Board Members & Staff
Calder Schweitzer
Calder began working for TIWLT in 2019 as a Field Biologist, and has now moved into the position of Executive Director. He holds a B.Sc. in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from the University of Guelph, which he attended as a McCall MacBain Loran Scholar. Calder has formerly volunteered for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Western Australia's Department of Conservation, Biodiversity, and Attractions.
Email: calder@tiwlt.ca
Maggie Stevenson
Maggie worked for TIWLT as a summer Wildlife Biologist in 2021 and returned in 2022, being hired on as the Property Manager and later promoted to Head Wildlife Biologist. She graduated from Sir Sandford Fleming College with a Fish & Wildlife Technician Advanced Diploma. Maggie has previously worked for other environmental organizations including Ontario Parks, MNRF, and Nature Conservancy of Canada. She enjoys spending time in nature and has a particular interest in plant identification.
Deb Lace-Kelly
Deb has an MA in Media, a former career with Global Television News, and Toronto Metropolitan University. A Communications Consultant, Deb works with environmental organizations, Indigenous groups, & travel companies. Deb studied with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council in Sustainable Tourism. Deb works to support the environment through her role as a volunteer Director with the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network.
Rebecca Despres
Rebecca is the Educator at TIWLT, where she develops and delivers programs that inspire community engagement in conservation and environmental stewardship. Before joining as staff, Rebecca volunteered as a gardener, managing the vegetable gardens at the Glen Elbe Learning Centre. She brings experience from the renewable energy sector and a Bachelor’s degree from McGill University. Rebecca is a nature enthusiast and passionate about food security. Her conservation work is inspired by a lifelong appreciation for the outdoors.
Don Ross
Don has a Biology Degree from Western University and started his career as Chief Park Naturalist at Point Pelee National Park. When he moved to the Thousand Islands he found home. He was partner in Dave Jones Sports and Executive Director of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere. He is a founding member of TIWLT, helped write the nomination papers for the UNESCO Frontenac Arch Biosphere and with Dave Warner, facilitated the transfer of properties to the National Park.
Email: don@tiwlt.ca
Dave Paul
Dave brings his experience to TIWLT from a grateful career in economic development with both the Province and his hometown Brockville. The experience with investment attraction, securing project financing and fostering business relationships to shepherd growth and prosperity represent the activities of his discipline.
Dave's present commitment is grounded in environmental stewardship and advocacy for the mission of TIWLT in the Frontenac Arch Biosphere.
Kandis Flood
Kandis developed a deep appreciation for the region's natural environment through childhood camping, hiking, and swimming after moving from Montreal. She maintained this connection while raising her own family, through local nature programming and outdoor recreation. As Treasurer of TIWLT, Kandis brings nearly three decades of financial stewardship and strategic planning experience from her career in wealth management at RBC Dominion Securities to assist TIWLT's mission to preserve exceptional ecosystems for future generations.
Anne Henderson
Anne is a bilingual documentary filmmaker and writer with over thirty years of experience making international documentaries for television. She has traveled extensively and worked with people from cultures and languages different from her own. Anne is currently writing a book about the first Tibetan refugees accepted into Canada. She is an enthusiastic supporter of the mission and values embodied at the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust.
Vicki Leakey
Vicki joined the board in Spring 2020 and lives adjacent to one of the Trust properties on Deer Ridge Drive. Vicki brings over 30 years experience in accounting and financial reporting for various public sector organizations. As a CGA, CPA she brings her professional experience to many community organizations while serving as a volunteer in TLTI and the Town of Gananoque.
Dave Warner
Dave was Park Superintendent of St. Lawrence Islands National Park. He is a founding member of the Canadian Thousand Islands Heritage Conservancy, which later became TIWLT. He helped write the nomination papers for the Frontenac Arch Biosphere and continues to work diligently to help TIWLT and his neighbours.
John Ambrose
John has a Master’s degree (forest management) from MacDonald College (McGill University). His career in environmental and resource management has taken him on assignments to 35 countries throughout Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe with CIDA, the World Bank and the private sector.
Marnie Ross
Marnie was a Reading Recovery teacher and since retiring has found her passion in preserving nature and helping others achieve their conservation dreams. Helping others create a legacy is the most rewarding work. Marnie and Don were the recipients of the Ontario Land Trust Alliance Vision Award in 2010.
