FBC Staff

Here is our team of full and part-time staff — the people who keep the Fraser Basin Council and our programs running throughout the year. For our office locations, see FBC Offices.

David Marshall

Chief Executive Officer

David Marshall, a professional engineer, has been Chief Executive Officer of the Fraser Basin Council since its foundation in May 1997 and of the predecessor Fraser Basin Management Board from 1993 to 1997.

From 1989 to 1992, David was the Vice-Chairman of GLOBE ’90 and GLOBE ’92, two international conferences and trade fairs focusing on practical solutions to environmental challenges and the business opportunities and responsibilities they represent.

From 1980 to 1990, he was the Regional Director, Pacific, Western and Northern Region, of the Federal Environmental Assessment Review Office (FEARO), the predecessor organization to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. David’s main responsibility was administration of the Canadian Environmental Assessment and Review Process in British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

Included in these responsibilities was management of the largest public inquiry into offshore oil and gas development ever to take place in North America. During this period, he received two separate Merit Awards for his exceptional and distinguished contribution to the effectiveness and efficiency of the Canadian Public Service.

David has participated in coastal zone management, watershed management, environmental assessment and sustainable tourism development initiatives in the Caribbean, Indonesia, The Philippines, Russia, Thailand, China, Iraq and South Korea. He is an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University and, in this capacity, has taught a Masters course on Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.

In May 1998 he received the National River Conservation Award of Merit from the Canadian Heritage Rivers Board.

His professional services have included membership on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Impact Assessment, the Canadian Water Network and the International Centre for Sustainable Cities. In 2001, he chaired the BC Government’s Drinking Water Legislation Review Panel, and from 2006-2010 he chaired the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Board Advisory Committee on Sustainability Performance.

Mahdis Araujo

Program Manager, Sustainable Transportation

Mahdis Araujo is Program Manager, Sustainable Transportation at Plug In BC. She oversees the CleanBC Public Charger Program, the CleanBC Go Electric Fleets Program, the CleanBC Go Electric Rebate Program (formerly SUVI), the EV Advisor Service for Home and Workplace, and the Emotive Program – The Electric Vehicle Experience.

Mahdis is one of the successful mentees of the 2022-2023 Women4Climate Vancouver Mentorship Programme. She is passionate about environmental initiatives, social equity, youth engagement and community building. She is currently leading a research project on barriers to electrification in marginalized communities.

Mary Barrientos*

Team Lead, Public Charger Program

* currently on leave

Claire Borgonos

Finance and Administrative Coordinator

Scott Brown

Program Lead, Northern Interior Region

Eliana Chia

Program Manager, Climate Change

Eliana Chia is the Program Manager for Climate Change at the Fraser Basin Council. Since joining FBC in 2015, she has led the regional climate adaptation program, supported the First Nations Home EnergySave program, and coordinated research and community funding for renewable energy initiatives.

Her work has supported local government collaboration, including the establishment of the Northeast Climate Resilience Network in 2017, for which FBC is secretariat. In 2019-2020, Eliana played an event management role for the Adaptation Canada 2020 national conference hosted by FBC, which attracted over 700 participants. Among other work, she leads a Climate Risk program focused on extreme heat and water scarcity.

Eliana holds a Master’s degree in Planning from UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning and a Bachelor’s degree in International Development from Queen’s University. Prior to joining FBC, she was the community planner for Pauquachin First Nation, worked on neighbourhood social resilience at the City of Vancouver, and initiated a newcomer civic engagement project at the City of Richmond.

Jocelyn Chua

Finance Manager

Jocelyn Chua comes to FBC with over 25 years of progressive work experience in the field of management, accounting and payroll.

Jocelyn has worked previously in non-profit organizations and manufacturing industries. She is a proud member of Chartered Professional Accountants of BC. She is also a member and Subject Matter Expert for National Payroll Institute.

Jocelyn is responsible for the effective management of accounting functions, particularly within identified key priority areas of full cycle accounting, payroll, banking, trust fund management and administration, project accounting and financial claims management and financial reporting.

She works closely with the CFO, Senior Finance Manager, Financial Administrators and the FBC staff team to provide advice, strategic direction and assistance as needed to support the effective financial management of FBC activities.

Alex de Chantal

Regional Manager, Thompson-Okanagan

Sonja Dodig

Youth Program Manager

Sonja Dodig joined the Fraser Basin Council in 2013 and worked on both the Smart Planning for Communities and Climate Change and Air Quality programs. Since 2017 she has managed the Fraser Basin Council Youth Program, scaling up youth engagement and spearheading the initiative, Co-Creating a Sustainable BC, and various storytelling projects.

