ONE SKY - Key Persons
Arnold joined us in July 2007 as a Service Canada summer student doing community outreach as part of the Smithers Community Bike Program. Along with his cousin Makenzie and a host of other volunteers, Arnold rebuilt and repaired bicycles during the summer months.
Benoit is a former One Sky intern who worked in Mali on energy issues. Benoit was hired to carry out community energy related planning with One Sky and completed the Burns Lake Energy Plan. He also worked on our Energetic Olympics program and represented One Sky at the JPAC meeting in Mexico in 2008. Benoit continued to work closely with One Sky while working on energy issues in Mali, Africa. Benoit is currently studying abroad in Scotland.
Catherine joined us to carry out a contract as a part of the A Fork in the Road project. Catherine has been coordinating the ‘gleaning' portion of the project, connecting volunteers with gardeners, farmers and fruit tree owners to harvest excess produce which then gets donated to local service agencies in Smithers.
Job Titles:
- Project Coordinator Latin America
César Morán - Cahusac has a Masters Environmental Management from the from the Yale School of Forestry, throughout his career, he has implemented a vast array of conservation projects, including an organic gardening program for school children in Lima and a debt-for-nature swap financed by Finland for the Machu Picchu historical Sanctuary. He is editor of the Machu Picchu field guides for birds, orchids and butterflies. As Executive Director of ACA, he developed a financial sustainability program for the world's first conservation concession, located in the Los Amigos River basin in lowland Peruvian rainforest. In addition. Addionally, he has developed conservation concessions with native Andean and Amazonian communities in coordination with One Sky. ACA's mayor success lays in the consolidation of Brazil nut conservation concessions that benefit more than 500 farmers and protects over 400,000 hectares of forests. For the past two years worked on One Sky's integral leadership program in the Brazil nut sector in Peru. He continues as One Sky's Project Coordinator for Latin America to develop programming in Peru and Colombia. He is also a Sensei of Aikido and runs an Aikido school in Cusco, Peru.
Chris first joined One Sky as an intern on the Cross River Environmental Capacity Development Project in 2002 and 2003. With a background in professional forestry, his current residence in a small Inuvialuit community on the arctic coastline often leaves him with feelings of vertigo and disorientation. It is here in Paulatuk, NT that Chris works in a cooperative setting in managing one of our most remote national parks. Chris has a passion for the people and the communities in which he finds himself, often devoting his time and energy to causes supporting youth, athletics and healthy, sustainable living.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Craig's introduction to One Sky was through a climate change specialist at the Limbe Botanical Gardens in Cameroon. Like others before him, he eventually made his way to Smithers and managed to find work in conservation, recreation and project management.
Diane joined us to work on our Energetic Olympics Program and brought a long history and wealth of knowledge in grass roots organizing from London, Ontario. Well versed in energy issues, Diane assisted us in doing a web page, community outreach and in project design and delivery with the 16 communities involved in our two-year, CIDA-funded Energetic Olympics.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Dr. Adriane Forsythe - is a leading tropical ecologist who works with the W. Alton Jones Foundation and has a long history working on conservation issues in both Canada and the developing world.
Job Titles:
- Nigeria Program Country Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chairman of Friends of the Earth International
Dr. Ricardo Navarro - is the chair of Friends of the Earth International and the President of the Salvadoran Centre for Appropriate Technology based out of San Salvador, El Salvador. He brings his international perspective and expertise in appropriate technology to One Sky.
Job Titles:
- Board Member With Us in 2009 / 10
Formerly working with us in sierra Leane, Emily became a board member with us in 2009/10. While at One Sky she initiated the One Sky project called the Carshare co-op and is now a board member of the independently registered cooperative.
Evelyne joined us in June 2004 as an intern. Her interest in HIV/AIDS and gender issues culminated in a position with One Sky as the HIV/AIDS Coordinator for the Cross River Environment Projectmade possible through Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). In this position, Evelyne supported our partners in Nigeria to integrate HIV/AIDS into their environmental programming. Eventually she returned in October 2006 to Canada to raise a family. Along the way she married our logistics coordinator Tawo, cheered the Nigeria program on tremendously and helped raise the profile of HIV/AIDS awareness among the environmental sector in Cross River State.
Gail has over 15 years experience working in international development, has a B.Sc. in Environmental Science as well as a M.A. in Environmental Studies, in an interdisciplinary degree from the University of Victoria. She is the co-founder and co-director of the global network Integral Without Borders, and is deeply committed to innovations in development practice. She's a published author including the book,Developing Sustainability, Developing the Self: An Integral Approach to International and Community Development, as well as numerous articles in academic journals.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Greg joined One Sky as an intern in June 2004 and ventured to our Calabar office where he helped organize the Energetic Solutions International conference. Upon his return to Canada the following year, he stayed on with One Sky doing local energy audits and helping us to coordinate our energy program until January 2007. Greg can still be found on the One Sky premises working as a Policy Analyst for the Pembina Institute.
