Staff and advisors

Brittney is a an undergraduate studying environmental science at Queen’s University with a deep interest in understanding the intricate workings of natural systems and discovering the interconnections between them. Previously she has worked with Jannice Friedman, researching the effects of habitat fragmentation and pollinator loss on plant reproduction.

Recognizing the importance of incorporating diverse perspectives into her work, Brittney has been increasing her understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing. This includes collaborating with an Indigenous community partner of Queen’s on a project to understand literature on land conservation and use. Brittney believes her passion for environmental science combined with a deep appreciation for Indigenous perspectives, can help her make a meaningful contributions as an environmental steward.

Brittney looks forward to using her knowledge and skills to make a positive impact through her work at Y2Y.

Katrina brings a background in public relations, communications and content creation to her role as Y2Y’s communications specialist. It’s her lifelong passion for wildlife and the environment that drove her to pursue a career in conservation. She is thrilled to play a role in deepening others’ connection to nature and Y2Y’s work.

She is grateful to live in Alberta’s Bow Valley on Treaty 7 territory, where she takes any opportunity to explore the Rockies and discover other wild places in the Yellowstone to Yukon region. In her spare time, Katrina is probably cooking, tracking down a good cup of coffee, or taking walks with her rescue pup.

EMAIL: katrina (at) y2y (dot) net

Dayna Big Plume joins the Y2Y team as the landscape protection and highway connectivity co-ordinator.  She is honored to be able to dedicate her services to conservation. With an academic background in communications and experience in public relations, multimedia, and project management, Dayna has served her Indigenous First Nation and surrounding communities to connect and cultivate strong relationships. Working with communities, governments, and mass media has influenced her to devote and apply her skillsets and time to significant initiatives such as Y2Y. Harmonizing people and nature is the outcome we are all invested in.   

Dayna is Indigenous and deeply rooted in her culture and traditional knowledge. She has lineage from the Tsuut’ina (Dene), Rocky Boy (Chippewa Cree), and the Aamskapi Pikuni (Blackfeet) Nations. Dayna grew up in both Alberta, Canada and Montana, USA. With a family with a background in conservation, she has a passion for conserving our environment. Dayna believes Indigenous-led conservation, sustainability, eco-balance, and environmental sciences are imperative areas of expertise that are vital for our future ecosystems. Throughout life, she has travelled all through the Yellowstone to Yukon region and has a deep connection and respect for the people, land, and wildlife. She currently lives in her traditional Dene territory of the Tsuut’ina Nation, located in southern Alberta, Canada, in the Treaty 7 region of the Tsuut’ina, Stoney Nakoda, and the Blackfoot Confederacy First Nations.    

Dayna enjoys several hobbies that entail her traditional teachings. This includes: beading and sewing, connecting to nature, and travelling to traditional and contemporary ceremonies. She grew up dancing Indigenous dances of Woman’s Traditional, Jingle, and Fancy Shawl. The exposure to her culture has impacted her to be creative at work and in life. Her favorite creative outlet is Indigenous fashion. Indigenous fashion has helped her in the revitalization of her Indigenous culture. Also among her Indigenous revitalization interest are language and Indigenous ways of knowing.  She will always be invested in learning and protecting our environment.    

EMAIL: dayna (at) y2y (dot) net   

Natalie is passionate about relationships people have with their environments. She brings expertise working with Indigenous peoples in the field of traditional knowledge and environmental assessments, as well as project management and report/proposal-writing.

Originally from Quebec, she was drawn to the Rocky Mountains where she can be found hiking, camping, cycling, skiing, and otherwise enjoying the beautiful landscape with her family.

EMAIL: natalie (at) y2y (dot) net

Scott is an accomplished leader of local, regional and national conservation campaign teams, an award-winning educator and journalist, and a deeply committed practitioner of collaborative large landscape conservation.

He brings extensive experience in government relations, communications, diversity, equity and inclusion as well as non-profit management and fundraising to Y2Y.

Throughout his career Scott and the teams he has led have worked closely with scientists, grassroots advocates, Indigenous communities and elected officials to achieve strategic synergy between conservation and sustainable economic development.

Prior to joining Y2Y, Scott worked for The Wilderness Society for 14 years in a series of state and national leadership roles. Scott holds two degrees in environmental science and has taught many university-level courses in environmental science, policy and journalism.

