Debora Soutar
Chair

Debora is a retired professional forester with a lifelong passion for sharing nature with others. From exploring ponds as a young girl to interpreting wetland biology, she has developed a deep appreciation for the importance of wetlands.

Her expertise is in forest recreation and public education. Over the past 35+ years, she managed Madrone Environmental Services in Abbotsford, was the first coordinator of the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve, worked for the BC Forest Service and BC Parks, and has taught hundreds of students about forest ecology. In our part of the world, watersheds, wetlands, and waterways are a very important part of forest ecology.

Debora enjoys walking on the Rotary Trail, hiking the local mountains, and hanging out at Harrison Lake.

Debora looks forward to contributing her experience to the FVWC and working with the other directors.

Geoff Hughes-Games
Vice-Chair

Geoff is a Professional Agrologist with over 40 years experience working in the agriculture sector. Raised in the Okanagan he began his career working in orchards then moved on to begin his formal agricultural education and work experience in Alberta before returning to BC. His education and experience have focused on soil management, irrigation/ drainage, agri-environmental risk assessment and adult education.

After 29 years working for the BC Government, in 2016 he began a new phase of life;  entering the realm of private consulting. Over his career with the Ministry of Agriculture he co-authored several soil management publications as well as the core materials for the BC Environmental Farm Plan Program. He hopes to be able to bring a strong agricultural perspective to his time on the FVWC Board.

David Urban
Treasurer

David is a planner with over 20 years of experience at the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD). Throughout his career, he has focused on regional matters that relate to vibrant, distinct, and sustainable communities that are committed to protecting the environment to ensure a high quality of life for all.  Another aspect of his work relates to outdoor recreation planning and the connections that can be made reconnecting people to outdoor space in one of the most beautiful areas of the province. He is also an active outdoors person enjoying photography and native plant identification.

Maureen Sinclair
Secretary

Maureen is a recent transplant to British Columbia having been born and raised in Southern Ontario. She is a Geographer by training who has worked in the parks and recreation field since her first Leadership-in-Training course at the Windsor YM-YWCA as a 14 year old keener.

She recently retired from the City of Mission Parks, Recreation & Culture Department after serving as the Director from 2012-2022. She is also a Past President of the Ontario Parks Association. After many years of relying on the effort of volunteers she now says its time to be one.

Maureen brings a strong sense of community to the Watershed table.

Matt Foy
Director
(Past-Chair 2017-2023)

A life long, lower Fraser Valley resident, Matt's major goal in life was to stay outside as much as he could and always seek out wet places preferably with salmon swimming by. He also enjoys telling stories so check out some of these on the FVWC website under “Sharing Stories About Salmon People”.

Matt was employed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada for 35 years as a salmon biologist working throughout BC in the field of community involvement, salmon enhancement, and habitat restoration. He retired from DFO in 2015 and continues to be involved with issues and projects affecting salmon as a volunteer with both the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition.

Detmar Schwichtenberg
Director
(Past-Chair 2011-2017)

Detmar Schwichtenberg is a writer and resource manager who lives on a dairy farm in Agassiz, BC. His area of expertise is using incentives and knowledge transfers to promote stewardship of private forest and agricultural land.

Bruce Clark
Director

Bruce is a long-time resident of the Lower Mainland, and an active community volunteer. He is a registered professional biologist (R.P.Bio.), and a member of the board of directors of the Association of the Professional Biology (APB). 

Bruce spent over 30 years as a biologist with the Habitat Management Program of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), focusing largely on the evaluation of development proposals and related environmental activities. Much of Bruce's DFO work as within the lower Fraser River and lower mainland areas. Bruce is now a self-employed consultant specializing in environmental assessment and regulatory review, with a focus on aquatic ecosystems. 

Christina Toth
Director

Christina Toth is the Fraser Basin Council's assistant regional manager for the Fraser Valley. Since 1997, FBC has supported sustainability actions and principles in communities throughout British Columbia. Christina joined FBC in 2014 after working as a community journalist for more than 20 years.

