CMI Board of Directors
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jeremy Ayotte, Salmon Arm
Jeremy Ayotte is a biologist with his company Phyla Biological Consulting. Jeremy lives in Salmon Arm where he works with a variety of species and ecological systems. He completed a Masters of Science through The University of Northern BC working on the ecological role of mineral licks for moose, elk, Stone’s sheep, and mountain goats in northern BC. Jeremy is currently an ecological reserve warden for a wetland fen complex near his home in the Larch Hills that is known for its rare assemblage of orchids. Recent work includes 3 years as the provincial coordinator for the BC Sheep Separation Program, working to mitigate the risk of respiratory disease transmission from domestic sheep to wild sheep across BC, including bighorn herds in the Columbia Basin. Jeremy’s interests also include youth outdoor education and he is a founding director of the Shuswap Outdoor Learning Foundation.
Marc-André Beaucher, Wynndel
Marc-André travelled to the Kootenays in 1995 from Sherbrooke, Quebec, where he grew up. He worked as a consulting biologist for a few years before taking on a biologist position at the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area, in 2003. Since that time, Marc-André has expanded his understanding and knowledge of wetlands, in particular freshwater marshes and has gained valuable skills in wetland management and restoration. He is now the Head of Conservation Programs, and his work encompasses a wide variety of activities ranging from wildlife monitoring, water quality assessment, water level manipulations and infrastructure management, to administrative and human resource activities, communications, public relations, and land and assets management. In his free time, Marc-André enjoys watching and photographing birds and wildlife, and spending time in the great outdoors with his family.
Marc-André is a Registered Professional Biologist (B.C. College of Applied Biologists) and holds a B.Sc. in Applied Zoology from McGill University (1996) and a M.Sc. in Environment and Management from Royal Roads University (2005).
Marc-André is currently the President of the Columbia Mountains Institute.
Kevin Bollefer, Revelstoke
Kevin is the General Manager at the Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation. He is a Registered Professional Forester and a Registered Professional Biologist who has been in the forest sector for almost 30 years, while working for the community forest for 19 years. At RCFC, Kevin and his team strive to improve forestry practices through alternative harvesting by mimicking natural systems in the area. He enjoys taking people into the field to see what can be accomplished with forest management in the Revelstoke area. Kevin graduated from the University of Victoria in Biology and Environmental Studies and moved to Revelstoke in 1997.
Kevin is currently the Treasurer for the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology.
Catherine Craig, Revelstoke
Catherine Craig is a wildlife biologist based in Revelstoke, BC, and has been studying birds in various locations within North and Central America since 2003. She currently works as a biologist for Hemmera. She completed her B.Sc. (Earth Science and Environmental Studies) at the University of Victoria and her M.Sc. (Biology) at Acadia University. Her M.Sc. research focused on the nest-site selection and nest survival (breeding success) of Black-backed and American Three-toed Woodpeckers in managed forest landscapes. More recently, she has worked on multiple studies of breeding and migratory birds using habitat within fluctuating hydroelectric reservoirs. When not following birds around, you can find Catherine out on her bike or skis around Revelstoke.
Catherine is currently the Secretary for the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology.
Brett Elmslie, Revelstoke
Brett is based in Revelstoke, BC and is a Biologist with Associated Environmental (AE). Brett has 10 years of experience in the environmental sector with a diverse background in environmental planning, project management, aquatic biology, wildlife surveys and environmental management. As an Ontario transplant, Brett has lived in the southern interior since 2017. Prior to joining AE, he was the Lead Biologist at Shearing Consultants Limited in Revelstoke and the Fish & Fish Habitat Program Manager for the Elk River Alliance in Fernie, BC.
Brett graduated with a B.Sc. (Honours) in Marine & Freshwater Biology from the University of Guelph and a M.Sc. in Biology from Queen’s University. His master’s thesis explored the response of phototropic communities to climate warming over the last 11,000 years in northeastern Ontario. When not at work, you can find Brett hiking, biking, and exploring the surrounding mountains with his camera in tow!
Doris Hausleitner, Nelson
Doris moved to Nelson in 2004 where she started her consulting company, Seepanee Ecological Consulting. Prior to that she completed her B.Sc. at the University of Anchorage Alaska and a MSc. at the University of Idaho studying a population of Greater Sage-grouse in Colorado. Her work in the west Kootenays has focused primarily on species at risk. Some of her favorite projects have been a radio-telemetry study of Western Screech-owls, Western toad migration and most recently, a long term project on wolverine, using non-invasive techniques such as genetic hair snagging and track monitoring to find female denning locations. In addition to running research projects, she teaches applied wildlife science, ecology and restoration techniques at Selkirk College in Castlegar. She enjoys the bounty of the west Kootenay gardens and playing in the back-county with friends and family.
Renae Mackas, Nelson
Renae moved with her family to Nelson in 2018, where she works as an aquatics and fisheries biologist with Masse Environmental. Her work has largely focused on permitting, environmental management, and environmental monitoring in aquatic systems. Renae completed her B.Sc. at Biology at Simon Fraser University. Prior to her time working as an environmental consultant, Renae spent time as part of a team studying sockeye salmon population genetics in southwest Alaska, researching different migration strategies in American dipper in the Chilliwack River system, and working in the environmental education field and as a middle school Biology teacher in Mexico.
Renae is currently the Vice-President of the Columbia Mountains Institute.
