Conference agenda.

Lisa White

• Lisa White is a member of the leadership team at Tourism Kamloops, where she helps champion the region’s vibrant outdoor visitor economy. Having called Kamloops home for nearly 25 years, she’s a passionate outdoor enthusiast who can often be found mountain biking, fishing, skiing, or exploring with her family.

John Hawkings

• John Hawkings is the Executive Lead, Recreation Strategy and Service Transformation in the Ministry of Environment and Parks. Prior to his current role, John was the Executive Director of Recreation Sites and Trails BC from 2015 to 2022 and the Provincial Trails Manager before that. Before joining the Public Service in 2007, John spent much of the previous 15 years involved in forest-based recreation planning and implementation throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor in both the public and private sector and also worked for 3 years in US National Parks. John lives in Squamish where he enjoys all the opportunities available in a BC mountain town with his wife Tanya and two teenage kids.

Peter Larose 

• Peter is a research and planning specialist and university instructor in Tk'emlúps (Kamloops), British Columbia. As Principal of Larose Research & Strategy since 2013, he has led more than 100 projects in areas such as tourism planning, recreation impact analyses, adventure tourism, and Indigenous tourism planning – among others. He specializes in quantitative and qualitative research, facilitation, and strategic planning to support community and sector development. Since 2015 Peter has taught senior undergraduate courses in social science research methods, sustainable tourism, regenerative agri-tourism, tourism policy & planning, the sociology of tourism, adventure tourism, and others. Peter’s life mission is to leverage tourism and recreation economies for social, economic, and environmental benefits, and Indigenous reconciliation. He also volunteers as a director of Mountain Biking BC, the Kamloops Bike Riders Association, and as full-time chauffeur of two teenage boys.

Magi Scallion

• Magi Scallion, MBA, is the manager of McElhanney’s Trails and Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure division. Magi has more than twenty years of experience leading strategy and planning initiatives with outdoor recreation organizations, businesses, and government. Her experience seeing projects come to life or sit on a shelf has piqued her interest in behavioural change.

Andrea de Vries

• Andrea de Vries, CPSM, is a behavioural‑focused marketing strategist at McElhanney and Chair of the firm’s EDI Committee. With over fifteen years’ experience designing for behaviour change, she helps communities adopt long-term community frameworks using strategic communication, cultural insight, and equity‑centered process design.

Mark Barsevskis

• Mark Barsevskis, RPP, MCIP is a Senior Planner at McElhanney based in Whistler B.C., specializing in trail planning, and outdoor recreation infrastructure. Together with the McElhanney team, Mark helps turn plans into reality and guides projects across Canada that integrate community vision, environmental stewardship, and innovative design to create practical and inspiring recreation experiences.

Mike Gass

• Mike Gass is the Manager of Recreational Fishing Development for the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC. Mike has worked for the Society for over 20 years, and in his current role, he oversees projects that improve access to recreational fishing and outreach activities aimed at recruiting new anglers. Mike is a lifelong angler and lives in Chilliwack, BC.

Tyler Wilkes

• Tyler Wilkes has over 20 years of experience in trail planning, operations, design, maintenance, and construction administration across Canada. He combines his practical experience gained as a trail organization volunteer, government staff member, and consultant with his engineering background to design, manage, and deliver trail projects of all sizes as a Project Manger at RC Strategies.Description text goes here

Jon Heshka

• Jon Heshka is a professor of adventure tourism at Thompson Rivers University specializing in risk management and liability avoidance. He has also served as Associate Dean of Law from 2013-2017. He’s climbed and led expeditions from Alaska to Argentina, trained and coordinated search and rescue full-time from 1992-1999 in BC, directed the rescue and rope access division at Petzl America for three years, and has been at the university since 2002. Jon has co-authored a textbook, written nine book chapters, and more than 80 articles, in addition to presenting at 40+ conferences worldwide.

Rachela Pollock

• With over 20 years of experience in sales, management, and relationship-building, Rachela specializes in risk management for the tourism, outdoor recreation, and adventure industry sector at Acera Insurance. From mountain biking and remote lodges to aviation and marine operations, she learns from industry and introduces practical ways to protect businesses. Rachela leads a team that works closely with Provincial and National Associations to implement proactive risk management strategies and navigate specialized insurance markets. Tourism is a passion that drives both Rachela's work and worldview. Having traveled to nearly 40 countries, she hosts the She Dares to Travel Podcast, highlighting stories of those who dare to explore and travel the world safely; mentally, physically, and digitally.