Sonja is a strong believer in the power of creativity and experimentation. She believes that creative thinking and learning from nature is crucial to solving today’s crises. Through the Youth Program initiatives, Sonja and her team integrate safe spaces for young people to try out and test new ideas for a sustainable future as they imagine it. She brings to FBC a unique combination of skills: extensive design, illustration and communication experience as well as skills in environmental and community planning.

Karen Evangelista

Program Coordinator, Plug In BC

Nicole Gonzalez Filos

Communications Coordinator

Nicole Gonzalez Filos is the Communications Coordinator at the Fraser Basin Council. She supports communications for the Climate Action Toolkit, Realizing UNDRIP Initiative, FBC Youth Program, Salmon-Safe BC and other initiatives.

Nicole holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in Creative Writing from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where she was the Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper, The Runner. Nicole has extensive experience in video production, editing and photography, producing and directing documentary series, such as A Local Journey Through Latin America, on TELUS Optic TV and The Tales of Our Resilience screened at the Vancouver International Film Centre.

Theresa Fresco

Senior Manager, Indigenous Partnerships and Initiatives

Theresa Fresco is the Senior Manager, Indigenous Partnerships and Programs for the Fraser Basin Council.

Prior to this role, Theresa served as the Regional Manager for the Greater Vancouver-Sea to Sky region. Her projects have included managing the Salmon Safe BC program, supporting recreation management strategy processes for the Sea to Sky corridor, and developing new partnerships to advance sustainability projects in the region.

Theresa also served as the Assistant Regional Manager for the Upper Fraser office based in Prince George (2016-2018) and as Program Coordinator for the Watersheds and Water Resources Program, based in the Vancouver office (2012-2016). Her work on watershed sustainability and collaborative watershed governance has included six years of coordination and research support in the formation, launch and operation of the Nechako Watershed Roundtable, a collaborative initiative aimed at protecting and improving the health of the Nechako River Basin. She also served as the manager of the Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable from 2016 to 2017.

Theresa has a Masters degree from the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning and a Bachelors degree in Geography and English Literature from the University of the Fraser Valley. In addition to her research and work experience across BC, she has worked and lived in the Philippines, Ireland, Japan and Mexico.

Darell Gaddie

Program Lead, Community Energy

Denise Palmer Hoskins

Director, Communications

Denise Hoskins is the Communications Director for the Fraser Basin Council (FBC) and serves on the Executive Team. She offers communications advice and support on initiatives and events, and oversees key web, social media and other electronic communications, presentations, internal and external briefings, publications, speeches and media materials. She has played a key role on multiple State of the Fraser Basin Conferences, flood initiatives, sustainability indicators reports and the national conference Adaptation Canada 2020.

Prior to joining FBC, Denise served for over 10 years as the Law Society of BC’s Member Communications Manager, responsible for communications with over 10,000 BC lawyers and articled students and others in the legal community, and she played a key role on Law Week public events, the Legal Wise TV show and launch of major reports and initiatives, such as Gender Equality in the Justice System (Hughes report). Ms. Hoskins previously worked as a legal and policy researcher and writer after completing the Programme d’études françaises et québécoises (Université Lavel) and the Paralegal Studies program (Capilano University),

She believes in sustainability through meaningful action, as well as the importance of respectful, inclusive two-way communications and the need to earn public trust.

Mollie Hunt

Program Lead, Salmon-Safe BC

Bettina Johnson

Program Lead, Interior Regional Programs

Pulkit Kathuria

Program Lead, Charging Infrastructure

Pulkit Kathuria is the Program Lead for the CleanBC Go Electric Public Charger program and oversees rebates for the installation of public charging infrastructure in British Columbia. With extensive experience as an EV advisor, Pulkit has assisted with those responsible in numerous multi-unit residential buildings and workplaces to integrate EV charging solutions.

Pulkit holds a Master of Community and Regional Planning degree from the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Avneet Kaur

Program Coordinator, Plug In BC

Jenny Koss

Assistant Program Manager, Flood Program

Jenny Koss joined the FBC team in 2021.  As Assistant Program Manager, Flood Program, she works on BC flood mapping initiatives and has previously worked on the Lower Mainland Flood Management Strategy initiative and the BC Climate Action Toolkit.

Jenny is a graduate from the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning, having focused her studies on hazard risk reduction.

Steve Litke

Director, Water Programs

Steve Litke is the Director of Water Programs at the Fraser Basin Council, having previously served FBC since 1998 in various roles and capacities.

