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.

Jennifer grew up in Windsor, where her love of nature inspired a career dedicated to studying, sharing, and protecting the rich biodiversity of Essex County. She has worked in various education and conservation roles, including serving as the Environment and Sustainability Coordinator with the City of Windsor.

As the Urban Bird Educator with the Pelee Island Bird Observatory, Jennifer helped certify Windsor as a Bird Friendly City in 2022. She is an executive member of the Essex County Field Naturalists Club, a regional coordinator for the Marsh Monitoring Program with Birds Canada, and a member of the City of Windsor’s Environment and Climate Change Advisory Committee. 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.

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.

Jo Reynolds (They/Them), Impact Investment Manager.  With over two decades of leadership experience, Jo specializes in social and environmental mandates with organizations leading systemic change. Their  expertise spans leadership roles in the fields of social innovation, social finance, and social enterprise development in Canada and globally. Bringing deep knowledge of community investment, impact investing, impact measurement trends, equity models and social innovation design.  

Prior roles include leadership roles with  Social Innovation Canada (2022-2024), Centre for Social Innovation (2015 -2022); founding Director of the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing (2011-2015) and  Social Innovation Generation (2008-2011) with a focus on social finance.

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.

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.

Siobhan Mullally (She/Her) is passionate about growing relationships between people and native plants on the landscape we share. As the Network and Communications Coordinator, she focuses on delivering strategic communications, marketing, and outreach to connect diverse audiences to Carolinian Canada’s programs. 

Drawing from experiences in environmental communications, ecology, outdoor education, and research, she aims to use her interdisciplinary background to inspire and connect people around shared goals for nature. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, camping, crafting, reading, and visiting the Atlantic coast any chance she gets.

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. 

Katherine (She/Her) is passionate about creating community through innovative, inclusive events. With over a decade of events and outreach experience she brings her extensive project management, fundraising and communications skills to the team. Leading the outreach strategy alongside the communications team she promotes the incredible projects at Carolinian Canada. Katherine is a folk musician and the founder of the Parks Tour bringing live music to parks and outdoor spaces across the province. In all of her work she strives to connect community, art and the environment.

Tobi Olumurewa (She/Her) supports the Management Team at Carolinian Canada with internal coordination, communications, and project support. She helps streamline day-to-day operations, contributes to funding proposals and reporting, and works across teams to keep deadlines, meetings, and partnerships on track. With a background in English and Global Development, Tobi brings an interdisciplinary lens to her work and is especially interested in how thoughtful systems and strong relationships can support equity and collaboration.

Based in “The Forest City” - London, Ontario - she loves walking local trails to connect with nature. Tobi is interested in how community care, environmental justice, and inclusive storytelling intersect, especially in work that supports safer, more connected spaces. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, crocheting, and building relationships with the communities around her. 

Peter Moddle is an environmental professional with a decade of experience in the conservation sector, including work on local, regional, and national scales. Born and raised in the Carolinian zone, he is passionate about accelerating positive environmental change for a healthier landscape by working collaboratively with partners in the region. As a certified restoration ecologist practitioner from the Society of Ecological Restoration, Peter brings both technical expertise and genuine enthusiasm to his work, loving a good field day and always seeking new connections to discuss conservation initiatives. When not advancing environmental causes, he enjoys traveling, spending time with his dog, and contributing to his family's blueberry farm.