Mike Greer

• Mike Greer has been the Executive Director of Elevation Outdoors since 2015. In that time he has increased organizational revenues from $85,000/yr to $750,000/yr while diversifying revenues to provide greater sustainability, increasing the number of individuals impacted each year, and creating strong partnerships with other local organizations to drive deeper impact in the Kelowna community they serve.

Katherine Ayre

• Kathleen Ayre is a funding strategist and founder of Kootenay Connex, a social enterprise supporting community organizations across British Columbia to turn strong ideas into funded, sustainable initiatives. She works across grant writing, strategy, and project development, with a focus on rural communities and building viable, impact-driven initiatives.

Peter Sprague

• Peter Sprague has served as Executive Director for both non-motorized and motorized trail organizations, and since 2008 has been the Executive Director of the BC Off-Road Motorcycle Association (BCORMA). Under his leadership, BCORMA has grown to represent over 30 clubs and approximately 5,000 members, stewarding more than 6,000 km of primarily multi-use single-track trails across the province. He has successfully raised millions of dollars for trail development and related infrastructure. Collaboration, shared-used, and sustainability form the cornerstone of his professional philosophy on backcountry recreation in British Columbia. His service on the ORCBC Reconciliation Committee has broadened his perspective on working collectively as land stewards, strengthening his commitment to respectful partnerships, shared responsibility, and sustainable recreation on the landscape.
  
  Peter holds a Bachelor’s degree in Resource Economics from McGill University and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan. He has dedicated more than two decades of his career to trail development, stewardship, and advocacy across British Columbia, earning the Governor General’s Diamond Jubilee Award in recognition of his service to trail stewardship in Canada.

  Peter has a lifelong passion for outdoor back-country recreation, and is an avid backcountry rider, hiker, Nordic skier, and trail steward. Previously he has enjoyed rock/ice climbing, and flying hangliders and sail planes.

Kristin Parsons

• Kristin Parsons is the Executive Director of the ATVBC Quad Riders Association of BC and the BC Powersports Dealers Association, and Chair of the Christina Lake Trails Alliance, a multi- use organization bringing diverse trail users together. With over 20 years of experience in non- profit leadership, she leads province-wide work at the intersection of outdoor recreation, land use, and community collaboration.

  In her role, Kristin works across British Columbia with government, Indigenous communities, and recreation partners to advance responsible motorized recreation, trail development, and sustainable land use solutions. Her work focuses on building collaborative relationships between motorized and non-motorized groups, supporting shared-use trail networks, and addressing complex land access challenges through practical, community-driven approaches.

Francis Guyver

• Francis Guyver is the South Island Land Use Forester at Mosaic Forest Management, where he consults and collaborates with communities and local government, chairs Mosaic’s Sponsorship and Donations Committee, and chairs Mosaic’s Access and Recreation Committee.

  With over 14 years of multinational experience working within UK’s and Canada’s forest sector, Francis understands the challenges facing the industry, the significance of recreation within forests and woodlands, and the importance of building practical partnerships with communities, local government, recreation groups, environmental groups, and the significance of organisations “showing up” in the areas that we work and play.

Shalane Walsh

• Shalane Walsh currently serves as Manager, Government Relations & Policy at Mosaic Forest Management and is also the Project Manager for the company’s Recreation Access Refresh Initiative. With over 15 years of experience in people and culture, communications, project management and stakeholder engagement, Shalane’s work has centred on supporting organizations through change, strengthening systems and policies, and partnering across teams and functions to advance strategic initiatives — experiences that continue to inform her work across the organisation and the range of initiatives she supports.

Harry Olsen

• Harry brings together his professional background as a multidisciplinary designer and his volunteer leadership at the Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club to explore how design thinking can strengthen outdoor organizations. A graduate of Hyper Island’s Master’s in Digital Experience, Harry’s work explores how design and technology can strengthen community systems and create a culture of stewardship within outdoor recreation.

