At the MCFC, we rely heavily on support from our volunteer Board of Directors, to help guide decision making that reflects the values within our community.
we have specific seats that directors are nominated to fill including social, environmental and economic values as well as first nations interests. Aside from the Board, we employ one full-time executive director and in the summer, host one or more student interns.
Check our our team below!
Staff
Mary Jane Rodger, mfc, RPF
executive director
Mary Jane has worked with the MCFC since 2015, minus a small term with the federal government in 2022-2023. She is happy to be back at the MCFC and managing several innovative projects to steward and restore Wabanaki forests on both Crown and private lands. Mary Jane has been involved with many facets of Nova Scotia’s shift to ecological forestry, playing an influential role the Lahey Forest Practices Review and serving on the Department of Natural Resources initial Minister’s Advisory Committee.
Ellen Riopelle,
outreach & communications coordinator
Originally hailing from Calgary, Alberta, Ellen learned to love the outdoors at a young age, from camping in the Rocky Mountains to biking and hiking the trails and woodlands of Nova Scotia. Always intrigued by the interplay of people, place and expression, she obtained her Master of Journalism from the University of King’s College. Her background in teaching English and investigative journalism has resulted in a career in communications, focused on environmental organizations and the wider non-profit community.
Matt Miller, BScF, FT
Operations Manager
Matt began working with MCFC as the Operations Manager in November 2021. An avid outdoors person and maple syrup connoisseur originally hailing from Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Matt graduated from the Maritime College of Forest Technology and University of New Brunswick. Working under the guidance of the ED & Board, Matt is responsible for the planning, implementation, and supervision of forest management activities on MCFC lands.
Jessie Pearson,
Recreation & Forestry intern
Jessie has a Bachelor of Science with a background in ecology and conservation. She became interested in ecological forestry after moving to southern Nova Scotia from Ontario in 2022. In her spare time, Jessie enjoys hiking, running, growing native plants, and vegetable gardening. She is very excited to be helping get the MCFC campground up and running and will also be leading MCFC's annual bird surveys!
Jessica Ihlen,
HWA Project coordinator
In August 2023, MCFC welcomed Jessica as the Hemlock Conservation Project Coordinator. She has a deep connection to nature, which can be traced back to her roots in the Kootenay region of British Columbia. Her love for the forest and its conservation led her to pursue a career in various forest operations, gaining a range of knowledge and experience along the way. Jessica is excited to contribute to a project dedicated to preserving the old-growth hemlock forests of Nova Scotia and their diverse ecosystem.
Kyle Mccarthy,
Forestry intern
Originally from Ajax, Ontario, Kyle grew up spending a lot of time in the forests of southern Ontario, camping and fishing with his family. Kyle holds a BSCF from the University of New Brunswick and a diploma in Environmental Technology and Forest Technician from Flemming College in Lindsay, Ontario. He has a wide variety of work experience, ranging from urban forestry and arbory to working as a research technician and forestry assistant. In my spare time, Kyle enjoys paddling, fly fishing, mountain biking and rock climbing.
Board of Directors
Katie Mclean - Chair (social seat)
Katie is the past Program Manager with the Clean Annapolis River Project, and currently taking time off work to raise her young family. She has dedicated a tremendous amount of her time to the MCFC over the years and also serves of the board of the NSWWT. Her educational background includes a Masters of Resource and Environmental Management from Dalhousie University.
Mike Lancaster, Vice-Chair (member at large)
Mike spends much of his time fulfilling his role as "Stewardship Coordinator" for two non-profit organizations; the St. Margaret's Bay Stewardship Association and Woodens River Watershed Environmental Organization, but he also has his own consulting and management business, creating and implementing plans for wilderness trails, forestry, and arboricultural applications.
Friedrich meyer - Treasurer (member at large)
Friedrich is an outdoor enthusiast with a very broad knowledge of aquatic and terrestrial diversity and ecological concepts and has a special interest in forestry and land management. Friedrich is currently working as an impact assessment officer for Parks Canada.
abby lewis - secretary (environmental seat)
Abby grew up in the woods and waters of Southwestern NS. She currently works at the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute where she is involved in forestry stewardship and bat conservation projects.
William martin - past-chair (member at large)
Will is the co-founder of the forestry-tech start-up, Woodscamp, a Senior Director at the American Forest Foundation and a past-president of the Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association and the MCFC.
donna crossland (environmental seat)
Donna grew up in East Dalhousie, Kings County. She is a retired Parks Canada biologist and Park Warden. Donna has a long-standing interest in the management of Maritime forests and works with control strategies used against Hemlock Woolly Adelgid and other invasive species. Donna’s email is donnacrosslandNS (at) outlook.com
Steve Ward (Economic Seat)
Steve resides in Baker Settlement with his wife and two daughters. He’s very active in the local Farming and Forestry sectors, helping private landowners in western Nova Scotia with long term goals for their woodlots. He has been working with Harry Freeman and Son LTD. for 10 years now as their Private Land Manager and take great pride in the woodlot owner relationships kept all across the province.
Peter Neily (Member at Large)
Peter grew up o a small farm on the Valley's North Mountain and hiking and fishing the South Mountain provided a great background for my career in forestry. After receiving a degree from UNB he worked as a research forester/ecologist for the province's natural resources department 45 years, providing the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Nova Scotia to study the tremendous diversity of our forests. Peter has canoed most of the provinces rivers from their headwaters broadening his appreciation for our wild areas.
Don Kimball (Member at large)
Don was born and raised in Dartmouth, and is retired from a career in the military. Today, Don makes furniture and cabinets utilizing materials from his FSC certified lot. Don spends many hours volunteering in the local community, as the treasurer for the NQ Board of Trade and Chair of the NQ Business Hub.
Heba Jarrar (member at large)
Heba is a Palestinian-Canadian with a keen interest in forest health and ecology. She first got involved with the MCFC as a Community Outreach Intern while completing her Masters of Forest Conservation. Growing up in Nova Scotia, Heba is grateful to work on protecting our forests and waters. She is currently a Forest Health Specialist with the NS Department of Natural Resources and Renewables.
Alastair JArvis (economic seat)
Alastair brings over two decades of experience in technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation to the Board, with recent experience as the former Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Technology Strategy at the American Forest Foundation and was a founding partner in WoodsCamp. He is a woodlot owner in Lunenburg County, a past board member of NSWOOA, co-created and encouraged both the Dexter and McNeil governments to adopt an innovation strategy in response to the closure of the Bowater Mill, was a founding member of the MCFC.
Melissa Labrador (First Nations seat)
Melissa comes from the Mi’kma’ki district of Kespukwitk, with maternal connections to the district of Siknikt. Immersed in traditional ecological knowledge, skills and values from a young age, Melissa has worked as an Indigenous Guardian alongside others to bring awareness about climate change and the effects it is having on cultural practices and the overall identity of her people. She is known for her artistic skills as well as her knowledge of traditional Mi’kmaq medicine and birch bark canoe building. Melissa worked to help designate the Katewe’katik and Pu’tlaqne’katik Wilderness areas, which were designated in 2020. She is a member of the Wasoqopa'q (Acadia) First Nation and continues to live in Kespukwitk, where she was born and raised.