Staff

The staff of the Grasslands Conservation Council of British Columbia (GCC) come from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds. Each staff member possesses a unique blend of knowledge, passion and expertise that best suits the specific objective of their position and helps to achieve the greater goals of the GCC team.

Click on any one of the highlighted names to send an email with any questions you may have about GCC programs and projects.

Bob Moody, Executive Director

    Some might say that I live and breathe grasslands, living as I     do in the beautiful grasslands of Knutsford on the outskirts     of Kamloops. I completed my M.Sc. in Plant Science at     UBC and have taken advanced management and     administration training from SFU, The Banff Centre and the     University of Saskatchewan. I recently received my 20-year     pin from the Association of Professional Biologists. My     career has taken me from government to industry to consulting to First Nations administration. My position with GCC is especially satisfying to me, because I was the first Executive Director of the BC Conservation Foundation, and I feel that I have returned to my conservation roots. Away from work, I am usually on top of a horse or fishing, skiing, hiking or camping.

Tasha Sargent, Stewardship Planner

On the first day of my first job after completing my BSc in Wildlife Management at UNBC, I attended a meeting for a new non profit dedicated to conserving grasslands, since my project was focused on wildlife in the grasslands of the Chilcotin. Little did I know that 5 years later—after dabbling in ducks, mulling over moose and slaving over sockeye—my career would bring me back to where I started: the grasslands and the Grasslands Conservation Council of BC. The organization has grown larger since that first meeting and now I am the Stewardship Planner as part of the Grassland Stewardship and Sustainable Ranching Program. I help guide policies and practices and develop tools to encourage stewardship of our grasslands from recreationists on the ground to land use planners and managers at the government level. I am very proud that the program’s project, Planning for Change, has been shortlisted for two awards and has had a measurable impact—particularly in the City of Kamloops through the implementation of ecological assessments. I work with a great team and expect that we’ll have many more grassland triumphs to share in the future.

Ian Mackenzie, GIS Coordinator and Analyst

In between my Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Masters of Science in Geography (UVic) , I completed Advanced Diplomas in Cartography and in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Applications (Sandford Fleming). Through my bachelor degree’s co-operative education program, I worked as a research assistant with the Heritage Conservation Branch of the BC Oil and Gas Commission in Fort St. John, a policy analyst with the Department of Fisheries & Oceans in Vancouver and as a field archaeologist with a private archaeology consulting firm in northeastern BC. I also worked as a GIS technician for the Cowichan Valley Regional District. With the GCC, my work is to implement the analysis and mapping components of the Priority Grasslands Initiative–a project to delineate and rank the conservation importance of different grasslands areas in the province–as well as Ecological Assessments–a local-scale mapping and analysis initiative that aims to balance conservation needs with urban growth–and a variety of other smaller projects.

Melissa Ligertwood, Executive and Adminstrative Assistant

Born and raised in Kamloops, BC, I completed my BA in Psychology and Political Science at Thompson Rivers University. After graduating from university, I spent a year teaching English in South Korea and the past two years managing a professional psychology practice in Kamloops. My move to GCC was inspired by a desire to work for the non-profit sector in a capacity that would offer new challenges, friends and perspectives, as well as contribute to my interest in preserving and advocating for the environment.

Bailey Teteris, Financial Officer

While studying Economics for his Bachelor of Business Administration degree at TRU in Kamloops, Bailey enrolled in a few land-use classes which tweaked his interest in environmental issues. Not knowing what particular industry to work in, he found himself enrolled in the CGA program to make use of the flexibility an accounting profession offers.  After experimenting in the banking and then the oil & gas industry in Calgary, Bailey and his wife followed their hearts back to Kamloops.  Initially working for a large accounting partnership he found himself still looking for a career with meaning.  Envious of the work some of his friends did with the Ministry of Forest & Range, he hoped for a similar path.  Opportunity knocked and joining the GCC proved to be a great fit. Bailey feels he’s found an organization that suits his ambitions and meets his desire to give something back to the community.

Staff Photo 2010