A primary focus of Steve’s work is on flood management and flood risk reduction. Currently, Steve and his team are coordinating and administering a BC-wide floodplain mapping initiative to develop tools to better understand flood hazards and risks to inform floodplain development regulations and to support wider flood-related planning and resilience. He manages programs that bring together and serve multiple agencies that have flood responsibilities; delivers flood-related communications and public education; and administers a range of technical projects, including those on flood modelling and mapping. Through his work at FBC, Steve has also overseen several State of the Fraser Basin reports, prepared watershed planning guidance, supported watershed roundtables, and developed numerous policy papers.

Steve graduated from Simon Fraser University in 1995 with a Master’s Degree in Resource and Environmental Management. His research focused on community-based assessment of watershed health.

Norie Luzan

Accounting and Administrative Assistant

Rebeka MacDonald

Program Lead, Climate Resilience

Rebeka MacDonald is the Program Lead for Climate Resilience at the Fraser Basin Council. She leads and supports initiatives to bolster the capacity of communities to build resilience and prepare for climate hazards such as extreme heat and water scarcity.

Originally from Peace River, Alberta, Rebeka is of mixed heritage, with European settler roots from her father’s side and Red River Métis lineage from her mother’s side. As a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, she brings a unique and valuable perspective to her work in climate resilience, deeply informed by her heritage and cultural background.

Rebeka holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a specialty in economics and law. Since 2017, she has worked in the non-profit sector in various capacities, with a keen interest in engaging with communities and amplifying voices that are often unheard. Her passion for climate justice drives her work at the Fraser Basin Council, where she is dedicated to implementing nature-based and place-based solutions to address climate challenges and enhance community resilience.

Ilaine Marjoribanks *

Program Lead, Indigenous Partnerships and Initiatives Program

* Currently on leave

Kim Menounos

Senior Regional Manager, Interior Regional Programs

Ana Paula Montalvo

Intern, Grant Development

Niall Murray

Program Administrator, Sustainable Transportation

Zachary Nanji

Program Coordinator, Plug in BC

As a Program Coordinator for the Plug in BC team, Zachary Nanji works on electric vehicle outreach and engagement, which includes communications and events. He also supports incentive programs for EV charging and deployment.

Prior to joining the Fraser Basin Council, Zachary worked in the provincial government on disaster risk management initiatives. He holds a Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs degree from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts in International Development Studies from McGill University.

Hollis Nelson

Program Coordinator, Youth Program

Jessie Ning

Senior Finance Manager

As Senior Finance Manager, Jessie Ning is responsible for the Council’s overall financial record tracking, and she assists the Chief Financial Officer in developing and implementing financial policies and procedures.

Prior to joining FBC in 2009, Jessie worked with companies in legal service, marine shipping, education and mining industries, gaining progressive experience in various areas of full cycle accounting, including project accounting, trust fund and government fund accounting.

Jessie is a graduate of SFU and a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada.

Parisa Pajouhesh

Lead, Human Resources

Erin Pedersen

Program Lead, Climate Change

Tasha Peterson

Regional Program Lead, Northern Interior Region

Patience Rakochy

Program Manager, Northern Interior Region

Patience Rakochy is FBC’s Northern Interior Lead for Air Quality. She supports the Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable (PGAIR), the members of which are working to achieve desired air quality targets for the region.

Patience is a Registered Professional Forester (RPF) and holds a Master of Science in Forestry.

Before joining FBC, she was employed as an Assistant Manager for Forsite Consultant’s Northern Interior Operations. She was responsible for meeting company safety, quality and production goals, managing projects, coordinating human resources and providing leadership. Patience holds safety in the utmost regard and continues to sponsor up-and-coming RPFs. She is an internal COR, BASE and ISEBASE auditor and holds an advanced drone pilot’s licence with an ROC-A.

Patience is an experienced forest tenure manager with skills ranging from forest licence acquisition to development, through to harvesting and reforestation. She has been accountable for developing short and long-term objectives to meet licence obligations that balance forest stewardship goals.

Daniela Rivera Dobles

Assistant Program Manager, Flood Program

Terry Robert

Director, Interior Regional Programs

Terry Robert has been an indispensable staff member of the Fraser Basin Council since 2005, currently serving as the Director of Interior Regional Programs. In this role, he serves on the Executive Team and shoulders significant responsibilities across multiple regions:

Northern Interior Region — Covering approximately 50% of the province, this region spans communities north of Quesnel, including the pivotal hub of Prince George. Terry leads initiatives such as the Nechako Watershed Roundtable and the Collaborative Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Adaptation Project.

