CCC Team

Michelle Kanter is Executive Director of Carolinian Canada, since 2003. With 35 years of experience in wildlife research and conservation, she has worked with diverse species and stakeholders from the Carolinian Zone to the arctic and Australia. She specializes in cross-sector solutions for healthy ecosystems on complex landscapes for a green and just economy. She currently sits on the Ontario Biodiversity Council and lives in the Dorchester swamp where she found her love of nature as a second generation European settler.

Samantha Whiteye is a community leader from Eelūnapéewi Lahkéewiit. She is very passionate and dedicated to her work within Southern Ontario and the Indigenous Communities she actively serves. Samantha comes from grassroots immersed experiences which she utilizes her lived experience and understandings to create space, advocate and lead conversations centering on Truth and Reconciliation. Leading with an ethical two eyed seeing approach Samantha demonstrates leadership as a changemaker in the environmental sector.

Samantha is very knowledgeable and connected to her Lunaapeew/Lenape culture as she continuously weaves the medicine and teachings into her work and daily lifestyle. She is also passionate about ancestral seed sovereignty and hopes it helps build bridges back to identity for her people.

Over the past year Samantha has worked closely with Carolinian Canada Coalition and continues her work in a new role as Indigenous Leadership Director to help shift the narratives in conservation.

Tristan Bentley is a visual artist, web designer, and teacher. The Internet is synonymous with communication in today's society. As the webmaster and eco-news editor for the Carolinian Canada Coalition since October 2010, Tristan brings his diverse educational background to bare in helping the Coalition move forward technologically. Camping, hiking, and canoeing since childhood, Tristan also feels very at home in the natural settings of the Carolinian Zone, and feels that CCC is the right place to be in order to help protect all of the things in nature that he loves.

Pernell Jones-Kegadonse who carries the spirit name of Black Buffalo, hailing proudly from the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, is a dedicated community leader with a diverse background. I have led initiatives in Criminal Justice, Social Services, Emergency Management, and combat sports across Canada. Guided by Peter Linklater, known as Pathfinder, I've gained invaluable teachings in ceremony, medicine, and inner healing work, applied in service to our community, people, and youth.

In my journey, as a Sundancer and Anishinaabe singer, I honor our traditions and share our culture's richness. With a keen ability to envision the greater good and unite teams, I also possess the desire to work hard on the ground and travel, connecting with community members, and taking steps together.

In my current role as an Indigenous Leadership Specialist, I merge traditional wisdom with contemporary environmental practices, serving Turtle Island and its inhabitants.

Grateful for the opportunity to serve, I commit to upholding honor and integrity in supporting my people. Eagerly, I anticipate collaborating with the community to build our shared vision. Miigwech.

Doris Zanier is the Finance Manager for Carolinian Canada. She holds a CPA, CA designation and has focused her career in finance roles in the Windsor-Essex County non-profit sector. Supporting the conservation sector on a professional level reflects her personal interests and concern for the local environment.

Verlin Lloyd James is Anishinawbe from the Crane Clan. He is a former US Marine infantryman, educated in Classics and is experienced in project management and has worked with First Nations throughout his career. He has extensive experience in developing and delivering native plant programs and projects to Indigenous communities, youth, and schools.

Siobhan Mullally has a B.E.S. from the School of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability (SERS) at the University of Waterloo as well as a minor in English Language and Literature and diplomas in Ecosystem Restoration and Environmental Assessment. Since 2018, she has worked in various environmental spaces, including environmental journalism and communications, ecology lab and field work, outdoor education, and research - from the Carolinian Zone to northern Labrador.

As a writer, researcher, and budding ecologist, she hopes to use her interdisciplinary background to inspire people to connect with nature on a deeper level, to appreciate the nature around them, and to take action to protect it. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, camping, cooking plant-based meals, and reading novels.

Sarah Winterton’s work with Carolinian Canada focuses on growing a restoration economy in southern Ontario that supports and respects native plants. She is currently helping to develop a southern Ontario native seed strategy and Carolinian Canada’s Conservation Impact Bond. Throughout her thirty plus years in Ontario’s environmental not-for-profit sector, Sarah has worked on a wide range of environmental issues and explored her passion for program design in her roles with WWF-Canada, Environmental Defence, Ontario Nature, and others. She has launched a variety of programs that engage Canadians, including In the Zone: Gardens that help native species thrive, Living Planet @ Campus, Living Planet @ School, Go Wild Community Grants, BlueGreen Canada and Blue Flag Canada. Learning about and gardening with native plants has become a lifelong journey for Sarah, along with her passion for making art, exploring nature, and spending time with family and friends.

Jennifer grew up in Windsor, where she obtained a B.E.S. in Environmental Studies. Her love of nature has enabled her to study, appreciate and share the incredible diversity of habitats and species that can be found throughout Essex County. Through work with the City of Windsor, the Pelee Island Bird Observatory and the Essex Region Conservation Authority, she has spent many years sharing her passion, knowledge and experience with students, residents, and visitors from around the world.

Jennifer is an executive member of the Essex County Field Naturalists Club, and has served as a regional coordinator for the Marsh Monitoring Program with Birds Canada, and a local Butterfly Ranger with the David Suzuki Foundation. Her work aims to protect and preserve biodiversity in a changing climate, and promote a sustainable future for all living things.

Jennifer enjoys reading books and tarot cards, photography, cooking and baking. If she’s not home with her dogs and cats, she’s probably out birding.

​Melissa Taylor-Gates believes foremost in empathy and compassion for those in the world around us. Her work centralizes around power inequality and authentic communication, often working with teams to improve processes and deepen community connections. She strive to foster safe spaces where people can learn from and care for each other in a holistic way. She has a Masters degree in Library and Information Science and a Certificate in Project Management from Western University.

Outside her work, she is a storyteller, archer, tea-lover, feminist, writer, and gamer.

Dustin Brown is a process-oriented project specialist and lover of spreadsheets. He has extensive project management experience within various sectors including environmental, electoral, and political, and holds a Master's degree in water resources engineering. Dustin's life work centres on supporting equitable communities, Indigenous sovereignty, and the health of all his human and beyond-human neighbours.