Leadership
Overview
BC Marine Trails is governed by an Executive — consisting of a President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary — with a Board of up to 7 more Directors, each holding a specific portfolio within our organization. Board members serve for alternative two-year terms and must be BCMT members to be nominated. Once nominated, Directors are voted in at our Annual General Meeting in November.
Our Board, committee members, and volunteer teams work hard, splitting their time between desk work — IT, meetings, and strategic planning — to work in the field, which includes invasive species removal, plastics and debris clean-up, to site assessments and on-site maintenance. Contact us through our Helpdesk.
Executive
Paul Grey
President, Sits on various Committees
Paul is a fourth generation Vancouver Islander with his roots in the Nanaimo-Extension area. He has worked for the BC Marine Trails as a volunteer for approximately 9.5 years in a number of capacities. He is in his eighth year as president. He helped design the various programs (tri-approach or three pillars) that has made the BCMT successful.
He enjoys hiking, paddling, writing, travelling (Paul is sitting outside the Mount Kenya Safari Club) and reading. Paul is also the co-author of Easykayaker: A guide to laid-back paddling and Kayaking Vancouver Island.
Karina Younk
Co-Vice-President & Chair of Stewardship Committee
Karina lives in Nanaimo and has been kayaking many areas of the West Coast for 20 years. When not paddling, she is swimming, hiking, skiing or travelling. Karina considers herself fortunate to have been included in many 2-4 week paddle expeditions along the Central Coast, Vancouver Island, and around Haida Gwaii. Many of her friends have contributed to building BCMT’s vision and now that she has retired from her rewarding career in teaching and administration, Karina has time to pursue her outdoor passions and share this appreciation in new ways. Last year, Karina got involved with BCMT by promoting World Oceans Week or WOW, encouraging all paddlers to contribute in a small way to protecting the beauty of BC’s coastal network of trails by collecting debris each time they paddle. Karina has agreed to co-host the Stewardship Committee and is excited about working with a great team!
Norman Marcy
Co-Vice-President & Chair of First Nations Committee
Norman has been kayaking since the late 1970s and has been on ocean adventures in BC, Alaska, Central America and Russia. Having lead an adventurous life and been involved in negotiations with First Nations since 1990, he brings a wealth of knowledge to assist BCMT with First Nation Engagement Strategy activities. In recognition of the important role that BCMT is undertaking in working together with First Nations along the Coast, Norman volunteers considerable time through the BCMT First Nations Working Group and contributes financially as a monthly BCMT Trail Blazer.
From the BCMT president: Norm has been instrumental in the development of the BCMT’s First Nation’s engagement process. Our association has been lucky to have his helping hand!
Robert Holley
Treasurer & Chair of Trails Development Committee
Robert has been a resident of Vancouver since the early 80s and has been an avid fan of water sports since washing up on the coast. He is a Paddle Canada Level 1 kayaking instructor, a decent rower and stand-up paddler, a moderately capable windsurfer and not a very good sailor. Robert was so inspired by the creation of the Salish Sea Marine Trail that he paddled it with his wife Barb the year that it was officially opened. This opened his eyes to the many possibilities and challenges involved in connecting the coast for paddlers, and made the decision to join BCMT an easy one.
Susie Youle
Secretary & Member of Stewardship and Fundraising Committees
From an early age, Susie was involved in the outdoors. Childhood weekends and holidays were spent traveling throughout Alberta and BC with her parents, camping and hiking. Skiing soon grew to be a passion and she spent many years in the Rockies, skiing, camping, hiking and climbing. She moved to BC and added sailing, paddling and a love of the ocean to her interests, living on the water in a floating home for seventeen years. That experience made her realize how fragile our waterways are and how overused and under protected they are. She has long been a member of Nanaimo Paddlers and was heavily involved in club administration for a number of years. Through Nanaimo Paddlers she has followed BC Marine Trails from its infancy, and looks forward to contributing to its further growth and success.
