EALT People

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

There are six founding organisations of the Edmonton & Area Land Trust, each of which appoint a director to our board. These represent a broad spectrum of organisations: – philanthropic, developmental, municipal, and environmental. Our and founding organisations are:

City of Edmonton
Edmonton Community Foundation
Urban Development Institute – Greater Edmonton Chapter
Edmonton Nature Club
Legacy Lands Conservation Society
Land Stewardship Centre of Canada

Board

You can see a little more about each individual’s background and experience below.

Glen Thoman, Urban Development Institute – Greater Edmonton Chapter, President

Glen Thoman, a civil engineer, has worked for over 15 years with private consulting firms in the land development industry, both in Edmonton and Toronto. Glen holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Alberta and a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto. Glen is responsible for the co-ordination, design, approval and contract administration of land development projects, with a specialization in water resources engineering that includes stormwater management, urban hydrology and stream corridor management. Glen is presently a Project Manager for Al-Terra Engineering.

Martin Garber-Conrad, Treasurer, Edmonton Community Foundation

Martin Garber-Conrad has been CEO of the Edmonton Community Foundation since March, 2005. For the previous 18 years Martin was executive director of E4C—a community organization that operates a variety of programs for women, children and youth-at-risk, primarily in the areas of housing, feeding, employment and outreach. Martin is chair of the Edmonton Housing Trust Fund, is responsible for the Social Enterprise Fund, served several terms on Edmonton’s Food Bank board, won a Muttart Fellowship, was recognized as one of 100 influential Edmontonians, and remains on steering committees for several collaborative programs in social and community services and education.

Krista Tremblett, Secretary

Krista been in education and outreach, first with non-profits, then moving to the Government of Alberta. In 2007 she joined Alberta Environment’s Education and Outreach team, planning and implementing programs to engage Albertans in environmental stewardship. Originally from Eastern Canada, Krista came to Alberta in 2001 to pursue a Masters in Environmental Design. This sparked curiosity and interest in the interface between society and the environment, and how an understanding of social factors can contribute to environmental problems and the opportunities to resolve them. Krista spends her free time largely with her husband and son, or in her vegetable garden.

Margaret Reine, Naturalist

Marg Reine has a science degree and teaching diploma from the University of Alberta. She has worked as a Federal and City Park Naturalist, Literacy Volunteer Coordinator, Teacher, and has been an active volunteer in the Edmonton Community. Marg has been involved with the Clifford E. Lee Nature Sanctuary Management Committee for over 25 years, managing and educating people about Natural Areas. As President of the Edmonton Nature Club, she encouraged the club to become a partner in the Edmonton and Area Land Trust, since many members had been working with the city for years to form a land trust.

Allan Bolstad, Legacy Lands Conservation Society

Allan, a former City of Edmonton Councillor, is now Executive Director of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues. He has helped the federation launch key initiatives, such as its Living Local Program, Solar Energy Project, and the fall Community League Day celebration, now a neighborhood-based, city-wide festival. He worked on Council to preserve environmentally sensitive areas, develop indoor soccer centres, promote a smoke-free environment and raise bus fare for the needy. He has authored reports on municipal sustainability, renewable energy and energy conservation. And he is interested in preserving some of the prime agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands in Edmonton.

Grant Pearsell, City of Edmonton

Grant is a resident of Edmonton and is currently Director, Office of Natural Areas managing the City of Edmonton’s conservation programs. His background is in land use planning specializing in ecology and land conservation. Some of Grant’s recent work includes participating on the Alberta Water Council’s Provincial Wetland Policy Project Team; project manager for the creation of the Edmonton and Area Land Trust; Chair of the Alberta Land Trust Alliance; and team leader for the City of Edmonton’s Natural Connections Conservation Plan. Grant is also experienced rural land conservation and has worked previously for Ducks Unlimited Canada in Yorkton, Saskatchewan

Raquel Feroe, Edmonton Nature Club

Raquel currently practices medicine in Edmonton. Her volunteer focus is to learn and serve in areas that allow her to promote human health by improving our ability to recognize, foster and protect healthy environments. Raquel volunteers locally, e.g., work on the Alberta Capital Airshed Alliance Board, participating in Edmonton’s Master Naturalist program, volunteering for Friends of the Kinnaird Ravine, and helping Riverdale’s Emerald Award winning Naturescape. Noting it is important for all of us to pick a place and protect it, Raquel feels working on the EALT board is a great way to honour that mission in a strategic way.

Claire Ashton, Natural Health Practitioners of Canada Association

Claire is the Communications Director with the Natural Health Practitioners of Canada Association. She has over 15 years experience working in communications and leadership roles. Moving the City of Edmonton to implement a 22 km urban greenway system, putting urban composting on the civic agenda and working with leaders in the environmental movement to create protected areas are a few of her accomplishments. She is the current Chair of the Friends of Mother Earth Charter School Foundation – Canada’s only indigenous education charter school and has recently completed graduate studies in Leadership and Communications at Royal Roads University.

Thomas Andersen, General Construction Manager

Thomas manages in an Alberta commercial construction company. After college at Northern Arizona University, he helped found the Desert Foothills Land Trust, an organization dedicated to preserving the fragile Sonoran desert. He was on the board of DFLT for years and served as chairman of the Stewardship Committee. He attended 2 National Land Trust Alliance retreats. A Canadian Resident since 1974, he lives in Edmonton. “Most of my experience involved managing people and projects and meeting challenges. I am a passionate environmentalist, have been involved in many causes, and my main focus has been the preservation of natural lands.”

