ADVENTURE CANADA - Key Persons

Aaron Spitzer

Job Titles:

Member of the Adventure Canada Team
Historian, Political Scientist, Journalist

Aaron is wild about Arctic history and politics. Long the editor of Up Here magazine, he's now an academic, specializing in Indigenous governance.

Aka Simonsen

Job Titles:

Member of the Adventure Canada Team
Historian, Archaeologist, Cultural Educator

Aka spends the winter months studying in front of her computer and books as a Ph.D. candidate in Culture and Social History at Ilisimatusarfik, University of Greenland. She is currently writing her thesis about stone chamber wolf, fox, and polar bear traps. Her research methods entangle traditional local knowledge with science, including ecology, biology, history, culture, and archaeology. Her summers are spent at sea working on expedition ships, camping on the tundra as a tour leader, or doing archaeology field work research. When time allows, she loves reading expedition books with a critical eye, but also loves visiting places where historical expeditions have taken place. Aka received the Society for American Archaeology´s Native American undergraduate student scholarship. She has also worked as a project assistant for a National Science Foundation project that engaged collaboration between locals and researchers on the history of changes in Inuit food habits, as a reflection of new technologies, imported foods, and the colonization of Greenland. This research was conducted primarily at the former Moravian mission station of Alluitsoq (Lichtenau), South Greenland. For Aka, it is important to take part in decolonizing science and changing the methods of doing research. Aka holds a professional degree in tourism management and is Certified Arctic Guide from the business school at Qaqortoq, South Greenland. She also teaches tourism education and works as research assistant and guide at the National Museum and Archives. Her upbringing in South Greenland's outer fjords and her experience as a farmer on a subarctic island naturally taught her how to respect nature and live as sustainably as possible in the Arctic. She is a descendent of hunters and farmers, as well as explorers-including the Danish lieutenant, explorer, and archaeologist Daniel Bruun and the catechist Hanseeraq, who went on Holms' expedition to East Greenland from 1883-85. Awards Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Award Cruise Vision Award USA Today Best Adventure Cruise Line Solo Traveller Award National Geographic Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth Aka's love for the Arctic manifests in her passions for communicating Arctic history, archaeology, culture, and nature.

Alan Doyle

Job Titles:

Member of the Adventure Canada Team
Author, Musician

Alana Bradley-Swan

Job Titles:

Member of the Adventure Canada Team
Director of Product, Host

Alana is a voracious reader, and believes firmly in lifelong learning. Her favourite way to explore is through local food, and the traditions that accompany it. Alana travelled north for the first time at the age of eleven, taking in the vast Arctic landscape, abundant wildlife, and welcoming communities. Since then Alana has been on the water for most of her life! Alana joined the family business after completing her Bachelor of Social Work degree in 2007. In the office, Alana manages the Operations department and thoroughly enjoys the logistics of making an expedition come together. Most importantly, Alana loves working alongside her family and larger team. Armed with a passion for exploration and community engagement, Alana is dedicated to a sustainable tourism experience. She strives to collaborate with all contributors to foster an experience for passengers and communities that is exciting and meaningful. Alana strongly believes tourism celebrates the exchange of cross-cultural knowledge, as both passengers and hosts are able to learn about each other through the sharing of stories, traditions, language, dance, music, and-of course her favorite-food. Alana sat on the Board of Directors as the Cruise Sector Representative at Nunavut Tourism for two years and continues to actively promote travel in her home country. She is also an active member of the AECO Board of Directors. When Alana isn't on the water, she lives in Port Credit with her family! Awards Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Award Cruise Vision Award USA Today Best Adventure Cruise Line Solo Traveller Award National Geographic Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth

Alexandra Anaviapik

Job Titles:

Member of the Adventure Canada Team
Cultural Educator

Alexandra Blagdon

Job Titles:

