Board of Directors

Jasveen is the Calgary-based Program Officer at the Max Bell Foundation. Her work centres around intersectional environmentalism, health and policy. She holds a B.Sc. from Dalhousie University in Biology and Sustainability and has experience working in ocean conservation, polar policy and education. Ms Brar has been named one of Corporate Knight’s Top 30 under 30 Sustainability Leaders, and Top 25 Environmentalist by Starfish Canada and holds a Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers from the Governor General of Canada. She also serves on the Governance Board for the Canadian Ocean Literacy Council and is on the Council of Advisors at the Canadian Climate Institute.

Based in Vancouver, Rod is a finance professional with senior executive experience across multiple businesses, including insurance, investment banking, technology, and real estate. He is a trusted business advisor, excelling in the delivery of innovative finance solutions; identification and development of growth opportunities; leadership and coordination of mergers and acquisitions. In addition to being CEO of Cavell Risk, a strategic consultancy and insurance brokerage, Rod is Executive Chair of aDolus Technology Inc., a global authority on software intelligence for critical infrastructure.

Prior to founding Cavell, Rod’s executive background included Director and CEO of Jones Brown Inc., a Canadian Insurance Broker with over $190M in annual premiums acquired by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG); Chairman of Apri Group Benefits, one of Canada's largest independent group benefits consulting firms acquired by People Corporation (TSXV:PEO); President & CEO at Clarus Securities Inc., a private investment dealer; and Managing Partner at VRG Capital, a private equity firm. Early in his career, Rod spent nearly a decade at CIBC and years as Chief Financial Officer for growth companies based in British Columbia.

Howard Chang is the Executive Chair and Founder of Toronto Based www.theturnlab.com a marketing technology consultancy that is a certified B Corp, operates 100% Carbon Neutral and recently rebranded Ocean Wise. Howard is a life long environmentalist having volunteered, donated to and provided pro bono services through his various companies to organizations like David Suzuki Foundation, WWF Canada, Nature Conservancy Canada, Green Peace and Ocean Wise. He spends a great deal of his time in or on oceans and lakes and has a 100% carbon neutral home and vacation rental in Exuma Bahamas where his annual charity cycling event The Tour de Turquoise has raised over $500,000 supporting social and environmental causes including the Moriah Harbour National Marine Park. He currently serves on a number of NFP boards including CAMH and the National Cycling Institute.

Cynthia Curtis is a seasoned leader with over 30 years of international business experience shaping and executing growth strategies through the lens of sustainability, primarily in the technology and real estate sectors. Currently, Ms. Curtis serves as an Independent Board Member and Chair of the Compensation Committee at Greenbacker Renewable Energy Company, LLC, an independent power producer and asset manager, as well as Spare-it, an AI-based waste management platform. She recently stepped down as SVP, Head of Portfolio ESG at Revantage, a Blackstone real estate portfolio company, where she established the global ESG function to accelerate decarbonization throughout the portfolio.
An avid outdoor and oceans enthusiast, Cynthia volunteers at the New England Aquarium.

Debra is a partner with McCarthy Tétrault LLP specializing in private company mergers and acquisitions and commercial law. Beyond her legal expertise, Debra is deeply invested in the community, serving as a Governor on the Business Council of BC and a board member of The Digital Identification and Authentication Council of Canada. At McCarthy Tétrault, she spearheaded a thought leadership initiative, focusing on pressing local issues. Debra is recognized by Chambers Canada as a leading lawyer in Corporate/Commercial; Lexpert Special Edition: Technology and Health Sciences, Energy and Agribusiness; by the Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading lawyer in IT, Privacy and Data Security, Public Procurement, Technology.

Based in Vancouver, Kari is a senior marketing professional with over 30 years marketing experience across multiple industries including Wardair and Canadian Airlines, Vancity Savings and Credit Union, Offsetters (environmental services), University of British Columbia and Rocky Mountaineer. She is an award winning marketer and was part of the team that created oneworld – the global airline brand. Kari led the marketing team that delivered the first carbon neutral Olympic Games in the history of the IOC with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

She has a proven track record of building brands, businesses and high performing teams.

Moronke Harris is a deep-sea scientist with experience in climate engineering and intergovernmental, multi-vessel research expedition planning on the high seas. She is fascinated with exploration, innovation, and the blue economy. Her current research focuses on innovation provided by the most unexplored areas of the ocean, containing the most potential for discovery. She has spent over 130 days of her life collaboratively exploring Earth's final frontier using submersibles.

