Meet the HAT Team

Based on Vancouver Island, on the traditional and unceded territories of the W̱SÁNEĆ, SC’IȺNEW, and T'Sou-ke Nations, lək̓ʷəŋən peoples (Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations) and the many other Coast Salish peoples who have lived in relationship with and stewarded these lands since time immemorial and continue to live in relationship with the Land today. We are a driven team of individuals who are passionate about protecting, preserving, and restoring the incredible ecosystems in our region.

  • Previously, Kevin spent nearly 18 years at Ducks Unlimited Canada, where he managed the National Boreal Program, focusing on Indigenous-led conservation. His tenure previously included roles as Senior Remote Sensing Analyst. Kevin holds a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Cornell University. His career is marked by significant contributions to conservation, sustainable development, and environmental management.

  • Julianna is of Hungarian, German, Ukrainian, and Polish descent and is currently living in the unceded territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən W̱SÁNEĆ Nations. She is a University of Victoria graduate with a BSc. in Biology and a minor in Environmental Studies. Julianna became involved with HAT in 2022 working as the Office Administrator and is now the Wildlife Stewardship Coordinator. In her free time, Julianna loves spending her time exploring beaches and forests with her dog, and practicing yoga.

  • Paige is of Icelandic and Irish descent raised near Showe’luqun (Shawnigan Lake) in Quw’utsun territory. In 2011, Paige first became involved with HAT through a turtle. Since then she was hooked, joining HAT as the Conservation Intern in 2012. After holding various roles at HAT, Paige settled into the Stewardship Coordinator role in 2015. Now Paige manages HAT’s growing Stewardship programs. In her spare time, Paige can be found in her garden or coordinating talks as co-chair of the Native Plant Study Group.

  • Emily is of Italian and Scottish descent and was born and raised on Mississaugas of the Credit territory near Toronto, Ontario. She has an honours BA in English from Laurier University and a diploma in Ecosystem Management from Fleming College. She has gained experience in environmental education and community stewardship working with the High Park Nature Centre, helping to restore rare Black Oak Savannah Ecosystem in an urban space. She is passionate about helping people connect with nature, and enthusiastic about continuing stewardship work as a part of the HAT team!

  • Shania is of French, Scottish, and Metis descent and grew up on the territories of the Lekwungen-speaking peoples. She has a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Victoria and has been working in the environmental non-profit world since graduating, particularly in communications and capacity building. In her spare time, you can find her looking at birds, doing a crossword, or getting crafty with some yarn.

  • Vanessa is of primarily German and Scottish ancestry and grew up on Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Tsleil-Waututh territory. She moved to Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ territory in 2015 to pursue a BA in Environmental Studies and Sociology from the University of Victoria. She then moved on to complete a Diploma in Restoration of Natural Systems. Vanessa became involved with HAT working on the restoration crew in 2022 and is now the Administration & Communications Coordinator.

  • Max was born and raised on traditional Mi’kmaq territory in area known as the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia; famous for its apple blossoms and high tides. After many years spent crisscrossing the country to plant trees during the summers in the remote corners of northern British Columbia, Max finally made the full-time move to the West Coast in 2019. He has a BA Honours degree in Development Studies and Political Science from St. Francis Xavier University, having written his undergraduate thesis on the role of Participatory Community Radio in natural resource-based social movements in rural Ghana. Max’s first became involved with HAT as a member of the Restoration Crew in 2021, working in the field to restore Garry Oak habitat throughout the region. He is now the coordinator of the Habitat Restoration Program.

HAT’s Field Crew

  • Lauren is of Scottish, French, and Italian descent and grew up on the traditional, unceded territories of the Anishinaabe Algonquin People. She holds an Outdoor Adventure Naturalist diploma from Algonquin College and recently graduated from the University of Victoria with a BSc double major in Geography and Environmental Studies. Embarking on her third season on the restoration crew, Lauren is excited to continue deepening her knowledge of ecosystem stewardship and to further strengthen her relationships with both the community and the land. In her free time, you can find her in her garden, racing sail boats, on her bike, or adventuring around the island.

  • Jules is of Italian ancestry and grew up on Treaty 13 lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and shared traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and the Haudenosaunee. She now lives and works on the territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. 

    With a background in both fine arts (BFA, Emily Carr University of Art and Design) and ecological restoration (Restoration of Natural Systems Certificate, in progress at the University of Victoria), Jules applies an interdisciplinary perspective that informs her approach to environmental stewardship. She is committed to fostering respectful relationships with the land and all living kin, and is continually exploring ways to support ecological care and community well-being.

    When she’s not ID’ing plants and fungi, you can find her bike touring, tending to her garden, flipping compost, giggling with her buddies or splashing in the ocean. 

    This is Jules’ first season with the HAT field crew, and she’s so excited to be part of the team. 

  • With Philippino and mixed-European ancestry, Chelsea was born and raised on K'ómoks territory and moved to lək̓ʷəŋən territory to attend UVic. After completing a degree in geography and political science, focusing on ecology and environmental justice, Chelsea worked various farm/nursery/parks jobs on the island and in Australia before landing on the HAT restoration field crew in 2023.  She finds a lot of joy in working outdoors and loves applying her skills to meaningful stewardship and restoration work. In her spare time, Chelsea might be found hiking, reading, or coercing knowledgeable friends into teaching her about birds, bugs, and native plants.

  • Hannah has lived her life on the territories of the Lkwungen and WSANEC peoples and is of Romanian, Italian, and British descent. She has an undergraduate degree in Biology, wherein she researched leafhopper ecology and genetics. She has spent her post-graduation years restoring Oak and Eucalypt savannah habitats and surveying the birdlife of Vancouver Island. This is their third season working on the Field Crew, applying their passion for biodiversity conservation to removing invasives and allowing space for human and nonhuman inhabitants to thrive. You can probably find Hannah crouched over a bug, reading pulp sci-fi, or birding on the ocean.