Douwe Vandewel, City of Edmonton

Douwe Vanderwel graduated from the University of Guelph’s Water Resource Engineering Program. Douwe spent his career working in the field of water resources with Environment Canada, Ducks Unlimited, Alberta Agriculture and the City of Edmonton. He has a diverse and wealth of experience in conservation and the environment. His particular interests are the conservation of Alberta’s diverse landscapes in the Edmonton area from wetlands to uplands, and forested areas to grasslands. He is especially aware of the strong role that both the proper development of urban areas and agriculture can play in conserving land for a better place to live.

Patricia McKendrick, President, Master Gardeners Association of Alberta.

Pat has an MBA from the University of Alberta, and spent many years in management in the health sector. She completed her Master Gardener designation through the Devonian Botanic Garden – an extension of her long standing passion for gardening, and subsequently established the Master Gardeners Association of Alberta, becoming its Founding President. Pat is on the board of the Edmonton Horticultural Society, member of the Devonian Garden Ecological Learning Centre Cabinet Campaign, and volunteers in other organizations that conserve, enhance and preserve the environment. Pat views her involvement with EALT as an extension of her interest in a sustainable environment.

Marc LeBlanc, University of Alberta Campus Food Bank Society

A recent graduate of the University of Waterloo’s School of Planning, Marc is eager to learn more about the non-profit sector’s role in building prosperous and environmentally sustainable cities. Marc is Executive Director of the University of Alberta Campus Food Bank Society, a charity that provides emergency food assistance to 2,500 U of A students, staff, and faculty. He is a passionate advocate for sustainability and poverty reduction, and has been recently involved with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, the Edmonton Social Planning Council, and the Human Rights Campaign, and has been research intern at the Canadian Embassy in Washington.

Andy Tait

Andy owns the Helm Group, a Leduc-based safety training company that also consults in environmental technologies. Andy served with both the Alberta and Canadian Parks Service, the Alberta Forest Service, as a Steward with the Alberta Protected Areas Program, volunteered with the CWS and Wainwright Wildlife Conservation Society, the Leduc Environmental Advisory Board and other committees and agencies. He has a strong applied education, including a Forest Technician Diploma, an Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Certificate, and Environmental Resource Management studies. Andy shares his knowledge with school children in class and field education through the Edmonton Science Outreach Network.

INTERESTED IN BEING A DIRECTOR?

Board of Directors

STAFF

Pamela Wight, Executive Director

Pamela Wight, a geographer, has a strong background in conservation, with bio-physical and socio-economic degrees, and a certificate in environmental management and planning. She has worked with the private sector and industry, provincial government, universities, and not-for-profit and community organisations. She has worked in Edmonton and surrounding areas, and as a tourism and parks planning consultant, she has worked in Alberta, Canada, and internationally for the UN and international conservation organisations. She was on the Coordinating Committee of the Alberta Conservation Strategy representing the City of Edmonton, and is on the Board of the Land Stewardship Centre of Canada.

Pam can be reached at
Tel: 780 483–7578
Fax: 780 483–7627
Email: pamwight < at > ealt.ca
Follow us on Facebook Share

Rebecca Ellis, Project Coordinator

Rebecca Ellis has joined EALT as our new Project Coordinator. Rebecca grew up in Edmonton and has experience with several non-profits, including the Nature Conservancy of Canada and A Rocha, plus government work with the Canadian Wildlife Service and the City of Edmonton. She has been involved in stewarding properties, developing monitoring programs and providing public environmental education. She received her BSc in Environmental Studies from The King’s University College in Edmonton and her Master of Environmental Management from the University of Queensland, Australia. Rebecca is interested in birds and photography, and lives with her husband, son and two cats.

Rebecca can be reached at (780) 850–3270 or rebecca < at > ealt.ca

——————————————————————————————————————————————————-

EALT actively invites involvement by a broad spectrum of individuals, for all its activities. Besides volunteering, this could include participation on our Board of Directors or as an Advisor. All Directors vote on key EALT activities and operational matters, such as: acquiring land or conservation easements, policy development, and other critical matters. All members of the Board are eligible for Executive positions.

EALT welcomes the public to approach EALT about their wish to be involved in any way.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ADVISORS

Vivian Manasc, Manasc Isaac Architects & Director of the Canada Green Building Council
Toso Bozic, Agroforester/Woodlot Specialist, Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development
Ted Hogg, Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service
Susan Barker, Prof, Department of Secondary Education, University of Alberta
Phyllis Kobasiuk, consultant
Patsy Cotterill, plant ecologist
Milton Davies, Arbor-Pro Tree Consulting
Michael Ferber, Assistant Prof, Geography & Environmental Studies, The King’s University College
Michael Evans, Teleologic Strategic Communications Inc.
Locke Girvan, Biologist, Strathcona County
Laura Harrison, HarrisonBowker Real Estate Appraisers
Kent Lamoureux, Agronomist
Harry Stelfox, Stelfox Wildlands Consultants
Glen Semenchuk, Federation of Alberta Naturalists
Glen Lawrence, Councillor, Strathcona County
Erica Thompson, Total Canada
Denise Verreault, First Nations Environmental Technical Services
Daniel Carroll, Field LLP
Dan Grant, Strategic Planning, Government of Alberta
Colleen Cassady St. Clair, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta
Colin Soskolne, Prof, School of Public Health, University of Alberta
Colin Lipsett, Davis LLP
Christy Boulter, Green realtor
Candace Vanin, Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration & Environment
Bob Gibbs, Eidos Landscape Architecture
Anna Vesala, Program Specialist, City of Edmonton
Patricia Walker, Corporate Culture Consultant, City of Edmonton

For further questions about the Land Trust, contact:

Tel: 780 483–7578
Fax: 780 483–7627
Email: pamwight < at > ealt.ca