Board of Directors
Martin Ryer
Director & Member of Communications Committee
Martin lives and paddles on Vancouver Island, the Comox Valley and surrounding areas. He feels most at home on the island, surrounded by not only the coastal and inland mountain ranges but also the Pacific Ocean, countless lakes, rivers, streams and the rainforest. To him, its beauty and tranquility is unsurpassed. Martin is inspired by and dedicates his efforts towards all those who know what it means and how it feels to paddle through the fog, ride the swell and land a kayak on a remote shoreline on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Nick Heath
Director & Data Manager, Member of Trails Development Committee
Nick lives in Coquitlam and is a founding director of the BCMTNA with broad experience gathering and field checking site data. He has a long history in the outdoors both on land and water, with 22 years service as a volunteer in Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue, sailing, canoeing, mountaineering, cycling, hiking and kayaking. Nick holds degrees from the University of Oxford and Simon Fraser University in philosophy, political science and economics. Having retired from university administrative roles, he now prefers hands-on tasks, but inevitably gets caught up in never-ending paper and screen work instead.
Jerry Kaye
Director & Member of Communications Committee
Jerry has been paddling and sailing the BC coast for 35 years, including a two-month sea kayak expedition from Bella Bella to Tofino with his wife Julee. After collecting B.Sc. and MBA degrees from UBC, Jerry worked as a corporate banker handling large corporate and government accounts for a major financial institution for 30 years. An avid paddler, Jerry has been contributing to BCMT and its predecessor, BCMTA, since their inception. Jerry has introduced his three sons to kayaking and hopes to help spread BCMT’s message to a younger generation of paddlers.
Ken Bigelow
Director & Member of IT Team, Member of Trails Development Committee
Ken is an experienced kayaker recently completing a trip in God’s Pocket. Ken has been playing with VR and recently shot a virtual trip of Ramillies Channel in Howe Sound. Ken assists the BC Marine Trails by maintaining our server and addressing technical issues. He is a Systems Administrator with the Advanced Research Computing group at UBC.
Director needed
We have an opening for a director. Please contact Paul at: president@bcmarinetrails.org
Andrew Godfrey
Director & Member of Fundraising Committee
Andrew grew up paddling the rocky shores of Georgian Bay, and more recently has been exploring BC by kayak. When he’s not on the water, Andrew works with technology – designing and building some of Canada’s most loved digital products. He’s excited to support and represent BCMT from Toronto, to help drive awareness around conservation and sustainable exploration of the beautiful BC coastline.
Gina Gotch
Director & Chair of Communications Committee
Gina discovered the adventure of sea kayaking 30 years ago and has been exploring the Coast ever since. Introducing new people to the natural beauty and wonder of the BC coast inspired her to join BCMT in 2016 and support its mission to build, protect and promote a network of trails to connect the coastline in a sustainable way. Currently, Gina leads the Cross-Club Group, Chairs the Communications Committee and is a member of the IT Team.
Employees
Sam Cutcliffe
Communications & Stewardship Coordinator
Sam is an ocean enthusiast and West Coast implant, originally from PEI/Nova Scotia. A graduate of Dalhousie University, Sam holds a B.Sc Hons in Oceanography. An avid kayaker, Sam has been exploring the BC Coast for the past three years as an AOG guide with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC. When not in a kayak, you can find Sam exploring the intertidal zone, snorkelling, hiking, snowboarding, taking pictures of marine animals, and making the worst (best?) puns you have ever heard.
Cam Dalinghaus
First Nations Liaison
Cameron is an avid kayaker and surfer living and recreating on the traditional territories of the Tla-o-qui-aht and Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ First Nations in Ucluelet, BC. Cameron is a graduate of the Thompson Rivers University Adventure Guide Diploma and holds a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies. His studies focus on natural resource sciences and Indigenous studies, with an emphasis on the intersection of colonial and Indigenous governance in Haida Gwaii marine and land use planning. Cameron spends his time commuting by kayak to private surf spots and exploring the hidden gems of BC’s coast. Cameron is also a professionally trained level 3 sea kayak guide with the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of BC. His passion for paddling and the sustainable and ethical use of our coast makes him a perfect fit as our First Nations Liaison.
Meet our Regional Data Managers
Nick Heath
Multiple Regions
Fred Pishalski
Vancouver Island Region
