As a surfer, a skier, and a canoer, Noémie (she/her) loves everything about the outdoors. Even though her marine biology career has allowed her to travel from Halifax to New Zealand, she feels most grounded when she’s camping along Washipekuk (the St. Lawrence Estuary).

Noémie works at the intersection of marine biology, protected area management, and communication. Her undergraduate honours thesis explored how marine protected areas could become better at biodiversity conservation. She then went on to do a masters thesis on why connecting people with the ocean can mean stronger and more resilient coastal communities.

Her current work focuses on youth engagement, shark conservation, and ecological grief. She is part of a group of young eco-grief researchers, called the Sad Gang. They study and communicate strategies to help environmental practitioners cope with the emotional roller coaster of working in the field of climate change.

Noémie is involved in the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences through her contributions at all scales. She works with local NGOs, participates in national workshops, and planned an international conference.

She is also a first responder for the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Network. When a marine mammal beaches in her area, she’s the first on the scene. She manages the safety of both the public and the animal, observes the animal’s health condition, and takes the opportunity to foster a connection between passerby and the marine environment through discussion.

Noémie lives on Niowentsïo and Ndakina, the unceded, traditional, and contemporary territories of the Huron-Wendat and W8banaki Nations, in a city colonially known as Lévis, QC.

Blake Butler loves to be outdoors, especially in the winter. He is a lifelong downhill skier and avid cross-country skier. When the snow is gone, Blake can be found hiking, cycling, running, or just reading at one of the many parks or beaches around Ottawa.

Blake received his PhD in history from Western University in 2023. Blake’s dissertation examined human relationships and experiences with snow in Vancouver, British Columbia from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. He is a passionate historian whose work continues to explore winter- and climate-based histories in Canada. 

Blake is currently employed as a project manager with Know History Inc., a historical services firm based in Ottawa. He has been with Know History since 2023. Blake is also an editor and book review co-editor with NiCHE, the Network in Canadian History & Environment. NiCHE is a Canadian-based non-profit organization that brings together researchers and educators working at the intersection of nature and history. He has been with NiCHE since 2020.

Jo Grealish is a British climate activist living and working in Whistler, BC. In 2023, Jo was awarded a distinction in MSc Sustainability, Planning, and Environmental Policy at Cardiff University in Wales, following her undergraduate studies in Politics and Philosophy. Jo’s MSc research centred around ecological modernisation, sustainability planning, corporate responsibility, and stakeholder engagement, with a central focus on the challenging relationship between environmental protection and sustainable development solutions. 

Throughout university, Jo took part in various planning projects throughout the UK, including policy proposals in different localities throughout the Welsh valley’s and along its coastline. She maintains an active member of the UK’s Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, contributing to their work acting internationally to improve the practice of water and environmental resource management for sustainability. 

Alongside studies, from 2019-2021, Jo was an expedition leader for a UK social enterprise working throughout the Islands of Fiji. She was responsible for over 20 volunteers per expedition, helping youth empowerment, community building, sports development, mental and public health, and environmental conservation projects.

Jo loves to spend her free time outdoors in Whistler - skiing, mountain biking, running, and hiking, often with friends!

Celeste was born in the USA but was raised on the North Shore of Vancouver exploring and thriving in the outdoors. As a result, her interests are deeply rooted in the natural environment as well as protecting land in which she lives and plays in. She graduated from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences concentrating in alternative energy and
geosciences in 2018 where she was fortunate to take a wide array of courses covering all forms of alternative energy. She quickly realized that her greatest interests lie in energy storage, energy policy, sustainability, and energy education.

Celeste now lives in Squamish, just south of Whistler where she is currently remotely completing her Master of Science at the University of British Columbia focusing on Energy Storage applications for off-grid communities in northern Canada.
Outside of her education, Celeste is a professional athlete as both a big mountain skier and mountain biker, represented by international outdoor brands such as Black Crows skis and Mons Royale. Recognizing that the world of sport has a long way to go when it comes to responsible sustainability practices, Celeste hopes she can make an impact on the world of sport as not only an advocate but as a researcher and athlete alike.

David Spies is a passionate skier, environmentalist and advocate for public lands. He completed his Honours Bachelor in Transnational Law and Human Rights and is now a JD Candidate at Lakehead University. His research focuses on the intersection of environmental law, Indigenous rights, wildlife and public lands management. 

While in law school, David is President of the Environmental Law Club and hopes to pursue a career in public lands defence and wildlife management. 

When his nose is out of the books, David loves skiing, hiking, canoeing and cycling.