Stewart Spooner

• As the full-time operations manager with the Kootenay Columbia Trails Society, Stewart has been responsible for the development, management, and maintenance of the extensive trail network around Rossland BC for the past 25 years. 

Kirsten Silfvenius

• Kirsten Silfvenius is the founder and CEO of Gudtrails, a company that helps outdoor recreation communities improve stewardship and visitor experience through an easy-to-edit digital map. With roots in rural economic development and outdoor recreation non-profits, she brings a practical, community-first approach to tourism technology. Her background also includes contract work in events and destination marketing throughout the Kootenay Rockies, collaborating with organizations such as Tourism Revelstoke and Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Enterprises. In her spare time she’s a member of Revelstoke Search & Rescue, and a former Chair of the Alpine Club of Canada - Columbia Mountains Section.

Brain Pratt

• Brian is the Director of Regions for the Four Wheel Drive Association of British Columbia, a Director for TreadLightlyCanada, Master Tread Trainer for TreadLightly! and a Wheeling Wisely trainer for the 4WDABC. He works with Rec Sites and Trails BC and BC Parks on establishing partnership agreements and planning maintenance and upgrades for rec sites and fire lookouts throughout BC, educating back road users in the principles Of TreadLightly!, educating 4WDABC members and connecting with 4WDABC regional reps while truck camping throughout the province. Brian loves what the Association does to keep public access to public lands, educating people on back country travel, ethics and attitudes and community work.

Linda Buchanan

• Linda Buchanan has been a member of Back Country Horsemen of BC (BCHBC) for 25 years.  She is the Chair of the BCHBC Provincial Trail Committee and Trail Coordinator for BCHBC - Shuswap Chapter.  She is passionate about trails and loves to get "High” (in the mountains) on her horse Mac.  

Jen Bellhouse

• Jen is the Executive Director of the Shuswap Trail Alliance and has a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Conservation Enforcement. She brings a strong diverse background working in the environmental sector and she specializes in grant writing, management, and reporting. Jen is happiest in the woods hiking or snowshoeing.

Carl Ronka

• Carl Ronka is a life long nature enthusiast, and has been studying plants, fungi, and nature for almost 20 years. He guides foraging and after dark nature expeditions, and is the founder of Web Of Life Society, a Metro Vancouver based non-profit that has removed over 100,000 pounds of trash from local forests and rivers, and is planning numerous wildlife habitat installations, ecological restoration projects, and pollinator enhancement sites this year and beyond.

Justin Darbyshire

• Born on the coast and raised in the Kootenays, Justin “Jay” Darbyshire possesses a deep passion for exploring our shared physical and cultural landscape through outdoor recreation. Having been involved in the mountain bike industry for over 20 years through both employment and advocacy work, he carries a heavy toolbox packed with personal experiences. For the last decade Jay has worked across the country with IMBA Canada and the Indigenous Youth Mountain Bike Program constructing trails in some of the country's most unique landscapes.

Heather Piwowar

• Heather Piwowar is a Vancouver-based cyclist and Adventure Cycling Association tour leader. She previously co-founded a science non-profit that grew to $2M/year, and is now part of a group of BC cycling organizations working to establish a provincial cycle tourism body for the province. Here's to BC standing alongside Québec and New Zealand as one of the world's great cycle touring destinations!

Megan Turnock

• Megan is the Principal leading parks, recreation, and trails planning at LEES. She brings over 20 years of experience in outdoor recreation planning for public-sector clients in communities large and small across BC and Canada. Her approach centres on collaboration to build community capacity and integrate recreational opportunities with ecological stewardship, reconciliation, and economic diversification.

Stewart Spooner

• As the full-time operations manager with the Kootenay Columbia Trails Society, Stewart has been responsible for the development, management, and maintenance of the extensive trail network around Rossland BC for the past 25 years. 

Evangeline Clifton

• Evangeline Clifton was born and raised in Bella Bella. She is passionate about tourism as a pathway to healing, reconnection, and economic resilience. Focused on creating respectful, land-based experiences that celebrate culture while supporting long-term community growth; oversees and leads #waglislatrails project and the Qatuwalas.

Ariane Larouche

• Ariane Larouche is the Executive Director of the Pemberton Valley Trails Association, where she supports the maintenance, development, and stewardship of a 200km trail network for diverse trail use. With a background in industrial engineering, she works at the intersection of recreation and community collaboration, supporting and advancing initiatives like the Pemberton Trails Working Group to build inclusive and sustainable trail systems.

