Ailsa Barry has 20 years of developing experiences in the cultural and heritage sector, working across multi-disciplinary platforms and in organisations ranging from Microsoft, the BBC and natural history museums. Following a background in Anthropology from McGill and Fine Art from Concordia, Ailsa moved to London to pursue her artistic career. She began developing new media installations for museums and galleries in 1992 and produced award-winning CD ROMs, before joining Microsoft Network. She joined the BBC in 1998, and had multiple roles before leaving as Managing Editor, BBC Online In 2001. She moved on to gain experience in commercial online publishing and worked for a number of large digital and mobile organisations as Head of Content, including Vodafone. She returned to museums in 2003, joining the Natural History Museum, London where in her last position, as Head of Content, she was responsible for delivering the Museum’s public offer across exhibitions, web and programming. In 2014 Ailsa moved back to Canada to join the Canadian Museum of Nature as Vice President of Experience and Engagement, where she continues her passion of exploring innovative ways to connect people with science and natural history. Ailsa is President of the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada.

Becs Hoskins is the Provincial Community Engagement Specialist for BC Parks where she leads the development of innovative partnerships and programs related to volunteerism, public education and youth engagement. A passionate collaborator, Becs brings a depth of experience in outdoor education and recreation, adventure therapy, non-profit management, youth engagement and collaborative leadership at community, provincial and national levels. Becs is also the Chair of the Board of the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada and a past Director and volunteer with Power to Be Adventure Therapy Society. Becs lives in Victoria, BC with her husband, dog and three children – where outdoor adventures are a part of everyday life.

Dave Byng is currently on Royal Roads University’s Board of Governors and is a Special Advisor to the President. In addition, Dave provides strategic advice to a variety of public sector, not-for-profit and corporate clients. Dave recently concluded a 37-year career with the Province of British Columbia with over a decade of experience leading a wide variety of provincial ministries, crown corporations and agencies. In his last assignment as the Ministry of Education’s Deputy Minister, he oversaw British Columbia's $6.5 billion K-12 education system-a system that consistently delivers some of the best student outcomes in the world. Dave is an avid traveller and explorer, having supported international relief projects installing water filtration systems in Brazil’s Amazon Basin, as well as working in leadership roles on multiple scientific expeditions in the Honduran cloud forest and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Dave has been granted a Master of Arts in Leadership degree from Royal Roads University, a Certificate of Intercultural Studies from University of British Columbia and a Certificate of Advanced Project Management from Stanford University. In addition, the Institute of Corporate Directors and the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management awarded Dave the ICD.D designation, as a qualified board director. He is a recipient of the Premier’s Award of Excellence and the Royal Roads University Founder’s Award. Dave also holds Fellowships with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in Ottawa, the Royal Geographical Society in London, the Explorers Club in New York City and is a Distinguished Fellow with the Asia Pacific Foundation in Vancouver.

With a long-held ambition to work for nature since youth, Dawn Carr’s career has offered tremendous experiences, local to international, that are now enabling her to champion and support the next generation of conservation leaders. In her role, as the first woman to hold the position of Executive Director for the Canadian Parks Council, Dawn advises senior executives in Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial park agencies, and leads collaborative initiatives to expand and support a pan-Canadian conservation community. With over 20 years of experience in parks, Dawn’s passion extends into volunteer roles on 3 IUCN world conservation commissions, and board positions with the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada, Outdoor Play Canada, and the Canadian Committee for the IUCN. Recently, Dawn was named to Nature Canada’s Women for Nature network and led a youth grant program project that saw 6 young Canadians receive funding to implement projects from coast, to coast, to coast to connect other youth with nature.Dawn holds a Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University and a Master of Arts focused on protected area planning and management from the University of Waterloo.

Erica Angers has worked in volunteer and youth engagement in the environmental sector over the last six years. She began her career as an organic vegetable farmer in Quebec and France but felt a pull back to the city, where she engaged a diverse population of youth, children and adults in growing food and developing an ethos of community volunteerism in both Toronto and Montreal. She has volunteered for over ten years in the arts and culture sector in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal, endeavoring to make arts events more environmentally sustainable through waste diversion and cycling initiatives. Erica loves travel, people, reading, and exploring her city. She is thrilled to be engaging youth across the country in ocean and water health and literacy.

James Bartram grew up in as an enthusiastic educator and outdoor enthusiast; he is a passionate advocate for experiential learning and believes collaboration is the stuff of growth.He has lived and worked in BC, Alberta, New Zealand and the UK and volunteers on the board of the CC-IUCN and Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.He was the founding Education Director for the Parks Canada Palisades Stewardship Education Centre, restructured and revitalized Education for the Canadian Wildlife Federation and presently serves as the Vice President for Education & Youth at Ocean Wise.

Joana Augusto is the Coordinator, Ocean Gallery and Volunteers, at the Discovery Centre in Halifax. She holds a BSc in Environmental Biology, Marine focus and an MSc in Marine Ecology from the University of Lisbon, in Portugal. She completed her PhD in Biology from Dalhousie University in April 2017. Her thesis focused on sociality in Pilot Whales off Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Joana has been involved in science outreach and literacy for over 10 years, working with several not for profit organizations. During this time, she implemented the first Ocean Science Symposium with Let’s Talk Science –Dalhousie, directed at high school aged youth; taught a Graduate Module on Science Outreach at Dalhousie University; and served on the Organizing Committee of the 22nd Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, where she co-organized a panel on communicating science to non-scientific audiences. As the Coordinator, Ocean Gallery and Volunteers, Joana intends to inspire visitors to engage with the oceans and their biodiversity.

