Team
Peter Robinson
Chief Executive Officer
Peter Robinson brings a diverse background spanning four decades in business, government and the not-for-profit sectors. He began his career working as a park ranger in wilderness areas throughout British Columbia, where he was decorated for bravery by the Governor General of Canada. After his park career, he worked at BC Housing, a provincial crown corporation, eventually becoming their CEO. Before joining us in January of 2008, he was the CEO of Mountain Equipment Co-op, the country's largest outdoor equipment retailer. During his seven year career at MEC, he led the organization through a period of sustained sales and membership growth across Canada. Since joining the David Suzuki Foundation, Peter has also been appointed a member of the Province of British Columbia's Climate Action Team and the Ontario Premier's Climate Change Advisory Panel.
Peter has a long history of volunteer and humanitarian work, including monitoring prison conditions with the International Red Cross in Rwanda and leading a team that monitored detained asylum seekers in British Columbia. He has served as the Chair of the Board of Governors and the Chancellor of Royal Roads University in Victoria, and with the Board of Governors of the Canadian Red Cross Society.
In his spare time, Peter can be found relaxing in the Coast Mountains or kayaking among the Gulf Islands.
Sunitha Palaveettil
Executive Coordinator
Cecilia Reyes
Senior Operations Coordinator
Morag Carter
Program Director, Climate Change and Clean Energy
Morag leads the David Suzuki Foundation's efforts to promote the effective science-based solutions to climate change and energy issues. Morag has significant political experience at the provincial, federal and international levels. As a highly-skilled negotiator, she has been at the forefront of major campaign victories in trade, energy and the environment. Morag served as international coordinator for the International POPs Elimination Network, as a research consultant for Toronto Public Health, and as a toxics environmental health campaigner with Greenpeace Canada. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and Development from the University of Sussex.
Ian Bruce
Team Lead, Climate Change Program
Tyler Bryant
Policy Analyst, Energy Specialist
Ryan Kadowaki
Program Coordinator
Harpreet Johal
Climate Change Campaigner
Winnie Hwo
Climate Change Campaigner
Jay Ritchlin
Program Director, Marine and Freshwater Conservation
Jay leads the marine conservation team in their efforts to achieve sustainable fisheries and aquatic management in Canada. He has a biology degree from Kenyon College in the USA and over 15 years experience working on solutions to environmental challenges. Before becoming director, Jay led the aquaculture and offshore oil and gas campaigns and shared responsibilities on marine fisheries and sustainable seafood campaigns. Jay's previous environmental work includes pulp, paper and toxics issues in Canada and the USA. He spent four years working in commercial fisheries and has also worked in the USA Congress on foreign policy and military issues in addition to several years working with Greenpeace in the USA and Canada.
Bill Wareham
Senior Conservation Specialist
Jeffery Young
Aquatic Biologist
Scott Wallace
Sustainable Fisheries Analyst
John Werring
Aquatic Habitat Specialist
Heidi Hudson
Program Coordinator
Sophika Kostyniuk
Sustainable Seafood Campaigner
Michelle Molnar
Environmental Economist & Policy Research Analyst
Dr. Faisal Moola
Program Director, Terrestrial Conservation and Science
Faisal leads the terrestrial team in working to protect endangered and at-risk species that live on land, and the habitats that support them. Faisal is a practicing scientist and has published widely in scientific journals on ecology, conservation biology, and environmental policy. He has conducted research in some of Canada's most significant wilderness areas, such as the Boreal Forest, the old-growth rainforests of British Columbia and the Acadian woodlands of Atlantic Canada. He has also been a university lecturer. He lives in Toronto with his wife and their two young children.
Lisa Rockwell
Science Officer
Amy Hu
Operations Coordinator, Toronto
Kiruthiha Kulendiren
Ontario Science Projects Manager, Toronto
Rachel Plotkin
Ontario Science Projects Manager, Toronto
Chris DePaul
Online Coordinator, Toronto
James Boothroyd
Director, Public Affairs and Communications
James Boothroyd grew up in Vancouver and worked as a journalist in the United Kingdom and Canada, before serving as Communications Coordinator, Sierra Legal Defence Fund (now Ecojustice Canada); Communications Manager, Canadian HIV Trials Network and Writer, HIV/AIDS Department, World Health Organization. Recently he has worked as a freelance communications specialist for Ecojustice, German Technical Cooperation and WHO. This included reporting on HIV prevention and treatment in Eastern Europe, Africa and South America. Married with two children, he is a volunteer director of Lola MacLaughlin Dance Society and holds degrees in History (B.A., Simon Fraser), Latin American Studies (M.Phil, Cambridge) and International Journalism (M.A., City University of London).
