Directors: baxter creek watershed alliance

---

Chris Grayson recently retired as the CEO of Community Living Upper Ottawa Valley and is the former CEO of Community Living Campbellford Brighton. He has lived for four years on McGuire Drive in Millbrook and over 40 years in the Peterborough area.

He is the president and sole proprietor of CGA and Associates Inc. He is a former board member of COIN Peterborough and an economic development committee member of Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce.

Chris is an international speaker and subject matter expert in employment supports for people with disabilities and on Quality Assurance and Accreditation. He received the only Canadian Person Centred Excellence Accreditation with Distinction, one of only six in the world in 2016.

He has acted on numerous provincial Policy development committees and is an accomplished public speaker with conference coordination skill sets.

He is an avid and active outdoorsman who loves fishing, camping, golfing, and soccer and is a proud Poppa to four grandkids.

Wilma Armstrong is an elementary educator with 23 years of teaching experience, primarily in Kindergarten through Grade 3. For nearly 20 years, she has taught at Millbrook South Cavan Public School, where she developed a passion for outdoor learning and environmental stewardship.

A graduate of Trent University (B.A. Honours) and Queen's University (B.Ed.), Wilma has helped create outdoor learning spaces within the school's forested areas, allowing students to explore nature, local ecosystems, and wildlife through hands-on experiences. Following climate education training, she became a strong advocate for nature-based and climate education, helping students develop an understanding of the reciprocal relationship between people and the land while fostering respect for Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing. In recognition of her commitment to place-based learning, she received an award for active participation in the Pathway to Stewardship & Kinship program, which focused on connecting young children with local landmarks, community, and the natural environment.

A lifelong Millbrook resident, Wilma attended both public and high school in the village and, with the loving support of her husband of 45 years, raised her family in the community they continue to call home. She is the proud grandmother of three delightful grandchildren.

Wilma is a founding board member and current Chair of the Old Millbrook School EarlyON Child and Family Centre. She has remained actively involved since helping establish the Centre in 2001.

As a Director with the Baxter Creek Watershed Alliance, Wilma is pleased to contribute her experience in education, community engagement, and environmental stewardship to support the protection of the watershed for future generations. 

Craig Onafrychuk graduated in 1998 from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology with courses in Indigenous Learning. He obtained an Applied Digital Geography and GIS Certificate from Ryerson in 2005 before completing a Masters in Spatial Analysis in Physical Geography from Ryerson University and University of Toronto in 2007.

Craig is a geomatics professional trained in Ecological Land Classification and Remote Sensing and has worked across private, public, non-government and non-profit sectors. He believes that people and communities benefit from a sense of place. He is keen in nature interpretation, ecological science, traditional knowledge and ethnobotany. He has 20 years of experience in working with topographic data to produce hydrology mapping. He is particularly interested in the hydrological connectivity of streams, water bodies, wetlands, and their groundwater interface through seeps and springs. He has contributed to integrated environmental monitoring and environmental data management across the province having worked in private, non-profit, and provincial government. 

Craig is active in the outdoors enjoying hiking, canoeing, camping and appreciating natural and cultural heritage. 

Heather Klyn-Hesselink holds degrees in Medical Radiation Science, Geography, and Geology, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Environmental and Life Sciences at Trent University. Her research focuses on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through Enhanced Rock Weathering as a climate change mitigation strategy, while also investigating how mineral soil amendments affect agricultural productivity.

An active member of the Trent University community, Heather serves as Vice-President, Senate, for the Trent Graduate Student Association. In this role, she organizes events, serves on numerous university committees, and contributes to policy development, governance, and grant reviews.

Beyond academia, Heather is deeply involved in the Peterborough community, where she has supported local volunteer organizations and municipal election campaigns through outreach and policy research. Outside of work, she enjoys singing, studies with a local vocal coach, performs with community choirs, and is an enthusiastic animal lover who never misses an opportunity to laugh at the antics of her furbabies.

Heather is honoured to serve as a Director with BCWA and looks forward to supporting the organization's mission to protect, preserve, and promote education about this remarkable ecosystem.

Mark Battson graduated from St. Clair College’s Business Administration Accounting program in 2004. From there he entered the world of accounting and financial reporting across several industries, working predominantly for locally owned businesses. He has helped develop and improve financial reporting and processes in a variety of fields, including Engineering, Retail, and Telecommunications.  He recently began working at Trent University’s Finance department as Reporting Analyst to bring his reporting expertise to the Not-For-Profit Education sector.

Mark’s family moved to Millbrook in 2015 shortly after the birth of their daughter, and quickly fell in love with the area.

With his background in policy and reporting creation Mark is excited to add his administrative and financial skills to support the operations and accountability of both the BCWA and OMJLA.

Stefanie Coxe is a Ph.D. student in Environmental & Life Sciences at Trent University and holds a master's degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Helsinki. 

Her current research uses high-tech tracking collar technologies and spatial analyses to better understand how free-ranging Canada lynx respond to anthropogenic factors and changing ecosystem dynamics. She also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, supporting the next generation of scientists.

Stefanie has experience in scientific communication, collaboration with government agencies, spatial analysis, drone technology, radio and GPS telemetry, bioacoustics, and other wildlife monitoring techniques. She has contributed to projects across North America and Europe, including studies of non-native shrimp, threatened desert tortoises, cetaceans, bats, protected fish habitat, and endangered Allegheny woodrats.

She enjoys camping, exploring natural landscapes, spending time in and on the water, experiencing diverse cultures, and learning new things. She is enthusiastic about contributing new knowledge to the ecological community and using science to inform evidence-based decision-making through interdisciplinary partnerships and meaningful engagement with local communities.

Dr. Kerin grew up in a farming family in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland. He is a graduate in medicine and a postgraduate in biochemistry from the National University of Ireland and McGill University (Occupational Health Sciences). He holds a fellowship designation from the Canadian Board of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Noel is a member of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the Canadian Occupational and Environmental Medical Association.

Dr. Kerin has practiced occupational and environmental medicine for 30 years. In this field, he has worked with several of the toxic agents that pollute water systems. He has led the study of occupational diseases in workers at General Electric (GE) and Ventra Plastics, in Peterborough, Ontario, since 2004. The GE investigation is the largest worker toxicology study conducted in Canada. Pollution from these industries has caused persistent pollution in the water basin of the Little Lake/Otonabee River system. These experiences have encouraged him to continue the quest to understand and advocate clean water for all of Nature.

Noel and his wife Kasia live on a farm in the Cavan-Monaghan township on the Oak Ridges Moraine, where they have established a 36-acre eco-restoration program in consultation with the Kawartha Land Trust.

Graham Whitelaw has over 20 years of experience in the land use and environmental policy fields, ten of those with the Land Use Policy Branch, Ontario Ministry of the Environment. He has extensive consulting experience providing services to government and the non-government organization sector and is an accomplished facilitator bringing innovation to the policy development process through public engagement processes. 

He completed his PhD in the School of Planning, University of Waterloo in 2006 and joined Queen's University in 2007. He is currently a volunteer Director with the Save the Oak Ridges Moraine Coalition and the Oak Ridges Institute for Applied Sustainability.