Taste of Place Ambassador

Whether deep in the woods picking mushrooms or in a restaurant kitchen, Alexandra feels most at home in the culinary world. Sharing this passion brings her joy. Alexandra grew up hiking the trails that wind along the coast of Newfoundland. Sundays were either spent picking berries with her grandmother, having boil-ups on the beach, or making bread with her mother. As long as Alexandra can remember, these memories of nature have been associated with her longing to become a chef. With these wonderful memories Alexandra travelled the world in hopes of finding the same taste of place in other cultures. She searched European markets, climbed mountains on the west coast of Canada, and ate her way through New York City. However, she eventually realized the fire behind her devotion to preparing and sharing food was back in Newfoundland across the river on the east coast trail, where her patch of wild mushrooms and alder berries were waiting to be picked.

Alina Cheng

Job Titles:

Artist
Business Development & Account Manager
Business Development and Account Manager With

Alina is an artist, bookworm, and lifelong learner. She travels to celebrate the world and all the beautiful people who inhabit it. Alina has always let her curious nature and desire to learn lead her towards adventure. Born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, she grew up loving to dance and practice fine arts. Her passion for history and culture drives her to explore and visit new destinations so she can discover immersive experiences firsthand.

Alysa Procida

Job Titles:

Executive Director, Inuit Art Foundation

Alysa is Executive Director of the Inuit Art Foundation and Publisher of Inuit Art Quarterly, the only magazine devoted to Inuit and Arctic arts. A passionate and dedicated arts advocate, Alysa Procida has worked closely with Inuit artists for the past eight years. In 2015, Alysa joined the Inuit Art Foundation as Executive Director and Publisher of the award-winning Inuit Art Quarterly (IAQ), bringing a wealth of experience with Inuit art and non-profit leadership. Prior to her role with the IAF, Alysa was the Executive Director and Curator of the Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto, ON. Under her leadership, the IAF successfully launched several signature programs including the Igloo Tag Trademark, which protects artists from cultural appropriation and theft; the Inuit Artist Database, an unprecedented biographical resource for artists to receive support in creating online CVs, and the inaugural Kenojuak Ashevak Memorial Award-which supports an established Inuit artist in pursuing an artistic residency. As Publisher of the IAQ, Alysa oversaw a full redesign of the magazine in conjunction with the IAF's thirtieth anniversary in 2017 and the magazine's first National Magazine Award in 2018. Over her career Alysa has written and presented internationally about using both traditional and new media channels to champion Inuit art to new and existing audiences. Her curatorial projects include The Matchbox Gallery: A Retrospective (2014); The Art of Play (2013), showcasing new media including Arctic video games: and Remembering Ovilu Tunnillie (2014). Awards Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Award Cruise Vision Award USA Today Best Adventure Cruise Line Solo Traveller Award National Geographic Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth

Andrew Bresnahan

Job Titles:

Anthropologist

Andrew has worked as an anthropologist on expeditions from Greenland and the Labrador coast across the Northwest Passage to the western Arctic. Andrew (MD, MSc, MPH, FRCGS) was born in Nunatsiavut, on the north coast of Labrador, where he learned and practiced as a resident physician. He did his anthropological fieldwork on social determinants of health in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, and currently works with the expedition teams of Adventure Canada and Students On Ice, and as a Senior Advisor with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Explorers Club of New York, Andrew has worked as an anthropologist throughout Inuit Nunaat, from Greenland and Nunatsiavut across Nunavut to the western Arctic. An avid skier, climber, paddler, and outdoor educator, Andrew is at home on Canada's north coast. Awards Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Award Cruise Vision Award USA Today Best Adventure Cruise Line Solo Traveller Award National Geographic Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth

Andrew Sookrah

Job Titles:

