Meet the YLICP Youth Advisory Committee
The Youth Leaders in Conservation Program (YLICP) will provide youth with knowledge and skills to advocate for conservation issues in BC.
Clea Schooner
Clea Schooner (she/her) is a member of the Heiltsuk Nation and resides in Bella Bella, BC. She has spent her life surrounded by knowledge keepers who have instilled the value of the environment. Clea is cognizant of the impact she has on everything and everyone around her. Ms. Schooner works to find ways to preserve the life and spirit of the people who have come before her to preserve environmental sustainability, she does so through her personal and professional life as she leads communications for Qqs Projects Society, a community-driven charitable non-profit focused on the Great Bear Rainforest. Qqs implements climate action in each step of programming. Her work with Qqs reflects her values and beliefs.
Ellen Trottier
Stay tuned!
Emily Markholm
Emily Markholm (she/her) is the Special Projects Coordinator for Wildsight’s Youth Climate Corps (YCC) and has been a member of the Sierra Youth Executive Committee since 2019. Emily lives on the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh. She completed a diploma in Recreation, Fish and Wildlife at Selkirk College in 2019 and recently returned to school this fall at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George where she is studying Wildlife and Fisheries. She grew up in the mountains of the southern interior of British Columbia where her passion for the outdoors evolved into a career in environmental conservation.
Kluane Buser-Rivet
Kluane (she/her) is a human resources and conflict resolution consultant, mediator and facilitator with 10 years experience with non-profits, businesses and local and provincial governments. She is a queer settler of French-Canadian and Swiss ancestry. Kluane’s involvement in CPAWS-BC’s youth programming began in 2011 as a participant in the first ever Get Outside BC Summit, and continued over the years as she took a leadership role in youth program delivery with the organization. Kluane is the former Youth Director of the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada and Coordinator of its by-youth-for youth arm, the Natural Leaders Alliance.
Kluane holds an M.A. in Peace Education from the United Nations’ mandated University for Peace and a B.A. in Conflict Resolution Studies with a specialization in Restorative Justice and Indigenous Studies. In her spare time, Kluane enjoys jumping into the wild waters of rivers and oceans, being a hobby herbalist and writing snail mail.
Tesicca Truong 張慈櫻 Trương Từ Anh
Tesicca Truong (she/elle/她) is a community engagement innovator, an anti-oppressive dialogue facilitator, and a serial changemaker. Her passions lie at the intersection of youth empowerment, citizen engagement and community building. She co-founded CityHive, a non-profit on a mission to transform the way young people shape their cities and the civic processes that engage them. She also co-created the inaugural Vancouver School Board Sustainability Conference, currently in its tenth year and kick-started the Vancouver Youth4Tap Coalition, a city-wide campaign which led to the installation of new water fountains in every public high school in Vancouver. Most recently, she worked in Ministerial Offices both federally and provincially.
Tesicca has served on the Mayor’s Engaged City Task Force, BC’s Climate Solutions and Clean Growth Advisory Council, and SFU Senate. For her work, she was awarded SFU President’s Leadership in Sustainability Award and Vancouver’s Greenest City Leadership Award. Tesicca has also been named on Top 30 under 30 and Top 25 under 25 lists by Corporate Knights, North American Association for Environmental Education, and Starfish Canada. You can find her longboarding around the city, swimming in the ocean and rock climbing in the mountains.
Zohreh Rezaiemanesh
Zohreh (she/they) spent her early life growing up on her own traditional territories in Iran, as well as living as a settler in Canada. Their experiences of diasporic Indigeneity, racialization, and queer identity inform much of their work and interest in environmental conservation and justice.
Zohreh has worked as a facilitator and environmental educator focused on youth empowerment and equity with organizations such as ISS of BC and Metro Vancouver’s Youth 4 Action team for over five years. In addition to her facilitation work, Zohreh worked as a research assistant at the UBC Farm with both the Biodiversity Monitoring Program and Experimental Crop Rotation Group.
After graduating from UBC with a BSc. (Hons) in Natural Resource Conservation: Conservation and Resource Management, Zohreh joined the Burns Bog Conservation Society as Education and Outreach Coordinator. She cares deeply about environmental accessibility and justice, hands-on learning, and reconciliatory approaches to conservation. In her free time, you are likely to see Zohreh walking her dog, Ocean, on local trails, and looking for critters in tidal pools.
The CPAWS-BC team intends to challenge the belief that all pronouns can be assumed and practices sharing of gender pronouns to create a supportive community for all people. If we fail to respect someone else’s gender identity, it is not only disrespectful and hurtful but also oppressive (1). Learn more about CPAWS-BC commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion within every aspect of our work to protect lands, inland waters, and ocean.