I have been fascinated by the oceans and what lives in them for as long as I can remember. After high school, I studied marine biology at the University of Victoria and completed my Honours thesis on the epibiota of introduced and native eelgrass beds before starting my Master’s thesis on the ecology of the glass sponge reefs off the coast of Northern British Columbia. I am now a Registered Professional Biologist with experience in coastal habitat mapping, environmental assessment, and restoration of nearshore communities.

One of my first jobs out of university was at Archipelago Marine Research Ltd. where I was introduced to the ShoreZone coastal imaging and habitat mapping project. I joined SeaChange as Executive Director in January 2023, moving from my position as General Manager of Coastal and Ocean Resources, a Victoria-based consulting company. I was proud to serve my community as a Director at the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea for six years, and was a Director at SeaChange for a short time before moving into the Executive Director position. 

In my free time, I enjoy singing in a local choir, spending time in my garden, and hanging out with my family and four cats.

I have formal education in Geography and GIS from far away landlocked places like Winnipeg, MB and Castlegar, BC. Upon relocating to Victoria, BC in 2006, I became entwined with the ShoreZone program through a coastal habitat mapping position with a local small business called Coastal and Ocean Resources. Unable to extract myself from the complicated web of the intertidal zone, I have gone on to ShoreZone-survey thousands of kilometres of shoreline in places ranging around the Pacific Northwest, Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. 

Along the way, I have engaged in various other marine projects through my spatial data collection and GIS expertise. In my current position as ShoreZone Program Manager at SeaChange, I am focused on maintaining the integrity of the ShoreZone program while looking to aid SeaChange’s continued growth as a sustainable marine conservation organization. 

When away from work I enjoy various outdoor activities with my family along with playing and coaching hockey.

I have worked with the ShoreZone system for over twenty-five years with involvement at most levels of ShoreZone projects, from proposals and budget projections to all aspects of field surveys and data collection/management. I have also participated in imaging surveys covering more than 25,000 km of shoreline in Oregon and Alaska, along with ground surveys and verification studies in Alaska and British Columbia.

My extensive ShoreZone mapping experience has made me proficient in the identification of coastal archaeological features visible in our imagery, particularly on the Alaska Peninsula and Bering Sea shorelines. I’ve also worked on many projects using underwater video imagery to characterize the habitats of intertidal to nearshore marine benthic environments. As SeaChange embarks in a new direction, I look forward to growth, diversification, inclusivity, and expanding community engagement.

When not at work, I’m actively engaged with my two energetic preschool-aged grandsons, and working to promote local food security through my legacy garden, vineyard, and orchard—all of which contribute to local food banks.

With a Bachelor’s Degree (BSc) in Geography from the University of Victoria, I have over sixteen years of experience working in the coastal environment in British Columbia, Alaska,  Florida, South Carolina, Washington, and the Canadian Arctic. I have been involved in and led many marine projects including the ShoreZone Coastal Habitat Mapping program, Seabed Imagery surveys, aerial surveys, and Arctic Oceanography programs. I have experience in database management, project management and geographic information systems.

I grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, and have lived in Victoria, British Columbia for the last twenty-three years. I enjoy being a part of a team that helps preserve, protect, and understand the health of our coastal ecosystems.

I graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Science in Geography, where I studied whales and their spatial behaviour—igniting a passion for marine conservation and spatial data. This led to my work as a naturalist for a whale-watching company for several years where I gained valuable experience in the field and expanded my understanding of marine ecosystems.

Now, in my current role as a mapping technician, I continue to build upon my mapping skills and utilize Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to support my work and to help protect the coastal environments I love.

When I’m not working, I can often be found outside, hiking, camping and playing disc golf (terribly), enjoying a sunny patio drink, or getting The Longest Road in Catan.

After moving back home to Victoria in 2015 after helping to run a successful business in White Rock, I started working with SeaChange in 2016 as a part-time Office Administrator/Administrative Assistant. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking with my dog, camping, and volunteering—namely helping conduct Coastal Waterbird Surveys for Birds Canada, and collecting water samples from Coles Bay for eDNA analysis by the Hakai Institute.

I have a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Victoria and an M.Sc. from the University of British Columbia where I studied salt marsh vegetation in estuaries around British Columbia—a background that makes me right at home with SeaChange. 

