Dr. Westwood (she/her/elle) is an Associate professor at the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University and brings together ecology and policy to pursue effective solutions to natural resource management challenges. She studies the impacts of forestry and cumulative effects on terrestrial ecosystems and their species, as well as how knowledge moves across the science-policy interface. Taken together, her work supplies the evidence and boundary-spanning tools for sustainable natural resource management.

Find out more about her research and teaching at her personal website, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar.

Dr. Taylor is an Associate Professor of Forest Management at the University of New Brunswick and a Registered Professional Forester. His research focuses on the effects of management strategies on conservation, forest carbon, adaptation to climate change, and resource economics.

Dr. Taylor holds a BSc. in Environmental Science from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a MSc. and PhD. in Forestry from Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Find out more about his research and teaching at his Lab website, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar.

Karen Harper is an adjunct professor and instructor at Dalhousie University and Saint Mary’s University. Karen’s research focuses on vegetation patterns across forest edges at sites across Nova Scotia. She is interested in spatial and temporal patterns of plant communities. Some of her recent projects include investigations of structural diversity, spatial patterns across heterogeneous landscapes and comparisons of vegetation at different types of forest edges.
Email: Karen.Harper@smu.ca
Website: https://www.karenharperifern.com/

Roxanne (she/her) is a MSc student at Saint Mary’s University studying the edge effects of resource roads on vegetation structure, wildlife habitat and connectivity in the Wabanaki (Acadian) forest region. Prior to this MSc opportunity, she worked for a forestry consultant in BC after completing an undergraduate degree in Natural Resource Science at TRU in Kamloops, BC, in 2023. In her spare time, she enjoys playing sports, hiking, camping, horse packing, or anything outdoors!

Alana Lajoie-O’Malley (she/her) is an interdisciplinary science and technology studies (STS) researcher examining questions of knowledge production and technical decision-making during environmental controversies. At Westwood Lab, she is leading two of the four research clusters included in the SSHRC-funded project What constitutes “effective” knowledge exchange at the environmental science-policy interface? Alana holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Ottawa (2024) and an MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies from the University of Oxford (2009). She also holds both a BA (Hons) and a BSc. from the University of Winnipeg, where she studied physics, political theory, and the history of science. Before returning to university to complete her PhD, she spent a decade as the institutional lead and public face of UWinnipeg’s sustainability efforts and as a supporter/initiator of several community-based environmental initiatives in Manitoba. When not working, Alana is most likely hanging out with her toddler, preferably in the woods.

Revant Sharan (he/him) is a research coordinator and is responsible for the management and coordination of the Forestry Innovation Transition Trust (FITT) funded grant for the Ecological Forestry Research Initiative (EFRI) as well as managing the Westwood Lab. He is a recent graduate of the Master of Resource and Environmental Management (MREM) program from Dalhousie University and has 10 years of experience managing renewable energy projects. Prior to this, he completed an MBA from the University of Glasgow. He is passionate about the sustainability of the environment and strives to take on the challenges in the field of resource and environmental management head-on. His hobbies include playing team sports and cooking.

James is a professional appraiser and agrologist, past president of the Nova Scotia Real Estate Appraisers Association, and owner of Hillside Consulting Ltd. James is a MSc. Forestry candidate at the University of New Brunswick Forest Management Laboratory, evaluating woodland carbon accreditation programs for use by landowners and professional appraisers in the Wabanaki/Acadian Forest. He has a BSc. In Environmental Science from the University of Guelph, an advanced diploma in GIS from the Nova Scotia Community College’s Centre for Geographic Sciences, and a diploma in Urban Land Economics from the University of British Columbia.