Christina facilitates the Cultus Lake Aquatic Stewardship Strategy (CLASS), and the Fraser Valley Illegal Dumping Alliance (FVIDA), promoting the ideals of stewardship and supporting them in heir outreach and public education. CLASS monitors the lake's ecology and watershed, and educates the public and regional leaders about eutrophication, water quality, invasive species, and other issues affecting Cultus Lake. Her work includes maintaining collaborative partnerships with governments, First Nations, and organizations, such as the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition, with whom the FBC has had a long collaborative history. 

Christina is a longtime resident of the Fraser Valley. She would like to see its residents and visitors work to appreciate, protect, and preserve the region's significant ecological diversity for the benefit of the current and future ecosystems. 

John Vissers
Director

Born in the Netherlands, and raised in Ontario, Montana, and British Columbia, John finally found his home some 32 years ago on Abbotsford's Sumas Mountain. Now, with his construction contracting days done and kids happily on their way, John spends most of his time volunteering with non-profit environmental groups and helping organize music events. John served on Abbotsford's Environmental Advisory committee, the Development Advisory, and presently on a new Community, Culture and Environment Advisory committee. John has received Rotary's Paul Harris Fellowship, The Order of Abbotsford, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal. 

Vacant Position Available
Director

Serving as a volunteer director to form the governing board is a rewarding experience shared with caring, professional people to steward our watersheds and communities. If you are interested in learning more about how to serve please contact Natashia@fvwc.ca.

Vacant Position Available
Director

Serving as a volunteer director to form the governing board is a rewarding experience shared with caring, professional people to steward our watersheds and communities. If you are interested in learning more about how to serve please contact Natashia@fvwc.ca.

Natashia Cox BA., RBTech., BCSLA Associate
Program Director

Natashia@fvwc.ca
604.855.8274

Natashia is a Registered Biology Technologist and a BC Society of Landscape Architecture Associate.  She holds a professional certification in Ecological Restoration from the University of Victoria. She has a Bachelor degree in geography with an ecology concentration from the University of the Fraser Valley. She is dedicated to resource management and watershed planning. Her goal is to conserve natural assets and create opportunities for communities to connect with nature. As an experienced project manager, she leads complex projects and programs including designing and implementing habitat restoration projects; watershed monitoring for fish, water quality, invertebrate and vegetation assessment; education, watershed planning including addressing climate related challenges through projects. She has experience with sensitive habitat inventory mapping, radio-telemetry (tracking the rare Oregon Spotted Frog), and bio-engineering. She also is a sessional instructor with the University of the Fraser Valley, School of land use and Environmental Change.

Rachel Drennan BSc., P. Ag.
Operations Manager

Rachel@fvwc.ca
604.791.2235

Rachel is a Professional Agrologist. She graduated from the University of the Fraser Valley with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. She holds a professional certification in Ecological Restoration from the University of Victoria. She has worked for FVWC since June 2009, organizing meetings, developing riparian restoration plans, environmental monitoring, coordinating volunteers, and managing the FVWC field crew. She is committed to restoring and monitoring riparian areas and has experience completing salmon habitat restoration projects, and streamside bioengineering. 

Winter Moon BSc. (Hons)
Restoration Field Crew Supervisor

Winter Moon graduated from University of the Fraser Valley with a BSc. (Hons) in physical geography with a concentration in ecology. She has worked as a field technician with the FVWC since 2013, and acquired the position of Restoration Crew Lead in 2014. Winter is dedicated to leading the field crew in carrying out habitat restoration projects including site maintenance, planting native species, bioengineering, and site monitoring. She has experience working with sensitive habitat inventory mapping, species at risk inventories, salmon habitat restoration, and environmental education and outreach.

Ashley Holder
Restoration Field Technician

Camille Atebe
Restoration Field Technician

Tyler Weiss
Restoration Field Technician

Cory Gardner
Field Restoration Technician
Auxiliary