I have always been interested in the natural environment, and my enthusiasm towards marine ecosystems grew while completing my Bachelor of Science at the University of Victoria, where I double majored in Biology and Anthropology. Since graduating, I have been excited to learn and take on new challenges and opportunities as they arise.

My diverse background includes many years as a research assistant in labs at UVic applying molecular biology techniques on various alpine plants and marine organisms to learn more about species diversity. One of my favourite experiences over the years was teaching the field component of an adult education class where I introduced people to the wonders of the intertidal zone.

I was first introduced to ShoreZone when I worked at Archipelago Marine Research, Ltd. and was excited years later to have the opportunity to join Coastal and Ocean Resources, Inc. as a bio mapper and be able to learn and work with ShoreZone again. It is with much enthusiasm that I am now part of SeaChange and all the new experiences that come along with it.

When not working, I enjoy playing ice hockey, wandering local beaches, and spending time with my family.

I first learned about ShoreZone during a field school at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre while completing a degree in Biology and Oceanography at the University of British Columbia. My enthusiasm was sparked by the scale and ambition of the project, so when the opportunity to contribute to ShoreZone emerged, I grabbed it. After taking to the skies on my first survey in Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park, I was hooked. I have since participated in two other surveys along British Columbia’s beautiful coastline.

I am thrilled to be part of the SeaChange team, as they provide an invaluable opportunity to work on projects that will help restore and preserve marine life. I look forward to learning from the diverse perspectives of my colleagues and contributing meaningful work that will positively impact local ecosystems.

When I’m not mapping shorelines, I am enjoying the outdoors—from a hike in the woods to relaxing on the beach with a good book—making Victoria a perfect place to call home.

As a recent graduate from the University of Victoria, I am eager to learn how to better manage water systems in Canada. Growing up in Chile, some of my fondest memories are of the beach, where I loved to spend a warm day splashing around in the cold water or walking on the pier at sundown. 

Since childhood, I knew I wanted to help manage pollution and help keep our environment cleaner. Being so grateful for nature, it seemed a perfect fit for me to become an environmentalist. At SeaChange, where maintaining a healthy ecosystem for future generations is a main goal, I’m very excited to learn more about mapping software and how it can be used to strategically maintain our ecosystems. Coastal ecosystems are very complex and always changing, so my objective is to make use of technology to better track and study water systems. 

Besides being an environmental activist, I enjoy watching movies at the cinema and rock climbing. I am also an avid collector, so my own movie collection is always growing!  

I came to the SeaChange Board with a background in marine biology and marine education, after retiring from the Capital Regional District in March 2020. There, I coordinated community stewardship initiatives on the Gorge Waterway, Esquimalt Lagoon and Bowker Creek for 10 years. As part of that work, I participated in the Green Shores Local Government Working Group and the CRD’s Abandoned Boat Program. Prior to that, I worked in the non-profit environmental sector with the World Fisheries Trust, Gorge Waterway Action Society, and SeaChange’s EcoRowing program in Tod Inlet. I spent earlier years living in Bamfield where I worked as a kelp farmer, marine educator, and naturalist on sailboats doing multi-day trips along the BC and SE Alaska coasts. 

My knowledge and interests include native plants, ecological restoration, shoreline ecology, and gardening. In addition to my work with SeaChange, I also volunteer with the Friends of Tod Creek Watershed in their restoration work in Whitehead Park and recently joined the board of Peninsula Streams Society.

As an architectural technologist, I work as a cartographer, graphic artist, and community mapping specialist in the Department of Geography of the University of Victoria, where I have worked since 1980.

Since 1998, I have been a partner in the Common Ground Community Mapping Project, participating in and/or coordinating over 70 community-engaged mapping projects both in print and online. In 2008, I helped to establish and manage the community mapping collaboratory, now called the UVic Map Shop, within the Department of Geography. I also co-teach Community Mapping and Community-Based Participatory Research, which facilitates action-based and community-engaged projects through various university-level courses and field schools.

Previous to working at the University of Victoria, I worked for the Canadian Hydrographic Service drawing nautical charts of the southern BC coast and Canada’s western Arctic.

Biography coming soon.