Email: marnie@tiwlt.ca
John Earle
John was born in Montreal and attended Queens University where he graduated with a degree in medicine in 1969. After surgical training for 6 years in the University of Toronto Urology program he established a surgical practice as a urologist in Brockville. He dedicated 45 years of his life to his practice before retiring in 2018. He and his wife Cathy have a charitable foundation focused on land preservation and the welfare of animals and wildlife. He enjoys gardening and restoring buildings, as well as cross-country skiing, running marathons, playing hockey, and fly fishing.
Charlie Sytsma
Charlie graduated from Devry Institute of Technology in 1971 and
owned and operated a home electronics Sales and Service store
until 2007 in Athens. Charlie, Kim and their family Will and Nicole now operate a 300 cow/calf forage based farm operation in Leeds and Grenville County. The farm focuses on regenerative agriculture, adopting agricultural practices to minimize the land base required for a competitive production system. Charlie’s farm has received the Royal Bank of Canada Stewardship Award as a result of multiple sustainability projects in partnership with the Land Stewardship Council, Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, and The Charleston Lake Association. As part of these initiatives they have fenced livestock out of numerous bodies of water in areas they farm and have worked with students to plant trees in both the Cataraqui and Rideau watersheds.
Yvonne Hiemstra
Yvonne is a recent addition to our Board but not to TIWLT. Yvonne has been involved as an avid volunteer organizing several fundraising events over the last 4 years. She is a Queen's Phys Ed grad who made a career in advertising and marketing research. Upon retiring in 2019, she and her husband moved to Kingston from Montreal. They are strong environmental advocates having built a Passive home and converting to EVs. In Montreal, Yvonne spent many years on the Beaconsfield Environmental Advisory Committee and on the Board of the Association to Protect Angell Woods. Once moved to Kingston, volunteering for TIWLT seemed a natural next step. In additional to conservation and environmentalism, Yvonne enjoys birdwatching and is an active sportswoman participating in cycling, downhill skiing and yoga among many other sports.
Rob Hammond
Rob grew up in Montreal, received a BA from Bishop’s University and graduated from Queen’s Law in 1971. He and his wife, Betty, have lived in Brockville since 1981. Rob and Betty both had long careers as lawyers in Brockville. Both are now retired. Rob enjoys spending time at his cottage on Hill Island where he enjoys hiking, swimming, admiring the sunsets and taking early morning rows on the river in his St. Lawrence Skiff.
Tracey Notman
Tracey Notman is an elementary school teacher in Brockville with over 20 years of experience and passion for environmental education. She has served as lead teacher on the Growing Together: A Climate-Resilient School project, a pilot initiative at Vanier Public School with a goal to transform schoolyards into naturalized learning landscapes. Her collaboration with the Thousand Islands Watershed Land Trust on educational programming has been instrumental to the project’s success, inspiring her to join the Board of Directors and continue supporting the organization’s mission to connect communities with the natural environment.
Mary Wooding
Mary worked in drinking water protection for the provincial government for many years, inspecting large municipal drinking water systems (after the tragic water contamination event in Walkerton, Ontario in 2000). Until her retirement in 2024 she worked as a crown representative with Conservation Authorities, municipalities and first nations to protect drinking water.
Additionally, Mary and her husband Chris operate Ironwood Organics, a regenerative, biologically diverse farm on the north side of Charleston Lake that focuses on land race heritage grains (milling, seed saving, research, education, and on-farm experiences). Mary also pursues her passion for gardening, flower farming and spending as much time as possible appreciating and finding joy in the natural environment.
Shaun Thompson
Shaun is a retired MNR Biologist and author of protocols for Species at Risk. Shaun continues making Ontario nature thrive in his volunteering work with numerous groups. He is a tireless volunteer for TIWLT.
Delilah
As the Director of Community Relations, Delilah spends most of her days sniffing out new opportunities to make friends and build bridges. Born in 2019, she is one of our youngest team members at TIWLT but what she lacks in experience she more than makes up for in enthusiasm. A real people pleaser, when she’s not wagging her tail and greeting everyone with a friendly bark, you can find her curled up under her desk dreaming up new ways to make the world a better place. As a Certified Good Girl, her many qualifications include sit, stay, and fetch. If you ever have any concerns or just want to say hi, make an appointment with Delilah - we promise it will brighten up your day!
