Brenda Hopkin (B.Sc. (For)), RPF
Brenda Hopkin is an independent consultant specializing in forestry certification. Her extensive experience with sustainable forest management initiatives, auditing, monitoring programs and public consultation has contributed to the development of her broad perspective and comprehensive skill set. Clients include provincial and national level governments, industry and not-for-profit organizations.
Brenda has been a Certified Lead Auditor since 2000, specializing in auditing environmental national and international standards, focusing on sustainability and legality requirements, as well as greenhouse gas (GHG). She has extensive technical and operational knowledge of requirements for forest management, chain of custody and risk- based systems along the supply chain (FSC, CSA, SFI, PEFC, and the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP)). Brenda has completed or participated in over 140 internal/external audits in British Columbia and Alberta, which include the development of the audit plan, developing/implementing audit protocol, and writing articulate findings. In a consulting role, Brenda has supported the roll-out of sustainable forest management legislation, policy, certification and operational procedures.
Brenda is the RRA-BC Working Body Coordinator. In addition, she sits on a 6-person international Technical Committee for SBP, is a registered member in the Economic Chamber of FSC International and is a member of a 12-person Standards Development Group for FSC Canada. Brenda is a Registered Professional Forest in British Columbia.
Nicolas Blanchette, (MBA, M.Sc.(for)) Ing.F.
Mr. Blanchette is specialized in forest certification chain of custody and forest management. Nicolas is involved in forest certification since his undergraduate studies. He completed studies in Honduras and Nicaragua, Central America and in the Michoacán Monarch Butterfly Model Forest in Mexico. He acquired an in-depth knowledge of the FSC certification program in Quebec, New Brunswick and in Mexico. He coordinated and collaborated on multiple FSC standard development processes in Canada currently sitting on the FSC Standard Development Group.
He is the Working Body Coordinator for the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) Quebec Regional Risk Assessment (RRA) and a member of the Working Body undertaking RRA's in different parts of Canada. Nicolas is a certified lead auditor for the FSC and ISO 14000 programs and a certified SBP auditor. He participated in certification audits in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. He supports companies throughout the forest value chain to move towards or to maintain forest management and chain of custody main certification programs. He develops and implements practical tools to efficiently comply with certification requirements and regulations in the field and in the processing facilities.
Jeremy Williams (B.Sc. (For), Ph.D. (For. Econ.)), RPF
Dr. Williams has extensive forest economics experience which includes reviews of timber markets, timber pricing including stumpage rates, and timber production costs. In 2017, Jeremey was a core member of the Nova Scotia premiers Forest Sector Review team. In the Review, Jeremy was the lead assessor of the state of timber markets, particularly in southwest Nova Scotia, and he undertook a thorough analysis of harvest rates and costs, silvicultural costs and reimbursement rates.
Dr. Williams has extensive experience as a forest auditor and he has worked with written standards regarding forest management (certification and compliance), forest carbon offsets, aggregate pits and quarries, and biomass. Jeremy has undertaken numerous projects in BC including socio-economic assessments for timber supply scenarios for Timber Supply areas, and assessment of risks and opportunities for sustainable development. Jeremy has also completed numerous business cases, economic evaluations and review. He is also very knowledgeable and experienced with respect to forest carbon pricing and accounting and has extensive experience working with and advising Indigenous People.
Wendy Booth (BBA-Business)
A former elected official with the Regional District of East Kootenay for a decade, serving as Vice Chair for 6 years, she has extensive experience in board governance and strategic planning. Having been a Director and Vice Chair of Columbia Basin Trust for many years, she has a keen passion for community development and working with communities throughout the region. She served as an Executive Member of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities for several years, most recently as President concluding in Sept 2018. Recently she was appointed as a Director of the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program for the Columbia Region
Glen Dunsworth (B.Sc. (For), M.SC. (For. Genetics)), R.P. Bio. (retired)
Glen is an Ecological Consultant providing services in forest ecology, wildlife resource management, conservation biology, and strategic planning. He has over 35 years’ experience in the BC coastal forest industry with Macmillan Bloedel and Weyerhaeuser where he directed regeneration and biodiversity research and developed effective new strategic approaches to ecosystem-based management. He has facilitation, organizational and project management experience in landscape and strategic planning.
Glen specializes in biodiversity, genetics, landscape ecology and ecosystem-based management. He has strong technical writing skills with over 45 journal publications including editing and co-authoring a recently published UBC Press textbook. As a consultant Glen has provided conservation and ecological strategic planning advice to a number of BC forest companies and conservation organizations. In the later 10 years of his career he was a forest ecology consultant, worked with Rain Forest Alliance as a wildlife and forest ecology auditor on 25 FSC audits in BC, Alberta and Ontario. He also served as SelectSeed Company President and Board Chair for 13 years. His most recent experience in large project management was in developing and implementing an adaptive management and monitoring program in support of Weyerhaeuser’s Coast Forest Strategy (1999-2004), a major shift in forest management from clear-cut to a variable retention approach. This experience was published as a case study book for UBC Press in 2009.
Marie-Ange Fournier-Beck, (B.A. Geography and Env. Sci., Adv. Dip. GIS)
Marie is a GIS Analyst currently working with biologists, forestry professionals and land managers on research, forest, and land management projects. She has worked in BC, Canada and the US and is conversant with Provincial, National and International datasets. Recently she has worked on fuel management planning and fire risk reduction projects in southeastern BC. Marie’s project management and GIS experience were invaluable to the completion of the BC RRA over the last three years.
Prior to becoming a GIS consultant, Marie worked for 10 years with BC Regional and Municipal government as a GIS Analyst and Planning Assistant. She has worked closely with the public, developers and their consultants, elected officials, and Indigenous First Nations. Marie has routinely liaised with and has familiarity with various Government agencies and staff including; BC Design Review Panels, Heritage Commissions, the Agricultural land Commission and with all operating areas of Municipal and Regional Districts in BC.
Alexa Matthes (B.Sc., A.Ag.)
Alexa is an Environmental Scientist and Articling Agrologist, currently working as a Project Scientist for the Trail Area Health and Environment Program. She has worked in various environmental roles since 2014. Her experience includes soil remediation, industrial sampling methods and invasive plant removal. Alexa has been involved in research and data collection for a variety forestry/certification related projects. Her contribution to the BC RRA included updating documents and obtaining relevant stakeholder information.