Scott has lived most of his life in and near the Yellowstone to Yukon region and he is an avid mountain biker, skier and backpacker, a novice backcountry horseman and a lifelong hunter and angler.

EMAIL: scott (at) y2y (dot) net

Sidney Bruckeder joins Y2Y as a Conservation Science Intern in Social Sciences.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Sidney is excited to apply her knowledge and skills to the human dimensions of conservation in the Yellowstone to Yukon Region project.

Sidney moved to the Bow Valley in the summer of 2016. After years of following along with the inspiring work of Y2Y, Sidney is very excited to join the team and work towards the protection of not only the Bow Valley, but the entire region.

In her free time, Sidney enjoys spending time outside with her dog and her husband, and taking advantage of all of the activities that the beautiful Canadian Rockies have to offer.

EMAIL: sidney (at) y2y (dot) net

Tim has a lifelong love of wild places, and has experience in political organizing, park management, government relations, and applied research.

Prior to joining the Y2Y team, Tim was committed to driving positive change as an organizer for multiple political, non-profit and labour campaigns.

Tim was inspired to focus his career on conservation advocacy and research after working as an operations manager for several provincial parks, where his passion for the wild evolved from a fascination with natural history to contemporary politics and policy surrounding reconciliation, the environment, natural resources and conservation movements.

Tim completed his Master’s degree at the University of Northern British Columbia, working on a grassroots mapping tool for conservation.

As Director of Landscape Protection, Tim leads a team of dedicated and passionate conservationists across the Y2Y region to work strategically in support of Indigenous-led conservation initiatives to protect large-landscapes, and coordinates integrated projects to advance the Y2Y vision. He advocates for conservation solutions in policy initiatives, engaging with decision makers at all levels of government.

Tim lives in on Vancouver Island, B.C., with his partner Zoë and dogs Mickey and Pippin, and spends his free time exploring the vast wild places of the world.

EMAIL: tim (at) y2y (dot) net

Dr. Libby Ehlers is an applied ecologist with over two decades of experience applying analytical, collaborative, programmatic, and technological skills to the conservation of endangered species across montane, boreal, marine, and arctic landscapes. Libby is particularly experienced in the use of spatial models to identify critical habitats for large mammals.

During her career, Libby has conducted research and/or resided across five of the Yellowstone to Yukon priority regions. She brings to Y2Y a visceral enthusiasm for conserving diverse landscapes and her lifelong commitment to applying science to understand human impacts on ecosystems and societies. Libby is excited to collaborate with the Y2Y team and external partners to advance science initiatives while also contributing her experience as an educator, field biologist, program manager, and applied caribou ecologist.

Libby lives just south of Missoula, Montana with her family. Outside of work, Libby can be found exploring the flora and fauna of the Rocky Mountains with her husband and their two children, most often interacting with a body of water.

EMAIL: libby (at) y2y (dot) net

Robin’s early exposure to the values of protecting wildlife and habitat came from her father who worked in conservation in Manitoba.

Seeking a career in a cause she believed in, Robin is now taking these values and implementing them in her career as donor relations associate for Y2Y.

Robin comes to the organization with a strong commitment to discipline and excellence, along with a breadth of international experience. In her youth, Robin was a national level competitive figure skater.

After attending Brandon University she pursued her love of skating, spending eight years performing as a principal soloist and pairs skater with Disney On Ice around the world.

Upon retirement from performing she began coaching in Edmonton, Alta., and has been coaching in the Bow Valley. She devotes her free time serving as a technical specialist for Skate Canada and lives in Canmore with her husband Mark and two young children Anya and Lukas.

Robin is thrilled to be part of Y2Y, using her passion for connecting with people to protect and connect wildlife and habitat for future generations to enjoy.

EMAIL: robin (at) y2y (dot) net

Chi’s interest in accounting began at the age of 15 while attending a business administration course at high school and continued education at college. After graduating from college, Chi moved to Canada and worked as a bookkeeper for more than 10 years.

She is very excited to be a part of the Y2Y team and bring the knowledge of accounting. She likes numbers and enjoys finding new ways to take the work out of paperwork. Also, she enjoys being outdoor especially camping, fishing, hiking, biking, snowboarding and skiing in the Canadian Rockies.

