Professional guides conduct each river trip

Organization

"The RiverWatch Institute of Alberta" is a charitable organization under the guidance of an eight-person Board of Directors and an incorporation advisor.

The day to day operations of the RiverWatch Institute of Alberta is under the management of four fulltime staff – executive director, business manager and two program coordinators.

RiverWatch implements its "on-river" educational programs with a sixteen-person staff of professional river guides certified to Transport Canada standards. Guides are responsible for safety, equipment, group dynamics, trip logistics, river interpretation and science instruction.

RiverWatch Directors at a Board Retreat held November 19th, 2011 at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre, Red Deer. Left to right: Jim Gendron, Howard Heffler, Steph Neufeld, Craig Ikeda, Joanne Steinmann, Stacie Lundberg and Terry Antoniuk. Missing behind the camera, Cal Kullman

RiverWatch Directors at the official naming of "The RiverWatch Institute of Alberta" March 15th, 2010 Left to right: Joanne Steinmann, Cal Kullman, Howard Heffler, Craig Ikeda and Terry Antoniuk

Howard Heffler enjoying the Bow River.

Howard R. Heffler
M. Eng.,
Environmental Management Consultant

Howard is an environmental manager who has worked in the petroleum and pipeline industry in Calgary for almost forty years. He has a B.Sc. Eng. from University of New Brunswick (1969) and an M. Eng. from McMaster University (1971). His career includes employment with major Canadian firms such as Dome Petroleum, Norcen Energy and Alliance Pipeline.

For the past ten years Howard has worked as a consultant to industry, leading major project regulatory applications. Howard has translated his love of nature and outdoor recreation into several community initiatives. He was instrumental in the efforts to re-build the Bow River weir into what is now the Harvie Passage project by Parks Foundation Calgary.

Currently Howard is co-leading a new initiative for Calgarians to celebrate their relationship to the Bow River. He is Chairman of the Board of RiverWatch, active with Bow Waters Canoe Club and an outdoor enthusiast.

Craig Ikeda
President, Mustard Productions

Craig has been a Television Commercial Writer/Producer/Director for the past 15 years having worked with The Calgary Flames, The Calgary Stampeders, The Calgary Health Region and Air Canada to name a few. Recently, he wrapped up on a National Television Campaign for the United Nations that won international recognition at the Promax World Gold awards.

Craig recently headed-up the Video Production department at Mosaic Studios in Calgary and was very honoured to be a part of a film festival that showcased the artistry and spirit of Calgary's local filmmakers.

Craig Ikeda is currently president and owner of Mustard Productions, a marketing and advertising company. He still maintains a close working relationship with Mosaic Studios as well as his contacts at Global Television. He's eager to move forward in the direction of more strategic marketing aspirations involving the latest in Social Media, Video for Internet - specifically webisodes and web-casting.

Terry Antoniuk in the Grand Canyon

Terry Antoniuk
Principal, Salmo Consulting Inc.

Terry has been involved with water, watersheds, and environmental education in various ways for over thirty-five years. He became involved with Riverwatch in 2009 because he believes it's important for our children and grandchildren to understand how important water is to our quality of life, and to gain first-hand experience about the way that our lives affect it.

Terry has led communication and outreach initiatives while a board member of Trout Unlimited Canada and Alberta Society of Professional Biologists. He is an aquatic biologist and principal of Salmo Consulting Inc. working with industry, government agencies, land-use planning organizations and non-profit groups to develop land and watershed management tools and objectives.

Terry spends much of his free time in boats and waders exploring western Canadian waters.

Joanne Steinmann
Coordinator, Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) for the University of Calgary

Joanne is presently the Coordinator of the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) for the University of Calgary. She is also instructing in the Master of Teaching program. Joanne is new to the university after having completed six years as the System Principal for AISI in the Calgary Board of Education.

Before undertaking her role in AISI, she was a principal in elementary schools, a consultant in science education and a specialist in reading. Joanne has been involved with Imagine Calgary and has sat on the Board of Directors for Fort Calgary and Volunteer Calgary (Governance Chair). She remains involved with Fort Calgary to help plan the Canadian Canoe Exhibit. All these responsibilities allow her to connect various organizations to the educational context and to highlight the magnificent work occurring in schools.

Joanne's work with AISI is based on a bold approach to supporting the improvement of student learning and performance by encouraging teachers, parents, and the community to work collaboratively to introduce innovative and creative initiatives based upon local needs and circumstances. The goal of AISI is to improve student learning through initiatives that enhance student engagement and performance and reflect the unique needs and circumstances of each school authority.

Cal Kullman at the end of a long day.

Cal Kullman
B. Sc., Educator

Cal has taught science and environmental education in Calgary secondary schools for a quarter century - a career that has made him old but young at heart. His informal teaching career included instructor certification for adult programs in swimming, xc-skiing, whitewater paddling and first-aid. He has paddled and camped along twenty-one rivers in the western provinces and NWT since the age of twelve.

Majoring in zoology, Cal worked two summers as a field research assistant in population studies of dippers in Kananaskis Country and blue grouse on Vancouver Island.

Cal has served as the conference chairman for the Alberta Teacher's Association Environmental and Outdoor Education Council. Cal's efforts to make the outdoors a valued place to learn have been recognized with the Prime Minister's National Award for Teaching Excellence, the Alberta Provincial Teaching in Excellence Award and the Alberta Teacher's Association Environmental and Outdoor Education Specialist Council Award of Merit.

Cal believes that our current environmental situation is one best handled by well-intentioned people working together in communities and across the generations. The creation and development of the charitable organization "RiverWatch" has been his career calling and life work.