Brian Harder 

• Brian Harder is the current president of the Backcountry Horsemen of BC, he has been a member for over 20 years. He is a retired USW Union representative and now enjoys his retirement with his partner Vivian. Brian enjoys riding the backcountry and clearing and maintaining trail with his horses Winchester and Remington and pack mule Licorice.
  
  He likes nothing better than taking a new person out to explore this great province of on horseback.

Elizabeth Thorsen

• Elizabeth Thorsen is the Executive Director of Leave No Trace Canada, bringing over 15 years of experience leading and scaling mission-driven organizations across the nonprofit, sustainability, and innovation sectors. She has deep expertise in operations, governance, fundraising, and strategic growth. In her role, Elizabeth focuses on strengthening governance and operational excellence to support the organization’s mission of advancing environmental stewardship and responsible outdoor recreation across Canada.

Brian Cant

• Brian Cant is President, 4TVI (Tourism Vancovuer Island). Cant has worked in strategic leadership in the tourism industry for more than two decades. Inspired by his summer job guiding visitors through the underground mine at the Rossland Museum, Cant found his calling in the industry. He is a proud member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and one-half of a two-dad family.

Kim Howson

• Kim Howson leads policy and government relations for Airbnb across Western Canada. A creative strategist with over 15 years of experience spanning the non-profit, public, and private sectors, she specializes in partnership development, stakeholder engagement, and philanthropy, and loves connecting people and projects across diverse groups and interests. Kim calls Vancouver Island home and is a voracious reader, avid traveler, and proud toddler mum.

Sandra Riches

• Sandra Riches is the Executive Director of BC AdventureSmart, a program of the BC Search and Rescue Association focused on outdoor education and incident prevention. She works with volunteer search and rescue teams, government partners, and outdoor organizations across British Columbia to help people plan ahead and make safer decisions outdoors. For over 30 years, Sandra has led initiatives and partnerships that promote safer recreation across the province.

Andrew Stegemann

• Andrew Stegemann is a faculty member and Program Coordinator in Outdoor Recreation Management at Capilano University, where he also teaches in the School of Tourism Management. Before joining CapU, he spent over 15 years in the environmental nonprofit sector, leading organizations, shaping strategy and advocating for water and wild places. Andrew is also a father to two daughters and can often be found in the mountains or on the ocean, biking, running, kayaking or wandering among the plants and animals.

Blake Rowsell

• Blake Rowsell is an outdoor professional that is passionate about teaching and learning. He is actively engaged in supporting students and peers in developing their careers in the outdoor industry. Blake has been teaching at Capilano University in 2014. When Blake is not teaching, he works as a ski guide and avalanche educator. He also serves on several mountain bike trail association boards of directors. Most importantly, Blake is a dad to two young boys. He enjoys sharing his passion for the outdoors with his kids.

Lanny Yan

• Lanny Yan is an Outdoor Recreation Management student, currently studying at Capilano University in North Vancouver, BC. With a background in coaching, tourism, and outdoor leadership, Lanny combines hands-on skills with a passion for fostering learning and education in the outdoors. Outside of his program, Lanny is an avid hiker, runner, climber, freelance photographer, and advocate for sustainable outdoor practices and land stewardship.

Meghan Tabor

• Meghan is a tourism and mountain biking leader with nearly a decade of experience advancing destination development, community partnerships, and sustainable growth. Most recently serving as Executive Director of Tourism Revelstoke, she led marketing, destination management, and stakeholder engagement initiatives, working closely with local governments, industry, and community organizations.

  Meghan also brings a strong grassroots perspective as past president of the Revelstoke Cycling Association, where she supported trail development, stewardship, and advocacy alongside volunteers and land managers. Now stepping into a provincial leadership role, Meghan is focused on strengthening British Columbia’s position as a world-class mountain biking destination while advancing sustainable stewardship, data-driven decision-making, and long-term resilience for trails and communities.

Dr. Farhad Moghimehfar

• Dr. Farhad Moghimehfar is a professor of Recreation and Tourism Management at Vancouver Island University and the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development. His work focuses on supporting communities across British Columbia in developing sustainable and resilient tourism and outdoor recreation economies. He collaborates closely with local governments, community organizations, and industry partners on projects related to economic development, visitor use management, recreation planning, and tourism policy.