EMAIL: chizuru (at) y2y (dot) net

As a Senior Connectivity Specialist, Eric Greenwell works to ensure functional wildlife corridors connect core habitats within priority areas of the Yellowstone to Yukon landscape. He takes a lead role in private land conservation and targeted public land conservation as well as a supporting role in the development of conservation-friendly infrastructure projects.

Before joining Y2Y in 2023, he worked for land trusts in the Y2Y region for six years, developing equitable and data-driven land acquisition strategy, protecting wildlife habitat, farms and ranches, establishing community forests, facilitating access for Indigenous people to gather on their homelands, and developing formal partnerships between tribes, federal and state agencies, counties, and NGOs.

As a believer in the importance of context and diverse perspectives, Eric has also provided in-kind development and GIS services to NGOs that bring diverse and underrepresented stories to light, and he recently completed the Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative exchange through the University of Montana’s Mike and Maureen Mansfield Center and the U. S. Department of State, which culminated in development and program consulting for the Center for Environment and Community Research in Hanoi.

When he isn’t on a phone or laptop, Eric enjoys writing, reading, rafting, and hiking with his partner and their redbone hound, Frankenstein.

EMAIL: eric (at) Y2Y (dot) net

Jessie’s conservation experience and academic background integrate forest ecology, biodiversity, species conservation, and climate change into collaborative projects in forest and watershed restoration, wildland protection, and human-wildlife coexistence.

She lives in Idaho and enjoys incorporating her connection to its people and landscapes into her work with Y2Y.

EMAIL: jessie (at) y2y (dot) net

Bre values the connection humans have with nature and is excited to merge her accounting knowledge with her passion for the Rocky Mountain region and its ecosystems.

Bre has over a decade of experience in accounting, administration, and customer service to bring to the Accounting Coordinator role. She found her interest in accounting while taking accounting courses in a Professional Golf Management Diploma. After this program, Bre completed a BCom Degree with an Accounting Major. She has experience in public practice completing bookkeeping, financial reporting, and taxes; and has knowledge of accounting for the not-for-profit sector. She is excited to bring her abilities to the reporting and reconciliation processes at Y2Y.

Bre moved to Canmore in 2019 to immerse herself in the wilderness of the Rockies and spends her spare time hiking, mountain biking, skiing, camping and exploring the Yellowstone to Yukon region. She is thrilled to be a part of the Y2Y team and to play a role in the conservation of these lands.

EMAIL: breann (at) y2y (dot) net

Dr. Jodi Hilty is president and chief scientist of Y2Y. Trained as a conservation biologist specializing in ecological corridor and large landscape research, she has more than 25 years of experience managing large landscape conservation efforts. This work focuses on applying best available information to address complex conservation challenges through community-based and highly collaborative efforts, and also seeks to support Indigenous leadership in protected area and corridor conservation.

A co-editor or lead author on four books, her most recent is 2019’s Corridor Ecology: Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Adaption and she led writing of the 2020 IUCN Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity through Ecological Networks and Corridors as the deputy chair of the IUCN Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group.

Jodi is personally invested and interested in growing diversity in science and conservation. This is realized in various ways, such as supporting and advising future leaders involved in conservation biology and large landscape conservation. This includes serving on the Smith Fellows board to support scientists who bridge science to conservation, developing diverse leaders in the field of conservation biology.

EMAIL: jodi (at) y2y (dot) net

Dr. Devin Holterman studies the political, economic, and ecological dynamics of biodiversity conservation and the extractive industries.

In Tanzania, his doctoral research examined how transnational resource extraction benefits from the biodiversity crisis, how protected areas are becoming increasing fortified, and how protected and conserved areas affect the lives of people and wildlife. Devin co-founded the Beyond Extraction Research Collective and has worked with various not-for-profit groups around the world.

Devin leads a collaborative research project with Y2Y and the University of Northern British Columbia on conservation social science across the Yellowstone to Yukon region.

He enjoys climbing, hiking, snowboarding, and exploring the world alongside his young son.

EMAIL: devin (at) y2y (dot) net

As Y2Y’s Director of Landscape Connectivity, Pelah will bridge political divides and work across scales to ensure wildlife corridors connect core habitats within priority areas of the Yellowstone to Yukon landscape.