Matt Miller is a PhD student at the University of Victoria studying ocean acidification and its impact on marine organisms. He received a BSc in Fisheries and Aquaculture from Vancouver Island University with an honour's thesis on microplastics in B.C. oysters. Matt is an alumnus of the first-ever Ocean Bridge cohort (2018), and is continuing his involvement as a youth member of the steering committee. As president of the Surfrider Foundation University of Victoria Club, Matt engages with university students and members of the public on issues such as marine plastic pollution, and organizes monthly beach cleanups in his community. Matt has a passion for science communication and literacy, and regularly delivers science presentations to community groups on his topics of research.

Michael Furdyk is the co-founder of TakingItGlobal (www.tigweb.org), which provides innovative global education programs that empower youth to understand and act on the world's greatest challenges. TIG was awarded the 2013 Intercultural Innovation Award by BMW and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.

In the past, he turned his interest in technology into several successful online companies, including MyDesktop.com, which sold to Internet.com in 1999. In 2008, he was named by Contribute Magazine as one of 10 Tech Revolutionaries Redefining the Power and Face of Philanthropy.

Michael has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, presented at TED, and was named one of Teen People's "Twenty Teens that will Change the World". Over the last decade, he has keynoted over 100 events across sectors, sharing his social media expertise and insights on youth engagement and educational reform to audiences in over 30 countries. He sits on several non-profit boards, and completed his Master of Design (MDes) in Inclusive Design at OCAD University. He is an Adjunct Professor for the Master of Education Technology program at Long Island University.

Michael Wong is currently the Regional Chair for North America for the World Commission on Protected Area of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He has over 30 years of experience with the federal public service of Canada, as a scientist and senior manager at Environment Canada and Parks Canada. For over 15 years, he directed the development and implementation of natural resource conservation programs in Canada’s national parks, marine conservation areas and other protected areas, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as the Executive Director for Ecological Integrity at Parks Canada. He has provided leadership in the development and implementation of ecosystem science policies and management programs, nationally and internationally, including the development of Canadian Water Quality Guidelines, Species at Risk Recovery Strategies, the design of Ecological Monitoring and Assessment programs, climate change adaptation strategies and Guidelines of the IUCN. He also provided leadership in the Inspiring a New Generation theme at the 2014 World Parks Congress and co-chaired the IUCN Task Force for #Nature For All. He studied at Universities of St. Francis Xavier and Ottawa in Canada.

Nicole Straughan grew up exploring the beaches of Vancouver Island and sailing the Salish Sea with her family. Inspired to protect the places she loves, she studied animal biology at Thompson Rivers University and completed her thesis in Bamfield researching the relationship between hermit crab and marine snail species of Barkley Sound. Nicole spent several summers as a camp counsellor with YMCA Camp Elphinstone leading her to shift focus from marine science to ocean education. She has since worked with Ocean Wise leading the Childen & Youth Program team and with the Canadian Wildlife Federation as an Urban Outreach representative. She is currently a student in the Masters of Arts in Environmental Education and Communication program at Royal Roads University and is excited to be leading Ocean Bridge as the program manager.

Shelly Elverum grew up across the Canadian Arctic, and returned to Nunavut in 2000.She works with the award-winning Ikaarvik: Barriers to Bridges team enabling northern communities to have a stronger voice in Arctic science, and to ensure that these communities can build the capacity to set and act upon their own research priorities. In addition, Shelly is the Northern Coordinator for SmartICE (laureate of the 2016 Arctic Inspiration Prize), a uniquely northern sea-ice monitoring program that blends Inuit traditional knowledge with technology to produce sea ice information services. She has a passion for ensuring that science and research connects with rural and remote communities, and seeks to encourage Indigenous leadership and learning opportunities. In 2014 Shelly was elected to the College of Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society for her work making Canada “better known to Canadians and the World”.

Christine Bentley is Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage Site’s Public Outreach and Education Officer. Christine’s career has a strong foundation in ecology and a strong personal connection to Gwaii Haanas. Having being born and raised on Haida Gwaii, Christine spent some summers at Swan Bay Gwaii Haanas before it was an established National Park Reserve. These times at Swan Bay helped Christine develop a love of nature and sparked her interest conservation and scientific exploration in the sea and land of the area. Prior to her work as an Outreach and Education officer, she spent 13 years as a Resource Conservation Officer. Christine has spent many seasons plying the waters and forest of Gwaii Haanas conducting long and short term monitoring projects on everything from Ancient Murrelets to stream microbiology.These projects have enhanced her knowledge of Gwaii Haanas and its wild backcountry.Prior to working at Gwaii Haanas, Christine earned a Fisheries and Aquaculture Diploma at Vancouver Island University.Christine has also worked at Lake Louise and Yoho National Parks during her participation in Parks Canada’s Aboriginal Leadership Initiative. In her current role as Outreach and Education Officer, Christine looks forward to focusing on youth and their awareness of Gwaii Haanas. Christine is very excited to work with the Ocean Bridge youth cohort to help them discover and learn about the land, sea and people of Gwaii Haanas.