Our Team

Nathalie is a passionate supporter of land conservation and the land trust community in Canada. She was keen to join the Centre for Land Conservation, and as Chair contribute to establishing a performance assurance program, based on the Canadian Land Trust Standards and Practices.

For nearly 20 years Nathalie has worked closely with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), serving as Chair of both NCC’s national board and regional board in Quebec.  
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A forestry engineer by profession, with a master’s degree in environmental sciences and an MBA, Nathalie founded Envirostrategies Consulting Group. In recent years she has left the consulting business to devote more time to board memberships.

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Al brings more than 40 years’ experience as a wildlife/ habitat biologist to his CLC Board role.  

He is currently Executive Director of the Southern Interior Land Trust, and co-owns Bearfoot Resources Ltd., an environmental consulting business. Both groups actively conserve wildlife and their habitats in the southern interior of BC.

Al is a former senior provincial wildlife/habitat biologist in BC’s Okanagan Region, where he was pivotal in securing many private and Crown lands for conservation and has maintained an extensive network through his work with governments, non-governmental organizations, Indigenous communities, and industry. He is a Fellow and former director of the Association of Professional Biology.

Bruce is a communications consultant and business founder with a career spanning more than four decades.  

As a volunteer, he has been active in the conservation sector for a quarter century, including serving as the volunteer President of a local land trust in Ontario and as the national board Chair of the NCC. Bruce received the Vision Award in 2016 from the Ontario Land Trust Alliance.

In the not-for-profit conservation sector, Bruce is experienced in governance, fundraising, communications, donor relations, land acquisition and stewardship. He holds an MA in Public Administration from the University of Toronto.

Eliza is a cattle rancher in Tatlayoko Lake, a small community in the interior of British Columbia. She has served two terms on the national board of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and now serves on the NCC regional board in British Columbia. She is also a director of The Weston Family Foundation in Canada and the UK.

Karen Cooper practices charity and not-for-profit law with an emphasis on corporate and tax issues. Her practice focuses on creating, restructuring and maintaining corporations, governance issues, and securing and defending charitable registrations.

Karen also has extensive speaking and teaching experience, including as a part-time professor at top Canadian universities.  

She has been recognized as a leading expert in charity and not-for-profit law by Chambers, Lexpert, and The Best Lawyers in Canada. She also serves in a leadership capacity on several charity and not-for-profit boards and has provided legal advice to many land trusts and other environmental organizations.

Peter Arcese is a conservation and evolutionary biologist with extensive international experience studying large mammal, bird and plant populations.  

Peter is native to the Pacific Northwest and is deeply familiar with the ecology of marine and terrestrial systems, and the roles of Indigenous Peoples in their stewardship.

Peter has mentored more than 30 people who are now teaching in 8 countries, authored over 200 academic papers and books and served as Board Chair of Nature Trust British Columbia. He also served two terms on COSEWIC’s sub-committee on birds, and led many workshops on adaptive management, conservation planning, long-term monitoring of plants and animals, and private finance in conservation.

Sue joined the CLC Board in 2022 to contribute to the protection and stewardship of Canada’s natural environment, a cause that was the focus of her long career with the Government of Canada. Sue was the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Canadian Wildlife Service before she retired in 2021.She lead the service’s transformation into a modern conservation organization which placed significant emphasis on the creation and management of protected areas and recovery of species at risk. Earlier in her career she worked other environmental issues at both Environment Canada and Health Canada.

Sue currently serves as the President of her neighbourhood’s Community Association and has recently joined the Board of the Queensway Pinecrest Community Health Centre. She also mentors some of the next generation of public service managers.

Tara leads the Mining Association of Canada’s policy work related to Indigenous engagement, wildlife management and biodiversity conservation. She is passionate about responsible mining practices and has several years' experience working with mining companies, Indigenous organizations and others on the development and implementation of the mining sector’s Towards Sustainable Mining program.

Recognizing the important contribution that the land trust sector makes to conserving biodiversity, Tara joined CLC’s Board of Directors to apply her experience implementing an assurance process for responsible mining standards, to the development of a performance assurance program for the Canadian Land Trust Standards and Practices.

He worked with the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation  (recently renamed the Manitoba Habitat Conservancy – MHC) for three decades, including 12 years as CEO. MHC is an NGO  with over 91,000 hectares of owned lands and perpetual easements in Manitoba.  

Tim also had a lead role in creating MHC’s Conservation Trust and Growing Outcomes in Watersheds (GROW) Trust granting programs, which now provide $10 million annually to other organizations for natural areas and watershed-based conservation.  

Now retired from MHC, Tim continues to be engaged with local, national and continental conservation initiatives.

Kamal Rajani is a seasoned finance executive who has successfully navigated complex financial landscapes, ensured regulatory compliance, and implemented effective risk management strategies to safeguard organizational assets. Recently as CFO for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, he played a pivotal role in managing financial operations and investments that supported the organization’s mission to protect natural habitats and promote biodiversity.  

His work has always been driven by a passion for protecting the environment and empowering organizations to achieve their missions. He is deeply committed to supporting initiatives that address the pressing environmental challenges of our time and ensuring the financial health and sustainability of Centre for Land Conservation as it continues to make a meaningful impact.