Greg Brown likes to ride his bike, ski and swim. In 2004 he completed a One Sky internship in Nigeria promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency. In 2007 he became a One Sky board member and is currently the Board Chair. He works for the Pembina Institute as a Policy Analyst.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Although born and raised in Smithers, Gregory has been living and teaching in Cuba for the past fifteen years. He has also recently finished his law degree at UBC and was successfully called to the bar. He has worked for CIDA, advised on numerous development cooperation projects, assisted David Suzuki in producing a television program on Cuba, and worked as a University professor. Gregory has been with One Sky since 2006.
For the past twelve years Helene has been creating experiential learning opportunities for children and youth related to the environment, food security, global issues, and music. She is currently working as a full time mom to baby Sacha in Smithers, until she returns to work using her new Masters in Environmental Education and Communication Degree as an elementary school teacher or curriculum designer, where she hopes to help foster sustainable behaviour in our children and youth as one way to limit the ecological crisis the world is now facing.
Job Titles:
- Independent Environmental Consultant
Ivan Thompson is an independent environmental consultant based in Smithers, B.C., who joined One Sky in 2002 and worked with us until 2004. He became very involved in our Sierra Leone educational project and traveled to Freetown as part of our teacher delegation. At the time he was a senior administrator in the Northwest Community College. Thank you, Ivan, for your interest in One Sky and your willingness to carry out so many Myers Briggs personality tests over the years.
Jennifer Castleden's first day on the job was flying into Lagos, Nigeria in November 2003 to become the project coordinator of a brand new environmental capacity development project in Calabar for One Sky. She managed the Cross River Environment Project with One Sky until September 2005 when she moved to the United Kingdom with her new husband, Victor Otoadese, where she is now living and raising a family.
Jennifer undertook an internship with One Sky in June, 2003. After working in Sierra Leone for five months we extended her contract until June the following year to help us with our environmental education program. She could be found in many parts of Sierra Leone, promoting composting, working on our agriculture program and promoting environmental awareness.
John is a climber, conservationist, adventurer and entrepreneur. He owns and operates the world's premier company that builds canopy walkways. Perched high above in the trees these walkways serve as tourist attractions and a means of sustainable livelihood in many parts of the world. Greenheart Conservation Company has been synergistically involved in partnership with One Sky in Nigeria and Peru.
John Lydon was a founding member of One Sky and was on the board from 2000-2002, until he had twins and realized how much time it takes to raise a family. John brought his experience working in Central America doing human rights work to One Sky. Thank you, John, for helping us start the organization!
Kara Jenne was with us for one term in 2009-2010. Formerly with the Northwest Community College, Kara has been a long time supporter of One Sky.
Karen Nyce worked with One Sky for one term in 2008, Karen continues to be a long time supporter of One Sky.
Kelly Chapman joined us in November 2005 for an intense one-year contract coordinating our Cross River Environmental Capacity Development Project in Calabar, Nigeria. She worked closely with Patricia Eyamba and Kristin Patten to replace Jennifer Otoadese. She brought a creative edge, including a unique perspective on multi-stakeholder participation in policy dialogue and land-use planning to the work of the Cross River Environmental Coalition while also undertaking a series of evaluations and monitoring. She returned to Canada in December 2006.
Kim Struthers was a board member of One Sky in 2009/10 before becoming a staff person in charge of the Go2 carshare cooperative. She also worked with us on the Energetic Olympics program in Northwest BC.
Kirsteen joined the One Sky team to do our bookkeeping in 2002 and diligently handled our finances, including a series of audits, until the spring of 2007. Kirsteen grew our financial capacity from its rudimentary days to its current sophistication with the attention to detail that helped us survive multi-millions of dollars worth of programming.
Lee joined in 2008 as our new Program Director. Lee had a long history with Outward Bound and working in outdoor leadership. He is an accomplished writer and father of two young children. He moved here with his family and became very involved in local programming, so much so that he is now working in Smithers full-time on community health issues.
Linda Geggie was a founding member of One Sky in the year 2000 and was with us for three years. At the time she was running the Lifecycles project in Victoria B.C. and brought her unique experience in running non profit organizations to One Sky. She has since been raising two children where she lives in Victoria B.C. Thank you, Linda, for helping us start One Sky.
Lori joined us in January 2004 upon the inception of our Cross River Environment Project. She was with us until July 2004.
