Our People

Preferring to see the Elk Valley and beyond with the aid of running shoes, Courtney has been fortunate to call Fernie home for the last 32 years. Building on her passion for nonprofits and community building Courtney is keen to keep our area of the planet as abundant as she can. Graduating from the University of Victoria with a degree in Sociology and minors in Political Science and English Literature she feels very lucky that she was able to move home and be continually inspired by the mountains of her youth.

John was a leader in the 20-year process to create and complete the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy. He has been instrumental in designation of protected areas and parks in the East Kootenay, coordinated environmental appeals against industrial polluters, worked to establish the Southern Rocky Mountain Conservation Area, the Columbia Wetlands and East Columbia Lake Wildlife Management Areas.

Andrea loves everything outdoors, be it a microscopic plant or heartwarming snowfall against a colourful sunset. She brings experience with education, research, and management to the Wildsight Kimberley/Cranbrook branch, and is excited to be working within the communities she calls home.

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, travelling or working in her garden.

Lindsay has always had a deep love of both words and wilderness. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and her essays have been published in literary journals and magazines in Canada and the US.

Rachel is a conservation biologist who developed and currently coordinates Wildsight's Columbia Wetlands Waterbird Survey.  She also manages water quality monitoring and invasive plant projects for Wildsight Golden.  She has worked as a wildlife field biologist on multiple projects across the globe for nearly two decades. From elephants, to grizzlies and seabirds; her passion for researching wildlife and protecting the ecosystems they need for survival continues to grow.

Founder of the Rocky Mountain Education Series, Dawn Deydey brings the experience and understanding of five years of Beyond Recycling coordination and development to the table. As Community Program Coordinator for the Wildsight Elk Valley Branch, her ability to weave environmental education and community action into successful programming that moves our community towards sustainability has been proven repeatedly.

Born and raised in Newfoundland, Bryan joined the Wildsight team in 2017 after working 10 years as a Financial Accountant on The Rock. He likes budgets, spreadsheets, dark coffee, and wild places. A CPA, Bryan is proud to work for the wild.

Robyn is the Executive Director of Wildsight and the campaign lead for Jumbo Wild. Born and raised in Kimberley, BC, Robyn fell in love with the mountains at an early age. Her work is driven by her passion for wilderness and wild places and a strong belief that we can minimize our footprint on the planet. She has been with Wildsight since 2006. Her university studies include a MSc-MA in Global Economics from LSE and the University of Vienna, and a BA in International Development from Dalhousie.

Jaylene is a budding conservationist who grew up on Vancouver Island but currently resides in Golden as the Invasive Plant Program Coordinator for the 2018 summer.

Taylor grew up in Invermere and is now in her third year at Western University studying biology. She loves spending time with her animals and outdoors hiking, biking, paddle-boarding and kayaking. Taylor also loves to bake and read and hopes to eventually have travelled the globe.

Stephanie was born in a small town in Germany and raised surrounded by mountains, lakes and forests. She has called Kimberley her home since 1995. In her free time she enjoys hiking, kayaking, climbing, biking and photography. She believes in the importance of protecting and teaching our children about sustainable biological systems. She is thrilled to be able to unite her extensive administrative experience with her passion for nature.

Erna lives, laughs and sings in the mountains. She is an amazing cook and event guru, and brings together many of her passions in her role as Kimberley Farmers' Market Manager.

Graeme is fascinated by rivers and watersheds, both small and large, wild and urban. Born in Honduras and raised in California, Graeme came to B.C. in 2014 to attend Quest University Canada in Squamish. There, he pursued a self-designed interdisciplinary education in water resources with a special focus on the Columbia River and the Columbia River Treaty. He is excited to bring his passion for the Columbia River and his background in adaptive/accessible outdoor adventure/education to his work.

As Wildsight's Water Program Manager, Heather as been involved in stewardship efforts in the Columbia Basin for more than a decade. She works with individuals and groups to increase capacity and knowledge to better protect our watersheds. Under this guidance, Wildsight's water programs have won awards from foundations and industry, and have been recognized by the federal government as a best practices example in community based monitoring.

Randal moved to Fernie in the 1990’s and with his wife Lisa raised their family in the Kootenays. Randal is the publisher of Oolichan Books, prior to which he was a museum curator and consultant, working throughout western Canada with museums in human and natural history. He spent much of his life in public service with 15 years as a member of Fernie City Council including six as Mayor and and six as a Director on the Region District of East Kootenay.

A passion for the wilderness and a gift for teaching have drawn Monica into the field of environmental education where she has worked both inside and outside the classroom for the past 15 years.

Born and raised in the Cranbrook area, Eddie has a deep passion for the outdoor world and the Kootenays. He has a strong interest in land use issues and protecting biodiversity and wild places. Eddie is excited to continue to learn, explore, and protect the globally significant landscape he calls home.

Born in Cranbrook, Dave is a wildlife biologist, educator, wilderness guide, writer and photographer whose work is driven by his passion for wilderness and wild spaces. His work with endangered mountain caribou and badgers, threatened fisher and grizzly, as well as lynx and other species has helped shape his understanding of the Kootenay backcountry and its wildlife, and help shape his efforts to protect what remains.

Lars has a BA.&Sc. in physics and a life-long love of data and the stories it tells. His passion is climate solutions: transportation, buildings, energy and waste. Lars loves to turn science into compelling narratives, driven by the love of the wild that we share, and to craft communications strategies that get results. He optimizes Wildsight's capacity by making systems efficient, numbers tell stories and technology sing.

While Mary doesn't enjoy writing her bio, she does love the opportunity to adapt and present some of Wildsight's amazing environmental education school programs (Beyond Recycling, Winter Wonder). She started work in environmental education in the last century as an interpreter for the Friends of Mt. Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks, has degrees in Biology and Education, and is currently working on her Masters in Environmental Education and Communication.

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 deeply in love with this area and the amazing Columbia Wetlands.

Growing up in the Creston Valley, Kieran developed a love for nature, the environment, and the outdoors. He is entering his 4th year of studies at UVic in English and Communications but comes home to the Kootenays in the summer to be in the mountains.

Corinna takes part in Golden's water quality monitoring program and this summer she will be coordinating a new Limber Pine project in the Golden area! Corinna grew up in Edmonton Alberta, and for the past decade she has been exploring and living in the majestic Rocky Mountains. Her passion for the environment lead her to Selkirk College in Castlegar. She has decided to call the beautiful Columbia Valley home. In her spare time Corinna enjoys being in the mountains, running, climbing, skiing and going on wilderness backpacking trips.