Ian Hanington
Communications and Publications Specialist
Leanne Clare
Communications Specialist
Jode Roberts
Communications Specialist
Jodi Garwood
Communications Specialist
Gail Mainster
Writer, Communications and Development
Panos Grames
Communications Specialist
Eli van der Giessen
Team Lead, Creative Services
Jenny Silver
Web Strategy Coordinator
Erika Rathje
Designer and Web Programmer
Rachelle Delaney
Editorial Production Coordinator
Heather Murray
Editorial Production Coordinator (on leave)
Sarah Hall
Online Fundraising and Marketing Coordinator
Janice Williams
Archives Coordinator
Aryne Sheppard
Community Leadership Manager
Michiah Prull
Community Leadership Coordinator
Lindsay Coulter
Public Engagement Specialist
Shannon Moore
Team Lead, Public Information
Jennifer Rodriguez
Public Information Officer
Kim Vickers
Public Information Officer
Andrea Seale — (604) 732-4228 ×1276
Director, Development
Andrea and the Development team encourage support for David Suzuki Foundation through donations, bequests, grants, events and partnerships. Andrea is honoured to work with visionary donors and volunteers who want to fund and find solutions to the environmental crisis we collectively face.
Andrea joined the Foundation in 2010 after a decade in consulting where she helped raise millions of dollars for a diverse range of causes through Blueprint Fundraising and Communications. She has a Communications degree from McGill University, a Public Relations diploma from Mount Royal University, and teaches fundraising for BCIT and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She is an advisor to numerous community organizations and is on the board of the Vancity Community Foundation.
Jeremy Douglas — (604) 732-4228 ×1232
Associate Director, Leadership Giving
Akua Schatz — (604) 732-4228 ×1270
Associate Director, Community Giving
Simone Hicken — (905) 699-2822
Manager, Leadership Giving, Ontario Region
Katie Loftus — (604) 732-4228 ×1288
Manager, Legacy Giving
Sherry Yano — (604) 732-4228 ×1293
Development Officer, Foundation Relations
Kathrin Majic — (416) 348-8855 ×1570
Development Officer, Community Partnerships
Julie Conan-Cormier — (514) 871-4932, x1452
Agent de développement, QC
Jasmine Yen — (800) 453-1533 ×1500
Senior Marketing Coordinator
Sarah Hall — (800) 453-1533 ×1500
Online Fundraising and Marketing Coordinator
Heather Bell — (800) 453-1533 ×1500
Development Coordinator
Nina Legac — (800) 453-1533 ×1500
Senior Development Coordinator
Derek Schlereth — (800) 453-1533 ×1500
Development Coordinator
Karel Mayrand
Directeur général pour le Québec
Karel Mayrand is Director général for Quebec at the David Suzuki Foundation and a member of the organisation's management team. Before joining the Foundation, he was co-founder of Unisfera International Centre, a sustainability think-tank, where he created Planetair, a leading Canadian provider of carbon offsets and climate solutions. In the past twelve years, Karel has advised various United Nations agencies on sustainability issues, as well as Pierre Marc Johnson, former Premier of Quebec, on globalization and sustainability. He is regularly invited to comment environmental issues in the media. Karel is co-author of Governing Global Desertification, published in 2006 by Ashgate Aldershot (London). He is an Action Canada fellow (2005) and was finalist in 2008 for the Arista Prize as Social entrepreneur of the year in Quebec.
Raïssa Épale — (514) 871-4932, x1457
Coordonnatrice aux opérations
Manon Dubois Crôteau — (514) 871-4932, x1453
Chef des communications
Nadine Legaré — (514) 871-4932, x1455
Coordonatrice des communications
Lisa Gue — (613) 594-5428
Environmental Health Policy Analyst
Jean-Patrick Toussaint — (514) 871-4932, x1454
Chef, projets scientifiques
Catherine Orer
Chef des communications (on leave)
Vic Johnston
Director, Finance & Technology
Vic brings the senior level of experience in finance, technology, and partnership management that we envisioned when we first defined this new role. Most recently he was the VP, Business Administration with the Vancouver Convention Centre. Prior to that, he was Director, Operations and Finance with Information Technology Services at UBC. Vic's strategic technology leadership in this role supported UBC through numerous operations and technology renewal programs. Vic also spent seven years with BC Gas as the Manager, Financial Performance Accounting in the 1990s, so he knows what it means to roll up his sleeves to do the accounting and financial reporting that supports effective organizational decisions.
Calvin Jang
Project Manager, Strategic IT
Paul Lingl
Administration Manager
Kim Lai
Accounting Coordinator, Payroll/Benefits
Monique Paemӧller
Accounting Coordinator, Accounts
Ian Arbuckle
Financial Analyst, Reporting/Budgeting
Catherine Gordon
Director, Human Resources
Catherine leads initiatives to ensure that the David Suzuki Foundation has the people and roles it needs to achieve its goals. Our employees are highly motivated, talented and professional individuals who deserve the organization's support to thrive here. Catherine works to articulate that support through a talent management strategy that is aligned with our long term direction. Originally from Northern Ireland, Catherine moved to London, U.K. after graduation and emigrated to Vancouver in 2005. Catherine has worked in an HR capacity in numerous sectors and organizations throughout her career which have included law firms, charity, technology and a regulatory body before joining the David Suzuki Foundation. She continues to pursue further education and currently has the CHRP designation and a Strategic HR Practices certificate from Cornell University.