Mali joined us in June 2003 to complete an internship in Nigeria the following year. We extended her contract as a project assistant in our Calabar office until 2005. Mali worked closely with Jennifer Otoadese keeping the many complicated aspects of coordinating a coalition alive.
Mark joined us as an HRDC summer student with our Energy Smart Smithers program, undertaking a series of energy audits with businesses in the town of Smithers. He analyzed energy use and potential energy conservation measures as well as to help implementing solutions to reduce energy footprints of participating small business owners in Smithers.
Meg is originally from Australia and came to Canada twenty years ago in November thinking she could bike and hike across the country. Needless to say, she ditched the bike and caught a Greyhound bus to Smithers and never really left. Meg has a degree in Printmaking and a Diploma of Horticulture and has worked in a variety of areas including outdoor education, arts and culture, alternate farming and food production, interspersed with many volunteer community based projects.
Michael Simpson was the visionary behind One Sky. He founded it in 2000 and has lead this organization as its Executive Director for almost 15 years through projects on three continents in some of the most difificult contexts on the planet. He left the ED role in July 2014. One Sky is very grateful for his energy, fearlessness, and vision, which continue as the deep structure of One Sky's culture and practice.
Job Titles:
- Integral Program Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Smithers, BC ( 2001 - 2002 )
Nathan joined us as an intern in July 2001 at the same time as Nikki Skuce to assist in the development of curriculum materials in Sierra Leone. He stayed on for a full year as we developed our programming and organizational structure. Today, Nathan is our local Member of Parliament for the riding of Stikine - Bulkley Valley.
Nikki was the Program Director at One Sky for seven years. Her passion is working toward environmental sustainability and social justice both at local and international levels. Nikki has participated in Canada World Youth on a Quebec/Tunisia cultural exchange program, studied abroad at Melbourne University, worked in Argentina through the International Institute of Sustainable Development and traveled extensively. Nikki has a B.A. in International Relations and Canadian Studies from the University of British Columbia. She is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Sierra Leone
Olatunde Johnson - is the Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Sierra Leone and a leading environmentalist in West Africa. Mr. Johnson also runs an appropriate technology training centre in Freetown Sierra Leone.
Sandra Thomson is one of One Sky's founding directors and was involved from 2000-2008. Instrumental from the beginning, for her last three years she also occupied the position of both chair and co-chair. Sandra is a healing practitioner with extensive past experience in international development including project coordinator of the Gaia Project of the Sierra Club of B.C. She currently lives on Gabriola Island and is a director with The Drishti Centre for Integral Action.
Stella joined One Sky as our Gender Coordinator in 2006 and worked in our office in Calabar until 2007. Working from a baseline assessment she undertook numerous gender workshops and capacity trainings in the communities and among our Nigerian partners.
Job Titles:
- Integral Pscyhology, Nepal Project Coordinator
Sushant has a Masters degree in Integral Psychology. He is a native of Kathmandu, Nepal and an integral researcher with a background in strategy consulting with degrees in Management and Finance. He has trained with Susanne Cook-Greuter, Ed. D. on Leadership Maturity Framework and its organizational application, and with Monica Sharma, MD and Vernice Solimar, Ph.D. in whole systems transformation and leadership development.
Tawo began working with One Sky as a volunteer during the organization of Energetic Solutions in 2004. His invaluable contributions led to a job working on logistics in our Calabar office. Tawo solved many, many problems for One Sky that ranged from water shortages to broken vehicles. He was our trustworthy driver and assisted with everything from security to event coordination. Tawo was with us until 2006.
With funding from Service Canada, Therese joined us as a summer student and took over the running of our bicycle program in the summer of 2006. She rebuilt bikes, helped build our bicycle rack and instigated our blue-bike program before returning to her studies in September 2006.
Tom is a lawyer, author, artist, lover of horses and above all a storyteller. He lives in the Bulkley Valley and was on the One Sky board from 2004-2008. Tom still supports from afar, keeping One Sky on track via sage advice and mentorship.
Job Titles:
- Smithers, BC ( 2006 - 2009 )
Tricia was our office administrator for three years. She developed many of our current bookkeeping systems, brought a discipline and rigour to our adminstration and office procedures, wrote our manual on how to run the place and generally nurtured us through many audits, reviews and reports. Tricia also worked on developing capacity for a local coop, was an integral part of many new initiatives and supervised when everyone else was in the field.
Ginny joined us as an intern in 2002 to work in Sierra Leone as an environmental education programmer. Her enthusiasm for Sierra Leone led to an extended stay with One Sky of almost two years in Freetown. Ginny was instrumental in capacity development with Friends of the Earth Sierra Leone and organized a very successful micro-credit program with women's groups in Sierra Leone. Today she is managing sustainability initiatives for The Globe Foundation of Canada.