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 wilderness as much as she does forever.

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 degree (biology major) from the University of Victoria.  She has...

Kiana is originally from Edmonton, Alberta where she received a Bachelor of Commerce degree with honors in Legal Studies and HR. She is pursuing a career specializing in environmental law with the goal to make the greatest impact. Her family passed on their passion for the outdoors. She has grown up skiing, backpacking, mountain biking, swimming, and playing ringette. She moved to Golden in 2020 to spend more time doing the activities she...

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.

Originally from Edmonton, Evelyn spent her formative years in the Bow Valley, where she fell in love with the wild mountain spaces. After completing her undergrad degree in Geography at UBC, Evelyn moved to Ottawa to pursue a career with Parks Canada. While in Ottawa, she discovered her love for environmental education and worked alongside passionate educators at the Ottawa-Carleton Outdoor Education Centres. In 2019, Evelyn moved to Nelson and enrolled in a...

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 Over the Rockies Bird Festival two years ago she fell...

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.

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 to this, her somewhat meandering career as a biologist took...

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

Jessie started her career as an Environmental Educator even before she knew what a career was. As a child, she would spent countless hours exploring the forests surrounding her rural BC home. As she grew up, she began to see these wild places disappear. In 2008, her urge to protect wild places led her to begin her professional life as a Park Ranger. Jessie worked for BC Parks for 8 years, committing to...

Georgia moved to Golden, BC in 2018 to pursue a career in wildlife conservation. She graduated from Trent University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and strives to incorporate outreach and education in everything she does to ignite passion in others. Georgia also acts as a Program Coordinator for Living Lakes Canada and Columbia Lake Stewardship Society and is leading projects in community outreach, wildlife monitoring and water quality monitoring.

Hanna is an avid gardener, a mom to two young boys, and an environmentalist. She loves cooking for her family, finding treasures at thrift stores, and spending time on her skis or bike. She moved from her hometown of Kimberley, BC to Golden ten years ago. She has a BSc in Physical Geography, has worked extensively in the outdoor recreation industry, and also has experience in bookkeeping. Moving forward, she plans to pursue...

Jenna is a life-long nature nut. She is a trained fish and wildlife technician and has worked in resource conservation at Parks Canada for the past 4 years. Previously, she worked as an environmental educator in Alberta developing and delivering programs to students and teachers about the natural world and natural resources. She recently nested in Golden and is proud to have the Columbia wetlands and both the Purcell and Rocky mountains in...

Brittany moved to beautiful Golden five years ago, to pursue early years education and has worked at several local childcare centres, including supervising the ski hill’s Kicking Horse Kids Club. Prior to that she worked in the environmental non-profit sector in Alberta, creating nature-based excursions and experiences for people of all ages, and advocating for the protection of wild spaces. She is a fully certified Early Childhood Educator, has a degree in Biology...