Growing up on the Flathead Reservation in western Montana, Pelah learned about caring for the land and people from the Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Previously, she directed Five Valleys Land Trust’s land conservation program where she led a team that protected 150 square kilometers (37,000 acres) with diverse partners. Pelah also worked with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to establish the first unified state-tribal water rights agency in the United States.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock twice appointed Pelah to Montana’s only state-tribal fish and wildlife commission. Dedicated to public service, Pelah mentored Southeast Asian professionals with the U.S. State Department and the Mansfield Center. She supports the development of affordable housing across Montana as a Homeword board member. Pelah earned a Master’s in resource conservation from the University of Montana and worked with communities in Ecuador on cloud forest conservation as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Always on the lookout for big trees and cute critters, Pelah, her husband, and their twin boys get out to explore the natural world every chance they get.

EMAIL: pelah (at) y2y (dot) net

Claire Jarrold is passionate about connecting with people and with nature, and she is happy to be engaged in both roles at Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.

Claire loves telling the stories that connect people to causes, which is at the root of her fundraising. She has extensive experience in donor relations, fund development and project management within the fields of international and community development, and social welfare, as well as conservation. She has maintained an active Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) status since 2013.

Originally from the U.K., greater access to wilderness spaces was a big part of Claire’s decision to make Canada her home. Canoeing, hiking and cross-country skiing are her favourite ways to explore the Rockies and beyond.

EMAIL: claire (at) y2y (dot) net

Tim’s role combines his love for mountain landscapes with an academic background in geography to help advance Y2Y’s work on safer highways for wildlife and people, and supporting efforts at sustaining the land, water and wildlife of Alberta’s Eastern Slopes.

In addition to his work at Y2Y, he is also involved with coordinating volunteer trail care programs and other projects related to the stewardship of Kananaskis Country. His love of maps and self-powered travel usually result in any free time being dedicated to exploring the backroads and trails of the U.S. and Canadian west by bike.

EMAIL: tim.johnson (at) y2y (dot) net

Renée has a passion for people and creating connections.

After serving Y2Y as communications manager for four years, Renée moved into the role of donor relations manager, then director of donor relations, where her strong communications skills will enable her to forge important relationships with Y2Y supporters.

Prior to Y2Y, Renée worked with academics and company leaders to develop communications strategies and community relations programs. Born and raised in Alberta, and as a skier, hiker and cyclist the Yellowstone to Yukon region is both her home and playground.

Renée looks forward to using her talents in support of the Y2Y vision.

EMAIL: renee (at) y2y (dot) net

Caleigh was born, raised, and educated on Treaty 6 land, and has spent countless days learning and playing in the Yellowstone to Yukon region.

Caleigh grew up in a home of educators, who shared with her the importance of our relationship with wildlife and the outdoors, and our role as human stewards. After completing her BA and MA, she pursued a variety of different careers, experiences, and places to live and play in.

The constant in her life has always been a connection to her purpose as an agent for positive change, and a voice for the voiceless. Home is now the Bow Valley, where her personal passion for the outdoors and her diverse professional background has merged in this exciting role with Y2Y. She is thrilled to contribute her skills and energy to the mission and values of Yellowstone to Yukon.

EMAIL: caleigh (at) y2y (dot) net

Adam Linnard is Y2Y’s Landscape Protection Manager in his hometown of Canmore, on Treaty 7 territory. He guides campaigns to protect key wildlife habitat and ensure that animals can move between and beyond those protected areas, focusing on headwaters regions, wildlife corridors, and highway crossings.

With a mixed background in environmental justice, literary ecocriticism, and international poverty relief, Adam combines these interests in working for sustainable, justice-oriented, thriving communities that make space for other-than-human beings as well. Adam likes to be outside, on foot, in inclement weather.

EMAIL: adam (at) y2y (dot) net

Dr. Annie Loosen has worked on a variety of wildlife-related projects, from assessing how ungulates use critical winter habitat, to studying climate microrefugia for pikas, to evaluating strategies to reduce human-large carnivore conflicts in Alberta.

She completed her masters at the University of Alberta, where she studied environmental attributes linked with American black bear densities, and how black bears share the landscape with grizzly (brown) bears in southwestern Alberta. In 2018, Annie moved to Norway for a PhD where she studied how recolonizing carnivores, roads, forestry practices, and a changing climate affect the way that moose use habitat and find food in Scandinavia.

Annie leads a collaborative research project with Y2Y and the University of Northern British Columbia on recreation ecology in western Alberta and eastern B.C., working with multiple government agencies and recreation and conservation groups.

