Pathways in EEB: Career Webinar Panel Discussion Q&A

Speaker Bios:

Gillian Chow-Fraser: Gillian has spent almost a decade within the environmental non-government organization sector working for national and provincial non-profits on conservation issues including: woodland caribou recovery, wood bison recovery, Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, oilsands tailings and old-growth forestry. She completed her Masters degree at the University of Victoria in woodland caribou ecology, before quickly jumping into the non-profit sector. She specializes in strategic planning and communications for advancing conservation based on scientific evidence and community priorities, with experience engaging with communities directly to better understand needs, co-developing research programs, creating knowledge exchange products, and leading public advocacy campaigns to push government action on the biodiversity and climate change crises.  Most recently, she worked for the Bulkley Valley Research Centre as an Extension Specialist, where she worked directly with forest practitioners to create resources that translated scientific information to make on-the-ground decision-making that prioritizes diverse ecological and social values easier.

Katie Goodwin: As an Applied Vegetation Ecologist at SwampDonkey Solutions, Katie is Part-Researcher and Part-Restoration Practitioner. She develops, tests, and evaluates restoration projects to ensure they effectively kickstart succession and restore ecological processes in boreal forests of western Canada. She also studies vegetation responses to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. As a consultant, she works with First Nations, community groups, governments, research entities, and private companies to support ecosystem restoration, land use planning, and land management decision making. Prior to her current position, Katie worked for the BC Ministry of Forests, completed her PhD in Botany at UBC, and MSc in Geography at MUN. 

Kelly Zenkewich

Kelly Zenkewich is a strategic communications leader at Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, where her passion lies at the intersection of advocacy, science communication, and storytelling. With a background in biological sciences and nearly a decade in non-profit communications, plus earlier years in journalism, she specializes in translating complex science into compelling narratives that mobilize action and influence policy through targeted campaigns and digital engagement. Outside of work, Kelly follows trends in online culture, enjoys video games, and can often be found tracking deer and moose in the fall.

Javier Ibarra-Isassi (pronunciation: ha-vee-err eeh-bah-rah eeh-sah-see) Pronouns: he/him: Javier completed his PhD in Biology at Concordia University in Montreal. His doctoral research focused on trying to understand what determines biodiversity patterns. Specifically, he studied how ant traits vary across the world and across environmental gradients. He also studied how agricultural practices influence multiple facets of ant diversity. During his PhD at Concordia, he realized the need to develop his professional skills beyond his technical and academic ones. This led him to take different workshops and participate in other events for professional development available at the university and eventually became a workshop instructor within Concordia’s School of Graduate Studies. After a few years as an instructor, he became the Coordinator of Graduate Research and Thesis Support programs at Concordia. From this position, he helps the graduate student and postdoctoral community achieve their goals through overseeing different academic support and professional development programs. He is a member of the Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Network and the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies. When he is not working, he likes to walk with his dog around the city and nearby parks, and try new ingredients and restaurants.

There will be a total of 4 presentations, leaving a 20 minute Q&A period from the audience.