Board of Directors
Grant Pearsell, MCIP, ACP Chair Director, Office of Natural Areas, Parks, City of Edmonton grant.pearsell@edmonton.ca |
Grant is a resident of Edmonton and is currently Director, Office of Natural Areas in the City of Edmonton’s Parks Branch where he manages the City’s conservation programs. His background is in land use planning specializing in ecology and land conservation. Some of Grant’s recent work includes participating on the Alberta Water Council’s Provincial Wetland Policy Project Team; project manager for the creation of the Edmonton and Area Land Trust where he is presently a director; and team leader for the City of Edmonton’s Natural Connections Conservation Plan. He is the City of Edmonton’s technical representative on the Local Action for Biodiversity Initiative which consists of 26 cities on six continents working collaboratively to advance conservation of nature at the local level of government. Grant is also experienced in rural land conservation, and has worked for Ducks Unlimited Canada in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. |
Renny Grilz - Past Chair July 8 - Oct. 15, 2009 Previously Vice Chairman Director of Conservation, Nature Conservancy of Canada renny.grilz@natureconservancy.ca |
Renny attained a B.Sc.A., Honours in Plant Ecology from the University of Saskatchewan where he spent four years working for the Plant Ecology Department conducting rangeland ecology research in Saskatchewan. Upon graduation, Renny worked for 5 years with Ducks Unlimited Canada as an Agrologist in Minnedosa, MB, Melfort, SK and Saskatoon, SK and in 2002, joined the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) as a Stewardship Representative for the Parkland Region of Alberta, responsible for managing NCC’s properties in central Alberta. Since then, Renny’s role has expanded and he is now the Director, Conservation. Renny was the President of the Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan from 1999-2002 and has served from 1998 to 2002 on the Board of Directors for the Northern Great Plains Section of the Society for Range Management. |
Ernie Ewaschuk - Past Chair March 2008-July 7, 2009 Executive Director (retired) Land Stewardship Centre of Canada |
Ernie has a BSc and MSc in Zoology from the University of Alberta and has over 42 years experience in conservation and land use planning. He is the Executive Director of the Land Stewardship Centre of Canada, is a Director on the Board for the Edmonton and Area Land Trust, the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance and the Stewardship Centre for B.C, is principal of E5 Environmental Inc. and is Chairperson for the 4th National Stewardship Conference happening in Calgary in July of 2009. Ernie also was integral in setting up the Alberta Stewardship Network. |
Barry Bishop - Secretary Treasurer Chair: ALTA Governance and Nominating Committe Alberta Head - Wetland Restoration Program Ducks Unlimited Canada b_bishop@ducks.ca |
Barry Bishop has his Bachelors of Science in Agriculture from University of Saskatchewan. Barry has been employed by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) for 18 years in various capacities. The current responsibility is Alberta Head of Wetland Restoration. |
Brenda Wispinski - Vice-Chair Chair: ALTA Fund Development Committee Executive Director-Beaver Hills Initiative wispinsk@strathcona.ab.ca |
Brenda Wispinski, with over 20 years experience in open space management, currently the Executive Director for the Beaver Hills Initiative (BHI) and employed by Strathcona County, Corporate Planning and Intergovernmental Affairs, has directed the Initiative since 2002. Her role includes building partnerships with all levels of government, industry academia and non-government organizations, co-coordinating efforts to leverage expertise through the partnership, secure funding and develop conservation, land management tools that bring into focus the environment while integrating social, cultural and economic opportunities for the Beaver Hills Region. |
Colin Lipsett - Director Lawyer, Davis LLP clipsett@davis.ca |
Colin Lipsett graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 2003 with his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Bachelor of Laws degrees. He is a lawyer with Davis LLP and concentrates on real estate, environmental and energy law. A large focus of Colin's practice is advising conservation organizations in respect to real estate and environmental law issues, including conservation easements. Colin represents some of the major holders of rural land in Alberta, and that representation necessitates the consideration of numerous title, environmental and land use planning issues. |
Dave McInnes - Director Lawyer, Field Law dmcinnes@fieldlaw.com |
Dave is a Director of a number of Alberta based corporations and is active in the area of nature conservation through his continuing involvement with the Edmonton Nature Centres Foundation and the 2009 ICLEI World Congress on urban biodiversity and sustainable development in Edmonton. Dave's primary area of practice is providing strategic advice in regard to the identification, development and management of business opportunities. He also works in land development, transaction negotiation, commercial financing and the purchase and sale of businesses. He has also managed significant projects for Provincial and Territorial governments in the area of legislative review, planning and development. |
Margaret Van De Pitte - Director Chair: Government Policy Recommendation Committee Professor Emeritus University of Alberta
mvandepi@ualberta.ca |
Margaret Van de Pitte is Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta, where she has taught and published on social and environmental issues. She has practical experience ranging from assessing proposed clinical trials of new drugs to ensure cancer patient safety and patient rights, to helping to draft a sustainability plan for the university. She is also a landowner with a conservation easement, and is involved in various conservation and land trust initiatives in Alberta. |
* this list up to date as of June 2010 |