Our Board

Ontario Nature Officer - Directors

President

DR. BRENDON LARSON is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo, and has been involved with natural areas inventory and planning across the province. Brendon formerly sat on the board of WWF-Canada. Brendon lives in Guelph with his partner Karolyne and daughter Kyra, and together they enjoy exploring beautiful natural areas.

Past President

PETER GILCHRIST is a lawyer and a partner emeritus at Blakes, Cassels & Graydon LLP where he has practiced law for 33 years. He has a long history of public service with Ontario Nature, ABC Canada Literacy Foundation and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. Peter also sits on the board of directors for Evergreen. Peter is an avid birdwatcher and is particularly interested in sustainable energy.

Vice President

NIDHI TANDON has a Masters from Sussex University, UK. She is an East African social activist based in Toronto who works with marginalized communities to raise their voices in a digitized world. For the past 10 years, she has specialized in digital media, technologies and applications that enhance women’s livelihoods in developing countries. Much of her work revolves around the relationships between women and water, energy, natural resources and policy decisions. Nidhi lives in Toronto with her two children.

Secretary /Treasurer

CHRIS RATHGEBER is a graduate of McGill University and a chartered accountant. He has 20 years of corporate leadership experience in consumer electronics and high tech. Chris and his family split their time between their home in Toronto and their farm in Meaford.

Regional Club Directors

Carolinian East - MARK CRANFORD

South Peel Naturalists

Mark holds a degree from the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Toronto. He currently works for Hunter and Associates, an environmental consulting firm, and is a member of the South Peel Naturalists' Club and its past president. Since 2001, Mark has been the club’s representative for the Ontario Eastern Carolinian Region. In addition, Mark is a member of the Toronto Ornithological Club and the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO), where he has assumed the role of coordinator of OFO's Ontbirds (an email list of 2,200 subscribers that reports on birding across the province).

Carolinian West - ANNE McARTHUR

Friends of Rondeau

Anne runs the Friends’ Bookstore at Rondeau. A passionate birdwatcher, Anne joined the Friends of Rondeau in 1998, which promotes educational, restoration, historical and interpretive programs in Rondeau Provincial Park. Anne’s volunteer activities draw on her interest in helping raise awareness about the lack of natural habitat in Southwest Ontario, and her love of the outdoors.

Great Lakes West - JOAN DAYNARD

Stratford Field Naturalists

Joan is a retired Registered Nurse who worked in several hospitals including at the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. She and her husband, Robin Daynard, raised sheep and operated a cash crop farm and an agricultural ventilation business in Staffa, Ontario, where they also raised two children. Joan has participated in the Ontario Tree Atlas, the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas, and Volunteer for Nature projects as well as many Christmas Bird Counts. As a past president of the Stratford Field Naturalists, Joan is involved in organizing speakers, trips and field events.

Lake Ontario North - KEVIN SHACKLETON

West Humber Naturalists

Kevin taught for three years before returning to Western University for his MBA. He entered the financial services industry in 1983 and is an associate portfolio manager. He is a long-time member and past president of the West Humber Naturalists. Kevin has participated in Baillie Birdathons since 1994 and has been one of their top five fundraisers for the last five years. Kevin is the official birdathoner for Ontario Nature.

Northern Region - ANGELA MARTIN

Friends of Mashkinonje and Nipissing Naturalists

Angela and her husband own and operate a tourist establishment on Lake Nipissing. Angela’s commitment to the protection of nature inspired her to lead a local group to establish the Mashkinonje Provincial Park. She joined the board of the Nipissing Naturalists Club nine years ago. Angela's legacy with the Naturalists is her book, Species at Risk in the Lake Nipissing Watershed.