Peter Larose 

• Peter is a research and planning specialist and university instructor in Tk'emlúps (Kamloops), British Columbia. As Principal of Larose Research & Strategy since 2013, he has led more than 100 projects in areas such as tourism planning, recreation impact analyses, adventure tourism, and Indigenous tourism planning – among others. He specializes in quantitative and qualitative research, facilitation, and strategic planning to support community and sector development. Since 2015 Peter has taught senior undergraduate courses in social science research methods, sustainable tourism, regenerative agri-tourism, tourism policy & planning, the sociology of tourism, adventure tourism, and others. Peter’s life mission is to leverage tourism and recreation economies for social, economic, and environmental benefits, and Indigenous reconciliation. He also volunteers as a director of Mountain Biking BC, the Kamloops Bike Riders Association, and as full-time chauffeur of two teenage boys.

Brittny Turner

• Brittny Turner is the Accessible Recreation Analyst at BC Parks, where she leads the development of the Adaptive Recreation Program and provides strategic guidance to advance accessibility initiatives across the organization. Drawing on her background in the parks and recreation field and lived experience with disability, she brings a thoughtful and nuanced perspective to advancing meaningfully accessible outdoor recreation experiences.

Alfiya Battalova

• Alfiya Battalova (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Humanitarian Studies at Royal Roads University. Her research focuses on disability policy, mobility, assistive technology, and community participation. As a handcycle user herself, Alfiya brings both lived experience and academic expertise to her work. She also has extensive professional experience in program development and evaluation in community-based organizations focused on health equity and accessibility.

Tanelle Bolt

• Tanelle Bolt is a T6 complete paraplegic, interior designer, adaptive athlete, and Founder of RAD Recreation Adapted Society. Through RAD, she works to expand access to adaptive outdoor recreation equipment across British Columbia and beyond, while advocating for inclusive design in both indoor and outdoor public spaces. Drawing from lived experience and expertise in building design and accessibility legislation, she collaborates with communities and industry partners to advance practical, meaningful accessibility solutions.

Sierra McCann

• Sierra McCann is an able-bodied adaptive mountain bike coach and President of Squamish Adaptive Mountain Biking Association (SAMBA). SAMBA is a non-profit based in the Sea to Sky whose goal is to share the joy and adventure of outdoor recreation for people with disabilities through adaptive mountain biking. SAMBA is led by 7 bike enthusiasts with disabilities who are passionate about advocacy, challenging assumptions and creating community.

Sharon Pickthorne

• Sharon, a life-long equestrian, is Chair of the North Vancouver Island chapter of Back Country Horsemen of BC and Treasurer of Horse Council BC. As the equestrian liaison for the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD), she is aware of trail user conflict, and the many methods used to mitigate these issues. After learning about the Slow & Say Hello program, she worked in collaboration with equestrians, runners, bikers and the CVRD to host educational events on the busiest trail within the largest park in the Comox Valley.

Gail Wallin

• Gail is the Executive Director of the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia (ISCBC). She has been involved with the ISCBC since its inception in 2004, where she manages complex natural resource projects within BC and across the country. Gail is a professional facilitator and has worked for decades with the natural resource sector and First Nations on land use and joint government planning processes.

Aaron Cooperman

• Aaron Cooperman is the Owner and Operator of Sol Mountain Backcountry Lodge in Clearwater, BC, and a certified ACMG Ski Guide. He serves as President of the Backcountry Lodges of BC Association and has over a decade of experience in forestry consulting.

  Aaron is an active leader in trail development and outdoor recreation, serving on the Board of Directors for the Wells Gray Outdoors Club. He was the project manager for the 2014-2023 development of the Candle Creek mountain bike trail network, and developed 30 km of alpine singletrack at Sol Mountain Lodge in partnership with BC Parks.

Peter Holton

• Based in the West Kootenays,  Peter Holton is an environmental planning instructor at Selkirk College and a planning and recreation consultant.  He is currently working with the Nelson Nordic Ski Club to facilitate the expansion of their trails system.

