Shannon Frank

Executive Director

Email: shannon@oldmanwatershed.ca
General: info@oldmanwatershed.ca

As Executive Director since August 2011, Shannon is proud of how she has grown the OWC’s impact by investing in fund development, communications, and outreach. Under her leadership, the OWC has boosted its ability to engage citizens in improving the health of the watershed.

Shannon’s passion for the environment stems from growing up in the boreal forest outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario surrounded by water and wildlife, and spending time fishing and camping with her family.

Shannon holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science from the University of Lethbridge. Her past work experience for MULTISAR and the City of Lethbridge focused on environmental education and engaging communities, which she believes are most critical to achieving sustainability.

In 2016, Shannon was nominated to the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce Top 40 under 40 for her contributions to the community.

Shannon, her husband, and their dogs enjoy fishing, walking, and working on their home.

Kallie Val-Zehan
Desruisseaux

Office Manager

Email: kallie@oldmanwatershed.ca
General: info@oldmanwatershed.ca

As Office Manager, Kallie is available to help with many aspects of the Council, including dealing with new and renewing memberships, donations, tracking in-kind volunteer hours, and more.

Kallie was born and raised in rural Southern Alberta and attended the University of Lethbridge, graduating with a BA in Philosophy (Honours with Great Distinction) in 2008. She wrote Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Uniform Final Evaluation in 2013, achieving the National Honour Roll.

Kallie lives with her husband Wallie Desruisseaux, and their young son Oliver.

As someone who grew up on a riverside acreage serviced by well water, Kallie appreciates the importance of water management. She is excited to be a part of Oldman Watershed Council and hopes to help make a positive difference in promoting the health and resiliency of our shared water, land, and wildlife.

Shannon Hart

Watershed Stewardship Assistant

Shannon was born and raised on her family’s ranch near Claresholm, Alberta, and grew up fishing and camping. As a result, she developed a deep love for both agriculture and the environment. Shannon completed an Ecosystem Management Applied Bachelor’s Degree at Lethbridge College, graduating in 2019. She was heavily involved in the Lethbridge College Ducks Unlimited Student Chapter and is an active member of the Claresholm Fish & Game Club.

Emily Purvis

Restoration Manager

Emily has joined the Oldman Watershed Council as a Restoration Manager in collaboration with the Agroforestry and Woodlot Extension Society (AWES). She is piloting this split role to focus on planning and implementing tree and forestry-based restoration across the Oldman Watershed, as well as other beneficial habitat management activities. Emily is looking forward to strengthening connections with diverse land managers and continuing to lay down roots in this region (both figuratively and literally).

Emily has been fortunate to wear many hats in her career so far, with most positions focusing on monitoring and recovery of sensitive species or habitats. Emily first came to Alberta to complete a Master of Science degree at the University of Calgary. During her Master’s research, Emily assessed how restored rangeland in the Prairie Pothole Region influenced wild bee recovery over a 25-year period, and identified flowering plants that would best support wild bees in future restorations, with emphasis on species at risk. Emily has also held a variety of other diverse roles––from monitoring deer in the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, to assessing water quality in the Great Lakes with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Most recently, Emily worked with Cows and Fish, where she collaborated with land managers to complete riparian stewardship projects across southern Alberta.

Outside of work you’ll find Emily hiking the coulees of Lethbridge along the Oldman River or bagging peaks in Waterton Lakes National Park (she’s hiked nearly every trail in the park!). Emily is thrilled to continue to work and recreate in the watershed she is proud to call home.

Sofie Forsström

Education Program Manager

Email: sofie@oldmanwatershed.ca

Since joining the team in 2015, Sofie has been managing the education and outreach for OWC, including the Engaging Recreationists project, in order to promote watershed literacy and cultivate a strong sense of place. She is also a Project WET Canada facilitator.

Prior to joining the team at OWC, Sofie worked as a science educator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller. She has also worked as an interpreter for Alberta Parks, and has conducted pasture research, fuelling her fascination with southern Alberta.

Having grown up in rural Alberta, the outdoors is a large part of her life. Sofie spent two years abroad for her graduate studies, working with an international cohort of students and exploring ecosystems as diverse as the Baltic coast of Germany, the Fenno-Scandinavian arctic, and the semi-arid rangelands of Central Asia.

Sofie earned a Master of Science in Applied Ecology from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from the University of Alberta Augustana Campus in Camrose.

Jon Martin

Communications Manager

Email: jon@oldmanwatershed.ca

As Communications Manager, Jon brings a wealth of creative expertise and communications experience to the Oldman Watershed Council. Since joining OWC in 2018, he has built on the watershed literacy, health, stewardship, and communication initiatives, while expand into new areas and reaching new audiences.

Growing up on the Southern Alberta prairies, Jon’s interest in the nature feature in his electroacoustic compositions, where sounds from the natural world are captured and used as the source material for musical works. His past experiences in media-based education, technology, creative development, and communications, and inform his strategic approach to information dissemination and community engagement.

Jon completed his master’s degree at the University of Lethbridge and was awarded the graduate Medal of Merit for academic excellence for his work in psychology and electroacoustic music composition. His work has have been featured in film, television, ad campaigns, gallery exhibitions, and conferences, including an installation at Burning Man Festival in the Black Rock Desert, at the National Music Centre in Toronto, and in a permanent exhibit at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller. He is inspired by travel, things that make sound, photography, creative processes, and cognitive psychology.

Maria Albuquerque

Project Assistant

Adaptation Resilience Training Program

Maria had to cross the Americas to call the Oldman watershed home. She was born and raised in Brazil, and always passionate about nature. Her first time in Canada, was for an undergrad exchange program at University of Alberta, as a biology student. She graduated at the Universidade de Brasília, in Brazil's capital, with two degrees, BSc in biology and a teaching certificate. During her undergraduate years, Maria has been part of many different labs and research, from bats and parrots to plants and insects. The classrooms also called Maria's attention, and when she graduated she taught biology for grades 11 and 12 before returning to Canada for a master's degree in education at Simon Fraser University. Her thesis was on ocean literacy through place-based education. Her research supported experiential and place-based learning as a strong pedagogy in connecting students to their local marine life. Yes, Maria loves the ocean and has a special passion for whales but she has also fallen in love with the prairies and its wildlife. Maria is excited with the versatility of her current position which involves field work, environmental education and research. Maria's personal and professional purses is to foster people's connection to their place so that together they can make it a better one for all living organisms and the future generations.