REGIONAL CHAPTERS LEADS

Whether it's riding fresh pow during the winter time or bagging peaks during the summer, Thana is no stranger to the outdoors. It is this fondness for nature and the countless days and nights that he has spent outside that has motivated him to want to find ways to advocate for its protection. Thana has a background in Environmental Engineering and currently works to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from large industrial producers. He's helped advocate for strong climate policies having been involved with several local climate organizations, and has also run for Federal and Provincial office.

As far as I can remember, skiing as always been part of my life. I started ski racing at a young age and later on was lucky enough to be able to travel for skiing. I could then witness the effect raising temperatures had on glaciers I’d return skiing on the following year. Following my ski racing years I coached ski racing during my university studies in business management. More recently, I have been working in helping businesses reaching their circular economy goals and providing them with sustainable and recyclable options in the food and medical sector. I have always been passionate about finding practical solutions to our climate challenge.   

Born and raised in the Canadian Rockies, Seger’s passion for protecting the outdoors began as a young Boy Scout. Having learned about outdoor ethics and sustainability at such a young age, Seger has always been inspired to advocate for the planet in his everyday life.

As an avid community runner and hiker, Seger sees the incredible opportunity to create positive change with POW through community initiatives and camaraderie.

Andréanne feels most at home in nature, surrounded by trees, mountains or water. Skiing, hiking, trail running, camping; any free time she has, she spends outdoors. She is therefore highly motivated to protect her home with the people she shares it with. Andréanne believes in the power of community and that great things unfold when people work as a team that has common values and ambitions. She also believes that awareness, kindness and acknowledging others’ realities and opinions are keys in achieving that goal. POW has given her the opportunity to work actively in bringing people together and act directly in building a healthier home.

Le sentiment d’être à la maison, Andréanne le retrouve le plus fortement lorsqu’elle est en nature, entourée d’arbres, de montagnes ou d’eau. Le ski, le ski hors-piste, la randonnée, la course en sentiers, le camping; elle passe tout son temps libre à l’extérieur. Elle est donc motivée à protéger sa maison avec les personnes avec qui elle la partage. Andréanne croit au pouvoir d’une communauté et que de grandes choses peuvent être réalisées lorsque des gens ayant des valeurs et des ambitions communes travaillent en équipe. Elle croit également que la sensibilisation, la
bienveillance et la reconnaissance de la réalité et des opinions des autres sont des alliés dans l’atteinte de cet objectif. POW lui offre l'opportunité de travailler activement à rassembler les passionnés de plein air et d'agir directement à la construction d'une maison plus en santé pour tous.

David is a law student at Lakehead University, with an interest in environmental law. He has always loved being outdoors. A recent transplant to Thunder Bay, he is loving the outdoor adventures that Northwestern Ontario has to offer. As an avid skier, he understands the impacts that climate change has and joined POW to assist in generating positive climate action to ensure that generations to come can enjoy the natural beauty earth has to offer. 

Geneviève moved west in 2015 to reconnect with her older sister and soon fell in love with the Mountains. Since then, she has been pushing the boundary of her comfort zone skiing, climbing, hiking and biking in the wilderness she now calls home. Gen became interested in POW because she saw the potential for chandelling the passion that people have for outdoor recreation into momentum for climate action.

Brooklyn grew up in Ontario and has always harboured a strong connection to the outdoors. Even though she grew up in a relatively flat province, she always knew that her heart belonged in the mountains. She now lives in Jasper and is a passionate climber, runner, skier, and hiker.  Her strong connection to nature led her to study Wildlife Biology and Conservation at the University of Guelph and complete the only Master of Climate Change program in Canada at the University of Waterloo. She is now pursuing a PhD studying the relationship between climate change and recreation and has previously worked for the Town of Banff on community engagement for environmental sustainability initiatives. She hopes to bring her climate change knowledge to create community action through the Protect Our Winters Jasper Chapter.  

Evan caught the bug for being in the mountains through his highschool Outdoor Adventure Club. This has lead him on a path to achieving his BSc in Forestry at the University of Alberta, and to begin pursuing a career goal of utilizing land use policy to push for positive changes throughout industry.

His time spent out in the mountains skiing and biking, along with working in Alberta's boreal forests has fostered a desire to promote climate change advocacy. He is stoked to connect with the Edmonton outdoors community and motivate others to get involved with POW. 

Celine's passion for sustainability started early through a career in culinary arts and recognizing the importance of local & organic food. As Celine migrated west, her interest in sustainability quickly translated into her surrounding ecosystems, and she set out to learn how to protect them. Now in Revelstoke, she hopes to use her role as a mountain bike coach to inspire stewardship in all those she interacts with, so we can all keep bikin' and skiing well into the future.

Florina was raised at a backcountry lodge outside of Revelstoke. As she grew up, she watched the glacier in her remote backyard melt back at an ever increasing and alarming rate, which instilled in her a deep passion for climate advocacy.

She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at UBC Vancouver in film making, and escaped the city back to Revelstoke to pursue a career in guiding. She is training to be an ACMG and internationally certified mountain guide. She took on a leadership role with the POW Revelstoke chapter in May 2020 and is excited to help move her community towards a more sustainable future.

Fraser retired from a career in social work and public education in 2017. The windfall of time and freedom from 9 to 5 was a welcome change, but just playing in the outdoors wasn’t working for him. He sees volunteering with POW as a great opportunity to engage in positive, locally developed solutions to the climate crisis. Since the launch of our nation’s capital chapter, the core group of active members has been a strong voice in advocating for meaningful climate action.

