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Board of Directors
Detmar Schwichtenberg
Director
Chair
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
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
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
Secretary
After a career of more than 22 years as a community journalist (Abbotsford-Mission Times, Abbotsford News) and freelance writer, Christina joined the Fraser Basin Council as its Fraser Valley assistant regional manager from 2014 to 2023.
While at FBC, Christina facilitated the Cultus Lake Aquatic Stewardship Strategy (CLASS) in their critical work to advocate for the lake’s health, and assisted FBC across a wide range of projects to promote the ideals of stewardship, outreach and public education. Her role included nurturing collaborative partnerships with organizations such as the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition, with whom the FBC has had a long collaborative history.
Christina’s writing background was put to good use at FBC, for example for the 2020 Fraser River decadal report, which can be found at the Canadian Heritage Rivers System site at Fraser River 10-Year Monitoring Report 2009 - 2020.
Her work with FBC to support local governments, First Nations and non-profits pursue sustainable actions and principles fit well with her interests at the FVWC. As a director for more than 13 years, Christina is humbled by and in awe of the FVWC’s highly respected, ethical and sought-after stewardship team as they carry out their mission to protect our local wetlands, fishes, plants and other wild things. In addition to wandering on local trails, bookstores and gardens, Christina relishes participating in the inspiring volunteer planting days with the FVWC team.
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.
Steven Marsh
Director
Born and raised in southwest Ontario, he completed his undergraduate degree in Physical Geography before beginning his journey westward in 1984. While studying at the University of Regina, he met his wife, and together they eventually moved to British Columbia, settling in Abbotsford in 1994. He recently retired from the University of the Fraser Valley, where he dedicated over three decades to education and collaborative research.
Throughout his career, he and his students worked with numerous government agencies and non-governmental organizations. For the past 15 years, he has also collaborated with colleagues from around the world as part of the Global Rivers Observatory—a project led by scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution focused on understanding the movement of carbon through rivers to the world’s oceans.
Alicia van den Brink
Director
Alicia is a Professional Agrologist with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from the University of the Fraser Valley. Born and raised in Chilliwack, she brings over a decade of hands-on experience in agriculture and a lifelong connection to the land.
As a Project Manager at Pacific Agricultural Consulting Ltd, she leads agri-environmental initiatives focused on riparian health, habitat restoration, and sustainable land management. Alicia is passionate about supporting farmers in balancing productivity with environmental stewardship and is deeply committed to the health of local ecosystems.
Outside of work, she’s an unapologetic agriculture nerd who finds joy in native plants, muddy boots, and the ever-changing rhythms of the Fraser Valley landscape.
Jillian Stewart-Szpak
Director
Jillian is currently an Natural Resources & Referrals Team Lead and Registered Professional Biologist with the Seabird Island Band in Agassiz. She completed her diploma and undergraduate degree at BCIT and has worked in government, private sector, and NGO’s completing tasks in fisheries monitoring, habitat restoration, environmental monitoring, fish and wildlife salvages, and biological sampling. She enjoys camping, boating, swimming, volunteering, and wildlife photography. She grew up recreating in the Fraser Valley and is happy to call this area home now and contribute her efforts to the FVWC as a Board Member.
Leadership Staff
Rachel Drennan BSc., P. Ag.
Director of Operations
Rachel is a Professional Agrologist with over 15 years of experience in watershed stewardship, ecological restoration, and environmental program management. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of the Fraser Valley and a Professional Certificate in Ecological Restoration from the University of Victoria.
Since joining the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition (FVWC) in 2009, Rachel has played a key role in the organization‘s growth and development. As Director of Operations, Rachel serves as the senior staff lead for FVWC, providing organizational leadership and overseeing the strategic direction, operations, and delivery of the organization’s programs and projects. She leads staff and contractors, manages organizational planning and administration, develops partnerships with government agencies, First Nations, landowners, and community organizations, and ensures the successful implementation of watershed restoration initiatives throughout the Fraser Valley.
Rachel brings extensive experience in riparian restoration planning, environmental monitoring, salmon habitat restoration, streamside bioengineering, and operations management. Her leadership combines strong technical expertise with a commitment to collaborative, science-based approaches that support healthy watersheds and resilient aquatic ecosystems.
Winter Moon BSc. (Hons)
Operations Manager
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 BA, MPPA
Administrative Services Manager
Valentina is proud to call Colombia her homeland. She holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Adler University, and brings a strong interdisciplinary background in environmental research, policy analysis, and community-focused initiatives. Her work blends academic expertise with practical experience, advancing projects that support environmental conservation and climate justice.
She is deeply committed to protecting local ecosystems and is passionate about building bridges between people and nature. Valentina believes in the power of collaboration to inspire lasting environmental change and is excited to help strengthen watershed stewardship across the Fraser Valley.
Current Field Staff
Camille Atebe
Restoration Field Crew Lead
Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition
Marisa MacDonald
Restoration Field Technician
Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition
Jesse Kennedy
Restoration Field Technician
Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition
John Paxton
Restoration Field Technician
Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition
Dylan Anderson
Restoration Field Technician
Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition
Jack Robbins
Restoration Field Technician
Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition
Caleigh Yaworski
Restoration Field Technician Auxiliary
Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition
Travis Clyne
Restoration Field Technician Auxiliary
Fraser Valley Watersheds CoalitionVolunteers
João Prado
Media Specialist
Fraser Valley Watersheds CoalitionRecognizing Our Past Team Members
Past Directors
Matt Foy · Debora Soutar · Jim Armstrong · Alyssa Zuchet · Fraser Sime · Monica Pearson · Birgit Gagne · Barbara Strachan · Jim Taylor · Marion Robinson · Tom Cadieaux · Brad Whittaker · Geoff Hughes-Games · Maureen Sinclair · John Vissers
Past Staff Leaders
Lance Lilley · Krista Englund · Natashia Cox
Past Technicians and Staff
Jocelyn Rahnborn · Hannah Snipstead· Cory Gardner· Ashley Holder· Tyler Weiss· Sofya Bice · Maddison Reist · Aubrie Verleur · Kassa Dueck · Rachael Clarke · Issak Tremblay · Karlie Sellmer · Jessa Marie Dewick · Curtis McComb · Michael Kavanagh · Tim Friesen · Paige Smith · Tyler Hutton· Donovan Toews · Bridgette Knowlan · Renee Coghill · Tysan Dowdle · Michael Gaultier · Leah Alexis · Ashley Gibson · Elizabeth Penner · Alanna Strangway · Petra Wykpis · Kelly Mills · Andrew Barnas · Kevin Scharffenberg · Jocelyn Herbert · Garret Macklom-Harron · Lovena Morten · Angela Pfeiffer·Krystal Brennan · Stephen Cara · Nyssa Fremming-Garfield