Kshamta Hunter is Manager of Transformative Learning and Student Engagement within the Sustainability Hub at UBC. In addition to her role, Kshamta is an instructor in the Faculty of Education and a recent recipient of the UBC President’s Service Award for Excellence. With a deep commitment to sustainability and climate action, Kshamta empowers students to lead and learn through immersive community engagement experiences.
Marjo Vierros is currently the director of Coastal Policy and Humanities Research, a Vancouver-based consultancy, and a Senior Policy Associate at the Global Ocean Forum. She has worked for United Nations organizations, universities and NGOs in several countries including in the Caribbean, Central America, Pacific and North America, and has published widely on topics relating to marine governance, marine genetic resources, ecosystem approach, community-based management, and the role of the ocean as an interconnected ecological and cultural space.
Matt Brown is director of Western Watersheds for Swim Drink Fish, and brings nearly two decades of experience working in professional sports, outdoor recreation companies, community organizers and grassroots environmental non-profits. Matt’s watermark is the Green River.
Dr. Soudeh Jamshidian is the director of education and international relations at IISAAK OLAM Foundation, and a strong collaborator at the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership. Experienced in crafting dynamic and creative solutions for addressing environmental and social justice challenges, Soudeh is supporting FCF for developing strategies to collaborate with Indigenous communities and possibly establishing a co-managed IPCA in False Creek.
Zaida Schneider is interested in marine sustainability and its relation to human wellbeing. He has been an educator with postings in two Indigenous communities and a couple of universities, with a focus on media arts. A retired TV journalist, Zaida covered national politics, technology, and social issues.
David Grigg spent the first 25 years of his professional life focused on civil and structural engineering of large infrastructure and industrial projects and moved on to project and facilities management. During the massive expansion of UBC, David focused his work on the then-new concept of “sustainable development – eg, de-escalation of the car culture and improvements to the green spaces, cycling, bus access and rainwater management. Besides his work with FCFS, David is an executive member of the Great Blue Heron Way, a biking and walking route that will reconnect First Nations Communities around the Salish Sea and along the Fraser River on new and existing pathways.
Auston Chhor received a Masters of Science at Carleton University under Dr. Steven Cooke, where he studied how catch-and-release impacts the behaviour of fish. He spent three summers in the field at the Queen’s University Biological Station and the Kenauk Institute where his love of the outdoors deepened, spurring his move out west to Vancouver. Over the course of his career he has had the privilege to study bass, salmon, walleye, and sturgeon, but salmonids hold a special place in his heart.