Camille is a passionate activist in her community who values social justice, human rights, and the great outdoors, and works to support decolonization in the practice of law. 
Currently clerking at the Federal Court in Ottawa, Camille’s work allows her to support legal decision-making at the national level. Camille has taken part in various projects involving the revitalization and enactment of Indigenous legal orders. Most recently, this included research in support of Bill C-92, an Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.  
In 2019, Camille graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Law from the Université de Sherbrooke. Throughout her studies, Camille volunteered with Lawyers without Borders and played a central role in establishing the university’s first Aboriginal Law Committee. Along with her peers, Camille organized various events to raise awareness about Indigenous realities and mentored Indigenous law students. She worked closely with Kina8at, an Anishinaabe organization, where she assisted with drafting governance policies. 
In 2021, Camille completed a Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Nationhood at the University of Victoria. She participated in a land-based field course with the W̱SÁNEĆ community to better understand the impacts of colonization. She co-authored a report that highlighted ways to advance the community’s legal traditions within a municipal governance framework. This year, Camille is a member of the Federal court’s Aboriginal Law Bar Liaison Committee, which implements procedures to integrate Indigenous laws and traditions before the court.
Having completed exchanges in Spain and Argentina, Camille is fluent in Spanish. She provided services in Spanish, French and English when she articled at a Hispanic law firm in Montreal whose practice focused on Immigration and Refugee law as well as Family Law. 

 Outside of work, Camille loves to bike, trail run and ski.

Amil Reddy

Member At Large

Sabre Pictou Lee is Mi’kmaq from Eel River Bar First Nation in northern New Brunswick. Sabre is an experienced Indigenous liaison and researcher and the CEO and Co-Founder of Archipel Research and Consulting. With her facilitation and mediation expertise Sabre works to build bridges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations. Sabre is also an avid outdoor enthusiast and athlete who works to honor land stewardship. She currently lives in her home territory of Mi’gma’gi with her partner and their pooch, Moose.

Dr. Jacqueline (Jacquie) Hung is an Arctic ecologist and researcher at the Woodwell Climate Research Center. Originally from Toronto, ON, she completed her PhD in Geography at Queen's University researching climate change effects on soil biogeochemistry and greenhouse gas exchange in the Canadian High Arctic. Jacquie's current research is focused on quantifying wildfire and permafrost thaw effects on Alaskan tundra landscapes. Her research helps refine models of permafrost greenhouse gas emissions and provides policymakers with data to incorporate these emissions into climate mitigation policy. When not camping in the tundra or analyzing samples in the lab, Jacquie can be found paddleboarding, scuba diving, and backcountry skiing.

Born & raised amongst the coastal forests, mountains and waters of Cascadia on traditional Coast Salish territories, Ross has always been an active observer of the natural world around him.  While exploring these lands on skis, a bike, or board, he continually finds himself getting lost in the often glanced-over beauty of the ecosystems we play in - the resilient twists and turns of a tree, the formation of silt deposits and erosion, the persistence of moss on a decaying log...the little things.  Over time, these observations shifted to see the trails compact and erode, waters waver and drift, and lands become modified and developed, jobs gained and lost, and local economies boom and bust.  An acute awareness of our anthropocentric approach to the natural world and our blind dependence on it developed, and with that a desire to do better and inspire others to do the same.  This love for the outdoors sparked a career in outdoor filmmaking, the desire to see our engagement in the world change for the better led him to pursue an MBA with emphasis on branding, and an appreciation for nature's resilience led to decades of passion driven exploration, observation and research that have resulted in him becoming a bit of an ecological naturalist.  Today, through blending this knack for nature nerdiness with his background in filmmaking and business, Ross works in science communications to effectively educate, constructively engage and inspire action today for a better, healthier world of tomorrow.

Tobin Seagal was born and raised in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He was taught to compost before it was cool and spent his summer vacations exploring retreating glaciers with his geologist parents.

Tobin is stoked to join the POW Riders Alliance, as an athlete and as a professional working in the environmental field. He has been on ski expeditions to some of the most remote places on Earth and has observed the direct impacts of climate change.

Outside of skiing, Tobin is a professional biologist, with an undergraduate degree in Resource Conservation and a Master’s degree in Environmental Design. His work involves analyzing the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of energy development. Through Tobin’s actions and involvement with POW, he hopes to inspire people to enact the changes we need to make in our interactions with the environment.

Dr Adam Raymakers is a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s hospital with the Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, and Law (PORTAL) and also holds an affiliation with BC Cancer in Vancouver, British Columbia. Adam completed his PhD at the University of British Columbia in health economics and pharmacoepidemiology and has since completed postdoctoral fellowships at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), BC Cancer, and Simon Fraser University. His current research interests are in the sustainable and equitable delivery of healthcare, evidence generation to support decision-making, and exploring the impact of climate change on the delivery of health services. He is based in Squamish, British Columbia.

I am a Mitacs Elevate Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia. My postdoc project with BC Hydro and Dr. Dan Moore titled “Cumulative change of climate and land cover change on river flows in mountain catchments”.  I am studying the effects of glacier retreat, vegetation development and changing climate on the Bridge River watershed, responsible for about 7% of the annual electricity demand of BC. My passion is studying the nexus between climate and the cryosphere, particularly from a water resources perspective. My work at UNBC was part of the Canadian Columbia River Basin Snow and Glacier Research Network. After our five-year study we produced a technical report on the state of glaciers, snowpack, climate and hydrology relating to the cryosphere in the upper Columbia River Basin. I was also a Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions Fellow during my PhD.

