Our People

Nana has over 25 years’ experience in program management and operations in the biopharmaceutical, environmental technology, and ecosystem research sectors. As Biome’s fractional COO, she plays a key role in supporting the leadership team. Nana also mentors ventures in the BC start-up community, focusing on health and cleantech.

Previously, she was VP Program Management at NervGen Pharma for 3 years, where she was a member of the executive team, responsible for strategic and operational planning, product development and grants. Prior to that, she was VP Program Management at Genevant Sciences. Previous roles included VP Project Management at Arbutus Biopharma (formerly Tekmira Pharmaceuticals), where she was responsible for all development stage programs and alliances, including a significant agritech partnership. She is deeply committed to sustainability and conservation, going back to an M.S. in Ecosystem Science, with a personal highlight of appearing as a “Way Cool Scientist” on the Climates episode of Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Carlos is a conservationist with over 15 years of professional experience in Canada and Latin America. His conservation and research work has focused on the effective implementation of evidence-based conservation strategies to protect and maintain biodiversity and ecological processes of ecosystems, as well as the meaningful inclusion of traditional knowledge into Western approaches. In addition, he has taught university field-based courses and led backcountry expeditions in: Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, and the U.S.  He holds a Master’s degree in Forest Conservation (University of Toronto), and Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies (York University).

Laurie maintains our complex financial records in good order and keeps other aspects of our administration running smoothly. Laurie started her career with 10 years in the hospitality industry and for the last 21 years has run a bookkeeping & consulting business. During this time, she owned and operated 3 gyms, while serving clients in various business sectors, including not-for-profit.

Scott is a senior director who works with Biome’s leadership to inform decision making on Biome’s work abroad by visiting field partners, working collaboratively with funders, and documenting the of success of this work.  Scott leads Biome’s Shorebird Conservation Initiative and other projects for which threatened birds are a key focus.  He has devoted his career to coastal bird conservation, conducting lectures nationwide, publishing research papers and guidance manuals, leading professional workshops, and appearing as an expert witness in legal hearings. Notably, Scott led Piping Plover recovery efforts for the Massachusetts Audubon Society, which saw the state’s population of this threatened species increase from 126 pairs in 1987 to 530 pairs in 2002.  Scott completed his Master’s work in Belize, where he assisted with the establishment of the Programme for Belize and continues to assist with tropical habitat conservation in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.  He has also worked for decades as a wildlife artist and photographer. 

Jackie comes from a career in Purchasing and Project Management with two small-but-mighty Nova Scotian engineering/manufacturing firms. She has a B.A. in International Development Studies earned through part-time study. Recognizing the connections between local agriculture, economy, community, environment and health, she has happily given many volunteer hours as a board member and bookkeeper helping to support a local farmers’ market. For the same reasons, she has long been a volunteer distributor of fair trade olive oil from Palestine. Jackie loves her vegetable garden and the birds and insects who love it too.

Keith is a seasoned financial executive and entrepreneur, known for bringing a practical, tenacious and entrepreneurial approach to senior financial leadership and corporate director roles.  Keith’s nearly 30 years’ experience includes serving as Chief Financial Officer of several growth focused publicly traded, private equity and venture backed companies, across a broad range of sectors, including DHX Media Ltd.  Keith has raised over a billion dollars of capital for public, venture-backed and private companies and has extensive international M&A experience.  Keith also spent 9 years with PwC and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Cum Laude) from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  He joined Biome as our fractional CFO in December 2024.

Matt earned a PhD in International Education Policy from the University of Maryland College Park (UMD) where he investigated transnational research and education partnerships for sustainable development with the Mebêngôkre-Kayapó in the Brazilian Amazon. With Biome, Matt looks forward to expanding his engagement with the Kayapó Project and supporting Biome’s growing portfolio of Indigenous-led projects. Before joining Biome, Matt worked alongside community, school, university, NGO, and government organizations including UMD, the Earth Day Organization, George Washington University, the Protected Forest Association (Brazil), The University of Cuenca (Ecuador), The InterAmerican Development Bank, and Boston and Alexandria City Public Schools. Matt earned Master’s degrees in International Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Elementary Education from Mary Washington College (MWC) as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from MWC.

Nat is a conservationist with a passion for the world’s wild landscapes and diverse cultures. Currently a Mitacs Post-Doctoral Fellow with Biome focusing on the intersection of tourism and conservation, she holds a PhD in Geography and Environmental Management from the University of Waterloo and a MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management from Oxford. Nat works with the Kayapo Project using participatory research and citizen science to engage and educate Kayapo youth, students and tourists on tropical ecology with the aim of strengthening conservation in the Mebengokre-Kayapo territory.

Barbara trained as a tropical ecologist, doing field research in the Brazilian Amazon for Master’s (University of Guelph) and PhD (Florida State University) degrees on an amphibian and reptile community in terra firme forest. Since 1989 she has been working with the Kayapo Indians of Brazil’s Xingu Basin to develop conservation-based economic alternatives to logging and to strengthen Kayapo capacity for territorial control so that they are able to continue to protect from deforestation 100,000 km² of their legally ratified territories. Barbara works closely with ICFC’s Kayapo NGO partners, other Brazilian NGOs and government agencies, and, of course, the Kayapo people themselves.