Marcy Mahr, Hills
Marcy Mahr is an ecologist living in the Slocan Valley who has spent the past three decades working in mountain ecosystems throughout western North America. Whether she’s tracking western toads by headlamp, mucking around wetlands, or mapping landscapes, Marcy’s passion for nature has been her compass. Her interest in biodiversity conservation took hold in the early 1990s while she was researching riparian communities in southwestern Montana for her M.Sc. in Plant Ecology from the University of Vermont. Her early work in ecosystem science for the US Forest Service and University of Montana’s Wildlife Spatial Analysis Lab, combined with grizzly bear habitat research in Central Idaho with the Craighead Wildlife-Wildlands Institute, strengthened her scientific skills and strategic abilities to analyze at-risk species and habitats at multiple landscape scales. In 1999, these experiences led her to join the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative where she helped build the scientific foundation of the Y2Y region as a globally significant wildlife corridor. For the past 15 years, Marcy has been working as an independent ecologist and consultant through her company, EcoMosaic. During this time, she’s also been working for the Kootenay Conservation Program in various capacities that support habitat protection and stewardship. Currently, she is co-leading Kootenay Connect, an inspiring initiative to conserve a regional network of 12 ecological corridors that sustain biodiversity, ecological connectivity, and climate change refugia in the Kootenays.
Marcy enjoys hiking, kayaking, Nordic skiing, and making jam. She lives with her family on a small fruit and veggie farm with a herd of mischievous dairy goats who thankfully don’t fit in her kayak.
Mike Miller, Vernon
Mike Miller is a plant ecologist based in Vernon, where he moved in 2009 after several years in India, Regina, Kingston, Victoria, and Revelstoke. Mike got his start as a naturalist in the 1980s working for Parks Canada in the summers and tromping around the jungles of Asia and Latin America during the off-season. After obtaining a Ph.D. in plant ecology (specializing in the demography and population dynamics of Calochortus spp.) from the University of Victoria in 2004, he worked as a freelance botanical consultant for over a dozen years before joining the environmental research firm LGL Limited as Senior Vegetation Ecologist in 2012.
Mike’s research and work has focused on a range of topics including the conservation and management of plant species at risk, the responses of shoreline vegetation to reservoir drawdown/filling cycles, wetland restoration, and reclamation effectiveness monitoring in the oilsands region. Current projects include several multi-year studies for BC Hydro on revegetation effectiveness within the drawdown zones of the Kinbasket and Arrow Lakes Reservoirs, and assisting the BC Wildfire Service in the development of a rapid ecological assessment process for fire-affected watersheds. Mike and his wife Simone have two teenaged boys who love skiing at Silverstar and biking through the grasslands outside their back door in beautiful Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park.
Randy Moody, Kimberley
Randy is a Kimberley based whitebark and limber pine recovery specialist. He has worked on related conservation and restoration projects throughout British Columbia. Randy also has experience with industrial and small-scale native plant restoration and reclamation, including hydroelectric reservoirs. In addition, he has managed and implemented terrestrial ecosystem mapping projects over his career as an ecologist. Randy holds a Masters degree in Forest Science as well as a Bachelors degree in Natural Resources Conservation from UBC and is a registered Professional Biologist. In addition to his biology work Randy runs a small honeybee operation in the Kimberley region.
Brendan Wilson, Shoreacres
Brendan Wilson is an instructor and research scientist in Selkirk College’s School of Environment & Geomatics and Selkirk Innovates, where he has taught since 2001.
Originally from the Bow Valley in Alberta, Brendan has had a life-long interest in subalpine and timberline forest communities. He completed a B.Sc. Hons. in Applied Environmental Biology at the University of Technology in Sydney, where he examined the effect of selective harvesting on understory plant communities in an Australian subalpine forest. He completed his PhD at the University of Alberta, studying regeneration dynamics of alpine larch.
Over the past 20 years Brendan and his students have worked on whitebark pine conservation, species at risk assessment, white pine blister rust monitoring, species distribution modelling, prescribed fire and forest fuel treatment work, and using remotely sensed imagery to aid with these projects.
Brendan currently teaches Ecosystem Management, Systems Ecology, Applied Research Methods, and Spatial Statistics.
ADMINISTRATION
Hailey Ross, Revelstoke
Hailey Ross became the CMI’s Executive Director in the summer of 2013. Her educational background includes a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University, an honours degree in social anthropology, and a degree in International Development. Hailey’s academic and work experience have focused mainly on human relationships with the natural environment, stemming from her interest in the integration of natural and social sciences to solve challenges in environmental management and stewardship of natural places.
Hailey made Revelstoke her home in 2009, eager to be back in the mountains. Keen to be involved in her field of environmental education and community development, Hailey has worked with numerous ENGO’s in the Revelstoke area such as the North Columbia Environmental Society and the Revelstoke Local Food Initiative. In addition to her work with CMI, Hailey continues to work in the realm of food security. Prior to moving to Revelstoke, Hailey worked in a diversity of fields and environments such as farming in Alberta, international aid in East Africa, social science assessments in Banff National Park, and leadership development in Nova Scotia. When not working, she’s likely chasing after her two kids, tending to her garden, and soaking up the beauty of our mountain environment and the diversity of recreational opportunities it offers.
Theresa Tremaine, Nelson
Theresa joined CMI as a Program Assistant in April 2026, bringing a strong background in communications, administration, and community development. Theresa worked with a variety of non-profit organizations, including local stewardship groups, where she built a solid foundation in community engagement and deepened her interest in environmental initiatives.
Theresa lived in the Slocan Valley with her family for 18 years before relocating to Nelson in 2025. In her spare time, she enjoys climbing, skiing, hiking with family and friends, and growing food. Grateful for the opportunity to live in a rural setting close to forests and to be part of a close-knit community, she is passionate about volunteerism, food security, and protecting the rich biodiversity of the Columbia Basin and beyond.
In her role as Program Assistant, Theresa looks forward to continuing to expand her knowledge in the conservation field and engaging with the broader ecological community.