EMAIL: loosen (at) y2y (dot) net

Ellen is thrilled to be a part of Y2Y working on behalf of wildlife and wild spaces. She has over two decades of experience in event planning and business development. Before joining Y2Y, she worked for 13 years at the Centre for Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre including as a member of the team responsible for delivering the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival.

Ellen graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Business Administration. She lives in Canmore with her husband and daughter. In their free time they love skiing, rafting, gardening and exploring.

EMAIL: ellen (at) y2y (dot) net

Laura has worked in communications, marketing and fundraising for the not-for-profit sector, and prior to that, spent several grueling years planting trees in the wilds of northern Ontario and southern BC.

She moved with her family to Canmore from Toronto in search of blue skies and high peaks, and she is absolutely ecstatic to be working at Y2Y and helping to achieve this collective vision to keep these beautiful landscapes protected and connected.

Laura believes the root of all fundraising is in storytelling, and she is excited to share stories about Y2Y’s vital efforts in conservation. When not in the office, you can find her on the ski hill, and consuming and making art as often as she is able.

EMAIL: laura (at) y2y (dot) net

Brynn joins the Y2Y outdoor recreation ecology team as a conservation science intern. With an undergraduate degree focused on human-wildlife coexistence and master’s of science studying population dynamics of black bears, she brings a strong interest in statistical ecology and wildlife conservation and management.

In her spare time, Brynn tries to be outside as much as possible, preferably backpacking, trail running, biking, and skiing. 

Nicole is honored to join Y2Y in the role of Manager of Landscape Protection. Nicole is a member of the Ojibway First Nation of Fort William outside Thunder Bay, Ontario. Her mother is an Indigenous artist and her father was a member of the clergy stationed on the reserve in the early 70’s. Through day to day life and sharing stories with family, Nicole learned of what it means to be a survivor of Residential School, Indian Day School and the sixties scoop. Through sitting with her mother, watching the passing of Bill C-31 in 1985, Nicole further learned of the impact that government decisions have had and continue to have on Indigenous Peoples in Canada. Nicole personally understands the spiritual and physical connection to the land and water, and recognizes these are the source of life, culture and identity for First Nations, Metis and Inuit Peoples.  

Nicole brings with her over 24 years of experience supporting all phases of clinical and community-based research at the University of Alberta. Nicole’s experience in bringing diverse groups together, coordinating knowledge exchange and facilitating the role of communities as partners in decision making through the use of the IAP2 Spectrum of Engagement and ethical space, as well as her expertise as a project manager and trainer will be a major asset in Y2Y’s work to support Indigenous-led conservation.  

Nicole is passionate about sharing knowledge of the physical landscape and the impact we have on it with others. The history of the land brought us to where we are today, and we are all connected to the future it holds.

When not at work, Nicole enjoys exploring the outdoors in all seasons with her 4-legged canine companion Rudy.

EMAIL: nicole (at) Y2Y (dot) net

Sarah is thrilled to be working with Y2Y in a capacity that blends her legal skills and policy analysis, with her passion for conservation and the pursuit of strategic, practical, collaborative solutions.

Prior to joining Y2Y Sarah was a consultant in environmental law and policy. Over the course of her legal career, Sarah provided advice to clients on a wide variety of matters. These included: land use planning; remediation of contaminated lands; conservation and reclamation; the environmental assessment process, corporate environmental systems; environmental compliance and management of environmental risks and liabilities; climate change; and new environmental legislation and policy.

Sarah obtained her Bachelor of Laws, LL.B. degree from Dalhousie University and was called to the Alberta bar in 1995. She graduated from the Director’s Education Program with an ICD.D designation from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Sarah is a member of the Law Society of Alberta and the Canadian Bar Association.

Currently, Sarah is a Director with Alberta Ballet; and serves as a Director on two family foundation boards. Sarah has served on a number of not-for-profit boards, including: Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative; the Calgary Foundation, Arts Committee; the Environmental Law Centre; and the Calgary Institute for Humanities, Advisory Committee at the University of Calgary.

Sarah is committed to working towards protecting one of the last intact mountain ecosystems in the world; the Yellowstone to Yukon region. She is from Calgary and is passionate about Alberta’s incredible wilderness and mountain parks. Sarah enjoys hiking, cycling and skiing in Canada’s Rocky Mountains.

