Staff & Board
OUR STAFF
Jill Ryan, Executive Director – Jill Ryan received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Grand Valley State University in Michigan, her Master’s Degree in Zoology from the University of Maine, and her law degree from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. She has a background in nonprofit management and capacity building, environmental toxicology, and human services, and has taught environmental law and legal research. Jill has held positions with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Chautauqua Area Girl Scout Council, was the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund Director for over seven years and is now the Executive Director of Freshwater Future. Jill and her family live in Jamestown, New York where they enjoy kayaking, fishing, biking, hiking, swimming, skiing and camping.
Andréa Dubé, Program Director – Andréa is a Program Director with Freshwater Future in Canada. Andréa has over a decade of experience working on a variety of conservation programs with non-profit and government organizations in Ontario. These include developing and implementing watershed strategies, coordinating drinking water protection plans, creating community-based conservation programs, and delivering funding programs to increase the adoption of beneficial agricultural practices. Andréa has a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of Guelph in Ontario and a MSc in Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. She lives in Guelph, Ontario, in the Lake Erie watershed, and enjoys hiking and paddling with her family.
OUR BOARD
Kelsey Scarfone is a Canadian environmental advocate with a background in freshwater and conservation policy. She’s currently the Policy & Campaigns Manager for the protected areas program at Nature Canada. Kelsey is a dedicated environmentalist and community-oriented person, with a passion for building capacity in grassroots groups to organize for change. In her spare time, Kelsey enjoys hiking, swimming, and spending time near any one of the Great Lakes (with an extra special place in her heart for Erie and Huron). Kelsey strongly believes in the power we hold when we come together to protect the water and the nature that we love so much.
Nancy Goucher is the Knowledge Mobilization Specialist at the University of Waterloo’s Water Institute. In her role, she ensures water research produced at the university is actively used and contributes to water management solutions in Canada and abroad. Previous to the University of Waterloo, Nancy worked for 10+ years to shape water policy conversations across Canada, particularly in the Great Lakes. Nancy has previously held positions at Freshwater Future, Environmental Defence and the Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW). She graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Master’s degree in Planning in 2007. Her research focused on the identification of facilitating conditions for creating new knowledge and adapting to change in watershed-based organizations.