Our Office
We are located in east end of the Taan Building in Skidegate B.C, Unit 6-848 Highway 16. Office hours vary, so the most reliable way to contact us is via email: laskeek@laskeekby.org. We have our latest books and t-shirts for sale in the office so please email if you would like to stop in!
Our Staff
Judy Hilgemann. Executive Director
Judy has lived on Haida Gwaii since 1997. She brings a background in education and fine art to the Laskeek Team. Her love for wildlife and wilderness goes back to a childhood spent on remote northern Vancouver Island. When she is not running the Laskeek office, Judy can be found in her studio overlooking the sea.
Rian Dickson, Lead Biologist and Program Manager
Rian began working for LBCS in 2021, after moving to Haida Gwaii in 2020. Originally from Newfoundland, where she grew up on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, Rian first visited Haida Gwaii in 1992, which then inspired her to move to British Columbia to attend university. She has worked as a field biologist and educator in British Columbia, Alaska, and Arctic Canada, mostly with a focus on birds and oceans. She lives in Daajing Giids with her partner and their two children.
Our Board of Directors
Michael K. Moore. Forestry Consultant: Current LBCS Director, Keith has been a resident of Haida Gwaii for more than 30 years. He is a Registered Professional Forester and has an MA in Geography. Since 2000, Keith has run a consulting business based in Daajing Giids that takes him across Canada and the world to work on forest certification with the Forest Stewardship Council. To date, Keith has been involved in over 50 certification projects in five Canadian provinces and several other countries. Keith is also involved in forestry and environmental issues in BC. On Haida Gwaii, these include the campaign to protect the southern part of the islands, the Fish Forestry Interaction Program and the Strategic Land Use Plan. Keith lives with his wife, Helen, and sons Peter and Alan in Daajing Giids.
Dr. Antony Gaston: Tony is a retired Research Scientist with Environment Canada. He spent 37 years doing ecological research, mostly on marine birds, in the Eastern Arctic and Haida Gwaii. He has been Research Director of the Laskeek Bay Conservation Society since the start of the Society and was also a Founder/director of Research Group on Introduced Species, Daajing Giids, BC (1997-2022), involved in research on introduced deer and raccoons in Haida Gwaii. He has also been involved in extensive research on birds and other wildlife in India, especially in temperate and alpine regions of NW Himalayas. He has written four books on marine birds (three scientific monographs and one popular account of seabird biology) and two children’s books. Tony was a senior editor for Birds of Nunavut and has written more than 200 refereed scientific papers, as well as popular articles in magazines and newspapers. He received the Doris Huestis Spears Award for outstanding contributions to Canadian Ornithology (2007), and the Jamie Smith Mentoring Award (2013), both from the Society of Canadian Ornithologists and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Seabird Group (2014).Current LBCS Director, current LBCS Science Advisor, retired Research Scientist, Ornithologist, author.
Ainsley Brown: Current LBCS Director, Biologist, Teacher, former Executive Director LBCS, researcher.
Jacques Morin: Current LBCS Director, Wildlife Biologist.
Margaret Stronge: Current LBCS Director, retired Heritage Presentation Specialist, Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve & Haida Heritage Site.
Carolyn Gibson: Current LBCS Director, Director of Cumulative Effects - Government of BC
Mary Morris: Current LBCS Director, naturalist.
Jesse Beaubier-Brulotte: Current LBCS Director, former LBCS Research Assistant, current DFO Biologist.
Scientific Advisory Committee
Dr. Antony Gaston (Chair). Canadian Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Research Center
Jean-Louis Martin. Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CEFE-CNRS)
Kathy Heise. University of British Columbia, Department of Zoology
Dr. Joanna L. Smith. TNC Canada, Global Oceans Program and Simon Fraser University, Adjunct Professor
Dr. Mark Hipfner. Wildlife Research Division, Science and Technology Branch, Environment Canada
“Supporting research and conservation as well as promoting learning and knowledge sharing is very rewarding. Our directors are passionate about the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of Haida Gwaii!
As a director with LBCS there is a great opportunity to reach out and connect with other people, in schools teaching children about the complex ecosystems of Laskeek Bay, in conversations at merchandise booths at on island events, or in presentations at international seabird conferences. Many of our directors connect with volunteers, interns and research staff while visiting East Limestone Island (ELI) or while helping out with logistics back in Daajing Giids.
There is a great spirit of cooperation and everyone pitches in to help out where and when they are able. Every Director’s skills are varied and valuable. A director may volunteer by: helping with yearly maintenance to trails and field camp on ELI, hiring staff, loading the transport boat at the dock, billeting interns, donating goods for sale, participating with field research…the options are plentiful!
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