Northern Region - DR. MYRA McCORMICK

Thunder Bay Field Naturalists

Myra is a semi-retired orthopaedic and reconstructive surgeon practicing in Thunder Bay. She attended McGill University and the University of Ottawa. She was president of the Thunder Bay Medical Society in 1980 and 1981. Myra has been an active member of the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists since 1972, including two terms as president. Previously, she was a four-term member of the Ontario Nature board and has been an individual member of the organization since 1961.

Ontario East - BETHANY ARMSTRONG

Macnamara Field Naturalists

Bethany is a retired Foreign Service officer. She was introduced to nature by her father at his retreat – now hers – in North Frontenac. Bethany joined the Macnamara Field Naturalists’ Club six years ago and is its representative for Ontario Nature. She is an enthusiastic camper, hiker and skier. Other interests include choral singing, an archives project, an Africa study group, ESL tutoring, and teacher training in Mali.

Huronia - SYLVIA BOWMAN

York Simcoe Naturalists

Sylvia is the conservation director of the York Simcoe Naturalists and longtime member of Ontario Nature. She has been at the forefront of urban sprawl issues including the Big Pipe project, the extension of Highway 404 and the construction of the Peaker plant in King township. Sylvia is a member of the Maskinonge River Recovery Project public committee and is on the board of the York Region Environmental Alliance.

Directors at large

DR. FREEMAN BOYD has a Ph.D. in agricultural ethics and taught philosophy of the environment at the University of Guelph. A dedicated field naturalist, Freeman has a special interest in birds, mushrooms and botany. He is the past president of the Owen Sound Field Naturalists. Freeman is married with three grown children.

PINKY FRANKLIN is the former president of the Toronto Field Naturalists and is credited with reviving and strengthening this venerable naturalist group. Pinky was co-host of Ontario Nature’s second annual Green Tea fundraiser, which was held at the Granite Club in Toronto. Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson were the guest speakers. Pinky is the former chair of the York Mills Valley Environment Committee, a longtime Ontario Nature member, and a member of the Granite Club’s Nature Series.

DON McMURTRY was educated at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario and has a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. His sales and marketing career included eight years as vice-president of sales at Research In Motion before retiring in 2006. Don lives in Waterloo, Ontario.

TRACEE SMITH is the manager of Strategic Projects, Private Trust for TD Bank Financial Group. A member of Missanabie Cree First Nation, Tracee is the founder of Outside Looking In, a charitable organization that provides opportunities for self-expression to Indigenous youth through the arts, while providing Canadians with the chance to learn more about Indigenous peoples through performance. Tracee’s graduate work specialized in Indigenous economic development and she holds a BA Honours in Dance. Tracee was voted one of Canada’s top 50 artists.

KEVIN THOMASON has worked in the technology and marketing fields for Apple Computer, KPMG, Quarry Communications, and most recently as the co-founder of a leading Web 2.0 start-up in the field of information filtering, helping people deal with information overload. In 2004, concerned with rampant growth and the destruction of the Waterloo Moraine, Kevin volunteered full-time for three years to help develop a Greenbelt Plan. Kevin and hundreds of volunteers from throughout the community succeeded in getting the unanimous approval of eight municipal and regional Councils to pioneer a new environmentally sensitive landscape protection concept that protects more than 10,000 acres of the most threatened and critical lands in the Waterloo Region from development.

JASON TSANG has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo's School of Planning and is a provisional member of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and Canadian Institute of Planners. He currently works at the Ontario Growth Secretariat division of Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. Jason sits on the City of Toronto's Committee of Adjustment and serves as Committee Head of Event Transportation for the Rogers Cup.

DOUGLAS WRIGHT is the managing director of the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Earth and Environmental Technologies (CEET). He is the former director of policy and planning for the Waste Management Organization and also the former director of programs for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America. For over a decade, he was a founding partner of Resource Futures International, a successful environmental policy consulting firm in Ottawa. While there, he engaged in numerous policy-oriented environmental initiatives and assignments. Internationally, he has led large overseas development projects and participated in many other assignments focusing on environmental policy, institutional development and training.

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