Detmar Schwichtenberg
Director
Chair

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.

David Urban
Director
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.

 Mike Pearson
Director
Vice-Chair

Mike is a Registered Professional Biologist with over 25 years of field experience in the Fraser Valley. He holds a PhD in Ecology (UBC) and owns a small consulting firm, Pearson Ecological, that works almost exclusively with Indigenous communities and organizations. He specializes in the design, construction and monitoring of aquatic habitat restoration and enhancement projects and is known for creating diverse, naturalistic habitats that benefit multiple species.

Mike has a long history with FVWC, recently rejoining the board after having served as a board member between 2007 and 2011 and collaborating on numerous projects after that. He lives on the Fraser River near Agassiz.

 Christina Toth
Director
Secretary

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. 

Jordan Ast
Director

Jordan was born and raised in Abbotsford. He moved to Vancouver to earn a BASc degree from UBC.
After school, he started his career in construction as a Quality Coordinator on the Highway 17 SFPR project.
After highway 17 completion, he continued in construction as an estimator and project manager for a local civil construciton company and has been there for the last 10 years. He has been a registered Professional Engineer for 5 years.

Jordan's father introduced him to fishing in early childhood and it has remained a passion of his. He would like to give back to the ecosytem that has brought him so much joy by applying his engineering and construction knowledge to help implement habitat restoration projects efficiently

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. 

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 Executive_assistant@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 Executive_assistant@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 Executive_assistant@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 Executive_assistant@fvwc.ca.

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.

Valentina Gonzalez Gil BA, MPPA
Executive Assistant

Valentina is proud to call Colombia her homeland. With a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Adler University, she combines her academic background with hands-on experience in environmental research, policy development, and community-focused initiatives. 

Valentina is driven by her passion for conservation and her belief in the power of collective action to create lasting change. As part of the FVWC team, she is excited to support the restoration and protection of local watersheds while fostering connections between people and nature

Jocelyn Rahnborn
Restoration Field Technician

Caleigh Yaworski
Restoration Field Technician

Marisa MacDonald
Field Restoration Technician

Camille Atebe
Restoration Field Technician

Travis Clyne
Field Restoration Technician
Auxiliary

Rachael Clarke
Field Restoration Technician
Auxiliary