Board of directors

Owen Leggatt Stewart (President & BC Director) (he/him) is an Aboriginal rights lawyer who was born and raised on the West Coast of Canada, where a love of fishing and camping has fuelled a growing concern for protection of the environment. Owen has been involved with environmental issues and organizations for over a decade. He has been a streamkeeper, worked for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and volunteered with the Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and Litigation. While Owen has deep roots in British Columbia, he has lived in or travelled to almost every province and territory in Canada, instilling a keen interest in the diversity of the country.

Owen briefly considered a career as an outdoor guide before questionably deciding that an office life would suit him better. Owen remains an avid backcountry camper and can be found gardening, fishing or cooking.

Shirley Barnea (Quebec Director) is a 19-year-old environmental activist from Montréal. Enchanted by nature since preschool, she gives everything she has to protect it, whether that be leading her high school and CEGEP green teams, convincing her parents to switch to an electric car or talking about climate change to everyone, all the time. She has also written op-eds for The Globe and Mail and The Montreal Gazette. Since 2020, Shirley has been a core organizer with Fridays for Future Montréal (@pourlefuturmtl), leading student strikes and climate protests (25 so far) with as many as 15,000 participants. As spokesperson for the group, she has given dozens of interviews. She is energetic, hardworking, empathetic and optimistic, and hopes to bring her unique perspective to the Sierra Club Canada team!

Regan Ratt-Misponas (he/him) is from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, having originally lived in Pinehouse Lake, Saskatchewan, for my upbringing. Currently, Regan lives and works in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where he is employed by the Service Employee’s International Union – West (SEIU-West) as a Community Outreach Worker. He also has had the great pleasure of serving on a number of Executive boards including the John Howard Society of Saskatchewan,and the We Matter Campaign..

Regan is working towards his Bachelor of Education at the University of Saskatchewan, where he was involved and served first as President for the Indigenous Students’ Council (now known as the Indigenous Students’ Union), and later on as President for the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union, simultaneously serving as a member of the Board of Governors for the post-secondary institution.

Since becoming a member of the Sierra Club Canada Foundation, Regan has been interested in serving in some capacity. His interest stems from involvement in the Committee for Future Generations, which was a group of concerned residents in Northern Saskatchewan who wanted to see the lands they lived on preserved for the generations to come.

Emily Heinrich (Treasurer) (she/her) is an accounting and tax professional with over 16 years of progressive experience working in public accounting, serving clients in a multitude of industries. She holds a Canadian CPA designation as well as a U.S. CPA license, and has a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Florida. She is a people leader and has been recognized for her excellence in mentorship and coaching. Emily can trace her roots as an environmental activist back to her childhood in the Florida Keys where she grew up with a self-sustained water system, a composting toilet, and an appreciation for her impact on the environment. She has lived on the west coast since 2006 and enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking, kayaking, and biking. She cares deeply about fostering kindness and consideration for each other and the environment and stands up for social justice and environmental protection.

Juliet Rennick (Secretary) (she/her) is passionate about environmental policies, environmental law and sustainable development. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business Administration, a Graduate Certificate in Government Relations and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Policy and Law. Her passion for sustainable communities and smart cities has seen her work with environmental not for profits in Kenya, Finland and in Canada. Juliet believes in a multi- disciplinary approach to advancing policies that result in sustainable cities and good governance of natural resources. She likes to swim, is enthusiastic about public transport in cities and enjoys quiet walks in nature trails.

Chloe Sterrett (Director at Large) (she/her) Chloe Sterrett is a sustainability professional, climate justice activist, and environmental policy analyst working in Toronto, Ontario. Before working for Ontario’s circular economy regulator (RPRA) as a bilingual Compliance Officer, she graduated from University of Toronto with an Honours B.A. in Environmental Studies, Environmental Science, and Political Science. Chloe has experience serving as a Board Member at Impact Zero Foundation (an environmental non-profit), and is very eager to contribute to Sierra Club Canada Foundation.

