Sierra Club Canada Foundation is a democratic organization. Board members are elected by our members at our Annual General Meeting.
Ole Hendrickson (President) was employed by the Canadian Forest Service as a forest ecologist and by Environment Canada as a biodiversity science advisor prior to his retirement in 2012. While working at the now-closed Petawawa National Forest Institute in Chalk River, Ontario he became involved with nuclear waste clean-up issues at the nearby Chalk River Laboratories, and continues as researcher for the group Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area. He has served on the board of Ottawa Riverkeeper; co-chaired the City of Ottawa’s Urban Forest Citizens Committee; served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Biodiversity; written occasional columns for rabble.ca; and is currently president of the Ottawa River Institute, a small non-profit environmental group in the upper Ottawa Valley. His involvement in Sierra Club activities began in graduate school in the U.S. when he worked to oppose nuclear fuel reprocessing and advocated for increased land area in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Ole enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, bicycling, canoeing, camping, birdwatching and cross-country skiing.
-
Emily Heinrich (Treasurer) is a finance, accounting, and tax professional with over 14 years of progressive experience working in public accounting, serving clients in a multitude of industries. She holds a Canadian CPA designation as well as a U.S. CPA license, and has a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Florida. She is a people leader and has been recognized for her excellence in mentorship and coaching. Emily can trace her roots as an environmental activist back to her childhood in the Florida Keys where she grew up with a self-sustained water system, a composting toilet, and an appreciation for her impact on the environment. She has been a resident of the Pacific Northwest since 2006 and enjoys numerous outdoor activities, including hiking, kayaking, and biking. She cares deeply about fostering kindness and consideration for each other and the environment and fights for social justice and environmental protection.
-
Juliet Rennick (Secretary) is passionate about environmental policies, environmental law and sustainable development. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business Administration, a Graduate Certificate in Government Relations and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Policy and Law. Her passion for sustainable communities and smart cities has seen her work with environmental not for profits in Kenya, Finland and in Canada. Juliet believes in a multi- disciplinary approach to advancing policies that result in sustainable cities and good governance of natural resources. She likes to swim, is enthusiastic about public transport in cities and enjoys quiet walks in nature trails.
-
Dr. Isabelle-Anne Bisson (Quebec Director) is an expert in environmental impact and community needs assessment, helping communities and organizations achieve sustainability. Dr. Bisson has over 20 years of experience as a scientific consultant, coordinator and manager of science and conservation projects globally. She has lead projects for the United States’ Department of Defense and headed a program in Uganda for a United States Agency for International Development initiative. She completed a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Science at McGill University in Montreal and a Ph.D. at York University in Toronto. She went on to conduct post-doctoral research at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and at Princeton University. In 2014, she co-founded and is now solely running a firm that offers expert services in sustainability. Recently, she worked closely with northern Aboriginal communities and the environmental challenges they face with ongoing development and she presently works with the Mohawk community of Kanesatake QC on various environmental projects. She is fluent in French, English and Spanish.
-
Emily Boucher (Ontario Director) brings to the board an environmental consulting background in soil and groundwater investigations for the purpose of environmental site and risk assessment. She has worked in both Ontario and Alberta on remediating and monitoring projects across multiple sectors including commercial, industrial and energy-development sites. Originally from Ontario’s Green Belt region, she developed a strong foundation in environmental issues during her time at Trent University, and later refined this through a research master’s project on ocean acidification at the University of Toronto. Working in Alberta provided Emily with a lens into the issues involved in environmental conservation and enforcement in Canada. She continues to take strong personal and professional interest in environmental standards and their enforcement.
-
Owen Leggatt Stewart (British Columbia Director) is a lawyer who was born and raised on the West Coast of Canada, where a love of fishing and camping has fuelled a growing concern for protection of the environment. Owen briefly considered a career as an outdoor guide before questionably deciding that an office life would suit him better. Following law school, he articled with a boutique law firm and was exposed to an environmental and public interest practice. Owen has been involved with environmental issues and organizations for over a decade. He is a streamkeeper with the Stoney Creek Environment Committee, has worked for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and volunteered with the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation. While Owen has deep roots in British Columbia, he has lived in or travelled to almost every province and territory in Canada, instilling a keen interest in the diversity of the country.
Despite permanently having a piece of clothing that smells like a campfire, Owen remains an avid backcountry camper and can often be found gardening, fishing or cooking.
-
Shaun Trainor (Sierra Youth Director) Shaun Trainor (they/them) is a youth advocate and researcher from Mi’kma’ki. They are passionate about the intersections between mental health, climate justice, and hope and hold a B.A. in Human Rights, a M.Sc. in Climate Justice, and a M.Sc. in Psychology. Shaun’s experience includes campaigns for solidarity with Indigenous land and water protectors, climate justice, gender equality, mental health awareness, affordable housing, and a universal basic income.