Joseph Chiao

• Joseph Chiao is a third year Math & Physics student and the VOC's Trails Coordinator since 2025. Since joining the club in 2023, he has been heavily involved with maintaining access to the VOC's four huts, both behind-the-scenes and on the ground leading work trips. This summer he spent two weeks living at the Brian Waddington Hut helping lead the club's massive wall replacement project.  

Noelle Kekula

• Noelle Kekula's entire career has been with the Recreation Sites and Trails program. She started in 1993 in Alexis Creek and has worked in the Kamloops Region and the Merritt and Kamloops District offices. Over the years, she was involved in LRMPs, LRUPs, landscape management, recreation, trail, and river inventories, and ROS. She has experienced the program’s evolution through numerous ministries, adapting to legislative changes from the Forest Act to the Forest Practices Code Act and now FRPA. Throughout these changes, she has remained open to the evolving ways the public recreates on Crown land, while staying steadfast to the core values of the program. No two days have ever been the same, and she says it is the people—colleagues, partners, and clients— who have made this such a rewarding career. She takes pride in the legacy of public recreation stewardship she has helped build, in mentoring the next generation of practitioners, and in fostering a continued passion for accessible, sustainable recreation on Crown land.

Cole Hooper

• Cole Hooper is an MSc student in Interdisciplinary Studies at UBC Okanagan, where his thesis explores how outdoor recreation communities can work with land managers towards sustainable park use. He previously worked with BC Parks on rattlesnake and small mammal research across protected areas in the South Okanagan, giving him firsthand experience with conservation challenges in the area. A passionate rock climber, whose own recreational pursuits have taken him across the globe, Cole combines both scientific and community perspectives, bringing them back to his home area: Skaha Bluffs Provincial Park.

Corien Sieders

• Corien Sieders is the Manager Destination Management and Development at Tourism Fernie. She focuses on caring for the places both visitors and locals care for and enjoy, including the AmbassadorWILD program (AWILD). Her interest in the program comes from a commitment to maintaining the balance between people and nature, including essential infrastructure like toilets that support responsible use. She’s passionate about practical solutions that help protect natural spaces while keeping them accessible.

Alli Banting

• Alli is a Conservation Coordinator with Wildsight in the Columbia Valley, where she works to promote responsible recreation and reduce recreation pressures on freshwater lakes, surrounding landscapes, and wildlife. In her free time, you’ll find her trying to convince her two young kids that exploring new places by foot, bike, or canoe is actually pretty awesome, hoping it pays off in raising kids who love and respect the outdoors.

Harry Olson

• Harry brings together his professional background as a multidisciplinary designer and his volunteer leadership at the Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club to explore how design thinking can strengthen outdoor organizations. A graduate of Hyper Island’s Master’s in Digital Experience, Harry’s work explores how design and technology can strengthen community systems and create a culture of stewardship within outdoor recreation.

Sean Easton

• Sean is a TRU Adventure Studies grad turned Youth Worker. He channels his passion for the outdoors into his work at. Sean challenges conventions and emboldens youth to own the programs they are participating in. 

Phil Mullins

• Phil Mullins is an Associate Professor of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC). He critically interprets Western conceptions of human-nature relationships and focuses on socio-ecological approaches to studying, theorizing, and practicing outdoor recreation, education, and travel. He investigates the interrelationship of people and place through outdoor activities (e.g. canoeing, fly fishing, hiking, climbing) and the institutions that enable them (e.g. families, clubs, schools, businesses). 

Erica Hummel

• Erica Hummel is the Director, Destination & Industry Development at Destination BC, where they have responsibility for the Invest in Iconics initiative as it relates to destination development Elements. Prior this role, Erica built their career in tourism working for destination management organizations both the community and regional levels in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. They have over a decade of experience managing destination development, destination stewardship, place brand, stakeholder relations, industry development, travel trade, travel media, visitor services and research and performance management teams. Erica has a master’s degree in Tourism Policy and Planning from the University of Waterloo and loves spending time outdoors with their family, on cross-country skis, snowshoes, in a canoe, or on a mountain bike.

Erik Fisher

• Erik Fisher is the CEO of Tourism Kamloops, where he leads destination development strategies that position outdoor recreation as a cornerstone of sustainable tourism growth. With a strong focus on aligning economic activity with community priorities, Erik works across sectors to advance investments in trails, parks, and recreation infrastructure that attracts visitors while enhancing quality of life for residents.  His work emphasizes thoughtful care and planning for public recreation assets to support regional resilience and long-term prosperity.