Chloe strongly aligns with SCCF’s core values, and is guided in her work from climate justice-affirmative actions, indigenous knowledge, youth perspectives, and appropriate representation. Each of Chloe’s experiences has afforded her newfound learnings, and believes it’s necessary to keep space for contributions and knowledges from others.

Nicole Tomasic (Director at Large) (she/her) is a lawyer currently practicing Aboriginal law in beautiful Coast Salish territory. She holds specializations in environmental, marine, Aboriginal and Indigenous law and has worked with several environmental non-profits. Passionate and curious about environmental, social and Indigenous justice, Indigenous sovereignty, decolonization and sustainability, Nicole is humbled by the continuous (re-)learning and self‐reflection that these concepts provoke. She loves being outdoors, whether hiking, camping, swimming, cycling, canoeing or marveling at the ever-changing garden. Nicole can also be found juggling a book and a mug of tea or taking in the rain, the ocean or the trees.

Heather McKinnon (Ontario Director) is passionate about the environment and dedicated to ongoing learning and advocacy in environmental sustainability and justice. Her efforts to protect local parkland and urban forests have deepened her understanding of the critical need to preserve green spaces for future generations.

From an early age, Heather’s passion for nature and wildlife was fostered through camping, hiking, canoeing and kayaking in British Columbia and Ontario. These experiences instilled a deep appreciation for the natural world and a commitment to its protection. She is particularly interested in initiatives that combat climate change, habitat destruction and raise awareness about biodiversity loss, promote environmental justice and healthy communities.

Heather works as an Operations Coordinator at a non-profit in Toronto, is currently the co-chair of the JHSC and has previously served on other workplace Joint Health, Safety and Environment committees. With a creative background working in photography and film production, she enjoys exploring and photographing urban spaces and natural places.

Matthew Pottruff (He/him) is a third year ENBUS (Environment and Business) student at the University of Waterloo, a passionate environmentalist dedicated to nature and the natural world and an avid mountain biker, hiker and outdoor enthusiast. Matthew has worked with multiple conservation non-profits in the past and currently, and finds joy in creating a more sustainable ecosystem and getting to meet all the amazing and passionate people along the way. Matthew is also a volunteer with the Bruce Trail along with his family as land stewards and trail captains for multiple properties in the Toronto section.

Brynna Kagawa-Visentin (Director At Large) (she/her) is an interdisciplinary environmental justice researcher, with experience as a coordinator and manager in climate and fashion justice, and conservation non-profits. She is passionate about investigating different core perspectives and concepts from the arts, humanities and social sciences to better design solutions that address the root causes of current challenges to just and sustainable futures. She holds a HBSc in Kinesiology at McMaster University, a BSc in Environmental Practice with distinction at Royal Roads University, and will be pursuing a MSc in Environment, Culture and Society at the University of Edinburgh in the Fall 2022. She has served as Chairman of the Board of the Sierra Youth Executive Committee (Sierra Youth Podcast) for the past two years and is committed to helping young people build the skills, knowledge and tools necessary to meaningfully engage in and catalyze environmental and social change.

Bo Simango (Director At large) (he/him) is the CEO and co-founder of Aquafort, a startup developing a predictive data analytics platform for the finfish aquaculture industry. He entered the world of land-based aquaculture, to explore solutions related to fish health & welfare management issues that threaten global food security, ecosystem health and sustainable fish production. Having cofounded two previous ventures including a multi-award winning startup, he is deeply passionate about value-generating emerging technologies, the environment, and technological contributions to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

He has won a number of environment-related national and international awards and was recently made a finalist of the 2021 Clean50 Emerging Leaders award, an award recognizing Canada’s top 50 clean tech leaders. Having initially worked in extractive industries and informed by those experiences, he is deeply passionate about eco-conservation and vitality. Bo possesses multi-cultural fluency and holds a B. Engineering and MSc.