Our Team
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 from Calgary, Alberta, Ellen developed a love for the outdoors at a young age, from camping in the Rocky Mountains to biking and hiking the trails and woodlands of Nova Scotia. Drawn to the intersection of people, place, and storytelling, she earned a Master of Journalism from the University of King’s College. With a background in teaching English and investigative journalism, Ellen has built a career in communications, focusing on environmental and community-based non-profit organizations.
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.
Zach Zimmerman, MSc/MF, Ecological Forestry Coordinator
Zach is an environmental professional from Washington, D.C. with a background in Environmental and Agricultural Science from McGill University and a Master’s in International Forestry completed in Wales and Edmonton. He’s passionate about birds, trees, and exploring the places they thrive, with a special love for the mountains of Northern West Virginia. His work focuses on the intersection of ecology, land management, and community, with a strong interest in global forest stewardship and the intersection between human and non-human forest community needs.
Jessica Ihlen, Hemlock Conservation 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.
Callen Singer, Administrative Assistant
Callen Singer has built a career that spans photography and a variety of administrative roles in government, healthcare, veterinary, and private sector settings. Growing up on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, she spent much of her time exploring forests and the outdoors. Today, she continues to nurture that passion through hiking, backpacking, skiing and mountain biking, and she is especially interested in conservation and protecting the natural spaces she enjoys.
Board of Directors
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.
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.
Shawn McGrath (Economic Seat)
Shawn is passionate about building sustainable forest economies rooted in restoration and community values. Born and raised in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, he works with ACFOR, an ecologically focused forest management firm. He brings experience in forestry operations, ecological restoration, and business development to the MCF board. Shawn looks forward to deepening his connection to Western Nova Scotia’s forests and contributing his expertise to the community.
Peter Neily (Member at Large)
Peter grew up on a small farm on the North Mountain and spent his youth hiking and fishing the South Mountain—an ideal foundation for a lifelong career in forestry. After earning a degree from UNB, he worked for 45 years as a research forester and ecologist with Nova Scotia’s natural resources department, exploring the province’s diverse forests. A passionate canoeist, Peter has paddled most of Nova Scotia’s rivers from their headwaters, deepening his appreciation for its wild landscapes.
Sue Gass (Economic Seat)
Sue grew up in Mi’kma’ki spending summers exploring tidepools of the Northumberland Straight. She is an Environmental Science educator at Dalhousie University, where she offers field-based opportunities for students to examine human-ecosystem dynamics. Before entering academia, she worked in biodiversity conservation with NGOs in Mi’kma’ki and with local government in the UK. Her curiosity about nature guided her studies at McGill (BSc), Dalhousie (MES), and the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland (PhD).
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.
