Keynotes

Short Biography Suudhl Cindy Boyko served as the Council of the Haida Nation co-chair on the Gwaii Haanas Archipelago Management Board for twenty-five years, where she oversaw the signing of the Gwaii Haanas Marine Agreement and establishment of Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, the raising of the Legacy Pole at Hlk’yahGawGa Windy Bay …

Short Biography Ernie began his Parks Canada career in 1992 and became the agency’s first Haida Field Unit Superintendent in 2001. For over 20 years, he co-chaired the Gwaii Haanas Archipelago Management Board, advancing cooperative governance with the Haida Nation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In 2008, he received a Public Service Award of Excellence …

Short Biography Danielle Frank is a Hupa and Yurok changemaker from the Klamath River Basin, committed to Indigenous sovereignty, youth empowerment, and environmental justice. She recently transitioned from her role as Native Youth Coordinator at Native Americans in Philanthropy to serve full-time as Director of Development and Community Relations at Rios to Rivers. In this …

Short Biography: Dr Phanor H Montoya Maya is a coral reef restoration expert whose field experience began in Seychelles with the Reef Rescues project. He is the founder and former CEO of Corales de Paz, a Colombian organization focused on community-based reef restoration, and currently serves as the Restoration Program Manager at the Coral Restoration …

Short Biography: Dr Valerie Hagger is an ecologist based at The University of Queensland, Australia. Her research informs coastal wetland conservation and restoration through fieldwork, community engagement, large-scale data synthesis, modelling, and spatial analysis. Her novel study on the drivers of global mangrove losses and gains revealed promising conservation strategies to reverse mangrove losses in …