Todd Hebert, Chair (Cranbrook)

Todd lives and works in Cranbrook in the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation and is the Executive Director of Columbia Outdoor School & Blue Lake Camp. He has been involved in environmental education for many years through his work at Blue Lake, as a facilitator for HCTF and a community educator. He is also spearheading the restoration of Joseph Creek and connecting community to the creek and its importance to the area.

Janet Kuijt, Vice-Chair (Fernie)

Janet is grateful for a path that has allowed her to be involved in running Kootenay Mountain Adventures – summer nature camps, Backcountry Pursuits – summer & winter backcountry trips and School District 5  K-9 outdoor educational programming on the traditional homelands of the Ktunaxa. Being and learning in nature is a passion she is honoured to share by supporting the important connections between community, classrooms and the great outdoors. 

Faye O’Neil, Director (?aqam)

Faye O’Neil was born on her homelands of ?ama?kis Ktunaxa at the beginning of the headwaters of the miȼ̓qaqas akinmituk (Chickadee River/Columbia River) where she played in the water and on the land. She is Ktunaxa and a community member of the ʔaq̓am and resides at a̓·kiskaqⱡi’it, (Cranbrook, BC). Faye is an Indigenous Education Coordinator in School District #5 (Southeast Kootenay) and has been working in the public education sector for 27 years promoting and braiding Indigenous worldviews and perspectives into the classrooms. When not volunteering sitting on committees and boards, you can find her out on the land exploring and following the footprints of her ancestors, kayaking many lakes in the area and gathering plants and berries.  Faye was a recipient of the EE Award of Excellence from CBEEN.

Jill Jennings, Director (Kimberley)

Jill Jennings is an environmental educator with more than 15 years of experience creating and leading place-based, outdoor learning programs across Alberta and British Columbia. As Education Coordinator with Wildsight, she designs and delivers engaging environmental education programs for students throughout the Columbia Basin and supports educators in building meaningful connections between learning, nature, and climate resilience. Jill lives and works on Ktunaxa ʔamakʔis (traditional Ktunaxa lands) and is grateful for the opportunity to learn, teach, and care for this culturally and ecologically rich region.

Carrie Rickards, Director (Invermere)

Carrie has been a resident of the Columbia Valley since 1980 when her family moved here. She is proud to work and live within the shared territories of the Ktunaxa and Secwepemc People, and the chosen home of the Columbia Valley Metis. She is currently the General Manager of the Eva Joseph Learning and Cultural Society which includes, Little Badgers Early Learning, Aboriginal Head Start On Reserve, and the Indigenous Early Years Certificate Program. She was instrumental in moving Little Badgers Early Learning Programs to a Nature Based program.

Erika Momeyer, Secretary (Edgewood)

Erika lives in the community of Edgewood, where she acknowledges the land, traditions and culture of four nations: the Sinixt in the Arrow Lakes, the Secwepemc to the North, the Sylix to the west and the Ktunaxa to the east. With respect, she continues to grow in her learning and understanding of their cultures. She is a K-3 Teacher, with more than 20 years experience in Environmental Education, known for her Walking Wednesdays outdoor experiences. In her free time, Erika can be found paddling, hiking and photographing the Kootenays and beyond accompanied by her plastic flamingo, Frederick.

Gillian Cooper, Director (Creston)

Gillian lives in Wyndel in the traditional territory of the Ktuxana Nation. She is a classroom teacher with a passion for wetland education and restoration. She has been an environmental educator for many years, and worked previously with the Creston Valley Wildlife Management area and Wildsight. She enjoys spending plenty of time outdoors in the Creston Valley with her husband and two boys.