Cariboo-Chilcotin Region — Terry focuses on fostering collaborations with the Tsilhqot’in National Government and engaging in ecosystem restoration efforts. He also supports the granting program for BC Local Governments to Advance Biodiversity Conservation on Private Lands and the Williams Lake and Area Community Wildfire Roundtable.

Thompson Region — Encompassing various vital councils and roundtables, such as the Shuswap Watershed Council and the Kamloops Air Quality Roundtable, Terry plays a pivotal role in advancing regional initiatives and partnerships.

North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA) — Additionally, Terry serves as the Executive Facilitator of the NCLGA, an agency for local government elected officials in North Central British Columbia. Representing over 240 elected officials in more than 40 local and First Nation governments, the NCLGA advances regional interests and provides crucial support to its members.

Terry’s journey with FBC began with a focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation. Over the years, he has honed his expertise in engaging with both local and First Nation governments. His approach involves:

• Identifying local and regional priorities

• Facilitating collaboration and knowledge-sharing

• Providing essential resources and training

• Leading strategic planning endeavours to tackle common challenges

• Building and nurturing collaborative partnerships with First Nations to ensure their perspectives are integrated into regional planning and resource management

• Promoting cultural sensitivity and fostering an inclusive environment within project teams and among stakeholders

• Assisting in capacity-building for sustainable resource management through training and access to resources

• Advancing conflict resolution strategies

Terry holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management and a Master’s degree in public education and engagement on complex resource management issues. His diverse skill set includes public engagement, multi-stakeholder facilitation, strategic project leadership, organizational development, policy analysis, conflict resolution, collaborative problem-solving, executive management and leadership.

Adriana Ruso

Chief Financial Officer

Adriana Ruso, B.Sc., CGA, MBA is the Chief Financial Officer at the Fraser Basin Council where she oversees finance and administration and serves on the Executive Team.

Adriana has previously held various finance and executive roles at Ecotrust Canada (an NGO), Simon Fraser University and Telus Communications Inc. Throughout her career, she has had the opportunity to lead or participate in strategic initiatives that have benefitted from her exceptional analytical and problem-solving abilities, negotiations techniques and leadership skills.

Adriana draws on her background in engineering and accounting/finance to bring rigour and professionalism to her work.

Lindsay Sackett

Program Coordinator, Youth Program

Lindsay Sackett works for the Fraser Basin Council as a Program Coordinator supporting the Youth Program, with a focus on Co-Creating a Sustainable BC (CCSBC) Initiative.

Lindsay started her role with FBC in the Northern Interior region office where she worked on projects related to air quality, supported the expansion of the CCSBC initiative to include a Northern-Central BC cohort and lead the first Northern BC Solid Waste Management Forum. Prior to joining FBC, Lindsay worked as an environmental consultant with a specific focus on waste management.

Lindsay holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Guelph, as well as a Post-Graduate degree in Sustainable Business Management from Conestoga College.

Originally from Southern Ontario, Lindsay is happy to now call beautiful British Columbia her home, and currently lives and works from the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Nation.

Michael Stanyer

Manager, Communications

Cherry Tam

Regional Manager, Fraser Valley Region

Cherry Tam is Regional Manager for the Fraser Valley and the Manager, Youth Initiatives for the Fraser Basin Council. She joined FBC in 2018 as the Youth Program Assistant and subsequently served as Youth Program Lead before taking up her current role. She has worked on multiple youth programs, including the multi-year Co-Creating a Sustainable BC.

Cherry graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Sciences and has hands-on experience working in environmental education and community outreach. Passionate about creating positive change, she strives to make a meaningful impact in the world and values the connections she builds with others in the process. She strongly believes in the power of bringing people with diverse viewpoints together on solutions.

Mercy Tamonte

Team Lead, Finance

Jean-Michel (J-M) Toriel

Program Lead, EV Advisory (Plug In BC)

J-M Toriel is the Program Lead for EV Advisory and the Emotive Program Coordinator at Plug in BC. An EV driver since 2015, J-M has worked in the EV charging sector since its inception. He supports the Plug in BC team and has been integral to the Public Charger Program and Community Outreach Program. He is devoted to providing advice to stratas and businesses on how to become EV Ready for the EV revolution already upon us.

J-M holds an MBA from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute from the first Sustainable Business Program with a mission to “Change Business for Good.” He has an Honours BA in Political Science from the School of Community and Public Affairs at Concordia University.

