Board 2026 Nominees 

Aeryn (she/her) is an avid hiker, camper, rock climber, and all-around outdoor enthusiast! She is originally from Toronto, but moved to Vancouver about 7 years ago to pursue her mountain-filled dreams. She holds a BSc in environmental sciences from The University of Guelph and a MSc in landscape ecology from The University of British Columbia. She aims to bring an interdisciplinary lens to sustainability initiatives, while promoting place-based, community-focused approaches.

Kayla Buttress is a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Sustainable Agriculture from Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Richmond, British Columbia. She is passionate about preserving native biodiversity and supporting ecosystem services to promote sustainability. During her studies, she explored Indigenous approaches to agriculture and developed an interest in pollinators through a beekeeping course. Recently, she spent time on a farm in Costa Rica where she had the opportunity to assist with the harvest of Africanized and stingless bee honey. Kayla has hands-on experience working on organic farms and in community food systems, and is eager to contribute her skills, energy, and perspective to support the Native Bee Society in protecting BC’s native bees.

Nikki is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and has an extensive background in accounting and finance.  She dedicated twelve years of her professional career to working in the non-profit sector for a registered charity.  Nikki joined the Native Bee Society of BC as Treasurer in February 2022, combining her enthusiasm for bees with her love of numbers.   Nikki and her husband live in Dawson Creek, BC with their two teenage sons.  When she is not "crunching the numbers", she can be found working in her garden or at the school gymnasium cheering on her son's basketball team.   

Gwendolyn is a citizen scientist, melittology student, and lifelong artist. She comes from a family of avid gardeners, and has a special interest in PNW native herbaceous plants. She maintains a pollinator garden in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, and cultivates native seeds to distribute to the community.  She is the owner of a tattoo studio in downtown Victoria for the last 15 years, and specializes in illustrative botanical/nature design, and graphic design. She uses her artist platform to educate the community and regularly fundraises for various conservation programs with a focus on pollinators. She has a special passion for bees and their favourite native plants!

Paula’s interest in wild bees grew as a natural extension to her passion for gardening for people and pollinators through her work with Hives for Humanity, a non-profit society based in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Now enrolled in Oregon State University’s Master Melittologist program, she never fails to be amazed by the amazing biodiversity of bees and their associated plants in the Pacific Northwest and is particularly interested in how farms and backyards can support these critical pollinators. Her nursery, Buzzing Greens, focuses on vegetable plants and herbs started from local, open pollinated seeds that offer joy and nourishment in the smallest of spaces.
Paula has been a member of the Native Bee Society of BC since its founding in 2019 and joined the Board of Directors in 2020. For the past two years, Paula has been thrilled to co-chair the board alongside Christine Thuring. For 2026, Paula aims to contribute to the Society’s education and outreach programming and to its ongoing financial stability through grants and fundraising.

Tyler Kelly is a passionate wildlife ecologist, living in Vancouver BC. He has spent most of his career studying the interactions between pollinators and plants. Since 2020, has worked as the laboratory manager for Dr. Claire Kremen at the Biodiversity Research Centre at the University of British Columbia. In this role, he has helped many graduate students design and implement research studies focused on the conservation of wildlife in agroecosystems. They work to understand how agriculture impacts the movement, biodiversity, and abundance of animals in these landscapes and the ways in which we can better support their populations. Finally, for the past few years he has been developing a native bee board game to promote pollinator conservation and educate people about the diversity of native bees.

Jane (she/they) is a native bee enthusiast and professional beekeeper based in Vancouver. She has worked in the apiculture industry since 2019 and is dedicated to changing beekeeping practices and culture to help mitigate the impact of honeybee hives on wild bee species. She has been volunteering with the NBSBC since spring of 2024 and is a student in the Master Melittologist Journey level program with Oregon State University.  Jane is the NBSBC's current secratary and serves as the Provincial Apiary Inspector for the Fraser Valley while managing her own small-scale apiary. 

Christine Thuring is a founding director of the Society and was an active volunteer right from the start. She co-established and continues to co-edit The Quarterly Buzz newsletter. In 2021-2022, Christine served as Secretary. She has in 2025 served a third (and final) term as co-chair with Sky Jarvis.
With a background in environmental science and plant biology, Christine is passionate about native bees, green roofs and climate action. While her career began in applied plant ecology, for the last 20 years Christine has worked predominantly in the urban context. As a Green Roof Professional and a Meadow Maker, she is committed to enhancing conditions for biodiversity, including the built environment.

Maureen has worked for many years at the University of British Columbia and Emily Carr University of Art + Design in the field of adult continuing education. Now she is passionate about learning more about BC’s incredible biodiversity, and donating her time to organizations working to further environmental conservation, restoration, education and advocacy.​

Valerie is a restoration botanist and native plant conservation advocate with a keen interest in pollination networks. She lives in Nelson BC and is a founding member (and current treasurer) of the Kootenay Native Plant Society. She is fascinated by complexity of plant-pollinator relationships, and is involved in numerous restoration projects with a pollinator focus.  
Valerie is interested in bringing a plant perspective and expertise to the conversation about native bee conservation, as she strongly believes that they go hand in hand and is excited by the potential for cross-pollination.

Kristen Penhall has been studying bees for over ten years. What started out as an interest in honeybees grew into a passion for all bees. They have taken various bee courses, is a Journey Level Master Mellitologist through Oregon State University and through that program is contributing to the B.C. Bee Atlas. When they are not geeking out over bees they can be found climbing, in nature, or hanging out with their dog Charlie.

Sky graduated from the Faculty of Forestry at UBC in 2021 and currently works for a Community Forest in the rural town of Barrière. She currently lives in Kamloops, in the heart of BC grassland region, with her son, Cedar. Sky has been with the Society for four years, starting as a member-at-large before transitioning to the Secretary role for the past two years, she is excited to step into the co-chair role for the next two years. Sky has helped get the Society affiliated with BC Nature and Bee City Canada - she looks forward to strengthening and expanding these connections with other organizations as the Society moves forward with its provincial BC Bee Atlas. Sky holds a profound appreciation for Nature, especially BC's 500+ species of Native Bees - this can be seen in her work for the society and her participation in public education and outreach events.

Bonnie Zand is an RPBio based out of the Comox Valley, on Vancouver Island. She works in the intersections of pollinators and agriculture, running an IPM consulting company, Bonnie’s Bugs IPM. Bonnie is the BC instructor for the Master Melittolgist Program and also teaches the NBSBC’s Mini Bee Schools. She loves to help others learn how awesome bees are, and is passionate about the societies BC Bee Atlas. Bonnie also contributes to pollinator conservation through outreach to garden clubs, bee clubs, and school groups.
Bonnie is excited to be continuing with the board for a fifth year, and intends to continue to run the Native Bee Study Group, support the BC Master Melittologist program, lead the BC Bee Atlas and help with grant writing for to the society.

Lincoln leads the Oregon Bee Atlas and Master Melittologist programs in the faculty of Horticulture and through Extension at Oregon State University. He hosts an annual BC Native Bee Course in the southern Okanagan, Canada's bee biodiversity hotspot. Stay tuned for details about the 2025 course.