroelectric developments. Annette holds an interdisciplinary PhD from Dalhousie University where her research focused on the historical effects of dams and impoundments on riparian habitats of the Churchill River in Labrador.

Verena Shaw is a very passionate naturalist who loves to get outside into the wild and has been birdwatching for many years. Verena has been involved with various environmental projects with some bird related ones being swallow, bluebird, wood duck nest box monitoring, nightjar and marsh bird surveys, a western screech owl study, and various other bird counts. When coming to the Wings...

My name is Calvin Beauchesne. I have a BA (Honours) in Environmental Studies and MA in Sustainability Studies. I led the fossil fuel divestment campaign at my university from 2013- 2015. I wrote my masters thesis on the effectiveness of different tactics and strategies of opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline in BC. I have lived in Golden for 3 seasons. This past...

Aita is a born and raised Parson-ite, she moved away for school and life but recently moved back. She is a biologist and map-maker, and joined Wildsight to advocate for our amazing landscapes. She enjoys gardening, the outdoors and connecting with people.

Kate grew up with a profound love of nature after summers camping in Jasper with her family and hunting with her dad every fall. For 16 years, Kate played ringette in the winter in her hometown of St.Albert, Alberta. Kate moved to Golden in 2021 after completing a 4-year  Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Alberta, Augustana Campus in Environmental Studies and...

Joan has been volunteering with WIldsight Golden since it’s inception in 1989. She has been the branch president for many years, spearheading and supporting many initiatives and projects Joan finds it a privilege to work with the great people that are part of Wildsight and to live and play in such a wild and wonderful place.

Natalie spent the best part of 10 years travelling the world as a Snow Sports Instructor. After witnessing the unpredictability from season to season due to environmental factors she returned to the UK to complete an Environmental Science B.Sc (hons). Since then has worked in invasive species (plants) with Spectrum Resources Group, as a Community Coordinator with WildSafeBC and as a Junior Biologist....

Tyler grew up in White Salmon, Washington on the Columbia River. He got his BSc in Fire Ecology and Forest management at the University of Idaho while also working as a Wildland Firefighter for 6 years. Here is where his love for trees, being outdoors, and conserving our natural spaces blossomed.  He moved to Golden in 2021, with the hope of participating in conserving this beautiful landscape...

Jen has been in Golden since 2019, after moving from Revelstoke. Over the last 10 years, she has developed a strong sense of place and love for this region and is finding joy in exploring this side of the Columbia Valley now. For the last five years Jen has worked in ecological monitoring and now wildlife management as well, for Parks Canada. Prior...

Golden Branch Director & Biologist on the Golden Rocky Mountain Sheep Project and Project Coordinator for the Plant Awareness Project

Mathew Zaleski has degrees in electrical and human factors engineering and a PhD in computer science from the University of Toronto. He has worked as an engineer, manager, and business owner and recently finished a 5 year stint as a computer science professor. In 1986 he started as a software engineer for IBM. Subsequently he worked for Autodesk, Adobe and Intel. In 1994,...