Our Team

Staff and Steering Committee

Ecology Ottawa is run by a small staff team and a dedicated volunteer steering committee, in addition to our many hard-working volunteers.

STAFF

Janice Ashworth – Community Organizer
Janice has studied community power opportunities at the master’s level at Dalhousie University. She was a founding member and coordinator of the Nova Scotia Sustainable Electricity Alliance where she was involved in advocacy for a feed-in tariff. For much of her time in Nova Scotia, Janice worked and volunteered for the Ecology Action Centre, a well established environmental NGO on renewable energy issues.

Trevor Haché – Policy Coordinator
Trevor was amongst the founding members of Ecology Ottawa, and served on the Steering Committee and Board of Directors from 2006 to early 2011. From 2004 to early 2011 he worked for the Non-Smokers’  Rights Association, at both the national and provincial level, to ensure Canada implemented legislation and regulations to protect public health from the tobacco industry.

STEERING COMMITTEE

Elizabeth Bernstein
Liz is the Executive Director of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. Previously, Liz served as coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Make Poverty History Canada. She sits on the board of directors of Mines Action Canada and the Lowertown Community Association, as well as the Ecology Ottawa board.

Mike Buckthought
Mike is active in many groups, leading a friend to give him a nickname: Ottawa’s omnipresent community activist. He’s also a writer and musician. He coordinates the Muses poetry series and Earth*tones drum circle. He founded the national Commuter Challenge, and worked at Environment Canada for seven years.

Pam Foster
Pam has worked for the United Nations Environment Program, Environment Canada, Friends of the Earth, the Halifax Initiative, and South Asia Partnership. Pam is currently director of campaigns and communications at the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. Pam is also the founder of Centretown Movies and the initiator of Imagine Ottawa.

Paul Hannon
Paul is the Executive Director of Mines Action Canada, and represents MAC on the International Campaign to Ban Landmines’ Advisory Board. Paul has worked with numerous organizations including Africa Emergency Aid, the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, International Development Research Centre, Oxfam Canada, Partnership Africa Canada, the federal government and a major Canadian financial institution.

Alison Harman
Alison is a student at the University of Ottawa and began volunteering with Ecology Ottawa in September 2008. She has mainly been involved in Ecology Ottawa’s Council Watch Committee, which produces annual report cards grading the environmental performance of Ottawa’s city council. For the past few years Alison has helped to coordinate the committee in her position as Co-Chair. Alison was a recipient of Ecology Ottawa’s 2011 Volunteer of the Year Award.

Maureen Hollingworth
Maureen is a freelance editor and writer, with more than 30 years experience in international development, peace and environmental issues. Maureen is also a member of the Ecology Ottawa board of directors.

Irène Kumar
Irène started volunteering with Ecology Ottawa in May 2010. Her major contribution has been as a translator. Making Ecology Ottawa a bilingual organization is a goal of ours and Irène is helping us get closer to that goal. Irène was a recipient of Ecology Ottawa’s 2011 Volunteer of the Year Award. When she is not volunteering with Ecology Ottawa, Irène works part-time both as an Administration Officer for the Circle of Nations Learning Centre at Natural Resources Canada and as a freelance translator with Cogitaction Communication Inc.

Roger Peters
Roger is national secretary of the Canadian Renewable Energy Alliance, a joint initiative of Canadian NGOs who support a global transition to renewable energy. He is also president of the Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative which facilitates community investment in renewable power projects.

Stefan Reinecke
Stefan studied civil engineering at the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto. He was also involved in starting Ottawa’s first pilot-scale community fine paper recycling program. Stefan spent four years working for an environmental engineering company and he currently works with a sustainability consultancy in Ottawa.

Graham Saul
Graham is the executive director of Climate Action Network Canada – Resau action climate Canada. He has worked at the South African Institute for International Affairs, Oxfam International in Maputo, Mozambique, and at the Washington, D.C. – based Bank Information Center. Graham has also served as the international program director for Friends of the Earth Canada and Oil Change International.

Ian Thompson
Ian works at KAIROS, an ecumenical social justice organization, and also chairs the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability.  From 2003 to 2007, he was co-chair of the Cycling Advisory Committee at Toronto City Hall.  Born in Ottawa and raised in Orléans, Ian now lives in the Kitchissippi area with his wife and young daughter.

Jennie Videto
Jennie has been volunteering with Ecology Ottawa for the last four years. This past year she played a significant role in organizing Ecology Ottawa’s 5th Annual Dinner. She also updates the Calendar of Events on our website. Jennie was a recipient of Ecology Ottawa’s 2011 Volunteer of the Year Award. Jennie volunteers as the Fundraising Coordinator for The Canadian Organic Growers – Ottawa chapter and is also a member of Fair Trade Ottawa-Equitable, an organization which seeks to achieve (and subsequently maintain) Fair Trade Town status for the city of Ottawa.

Jo Wood
Jo is a retired professor of psychology from Carleton University, where she taught from 1967 until 2003. She is now an activist concerned with environmental, peace and social justice issues.