EMAIL: sarah (at) y2y (dot) net

With a background in conservation communications and fundraising, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Namita is excited to lend a passionate voice to Y2Y as the marketing and communications co-ordinator. She is thrilled to be working in a capacity that combines her passion for story-telling and community building with her love of wildlife to inspire a greater appreciation of our natural world in others.

When she’s not at work, Namita can easily be found exploring the nature trails of the traditional territory of Tsawwassen Nation in Delta, B.C., and learning about local wildlife. She is also an avid gardener and prefers to spend time trying to hone a green thumb in her parents’ backyard.

EMAIL: namita (at) y2y (dot) net

Nadine has a background in environmental science, education, local government, and community development. She believes in doing good research to make good decisions, and comes to Y2Y with unique experience in leading applied social science research with and for communities across the Columbia Basin.

With a deep care for wild places and sensitive species, Nadine is eager to work with local organizations, businesses, governments, and First Nations to help connect and protect the Columbia Mountains so both nature and our rural communities can thrive. Nadine is an avid mountain biker, split boarder, rock climber, mushroom hunter, and dog walker.

EMAIL: nadine (at) y2y (dot) net

Hannah is from southwest Montana and grew up exploring the mountains and rivers around Yellowstone National Park. She has a life-long passion for contributing to the success of conservation efforts. Her professional background includes many years of experience in the environmental sector ranging from wildlife field research, project leadership, fundraising to operational roles. She has worked with citizen science groups, land-based conservation efforts, large carnivore coexistence efforts, and has enjoyed fieldwork positions focused on sage-grouse in Wyoming, and carnivores in Zambia. She received her Masters of Science in Environmental Conservation from the University of Wisconsin’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, with a focus on conservation effectiveness.

Her current work focuses on co-ordinating projects that benefit people and wildlife, including land-use planning, recreation management and coexistence with grizzly bears. She has a passion for solutions that allow people and nature to thrive. Hannah lives in Helena, MT, and enjoys exploring wild places with her partner and dog.

EMAIL: hannah (at) y2y (dot) net

Patty Richards joins the Y2Y team after rewarding careers in not-for-profit and industry arenas focused on communications, community relations and social performance. She is tickled green to be able to bring her skills around pragmatic, informed, collaborative and sustainable project management and communication to Y2Y while being able to learn from those focused on science and conservation.

Patty has a Master’s degree in Communications (focus on social marketing) and an undergraduate degree in Art History. She is a volunteer member of the Grant Advisory Committee for Environment for the Calgary Foundation.

Her informal education and free time has been based around the Rocky Mountains — whether in taking range and riparian management courses, facilitating multi-stakeholder working groups focused on sustainable development in the Eastern Slopes or in hiking and skiing in parks across the Yellowstone-to-Yukon region.

EMAIL: patty (at) y2y (dot) net

Marlis’ passion for nature and wild creatures has brought her to Y2Y many years ago. She has been working in various roles in Y2Y’s administrational department for over 15 years.

Originally from Switzerland, she has lived in the Canadian Rockies for most of her life.

In her free time, Marlis enjoys nothing more than being outside, hiking in the mountains, camping, and exploring new corners in the Y2Y region.

EMAIL: marlis (at) y2y (dot) net

Growing up in rural Alberta, Talia’s passion for nature led her to take as many opportunities as possible to increase knowledge about, and protection for, natural places and wildlife. From volunteering with Tasmanian devil research in Australia, monitoring cheetahs in South Africa, learning about human-elephant conflicts in Gabon, collecting bighorn sheep and ground squirrel data in the Canadian Rockies, and rehabilitating wildlife in British Columbia, she is always looking for ways to make a positive impact on nature and our relationship with it.

With a Master’s of Science in Environmental Management and a strong interest in using mapping as a conservation tool, Talia brings a broad range of experience and enthusiasm to Y2Y as a conservation science technician.

EMAIL: talia (at) y2y (dot) net

Info to come.

Josh is the Communities and Conservation Senior Manager and grateful to be living, playing, and working from his home in the Bow Valley on Treaty 7 territory.

Josh joined Y2Y after working for 20 years developing a body of work that seeks balance between land-based conservation and development in Canada and the United States. His approach has always been dedicated to the pursuit of building social and ecological resilience. Through ideas big and small, his focus is to connect people to place, to nature, and to each other.

