Our Board
We’re recruiting for the Alberta Native Bee Council Board! The positions of treasurer and member at large are open, and we will be filling them at our upcoming AGM on June 18, 2024. To apply, please fill out our nomination form and email it to info@albertanativebeecouncil.ca.
Megan Evans
President
Megan holds a degree in Environmental Science and a master's degree in Ecology from the University of Calgary. She became interested in bees when she worked as a summer student on a pollinator research study with Agriculture Canada. Megan joined the Alberta Invasive Species Council as their Executive Director in 2000, after spending five years with the provincial government. Megan has participated as a Board Director for the Alberta Invasive Species Council; the Entomological Society of Alberta; and co-founded the Alberta Native Bee Council in 2017.
Sydney Worthy
ANBC Taxonomist
Sydney is a graduate from the University of Alberta, completing her MSc research on the native pollinators, especially the native bees, of southern Alberta. Sydney now works as the Entomologist for the City of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, but continues to work towards the protection and appreciation of our wild bees. In her free time, Sydney likes to draw, hike, and photograph wildlife.
Lisa Naeme
Vice President
Lisa works at the science-policy interface, with a focus on biodiversity. Her graduate work at Simon Fraser University investigated pollinator diversity and pollination services in natural and agricultural ecosystems.
Caroline Whitehouse
Treasurer
Caroline is a forest entomologist, chicken herder, and drinker of fermented things. Lola the dog, though sometimes skeptical, supports her human in these endeavours.
Mathias Fenton
Secretary
Mathias is an Ecology and Biology instructor at Mount Royal University. He has a passion for observing and listening to nature, with a particular interest in insects, birds, wildflowers and trees. For his MSc at the University of Calgary he studied the acoustics of mountain pine beetles and lodgepole pine. To promote the conservation of native bees he raises awareness for them among his students and friends, and he frequently contributes to citizen science.
Charity Briere
Director
Charity studied entomology at the University of Alberta, completing her BSc in 1999. She kept herself entomologically-engaged as a stay-at-home Mom by taking aquatic invertebrate identification contracts, teaching casually at Red Deer College, and taking up beekeeping. Charity has since given up on beekeeping, shifting her interest to the ecology of wild bees. Currently, she is completing an MSc thesis on how bumble bees may be impacted by hobby beekeeping in Red Deer. Charity is re-landscaping her front yard to create wild bee habitat just in case some bees want to move in. So far it looks like they do!
Meghan Jacklin
Director
Meghan was raised in the Edmonton area and has a passion for all things nature, especially birds. After finishing her BSc in Environmental and Conservation Sciences from the University of Alberta, she worked for the Beaverhill Bird Observatory for three years doing biology fieldwork and education outreach. She now works for the Edmonton and Area Land Trust (EALT) stewarding land for the benefit of wildlife and future generations. She leads the Protecting Pollinators program at EALT and is interested in expanding her knowledge of native bees, and helping others learn about them, as well.
Ron Miksha
Director
Ron has kept honey bees since childhood but became concerned about the impact honey bees may have on native bees. He spent four years at the University of Calgary researching this complex relationship. Ron now teaches beekeepers how to mitigate environmental harm and foster native bee success. The photograph shows Ron collecting pollen from honey bees, which he compares to native bee pollen to determine resource competition.
Samantha Morrice
Contractor
Samantha graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with an MSc Ecology, where her primary focus was native bee population dynamics in remnant and restored agroecosystems in Saskatchewan prairies. She has always had a fondness for animals, especially insects, and she is passionate about science communication initiatives that increases interest and awareness around their conservation.