Chris is a mathematical ecologist and outdoor enthusiast.

In Chris’ research he uses mathematical models and theory to uncover complex ecological dynamics including the influences of human disturbances on ecosystems. In particular, Chris focuses on the short term, ecologically relevant response to perturbations. The theoretical work that Chris does gives a unique perspective on assessing risks and predicting potential outcomes of certain ecological disturbances.

Chris received his PhD in applied math from the University of Alberta and is a lifelong skier and avid outdoor enthusiast. He hopes to see a future where his kids are able to enjoy climbing, biking, camping and skiing as he does.

Karson is a M.Sc. student in Dr. Rolf Vinebrooke’s Lab at the University of Alberta. He started my graduate research in January of 2021 after completing an undergrad in Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria. Using a combination of observational and experimental approaches, he studies how glaciers shape algal communities and how rapid glacier loss alters algal biodiversity and functioning in alpine streams. When he's not on campus or in the field, you can find me on my mountain bike or snowboard further exploring Canada’s beautiful Rocky Mountains!

Laura Hughes is the director of the Pembina Institute's equitable transition program. She leads the organization’s files on gender equity, sustainable finance, depolarizing narratives, nature-based solutions, and works with municipalities to support their transitions to renewable energy. Laura holds an undergraduate degree in geography from the University of British Columbia and a M.Sc. in environment and resource management from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She has worked in conservation and researched climate impacts in Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Netherlands and Canada.

Based in Canmore, Alberta, Laura spends every moment possible playing outside. Back country skiing, scrambling, and yoga fill most of her time. Laura believes that climate action can include everyone and she is working to create a Canada in which those who have been previously excluded from environmental and climate issues feel ownership and belonging in the climate space. She brings 13 years of climate change and conservation experience to the POW science alliance.

Lawrence Ignace is Anishinaabe from Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation within Treaty 3 Northwestern Ontario. He is a PhD student at the University of Victoria and holds a Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis on Natural Resources Policy from the University of Alaska Southeast. His relationship with mountains significantly strengthened eleven years ago when he moved to Whitehorse Yukon. During this time, he has held positions with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Carcross/Tagish First Nation and Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research. He has a passion for advancing the understanding and use of Indigenous Knowledge. He is also on the Reference Group for the appropriate review of Indigenous research established by the three federal research funding agencies.

Riley Thackray is going into her final year of law at the University of Calgary. Riley graduated with distinction from the University of Victoria, completing a double major in environmental sciences and geography. Prior to law school, Riley dedicated 12 years of her life to ski racing. Following her ski racing career, Riley pursued roles in client and customer service, including a leadership position with Parks Canada.

While in law school, Riley was the Program Coordinator for Calgary’s chapter of Pro Bono Students Canada for 2020/2021. Riley led the organization of over 80 volunteers and 17 executive members across 14 projects, increasing access to justice for underrepresented communities. Riley serves as an executive member of the Environmental Law Society, hosting panels on natural resource law and aspires to pursue a career in Environmental and Regulatory Law.

Riley loves spending time in Golden and throughout the Columbia Valley, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, and running. 

Simon Horton is a public avalanche forecaster with Avalanche Canada and an avalanche researcher with the Simon Fraser University Avalanche Research program. His research explores ways weather and snow cover models can be applied to understand mountain snowpack conditions. He completed his PhD in Avalanche Mechanics from the University of Calgary and has spent a decade developing an operational model system that predicts the avalanche conditions across western Canada. A key focus of his work is finding effective ways to communicate complex and uncertain model output to other avalanche forecasters so they can relay backcountry safety messages to the public. He’s based in Kimberley BC where he loves exploring the local mountains on ski, bike, and running shoes.

Dr. Tara Holland is a Lecturer in Environmental Science and Geography and the Teaching Fellow for the Faculty of Environment at Simon Fraser University. She did her PhD research on climate change impacts and adaptation with the Global Environmental Change group at the University of Guelph. In her current role, she is focused on researching the teaching methods that best facilitate learning in science education, including how best to communicate climate change causes, impacts, and solutions. She designs and teaches courses at every level of undergraduate study, ranging from introductory climate change and physical geography courses to an environmental science capstone experience in collaboration with community partners. From 2016-2018, she was part of an interdisciplinary, international team of educators who developed the Earth and Environmental Science curriculum for the University of Central Asia, a new university in Tajikistan that services students from remote mountain communities. She is also on the Academic Advisory Board for Turning Green, a non-profit organization that offers an international undergraduate course on climate justice, sustainability, advocacy, and public health. In her non-academic time, Tara can most reliably be found outside in the forest or mountains - she is a trail and mountain ultramarathon runner, competing in distances ranging from 50-100+ kms. She won the Squamish 50k in 2019 and is just getting back into the swing of racing again post-pandemic.