I am a broadly trained ecologist and research scientist with extensive project management experience, and I hold a BSc and MSc from the University of Calgary and a PhD from Simon Fraser University. I currently co-own and co-manage my late father's metal fabrication business, Machen Manufacturing Ltd, and am treasurer on the Shuswap District Arts Council Board of Directors. I'm a field biologist at heart, a perpetually amateur naturalist, and a passionate bumbler (like a birder but for bumble bees, for the uninitiated). I specialize in bumble bee community ecology and conservation, and have worked extensively with most of the ~40 bumble bee species that reside in Canada. I mimic my beloved study organism in my day-to-day life as well - just bumbling along, a bit clumsy, but working hard to be a good team player.

 

I was the pollinator field research coordinator from 2015-16 for the initiation of a large-scale beneficial insects monitoring program in southern Alberta led by Dr. Paul Galpern, and led Wildlife Preservation Canada's pollinator conservation program from 2016-18, implementing hands-on recovery projects for bumble bee species at risk in Ontario and Alberta. I was the founding president of the Native Bee Society of BC in 2019, serving on the board for 2.5 years and now act as an honorary board associate.

 

I'm passionate about native bees & native plants, communication & leadership, and community activism & social justice. In my free time I enjoy hanging out with my dog Koda, middle distance running, crocheting, hiking, gardening, listening to podcasts, and chasing, photographing, and identifying bumble bees.