Beyond academic pursuits, Moronke is an accomplished multihyphenate and founder of science communication and creative consulting brand ‘The Imaginative Scientist’. Brand experience includes 60+ national and international speaking engagements, documentary narration, video production collaborations garnering 100,000+ views, and consultation for gallery installations, video game development, and film production.

She has been featured by TEDxVictoria, Jackson Wild, The National Film Board of Canada, Science World, and The Ocean Exploration Trust.

A lawyer by background and training, Meghan Jeans works at the intersection of law, policy, science, and markets to help foundations, social and environmental change organizations, and private sector clients link strategy to impact with solutions-oriented guidance, analysis, tools, and collaborations. She was most recently the Vice Chair of Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

Nina Jensen is the CEO of REV Ocean, the world’s largest Research and Expedition Vessel (REV) which will be available for scientists, NGOs, policy makers, innovators, engineers, and marine stakeholders. All REV Ocean initiatives are based on open collaboration and partnerships with relevant stakeholders, working toward the same common goal – preserving our ocean.

Yen is a tech entrepreneur and four-time founder whose ventures were acquired by TicketMaster, Groupon, and Rakuten. He’s helped traditional companies through digital transformation—as Chief Strategy Officer at Fortune 200 firm JLL, and now as a board member at McElhanney. Yen is committed to supporting Canada’s tech ecosystem and is a founding member of the C100. He is a co-founder at Somo.ai and advises growth-stage founders on go-to-market and talent strategy. He brings a strong focus on translating innovation into real-world impact and previously served as Board President of Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Francisco.

Sarah MacDonald is an accomplished Executive with international operational and corporate experience in the energy industry. Sarah is currently CHRO at Algonquin Power after having served as CEO of EfficiencyOne, the first Energy Efficiency Utility in Canada. Prior to joining EfficiencyOne Sarah spent almost 20 years with Emera and its subsidiaries. She has a proven track record of building, turning around and operating companies along with a history of increasing profitability and resolving difficult situations with multiple stakeholders.

Sarah has a keen interest in ocean science, having been COO of XOCEAN, an Irish company that uses uncrewed surface vessels to map the ocean floor.

Pascal Mittermaier’s career spans over 30 years, 10 countries, and three industries including healthcare and sustainable development. Formerly Managing Director at the Nature Conservancy, Pascal currently serves as Board Chair of Nature Sacred and is Entrepreneur in Residence at Sea-Ahead, helping Bluetech startups and incubators prepare for market launch.

Tuck Rickards works closely with high-growth technology companies and Global 1000 organizations on the recruitment of high-impact digital and technology executives. He’s also a member of the Sustainability and Social Impact Practices. Tuck is a Board Director of the Bay Area Council in San Francisco, a Trustee of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and an Advisory Board Member of a growth stage cyber security software company, Night Vision.

Rich Simons is a native Vancouverite who graduated from the Commerce Department of UBC in 1968. With diverse experience, including the full range of marketing, branding and business building skills, Rich provides a unique perspective, strength and depth to Ocean Wise. He also provides entrepreneurial guidance for new CEOs, plays an advisory role in business building, and is an active Angel investor in the technology and food industries (named by the Vancouver Angel Forum as Angel Investor of the Year in 2017). Rich and his wife, Linda Kathleen, are involved in the local philanthropic community through The Simons Family Foundation.

Brian Sullivan is part of a broader team dedicated to leveraging and developing Google’s infrastructure to address global environmental, health, and humanitarian issues. As part of Google’s “in-kind technology philanthropy,” Brian manages external partner relationships and internal Google collaborations to identify and accelerate initiatives in machine learning, large scale analytics, and remote sensing with an impact focus. His partnerships experience spans academic and research organizations, NGOs, UN agencies, government/policy, philanthropy, the private sector, as well being a frequent conference speaker and project advocate.

Martin Thibodeau is the Regional President of RBC Royal Bank in British Columbia. Martin is a Governor of the BC Business Council, and he sits on the Board of Directors for BC Children’s Hospital, Science World, Ocean Wise, Peter Dhillon Center for Business Ethics, Urban Development Institute and is part of the CABGU Board for BC & Alberta.

Ian Warner has over 20 years of experience achieving excellent results in portfolio and fiscal growth within the financial services sector. Currently, he is the President & CEO of Aprio Inc., a board management software company located in Vancouver, BC. Before Aprio, Ian was Chief Operating Officer of Vancity, Canada’s largest credit union, and spent five years at Vancity's subsidiary, Citizens Bank of Canada, including four years as CEO and a board member. He has served on the board of the Alumni Association of the University of British Columbia, his alma mater, and as a Chair of the BC Technology Industry Association’s SaaS C-Council.