Growing up in Toronto it was the time Josh spent in the mountains which fostered a love for the outdoors. An Economics and Environmental Studies student at the University of Toronto, Josh’s goal is to make the, at times overwhelming, topic of climate change easier to understand and climate activism more accessible. He is always up for a day of skiing, down for an outdoor adventure and is looking forward to growing a community and working toward a sustainable future with POW

City born and bred Julie traded the concrete jungle for the ‘wood 16 years ago and hasn’t looked back. She calls Collingwood home, while working and raising her family 10 minutes from the slopes. Both she and her two kids have been sliding down the mountain since they could walk and now enjoy frequent family chairlift rides. A snowboarder, avid reader, former world traveler, live music lover and amateur foodie, Julie seeks opportunities wherever she goes to spread kindness and track down the best coffee shops.

Put on skis at the age of 3, Marine has spent her teenage years skiing and snowboarding in the French Alps. After traveling a year around New Zealand, she moved to Canada in 2018. While she spends many hours training and coaching at the local crossfit gym, she has a constant stoke for playing outside. Cycling, trail running, split boarding and bouldering are among her favorites, but pitch her any adventure outdoors and she’ll be in - just know that she has high picnic standards! She’s also a civil engineer who’s passionate about the environment and our role in protecting what’s around us.

I grew up in North Vancouver where I spent my winters as a reluctant, overdressed ski kid and my summers wreaking havoc at a kids camp on a gulf island.

I moved away from Vancouver for the first time to attend McMaster University. I spent four years earning a degree in Anthropology with a minor in Archaeology, and all the while my love for BC mountains grew. The saying that ‘distance really does make the heart grow fonder’ is no joke. After graduating, I felt that I had read too much and seen too little so I decided to take various opportunities to work, study, and travel in various countries.

In Australia, I saw trees turned bright orange from recent forest fires. In South East Asia I was shocked at the layers of garbage on the beaches and in the sea. Recently, the impacts of climate change have been felt at home here in Canada. I’ve suffered from headaches while landscaping due to forest fire smoke in the summer, and my ski instructing seasons cut short due to low snow levels.

I first got involved with POW when I lived in New Zealand in 2019 and have been actively involved ever since. POW has given me the most direct opportunity to turn my passion into purpose and work to protect all these places near and far. I asked one of my ski students Donny, age 5, where was home? “Earth,” he answered. Me too Donny, me too.

Kate has always been interested in mountain environments and as a former national team speed skater, she would often explore the mountains on foot, skis, or bike for cross-training. Over the years, she personally saw the impacts of climate change on local glaciers and became increasingly inspired to pursue studies in this field. This led her to study environmental policy at the University of Ottawa and ultimately, back home to Canmore where she is currently working on a PhD in glacier hydrology and climate change adaptation.

Kathryn grew up skiing, hiking, biking, running, and climbing in the mountains near her hometown of Canmore, Alberta. With the impacts of climate change laid bare on nearby entities like the Columbia Icefields, Kathryn felt motivated to pursue studies in public policy and environmental history at UBC Vancouver where she focused on historical energy transitions as well as provincial-level decarbonization strategies. She is currently a freelance sustainability consultant and the incoming Circular Communities Coordinator for the Town of Banff. 

From a young age, Claire has enjoyed being active and taking part in outdoor sports and adventures. In her spare time, she can be found running, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, or cross-country skiing. She also brings her love for active living into her role as a fitness instructor. Claire is excited to be a part of POW Canada and looks forward to connecting with other passionate outdoor enthusiasts around climate advocacy and protecting the spaces we thrive in.

Growing up in Toronto, Caro and her family took every chance to leave the city and explore the outdoors around them with their favourites being snowboarding and canoeing. All of these fun adventures fostered a passion for the environment in Caro and she continued this into her university life where she completed a Honours Bachelors in Outdoor Recreation, Parks & Tourism and a Bachelors in Natural Science at Lakehead University.  After finishing school, her passion brought her to Golden BC, where she continues to explore new activities from mountain biking to hiking and more. Caro hopes to help others learn about the current climate issues and make a difference so we can keep enjoying the beautiful outdoors around us.

Derek has fostered his lifelong love for the outdoors through his passion for paddling, hiking, biking, and snowboarding, among others. He is always up for new adventures and any reason to enjoy time outside. He strives to ensure, and share with his two young daughters, a relationship with nature that stems from respect and understanding.  Further, he sees immeasurable value and opportunity in contributing to a sustainable future for them.

Derek hopes to use his leadership role with POW Canada to rally and motivate the amazing outdoor community of Collingwood. He believes strongly in the ability of local action to affect change and contribute to climate advocacy on a larger scale.

Jazmine is originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, but grew up in upstate New York.

Growing up in close proximity to the Catskill and Adirondack mountains, she built a love for skiing from a young age.

At 18, she moved back to New Zealand for university, and that's where her love for skiing the outdoors really grew. Having the beauty of Aotearoa at her doorstep she was lucky to be able to explore all the mountains had to offer.

In 2018 she moved to Canada, and lived in Whistler for a few years where she was introduced to POW.

Now living in Vancouver, she is excited to be on board as a Chapter Lead to help move the community to a more sustainable future.