Board 2026 Nominees 

Elizabeth recently moved back to British Columbia after living in New Zealand for four years, she has also recently completed a Master of Environmental Practice at Royal Roads University and holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Victoria.
She grew up on a farm in Langley, where nature and animals played a huge role in her life from an early age. Elizabeth has always been passionate about the environment and wildlife, and as a long-time vegan, cares deeply about ensuring her actions reflect her values. Since having her daughter earlier this year, protecting and preserving our natural world for future generations has become even more important.
Elizabeth's professional background spans government, sales, communications, and administration. What she enjoys most is working closely with people, bringing as much enthusiasm and positivity as I can to new projects. Elizabeth is very excited about the opportunity to support native bee conservation in BC and contribute to the work of the Native Bee Society of BC.

Matthew is a beekeeper and native bee enthusiast. Between camping trips, and walks through the city, You'll find Matthew netting and photographing bees in his spare time. Matthew is an active member of the Native Bee Society of BC (NBSBC) and hopes to be more involved in the BC Bee Atlas. He loves all insects and is a huge fan of science fiction.

Saad is a Vancouver-based business analyst with experience in digital marketing, fundraising outreach and community events. At BCNET, he supported post-secondary and research institution accounts through reporting and stakeholder coordination. His background includes sustainability-focused market research, e-commerce projects and public-facing event leadership. Through MOSAIC's SCOPE Board Governance Program, he developed his understanding of board responsibilities and accountability. Saad would like to help the Native Bee Society of BC reach new supporters through clear communications and practical fundraising and publicity work, while learning more about native bee conservation.

Christine Thuring is a collaborative ecologist whose career began in environmental science, biology, restoration-, and applied plant ecology. For over 20 years, Christine has worked as an urban ecologist, with special interest in green roofs. She enjoys doing advocacy and education with the Native Bee Society of BC and the Green Roof Infrastructure Network of BC (GRIN), and her consultancy, Ecotone: Restoring Biodiversity, allows her to practice her accreditations of Meadow Maker, Certified Pollinator Steward, Green Roof Professional, and Regenerative Practitioner.

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 plants. She maintains a pollinator garden in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. She has been a tattoo artist for 20+ 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!

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 Melittologist 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 and currently works for a Community Forest. She lives in the heart of BC grassland region, with her two boys. Sky has been with the Society for five years, 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 600+ species of Native Bees - this can be seen in her work for the society and her participation in public education and outreach events.

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.

Jackson is an Abbotsford-based nonprofit leader, finance professional, and environmental sustainability advocate. He is the Founder and President of GoGreen Environmental Health Sustainability Initiatives, a Canadian-incorporated nonprofit advancing climate resilience, environmental education, sustainable natural resource management, and community development.
Jackson holds an MBA from University Canada West, and a certified management specialist from London Graduate School. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Management Accountants as well as Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He brings extensive experience in nonprofit governance, financial stewardship, fundraising, strategic partnerships, and organizational development.
He also serves as a Director on the Abbotsford School District Parent Advisory Council Executive.
Jackson is passionate about community-driven environmental conservation and looks forward to supporting the Native Bee Society of British Columbia

Nina is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia with Dr. Claire Kremen. Nina is a disease ecologist and entomologist interested in how crop pollination events affect viruses in both managed and native bees. She received her PhD in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley with Dr. Michael Boots. Her research focused on viral dynamics in Northern California bees, the evolution of parasite resistance in honeybee breeding and management, and diseases affecting the imperiled western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis). At UBC, she is part of the Perennial Ecosystem Restoration for Carbon Sequestration in Canadian Agricultural Landscapes (PERCS) project, where she is investigating how agricultural diversification at farms in BC influences pollinator diseases. Overall, she is interested in leveraging understandings in ecology to improve the health and wellbeing of bees to help them proliferate into the future. Nina is also an artist who uses a range of mediums to illustrate and express her admiration and reverence for the natural world, including pen and ink, colored pencil, watercolor, linocut print making, zines, and digital illustration.

Sasha graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Master of Science in Zoology in 2022. She now works as an Environmental Compliance Officer at Sumas (Sema:th) First Nation where she supports Indigenous-led conservation and land governance. Sasha has a deep passion for conservation and ecology in general but grew interested in wild pollinators during her thesis research. She can be found photographing bees as flowers emerge in the spring and hiking across the Fraser Valley in the summer. In her spare time, Sasha often can be found at climbing and bouldering gyms or curled up with her cats, enjoying a good book.

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.

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.​

Tyler (He/Him) is a passionate pollinator expert and wildlife ecologist, and original co-founder of the BC Native Bee Society. In 2019, he completed his masters at Simon Fraser University studying pollinators in Garry Oak habitats. Tyler is also developing a native bee board game to promote pollinator conservation and educate people about the diversity of native bees.

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.

Kristin is an environmental professional and strategic leader with 20 years of experience, primarily in the public utilities sector. She brings a broad perspective on integrating environmental priorities into complex organizations and translating them into practical action. Kristin holds a degree in environmental engineering and professional designations as an Applied Science Technologist and Project Management Professional, and is passionate about environmental stewardship and conservation. Her hobbies include gardening for food production, harvesting seeds for exchange through the Surrey Seed Library, and propagating plants.

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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 2024 and is a student in the Master Melittologist Journey level program with Oregon State University. Jane currently serves as the Provincial Apiary Inspector for the Fraser Valley and manages her own small-scale apiary.

Bonnie Zand (She/Her) is an RPBio based out of the Comox Valley, where she runs an entomology consulting buisness, Bonnie’s Bugs. Bonnie has been a member-at-large for the NBSBC since 2022 and is the project lead for the BC Bee Atlas, teaches the NBSBC’s Mini Bee Schools, and leads the Native Bee Study Group. She loves to help others learn how awesome bees are and also contributes to pollinator conservation through outreach to garden clubs, bee clubs, and school groups. Bonnie is excited to be continuing with the board, and helping the BC Bee Atlas grow! 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.

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 (She/Her) is a graduate student studying Public Policy at SFU. With a background in agriculture, her studies focus on food security and food policy. Outside of her studies, she works in community gardens and enjoys knitting and hiking (where she takes many breaks to observe beautiful lichens, mosses, and insects). During her undergraduate studies, she developed an interest in pollinators through a beekeeping course and spent time on a farm in Costa Rica where she helped harvest honey from Africanized and stingless bees. With hands-on experience in community food systems, Kayla brings her skills, energy, and policy perspective to support the BC Native Bee Society to help protect our native bees.

Paula’s (She/Her) interest in wild bees grew as a natural extension to growing food in communities of people and pollinators. She continues to be fascinated by the stunning diversity of wild bees and is particularly interested in how farms and backyard food gardens can support these critical pollinators. Her Sunshine Coast nursery, Buzzing Greens, promotes and sells vegetable plants started from local, open pollinated seeds that offer nourishment and joy in spaces big and small. 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. Her contributions include supporting the creation of resources for the community education program and ensuring financial stability for the society through grants and fundraising.