With his background as a planner in mountain towns, a landscape architect, and a national park ranger, Josh’s primary work is with public park lands and the emerging economies projects. His personal connections with the land are most often made while on hikes with his wife and son and while logging countless hours in the mountains as an ultra runner.

EMAIL: josh (at) y2y (dot) net

Dr. Hilary Young is thrilled to be working with the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative in a capacity that blends her passion for the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her background in ecology and conservation biology.

Hilary leads Y2Y’s Communities and Conservation program. She and her team work with communities, stakeholders, industries, governments, and conservation groups to ensure that key lands are protected and connected across the Yellowstone to Yukon region.

Hilary and her family spend much of their free time hiking, cycling, skiing and breathing deeply in the mountains.

EMAIL: hilary (at) y2y (dot) net

Kelly comes to Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative with a love of the outdoors and interest in science communications. Their role combines academic experience in biological sciences with professional experience in data management, social media and journalism.

Passionate about science and wildlife conservation around the world, Kelly is thrilled to be an advocate for the Yellowstone-to-Yukon region, inspiring and engaging others to get involved. Their preferred way to connect with nature is to snowshoe and hunt. Sometimes even running.

EMAIL: kelly (at) y2y (dot) net

Gwen has been working on environmental protection and management for more than 17 years.

She grew up in the Y2Y region near Nelson, British Columbia, and comes from a legacy of environmental conservation advocacy. Gwen’s passion for water and the preservation of headwater environments led her to complete a Master of Science in Renewable Resources from the University of Alberta, with a focus on forest hydrology.

She then spent a decade working for Indigenous peoples in Canada and the US. This, and her heritage as a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation of Alberta, has created a passion for ensuring that indigenous peoples are able to influence the decisions on their land. Most of the natural resource related decisions facing First Nations are related to the ability to maintain a land base necessary for the sustainability of their cultural lifeways and relationships with the land. With the preservation of cultural lifeways of indigenous people, a vast amount of knowledge about the land base and its needs and methods can be preserved and applied to environmental management, including conservation areas.

Gwen’s approach to conservation is centered on the need to create the space necessary in order that Indigenous peoples maintain their cultural relationships to the land. The applicable land management knowledge can then be shared more broadly. The concepts of conservation biology, biodiversity, ecology, hydrology and climate science, etc., offer a complement to traditional indigenous knowledge. Utilizing both science and indigenous knowledge to protect and manage conservation areas will result in the best outcome for biodiversity conservation, cultural sustainability, and the ecological and societal resiliency needed for climate change adaptation.

After working with the Mescalero Apache, the Makah Tribe and the Okanagan Nation, Gwen began consulting for conservation and indigenous groups. She was the Chair of the Syilx Working Group which conducted, from the Okanagan perspective, the South Okanagan Similkameen National Park Reserve Feasibility Study. Gwen has also worked on codifying relationships between First Nations and other levels of government, including the development of a MOU with the Canadian Wildlife Service and a First Nation, based mainly on traditional ecological knowledge, Okanagan story principles, indigenous conservation priorities, and indigenous conflict resolution. Gwen has supported First Nations in strategic planning, governance strategies, title and rights protection strategies, policy analysis and creation, relationship building and fundraising.

Gwen lives near Nelson, B.C. with her husband and four kids, loves the peace and quiet and dark, and volunteers to restore Kokanee spawning to her backyard creek.

Wendy has been involved with Y2Y since its inception, and she has advanced the vision through many different capacities and roles, including Program Director, Interim President and Board Chair.

Currently acting as a Senior Advisor for Y2Y, Wendy has spent most of her career advocating for wilderness and wildlife. Her love of nature was nurtured during her childhood in Ontario, where all weekends and summer holidays were spent outside in neighborhood woods or at the family cottage near Algonquin Provincial Park.

Wendy cut her teeth on conservation issues as a volunteer with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) in Calgary, participating in successful public campaigns to oppose development in Banff National Park.

In 1991, then-Premier Ralph Klein appointed Wendy to a review panel that led to strengthening the province’s environmental protection legislation.

In 1996, she decided to make her career in conservation, going on to help protect southern Alberta’s Whaleback region, create Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park, and secure provincial park protection for Kananaskis Country. She later helped to create a new Endangered Species Act for Ontario and was a key member of the project that launched the Canadian Boreal Initiative and led to Ontario’s commitment to protect 50 per cent of its northern boreal forest.