Curtis Pawliuk

• Curtis Pawliuk lives in the beautiful community of Valemount, BC. For the last twenty years he has been the Executive Director of the Valemount and Area Recreation Development Association (VARDA), a not for profit association specializing in public recreation development and management. Curtis is also a registered Avalanche Professional and Certified Snowmobile Guide and owner / operator of Frozen Pirate Snow Services, a snowmobile guiding and avalanche training company.

Patrick Beech

• Patrick is a second-generation landscape architect with experience across a wide range of planning, design, and construction projects. He earned his Master's in Landscape Architecture from UBC, where he received several awards, including the program’s LAF Olmstead Scholar honour. At LEES+Associates, Patrick has worked on trail planning and design projects across the province for clients such as RSTBC, BC Parks, Metro Vancouver, the Thompson Nicola Regional District, the Qathet Regional Cycling Association, and the Logan Lake Community Forest. His experience with trails and parks at all scales, from high-level planning to construction, has given him an excellent understanding of the relationships among policies, plans, users, and implementation.

Randy Spyksma

• Randy Spyksma, MSc, RPF, is a senior planner with Forsite with over 30 years of experience in forest and land management planning and stewardship.  His background includes a range of strategic, tactical and operational forest management planning, with a technical focus in wildfire and watershed risk management.  As an expert facilitator he is currently involved in collaborative forest management planning processes involving indigenous communities, the provincial government and forest companies under the provinces new Forest Landscape Planning process.  In addition, Randy is the Manager of the Logan Lake Community Forest, where he coordinates a team of specialists in forest development, trail establishment and management, ecosystem restoration and wildfire risk management.  He has been supporting trail sustainability and development in the Logan Lake area since 2012 through work with the Province, local indigenous communities and the Logan Lake Community Forest.  Randy is also the President of the BC Community Forest Association, a not-for-profit group supporting and advocating for Community Forests and community forestry in BC.

Noelle Kekula

• Noelle Kekula's entire career has been with the Recreation Sites and Trails program. She started in 1993 in Alexis Creek and has worked in the Kamloops Region and the Merritt and Kamloops District offices. Over the years, she was involved in LRMPs, LRUPs, landscape management, recreation, trail, and river inventories, and ROS. She has experienced the program’s evolution through numerous ministries, adapting to legislative changes from the Forest Act to the Forest Practices Code Act and now FRPA. Throughout these changes, she has remained open to the evolving ways the public recreates on Crown land, while staying steadfast to the core values of the program. No two days have ever been the same, and she says it is the people—colleagues, partners, and clients— who have made this such a rewarding career. She takes pride in the legacy of public recreation stewardship she has helped build, in mentoring the next generation of practitioners, and in fostering a continued passion for accessible, sustainable recreation on Crown land.

Darren Coates

• Darren Coates’ day job is a science teacher principal in Clearwater and his favorite activity outside of work is mountain biking. He has been involved with both the Merritt Mountain Biking Association and now the Wells Gray Outdoor Club, serving as president of both clubs. He was fortunate to be involved in developing a bike park and trail network in Merritt back in the days of paper maps when he had to convince builders not to keep their trails secret. In Clearwater he had the opportunity to help build a trail network from scratch which has been very rewarding. Along the way he and the club forged great partnerships with the Community Forest, and other partners. The process turned him into a trail design nerd – he can’t look at a trail without thinking about grade reversals and drainage design elements.

Aaron Cooperman

• Aaron Cooperman is the Owner and Operator of Sol Mountain Backcountry Lodge in Clearwater, BC, and a certified ACMG Ski Guide. He serves as President of the Backcountry Lodges of BC Association and has over a decade of experience in forestry consulting. Aaron is an active leader in trail development and outdoor recreation, serving on the Board of Directors for the Wells Gray Outdoors Club. He was the project manager for the 2014-2023 development of the Candle Creek mountain bike trail network, and developed 30 km of alpine singletrack at Sol Mountain Lodge in partnership with BC Parks.