  • Dana is Gitxsan on their mom's side, and mixed settler ancestry on their dads. They were born and raised on Syilx Okanagan territory and has been living on W̱SÁNEĆ territory for almost a decade. In 2021 Dana completed their degree in Geography and Environmental studies (BSc) at UVIc. Dana then worked in the Soil Science lab at the Summerland research center as a research assistant, while co-designing and establishing an Indigenous food plant garden. Most recently, she enjoyed being the Education Assistant and Garden coordinator at Artemis Place Society. Dana is grateful to now be a member of the HAT crew, where they can apply their love of restoration and supporting Indigenous land management systems. In their free time, Dana loves gardening and painting. 

More of the Team

  • As a Project & Program Manager in International Development, Peter has over 30 years of experience in strategic leadership, project development, and business advancement roles within the culture, heritage and conservation sectors. Peter has 6 years of Executive Director experience with the Bateman Foundation, and joined HAT in 2022 as the Sc’ianew Tribal Park (formerly Mary Hill) Project Manager.

  • Gavin is of Scottish, Irish, and Songhees First Nations heritage, and was born and raised in the Comox Valley on the traditional territory of the K’omoks First Nation. In 2022, Gavin relocated to Victoria to embark on his academic journey, and he is currently pursuing a degree in Geography with a minor in Geographic Information Technology at the University of Victoria. Gavin's aspiration is to work closely with the Songhees Nation, deepening his understanding of his culture and the traditional ways of life. Through working with HAT, Gavin aims to contribute to the restoration and preservation of the vital ecosystems on the traditional land and waters of the Songhees Nations. In his spare time, he enjoys surfing at Sombrio and Jordan River, finding new places to hike on the Island, and biking around Oak Bay.

  • Katie Blake is of British and German descent and grew up in Wabanaki Territory in the eastern US. Katie Blake is a conservation professional with more than 20 years' experience in the land conservation sector. Her experience spans a range of leadership, fundraising, governance and program roles, with specialized expertise in conservation-based private land transactions. As the former Executive Director of HAT, Katie is thrilled to return to HAT as a Senior Land Advisor to advance HAT's Land Protection Program, and to help build on HAT's support of Indigenous-led conservation.

  • ÍY SȻÁĆEL HÁLE  

    ÍY ȻENS ENÁ TÁĆELṈONET SIÁM HÁLE 

    ĆOȻES SEN SE ṮEṮUṮE OL NE SḰÁL SENĆOŦEN SḰÁL ÁȽE 

    SNEMIŦIYE ŦE NE SNÁ ĆSE LÁ,E SEN  EṮ W̱SÁNEĆ I ȽIW̱ I,ÍYMET NENIṈENE LOṮ ṈENE SXELIȾIYE OPEN IȻS DX̱EN SĆELÁṈEN I TEŦTÁŦESTEN LIW̱ SĆELÁṈEN I Kenneth ĆESE SĆELÁṈEN. ȻENTOL NE STOLES QUANTUM ĆSE LÁ,E E TŦE ÁLEṈENS SȾÁUTW̱. NE TÁN HÍELWET Karen Sampson ĆSE LÁ,E ET W̱JOȽEȽP I NE MÁN Darren James ĆSE LÁ,E EṮ BOḰEĆEN. ĆÁĆI OL SEN ȻENTOL NE XEUES SĆÁ E TIÁ SĆELÁṈEN ȻENTOL NE XEUES SĆÁLEĆES ET METULIYE H.A.T (Habitat Acquisition Trust) ÁȽE E ȽÁ,E W̱SÁNEĆ I LEKWUNGEN ĆÁĆI SX̱ENÁNS ET KȽO,ELENEȻ I SJISEṈs I TELETOŦELṈEW̱... DADÁSET SEN TŦE SḰÁL I OṈESTOW̱ TŦE SNÁ E TŦE SPÁKENS I ÍY SDÁLṈEW̱ E TŦE ŚIŚEJ MEQ EX̱IN E TŦE XAXE TEṈEW̱ I OṈEST TŦE SĆÁ ȻENTOL NE SĆÁLEĆEs.  

    Hello Good Day Everyone 

    My ancestral name is SNEMIŦIYE and I am from Saanich residing on Tsartlip, I am a mother of 3 beautiful children, my oldest is Kaiea, middle child Joshua Thaddeus and my youngest is Kenneth with my partner Joshua Wilson Sr who is from Tsawout. My Maternal side is Karen Sampson from Tsartlip and my Paternal side is Darren James from Pauquachin First Nation. Part of my knowledge is Language Revitalization education at the University of Victoria. I also work at Satinflower Nurseries.  

    What I wish to bring to HAT is plant knowledge and plant uses while working on the lands of WSÁNEĆ and Songhees territory to willingly create some resources with Indigenous talks and walks throughout local parks, utilizing my SENĆOŦEN abilities and skills in specializing and giving the Indigenous prospectives with working on Garry oak, Cedar and Douglas-fir ecosystems within the Vancouver lower-island region. 

  • Neal is a settler of Irish and French descent, who grew up in K'ómoks territory. He completed a BSc, double majoring in Geography and Environmental Studies, at the University of Victoria in the fall of 2024. Neal first became involved with HAT in the summer of 2023, working on the restoration field crew. In his current role, he is responsible for monitoring HAT's diverse and beautiful covenants across southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. In his spare time, Neal is an avid skateboarder and enjoys biking around the city with his friends.

Program Support

  • Goblin

  • Korra

  • Banksy