With a passion to “electrify everything,” J-M initiated BC’s first community PV rooftop solar project, designed Canada’s first EV charging parkade, and started his own EV charging business. Originally from Montreal with an international background, he is trilingual (English, French and Spanish), a die-hard Habs fan, and someone who takes inspiration daily from his family and the opportunities they have in Vancouver to walk, bike and get out in nature.

Jim Vanderwal

Director, Operations and Climate Change Programs

Jim Vanderwal is the Director responsible for Fraser Basin Council Operations and for overseeing the Climate Change and Air Quality Program. He serves on the Executive Team.

Jim has held progressively senior roles at the Council since 1999, developing new initiatives related to river management, stakeholder engagement, energy and emissions planning, climate change adaptation, green fleet management and clean energy development.

Jim was the lead staff person in the development of E3 Fleet, Canada’s green fleet certification program and various other clean transportation initiatives, including Plug in BC, which supports electric vehicle uptake throughout BC. He also has worked extensively with local governments and First Nations to develop and implement clean energy and climate adaptation initiatives.

Jim completed a B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and worked in research and development capacities in the telecommunications sector. He completed a M.Sc. in Resource Management from the University of British Columbia, specializing in the development of public processes that link technical research with broad public engagement.

Balakrishnan (Bala) Venkata

Program Lead, Zero Emission Fleets

Balakrishnan (Bala) serves as Program Lead, Zero Emission Fleets for Plug in BC.

Bala is an automotive engineer/research analyst and sustainability enthusiast who has spent four years in research and business consulting for the automotive industry, having worked on various topics such as future of automotive technology, digital vehicle retail, future evolution of sedans and SUVs, while also compiling data for an automotive start-up database and supplier benchmarking study.

Apart from research and consulting, he was instrumental in the design and prototyping of a three wheeled cargo electric vehicle for use in collecting municipal waste. His contributions included reducing the materials required and time taken to fabricate the vehicle, while making it more compact and functional.

Balakrishnan holds a Master of Science degree in Automotive Systems Engineering from Loughborough University, U.K., and Bachelor of Technology in Automobile Engineering from SRM University, India.

Erin Vieira

Associate Regional Manager, Thompson

Erin is the Associate Regional Manager for the Thompson Region. She has been with the Fraser Basin Council since 2007.

Erin has 15 years experience in natural resource program management and planning, community engagement and education, and facilitation. She has worked with a variety of groups, organizations, governments, and industry sectors on issues such as fisheries, recreation and trails, air quality, sustainable development and community planning, environmental stewardship and the non-profit sector, watershed management and water quality. Erin is FBC’s lead staff person on the Shuswap Watershed Council, a watershed-based partnership to maintain and enhance water quality in the Shuswap watershed. In that role, Erin developed, leads and facilitates several collaborative initiatives for water quality monitoring, water quality reporting, aquatic invasive species prevention, water quality protection, safe boating and water-based recreation, and community engagement.

Erin has a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Resource Sciences from Thompson Rivers University (2006).

Guilherme (Gil) Wachholz

IT Help Desk Technician

Erin Weckworth

Regional Manager, Greater Vancouver – Sea to Sky

Jane Wellburn

Regional Manager, Cariboo-Chilcotin

Frances Woo*

Program Manager, Flood Program

* currently on leave

Since joining the Fraser Basin Council in 2019, Frances Woo has worked on initiatives related to flood management, including the Lower Mainland Flood Management Strategy initiative, a series of investigations on flood management issues in BC, and floodplain mapping projects in BC.

Prior to FBC, she was a policy planner at the Toronto and Regional Conservation Authority and at the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs, with a focus on land use, environmental, and hazard policy and regulation.

Frances has a master’s degree in Planning from the University of Toronto and a B.A. in Sociology and English from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Registered Professional Planner (BC) and a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

Lin Zhang

Manager, Financial Reporting

Sybil Zhang

Program Lead, Community Energy

Sybil Zhang is the Program Lead for the Energy Peers in Indigenous Communities Network at the Fraser Basin Council. She previously served as the School and Education Lead for the FBC Youth Program and Coordinator for the First Nations Home EnergySave Program where she developed capacity-building initiatives through education and training.

Before joining Fraser Basin Council, Sybil worked with local and international academic institutions and startup ecosystems, supporting students and emerging business leaders. Notable projects include the Canada China Open Innovation Forum with SFU Innovates, EduHacks and the C2CAN Network, which contributed to the growth and development of diverse communities.

Sybil holds a Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing and Communication from the City University of Hong Kong and a Bachelor’s degree in Earth and Ocean Science from the University of British Columbia.