Shaun works as the Partnerships and Development Manager at Youth Climate Lab. Outside of their work with Youth Climate Lab, Shaun is a voluntary advisor on the intersections of mental health and climate change with One Resilient Earth, where they also lead a Youth Climate Circle. Additionally, Shaun is a member of the Canadian Coalition for Environmental and Climate Justice, and volunteers with a number of other organizations. They are passionate about raising awareness of the mental health effects of climate change and biodiversity loss and the importance of talking about and having one's hopes, fears, and insights heard. Shaun advocates for a more just, equitable, resilient and regenerative society.
-
Jared Wolfe (Prairie Director) is an aquatic ecologist with an interest in exploring how the interaction among science, policy, and management can promote sustainable water resources. He has a Masters of Science in environmental biology from the University of Regina where he studied the impacts of oil development and climate change on northern lakes. He is currently based at the University of Saskatchewan's Global Institute for Water Security in Saskatoon. Here, he works with scientists and practitioners to manage research projects that address water-related challenges in the Canadian Prairies. As a result, he actively liaises with water managers from government, industry, and non-governmental organizations across the Prairie Provinces on environmental issues. He also conducts research on prairie pothole wetlands and how to balance wetland ecosystem service production within an agricultural landscape.
When approaching wicked environmental issues, he places strong emphasis on collaboration and providing an open space for dialogue. In particular, he has experience facilitating discussions on water management with diverse stakeholders and is an advocate for meeting people within their watersheds. In his spare time, he enjoys being outdoors in his garden or birdwatching in Saskatchewan’s many wetlands.
-
Saher Lalani (Director At Large) joined the SCCF board in June 2017 and served as Secretary for a year. She is a nature lover and an environmental enthusiast. Her family and faith ingrained values in her to respect and care for the environment. As Project Manager for the Ismaili CIVIC, a faith-based initiative, she helped organize and oversaw grassroots, community-led environmental projects, such as tree-plantings at the Rouge National Park in collaboration with the Sierra Club of Ontario as well as park clean-ups at Parkway Forest Park together with Friends of the Parkway Forest Park. She has a Masters in Public Health and works in the cancer research landscape.
-
Bo Simango (Director At large) is the CEO and co-founder of Aquafort, a startup developing a predictive data analytics platform for the finfish aquaculture industry. He entered the world of land-based aquaculture, to explore solutions related to fish health & welfare management issues that threaten global food security, ecosystem health and sustainable fish production. Having cofounded two previous ventures including a multi-award winning startup, he is deeply passionate about value-generating emerging technologies, the environment, and technological contributions to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
He has won a number of environment-related national and international awards and was recently made a finalist of the 2021 Clean50 Emerging Leaders award, an award recognizing Canada’s top 50 clean tech leaders. Having initially worked in extractive industries and informed by those experiences, he is deeply passionate about eco-conservation and vitality. Bo possesses multi-cultural fluency and holds a B. Engineering and MSc.
Lauren Scott (Director at Large) specializes in communications, with a focus on translating climate initiatives into strong action to deliver on commitments to the building and renewables sectors. Her marketing and communications background is leveraged to promote social and environmental responsibility as an approachable, yet critical part of business operations.
While completing her undergraduate at the John Molson School of Business in Montreal, she founded and implemented the institution's first association for commerce undergrad and MBA students focused on sustainability. Since that time, she established roots in the non-profit sector, having served as campaigner and spokesperson for an international animal welfare organization. She also managed the communications for two of Canada's largest cancer fundraising events.
In 2013, she returned to the private sector, where she was the communications and public relations manager for a market leader in innovative building automation and energy management solutions. She then was brought on as the Canadian communications advisor for one of the world's leading companies in the wind energy industry, where she was tasked with implementing a number of critical internal and external comms tools. At the end of 2017, she returned to the building automation and energy management sector to lead the brand’s global demand generation strategy as they transform the performance and livability of the built environment.
Lauren served as President of the SCCF Board of Directors from 2019-2020, and Vice-President from 2018-2019.
-
Erin Luther (Director at Large) Erin's expertise in environmental communication stems from a ten-year career designing outreach programs and campaigns for Toronto Wildlife Centre, an experience that inspired two graduate degrees focused on environmental education and communication about human-wildlife relationships. She is the author of a first-of-its kind resource manual for community educators on resolving wildlife conflicts (Answering the Call of the Wild, 2010), and her leadership in public education and wildlife advocacy has been recognized by the Toronto Community Foundation’s Vital People program and the Culture and Animals Foundation. Erin is passionate about knowledge translation and has been involved in many projects that seek to build bridges across sectors, most recently for Crossing Boundaries, a multi-institutional research project that joined academics and community organizations looking at wildlife encounters in Toronto. Presently Erin is completing her PhD in Environmental Studies at York University, where her research focuses on communications in wildlife conservation and management organizations. She lives in Halifax, and loves hiking and birdwatching with her six-year old twin boys, who are never deterred by the weather.