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.

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.

Casey and his family live work and play in Fernie in the heart of Canada's beautiful Southern Rockies. Casey managed Wildsight's Southern Rockies Campaign for a decade and is grateful for the opportunity to continue to support progress on conservation and community sustainability through volunteering with Wildsight.

Brian Conrad moved to the Kootenays in the mid 1970’s after living in England, the United States, Mexico and Colombia. The grandeur of the region inspired an intensified consciousness of environmental excitement and concerns. As a teacher at Mt. Baker Secondary School in Cranbrook, Brian joined a team of colleagues and ran an Environmental Awareness Program for Grade 11 students for many years.

Lindsay has extensive experience in environmental and non-profit communications, and has managed communications for inspiring organizations in the US, France, and Canada. Lindsay is currently an Assistant Professor of Teaching at UBC in the faculties of Forestry and Land & Food Systems where she is teaching a new generation to tell stories and create change.

Tracy Flynn came to the Columbia Valley from northern Alberta 12 years ago. She appreciates intact, healthy ecosystems but it was Columbia Lake that drew her here. Having spent most of her life in the unspoiled lake environments that northern life offered, she was pleased to find Columbia Lake. Tracy has always preferred to be outside, doing everything and anything outdoors related, including hiking, skiing and biking. She feels she has landed in...

Lesley is a retired lawyer who worked for the East Kootenay Environmental Society (Wildsight’s precursor) as a campaigner between 1992-1998. Lesley established the Elk Valley Conservation Society which evolved into Wildsight’s Elk Valley Branch, negotiated the East Kootenay CORE Land Use Plan with the environmental sector, and was on the originating steering committee of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. In her legal practice, she provided advice to First Nations on a variety...

I feel fortunate to have lived in the Rocky Mountain Trench for over 30 years and have been able to play and work in my front-yard, the Rocky Mountains and my backyard, the Purcell Mountains. My history with Wildsight is as old as the organization. As a founding member, I have been a proud supporter for many years. I have worked on many campaigns but am most proud of the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy...

Woody’s involvement with Wildsight Kimberley Cranbrook has mainly taken place behind the scenes through his work on the Board of Directors. His strong pragmatism has helped to guide Wildsight programming since 2013. His involvement is inspired by the value he places on local food security and stewardship/protection of local ecosystems. He also has a passion for local arts and culture and sees how Wildsight activities help to create a strong social fabric within our...

Born and raised in rural west central Minnesota, Jim graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Forestry in 1969, married Sandy and headed west. Over the following 30 years he worked various industry and government positions from Prince George and Burns Lake, to Creston and Vernon and back to Creston again. Throughout most of this experience Jim was fortunate to work with people who “saw the forest through the trees.”