Board of Directors

James Appleyard
Kathryn Arthur
Izabela van Amelsvoort
David Hurst
Jennifer Neill
Val Deziel
John F. Foster
Shayla Jackson
Julie Hall
Graham Buck
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Director
Director
Director
Director
Director
Director
Toronto ON
Essex ON
Cambridge ON
St. Catharines ON
Stouffville ON
Roseneath ON
Oshawa ON
London ON
Windsor ON
Waterloo ON

To contact any of our directors, please send an email to info@tallgrassontario.org and your message will be forwarded to the appropriate person.

Executive

James Appleyard
President

James is a venture capital investor and entrepreneur.  He serves as chair of the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Arts, vice-chair of the Canadian International Council, and as a senior fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto.  James and his family are currently restoring a farm property in Dufferin County, Ontario.

Kathryn Arthur
Vice President

Kathryn Arthur is a Restoration Biologist at the Essex Region Conservation Authority, Essex, Ontario.

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Izabela van Amelsvoort
Secretary

Izabela van Amelsvoort is a Terrestrial Ecologist with North-South Environmental Inc. and is the Secretary of Tallgrass Ontario. 

Izabela completed a B.Sc. in Environmental Science (Guelph) and Masters in Forest Conservation (Toronto). She has since worked in environmental consulting as a Terrestrial Ecologist with a primary focus on botany. Her experience includes tallgrass prairie and other restoration projects and managements plans as well as studies and research relating to Species at Risk in Ontario.
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David Hurst
Treasurer

David Hurst, MBA, has experience working as a business consultants for various non-profits. David also has experience working in the banking sector, as a university instructor, as well as with the Canada Revenue Agency. David has extensive volunteer experience including with various youth and adult hockey programs.

Directors

Val Deziel
Director

Val Deziel completed her Hon. BSc in Restoration Ecology at Trent University. She is currently the Director of Restoration Programs at Forest Ontario and is responsible for coordinating and conducting stewardship work and habitat restoration in forest and grassland ecosystems.

Jennifer Neill
Director

Jennifer Neill is an ecologist and Principal of  Insight Environmental Solutions Inc. during the day and a multidisciplinary Artist by night. 

Julie Hall
Director

Julie Hall is a guide for the City of Windsor's Ojibway Prairie Complex and volunteer with Friends of Ojibway Prairie. Julie received a Master of Fine Art from the University of Guelph and her Landscape Horticulture Diploma at St. Clair College. She is a certified Interpretive Guide and Ontario Master Naturalist.

Shayla Jackson
Director

Shalya received a Master of Science at the University of Winnipeg in Bioscience, Technology and Public Policy where she studied differences in the diet and behaviour of coyotes in southwestern Saskatchewan grasslands. She is currently working on her Ph.D. at the University of of Guelph studying wildlife biology and conservation.

John F. Foster
Director

John is a Teacher and Botanist who completed his B.Ed. and H.BSc. at Lakehead University. He volunteers for many environmental and art groups.

Graham Buck

Graham lives in Guelph, Ontario and is passionate about the preservation of native landscapes and their recovery through ecological restoration and naturalization. His area of expertise is the identification of plants with a focus on tallgrass species. He has also participated in numerous tallgrass prairie restoration projects, particularly in Brant, Hamilton and Waterloo counties.

Staff

David Beamer
Executive Director

David Beamer has held many environmental positions associated with the restoration and management of habitat, parks, and conservation lands.  While acting in these positions David managed local and provincial environmental programs designing and implementing wildlife habitat restoration projects such as riverine, wetland, forest, and tallgrass prairie restoration. 

Previous Directors of Tallgrass Ontario (years served in brackets)

Cathy Quinlan (7), Mark Emery (6),  Wayne MacMillan (2), Peter Carson (6), Lee McLean (6), Lindsay Rodger (4),  Paul Pratt (6),  Ken Nentwig (6), Christine Elliot (4),  Tony Jovan (2), Will Wilson (3), Paul Ohara (2), John Haggeman (5), Jane Bowles (4), Graham Buck (9),  Nikki S. May (6), Todd Farrell (5), David Morris (2), Ken Towle (5), John Henderson (2), Scott Martin (7), Alistair MacKenzie (3), Kathy Hodgins (3), Glenn McLeod (3), Kristen Thompson (2), Dan Barcza (6), Barbara Macdonell (5), Dan Lebedyk (9), Carol Dunk (2), Elizabeth Reimer (6), Danielle Aullenback (3), Steve Rankin (11), Jennifer Lau (4), Pat Deacon (9), Jack Chapman (18), Tom Purdy (18), Dan Stuart (9), Karen Cedar (9), Jeff Bakker (5), Season Snyder (10).

Others who made significant contributions:  Wasyl Bakowsky, Paul Smith, Mary Gartshore, Allen Woodliffe, Don Gordon, Ron Ludolph and Kyle Breault.