Member of the Adventure Canada Team
Artist

Andrew is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists (Lifetime), the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, the Ontario Society of Artists and the Portrait Society Of Canada. Andrew Sookrah was born in Guyana in 1956. In Georgetown he attended Queen's College where he was recognized for his artistic expression from an early age having won the school's art prize in 1971. At age 16, Andrew started working as a designer and illustrator at Ace Advertisers (Georgetown, Guyana), and quickly moved into the role of the company art director. In 1974 Andrew immigrated to Canada and attended multidisciplinary continuing education programs at the Ontario College of Art (OCA), George Brown College, and Ryerson University. His beginnings in design and illustration opened a life of parallel passions. While continuing to paint and carve out his artistic existence, Sookrah involved himself in advertising and opened Engine Room Creative, a successful design development studio and advertising & marketing agency in Toronto. As the Creative Director of Engine Room, he has worked on provincial and national campaigns, as well as international campaigns in the US and UK. His body of work includes portraiture, figurative, landscape paintings and ceramic sculpture. Sookrah has presented his conceptual / multimedia work at Nuit Blanche in Toronto three times, including "Can Religious Beliefs be Identified From Examining DNA" in 2012. His work is currently being promoted by the Art Gallery of Ontario's Sales and Rental Program and can be found in Corporate and Private Collections in Canada and the US. An active member of the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto for twenty-four years, Sookrah served many terms on the Club's Art Committee and was the convener of its 3rd Floor Sunday Figurative Painting Sessions for nine years. He regularly supports charitable auctions and foundations by donating work to assist in their fundraising efforts, including Gilda's Club, Creative Art GEMS Auction, KidSport Canada, and the Roseneath Foundation, etc. He was also a sponsor of the Student Drawing Award at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (TOAE) at City Hall for five consecutive years. Awards Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Award Cruise Vision Award USA Today Best Adventure Cruise Line Solo Traveller Award National Geographic Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth

Antoine Pigeon-Bourque

Job Titles:

Musician & Cultural Educator

Antoine is a classically trained Québécois musician specializing in piano-accordion and French-Canadian traditional music. Antoine was born and raised in the town of Verchères, Québec along the shores of the Saint Lawrence River. Like the seven generations who came before him, he works as a guide in the tourism industry. Antoine has a strong academic background in music; he graduated in music at Collège de Saint-Laurent and at the faculty of music at the Université de Montréal. Besides his studies of classical music, he comes from a strong family background of traditional Québécois music. His main instrument is piano-accordion, but he also plays the piano, tuba, French-Canadian traditional percussion (which includes spoons, bones, and foot tapping), musical saw, and he sings. Antoine now plays in different bands, including as a musical duo with his father, with whom he plays in folk festivals across North America and Europe. He also works providing entertainment and music therapy to the elderly and people with disabilities. Awards Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Award Cruise Vision Award USA Today Best Adventure Cruise Line Solo Traveller Award National Geographic Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth

Ashley Hamilton

Job Titles:

Kayak Guide

Ashley Kilabuk-Savard

Job Titles:

Expedition Team

Barney Bentall

Job Titles:

Musician

Barney is an award-winning musician and cattle rancher living in Cariboo, British Columbia.

Bill Evans

Job Titles:

Member of the Adventure Canada Team
CFO, Host

Bill is passionate about connecting with people through stories and laughter, and making lasting memories of new experiences together.

Bill Swan

Job Titles:

Partnerships & Sustainability

Bill loves connections and networks-in nature, culture, and people. Travel deepens his appreciation of these intricate weavings, revealing opportunities for a positive and resilient future.

Brenya Green

Job Titles:

Junior Sales Lead

Brenya is a traveler with a passion for learning who believes that every destination offers unique lessons to each of its visitors. Brenya is an intermediate traveler with an educational background in Community & Justice Services, a professional background in Harm Reduction & Social Justice, and a personal passion for tackling climate change. Brenya considers herself an ally of the environment and pursues the unsteady journey of a minimally wasteful lifestyle. She brings this zeal to her working life as an imperative skill of appreciating the beauty that our world presents to us every day. Her authenticity is key to helping those around her see the allure in venturing into areas not commonly travelled.