Dr. Farhad Moghimehfar

• Dr. Farhad Moghimehfar is a professor of Recreation and Tourism Management at Vancouver Island University and the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development. His work focuses on supporting communities across British Columbia in developing sustainable and resilient tourism and outdoor recreation economies. He collaborates closely with local governments, community organizations, and industry partners on projects related to economic development, visitor use management, recreation planning, and tourism policy.

John Hawkings

• John Hawkings is the Executive Lead, Recreation Strategy and Service Transformation in the Ministry of Environment and Parks. Prior to his current role, John was the Executive Director of Recreation Sites and Trails BC from 2015 to 2022 and the Provincial Trails Manager before that. Before joining the Public Service in 2007, John spent much of the previous 15 years involved in forest-based recreation planning and implementation throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor in both the public and private sector and also worked for 3 years in US National Parks. John lives in Squamish where he enjoys all the opportunities available in a BC mountain town with his wife Tanya and two teenage kids.

Curtis Pawliuk

• Curtis Pawliuk lives in the beautiful community of Valemount, BC. For the last twenty years he has been the Executive Director of the Valemount and Area Recreation Development Association (VARDA), a not for profit association specializing in public recreation development and management. Curtis is also a registered Avalanche Professional and Certified Snowmobile Guide and owner / operator of Frozen Pirate Snow Services, a snowmobile guiding and avalanche training company.

Cassandra Zerebeski

• Cassandra Zerebeski is the Executive Director of the Wilderness Tourism Association of BC and Policy Director at the Tourism Industry Association of BC. With a career spanning more than 25 years in BC’s tourism sector, she is passionate about connecting people to place through responsible access and outdoor recreation. Her work brings a practical, solutions-oriented lens to how resource roads can support both economic activity and recreation experiences. 

Rocky Blondin

• Rocky Blondin has been active and involved in Outdoor Recreation Advocacy for over 20 years. He is a Professional Industrial Engineering Technologist by trade and training, and has worked at his own Blondin Enterprises Inc. for 10 years. Combining his professional background with his stewardship of the outdoors, he has found a niche in a deep understanding of electric mobility - namely e-bikes, and e-scooters. He also owned and operated a bicycle retail shop for a time as well, so he can see all the sides of the issues these new devices present: technological, sustainability, and a growth opportunity. From that perspective he hopes to work with interested stakeholders to develop a better understanding of what we are facing, how we can better manage them and the new users they bring, and potential changes we can make in regulations in order to ensure we move things forward, in a good way.

Kristin Parsons

• Kristin Parsons is the Executive Director of the ATVBC Quad Riders Association of BC and the BC Powersports Dealers Association, and Chair of the Christina Lake Trails Alliance, a multi- use organization bringing diverse trail users together. With over 20 years of experience in non- profit leadership, she leads province-wide work at the intersection of outdoor recreation, land use, and community collaboration.

  
  In her role, Kristin works across British Columbia with government, Indigenous communities, and recreation partners to advance responsible motorized recreation, trail development, and sustainable land use solutions. Her work focuses on building collaborative relationships between motorized and non-motorized groups, supporting shared-use trail networks, and addressing complex land access challenges through practical, community-driven approaches.

Kevin Pennock

• Kevin is the co-founder and Executive Director of KORE Outdoors, a Kootenay non-profit organization dedicated to makers and creators in the outdoor recreation manufacturing and design sector. Since launching KORE in April 2020, Kevin has worked along side the KORE Board to bring together the Kootenay outdoor gear makers into a network, facilitating resources to scale and attracting other brands and companies to start up or relocate to the region. Most recently, Kevin is leading the KORE ReHub, a circular initiative to make the Kootenays synonymous with outdoor gear circularity.

Michael Crowe

• Michael Crowe is President of College of the Rockies, where he is advancing innovative approaches to workforce development and industry engagement. His work focuses on reimagining how colleges partner with employers to develop talent, accelerate upskilling, and support economic growth in emerging sectors.

Brittny Turner

• Brittny Turner is the Accessible Recreation Analyst at BC Parks, where she leads the development of the Adaptive Recreation Program and provides strategic guidance to advance accessibility initiatives across the organization. Drawing on her background in the parks and recreation field and lived experience with disability, she brings a thoughtful and nuanced perspective to advancing meaningfully accessible outdoor recreation experiences.