Stacie Lundberg
B.A., Communications and Fund Development Specialist

Stacie is an active community volunteer. She joined the RiverWatch Board in 2010 and brings her communications and fund development experience to the organization.

Since 2005, Stacie has been a member of the Volunteer Calgary Board - an organization dedicated to building capacity in the voluntary sector where she has served as the Board Vice-Chair and Governance Committee Chair.

Stacie has been a Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon Committee volunteer for the past ten years. She also volunteers with her community soccer program and is a martial arts instructor.

Stacie has an Applied Communications Degree and a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She has completed the Leadership Calgary program (Class of 2008), Canadian Securities Course and National Certificate in Fundraising Management.

Stacie currently works as a senior development officer at Bow Valley College.

Jim Gendron
Principal, LTG Consulting

Jim Gendron is pleased to be a Board member with RiverWatch, an entrepreneurial, forward thinking organization that lives the organization definition of stewardship - "Service before self-interest".

Jim was a RiverWatch Board member from 2006 to 2009 and rejoined the Board in 2011.

Since graduating from Macdonald College of McGill University in 1974, his career has spanned occupations in the public sector - provincial park planning and operations (Prince Edward Island and Alberta); resource management and coordination of public land decision leaders (St. Paul, Alberta); tourism planning (Edmonton, Alberta); and the private sector - business planning and financial assessment; community tourism planning; public involvement; meeting planning, design and facilitation; and management consulting.

Jim has been the principal with LTG Consulting in Edmonton, Alberta since 2006.

Steph Neufeld
M.Sc., Watershed Specialist, EPCOR Water Services

Steph was born and raised on a farm near the McLeod River where she spent many summer days and nights along river banks or paddling sections of the river. She completed both her undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of Alberta. Her M.Sc. degree investigated the effects of land-use change on water quality and aquatic insect communities in Alberta streams.

After graduation, Steph worked as a consulting aquatic biologist for several years and currently works as a Watershed Specialist for EPCOR Water Services where her focus is on drinking water source protection and watershed management. She presently sits on the Integrated Watershed Management Plan steering committee for the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, is president of the Alberta Lake Management Society and a board member for RiverWatch.

Chris Brown, Spectrum HR Law, Managing Partner

Chris Brown
Spectrum HR Law, Managing Partner

Chris has been practicing law and providing pro-bono incorporation advice to RiverWatch since 1995. When once asked why he has remained involved with RiverWatch for so long, Chris replied, "RiverWatch is just a good idea."

Chris believes it is important to be involved in both professional and community organizations and to give back to the community in which we live. He has been a volunteer lecturer at the Alberta Bar Admission Course and is involved as a youth basketball coach.

Chris has been honored and recognized by the "The Best Lawyers in Canada". As the Managing Partner of Spectrum HR Law, his priority is to ensure a positive experience for all clients. His area of expertise is in pensions, benefits and executive compensation plans. He helps clients by providing practical, strategic guidance on governance, funding and structuring of these plans. He also advises clients on the impacts of mergers and acquisitions or other transactions on their plans and works with his colleagues on litigation matters relating to such plans.

Chris has extensive experience regarding legal issues impacting a wide variety of business trust structures.

Executive Director

Cal Kullman
B. Sc., Educator

See Cal's profile above.

Bev Donahue

Bev came to RiverWatch in 2000 from employment as the office manager for a busy Calgary commercial real estate company. Over the years, she has been instrumental in the growth of RiverWatch while managing the day-to-day business and the human resources that keep everything running smoothly.

Bev has worked with teacher-clients to build season schedules in Edmonton and Calgary while at the same time dealing with staffing, payroll, bookkeeping and year-end financials.

Bev has always had a passion for gardening and has recently attained "Master Gardener" designation through courses at the Devonian Botanical Gardens.

Lena Bunzenmeyer taking cover in the shade.

Lena Bunzenmeyer
B. Eng., M. Sc.

Lena has been working in the water and education field for the better part of the last ten years, having felt called to the career back in high school. Despite having no intentions of actually becoming an engineer, this early drive led her to an undergraduate degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering from the University of Alberta with the goal of gaining some useful technical skills.

Following work on several water projects spanning Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, she returned to school for graduate work, earning a Master's in International Development at the University of Manchester. During the course of writing her dissertation on water politics in North America, she discovered that many of the same issues she had been working with internationally - such as rapidly decreasing water quality and quantity - were present in her own backyard.

Drawing on her strong science background as well as a personal passion for working with water and people, Lena is currently managing the northern operations of RiverWatch as the Edmonton Program Coordinator. She is excited to be combining a lifelong love of the outdoors with the youth education component that is so crucial to the environmental sustainability of the Earth.

Rob Vickers at the Calgary put in.

Rob Vickers
B.Sc.

Rob came to RiverWatch after a very successful fourteen-year career with the University of Calgary Outdoor Centre. His specific responsibilities at the University were as the Director of Rafting Programs and his work included staff training, safety management, equipment maintenance and customer service.

Rob holds a Bachelor in Kinesiology Degree with a major in Outdoor Pursuits from the University of Calgary. His certifications include B.C. Commercial Raft Guide, Swift Water Rescue, National Coaching Level 2, Advanced Wilderness First Responder and Basic Life Support. He maintains memberships in the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and the Interpretive Guide Association.

Rob's move to RiverWatch was a very smooth transition into an environment that he was already very experienced with. His education, entrepreneurial sense and outdoor experience have been a valuable asset to RiverWatch. His professional focus includes high standards for customer satisfaction, company efficiency, problem solving, strong leadership and team development. He has a personal passion for working with people and helping to develop their careers. In the off-season, Rob is an accomplished backcountry ski and hiking guide.