Educated in biology and environmental law, Wendy was the founding conservation director for CPAWS in Calgary, director of conservation science for Ontario Nature in Toronto, and was program director for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative for several years. In 2012, she received both a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal and Wilburforce Foundation’s Conservation Leadership Award for her efforts.

Wendy spends as much time as possible in the natural world — hiking, backpacking and cross-country skiing. She lives in Gibsons, B.C.

Harvey is co-founder and Strategic Advisor to the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. He served as President or Vice President of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society for 17 years and is currently its Senior Advisor, Conservation. He is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and co-founded the Nature Needs Half movement.

A native of the Calgary-Banff area of Canada, Harvey is globally known for his work on wilderness, national parks and large landscape conservation from Yellowstone to Yukon and beyond. Named by Time Magazine as one of Canada’s leaders for the 21st century, he was recently awarded the Fred M. Packard International Parks Merit Award by the IUCN, a prestigious global award that recognizes his extensive conservation work.

Harvey has led work on major private lands conservation projects for connectivity, national park creation and management, climate change and nature conservation, and he was a member of the executive committee for the World Wilderness Congress (WILD9) held in Merida, Mexico, in 2009.

Bella is a surprisingly strong, short statured, skunk-monkey of a mountain dog. She’s game for outdoor adventures on leash as long as her people are willing to carry her when the snow gets too deep or the scree too loose.

Birdie is 19 years young. She knows what she wants and doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Most days you can find her catching rays, glaring at kids, and stealing from unguarded water glasses.

Frankenstein was created on a farm outside Pasco, Washington, after a stray redbone broke into the pen of a trophy bloodhound. The runt of a litter of 13 and weened too early, he’s a continuous source of inspiration in the Greenwell household of how, and how not, to negotiate. While some might argue he is baying at anything that moves, including the moon, he’s actually hard at work on his first memoir, What Gravity Did To Me.

Jazzie loves tasting the clear waters of the many creeks, rivers, and lakes of the Columbia Headwaters. She is an excellent office mate and always lets you know when someone is coming for a meeting.

Leo and Gemma hail from northwest Montana where they enjoy daily romps in the woods. Their favorite activities include camping and napping. 

Lupin is wild at heart and loves spending her days in the mountains, no matter the season. After a good day out, she curls up into a doughnut, either on the couch or right in front of the woodstove.

Mickey is a Peace River dog who loves birds, cuddles, and large landscapes!

Meet Molly, the canine with a face adorned in the unmistakable style of Salvador Dalí. When Molly isn’t busy contemplating the existential meaning of fetch, you can find her chasing her tail in an attempt to unravel the mysteries of the universe, which she does, then just as quickly, forgets. Molly is the kind of dog who will leave paw prints on your soul and fur on your clothes, car, and furniture.

Monte is an Australian ex-pat rescue mutt who discovered what a fantastic playground the Canadian mountains and forests are for a pup who loves to jump high logs like a kangaroo and run up and down mountains.

When not adventuring you can find him licking and sleeping on people’s feet under desks or baking in a sunny spot. He will do anything for cheese or that yummy smoked salmon he has become so fond of since becoming Canadian.

Oscar enjoys running fast through fields, monitoring squirrel and rabbit habitat, picking up burrs, and taking long naps on the couch.

Pippin is an adventure dog who loves mountains, rivers, beaches, and big sticks.

Originally from Mexico, Rhoda left the tropical weather behind for an enthusiastic love of snow and outdoor adventures with her rescue-humans. Her favorite pastime is getting attention from anyone who notices her. 

Rudy is a Portugese Waterdog who loves all outdoor activities, especially if they involve water or snow and moving fast. He is especially fond of lounging in his lawn chair with his blanky and a pillow. He’s not spoiled but has his human companion well trained!

Niles: Niles enjoyed eating, sleeping and sniffing every tree in the forest. He loved belly rubs and was often found in the Y2Y office, anxiously awaiting any drops of food that may fall his way.

Chester: Chester lived in Canmore. He once dug a frozen bagel out of a 2-foot deep snowbank (clearly missing his calling as a rescue dog) and filled his 14 years with hikes, eating elk poop, snowshoe adventures and swimming whenever there is an opportunity. Even in January.

Abeille: Her name was “bee” in French. Abeille’s favourite activities included exploring new trails and watching ‘squirrel TV’ while her favourite humans climbed up and down rocks in the mountains.