Curriculum Vitae

WORK EXPERIENCE

 

Agrolist

1977 - 1979

Saskatchewan Agriculture, Regina, Saskatchewan

Supervision of reclamation and improvement projects for crown owned pastures and contracts for construction and maintenance of land drainage systems.

 

Research Scientist

1981 - 2016

Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Agroforestry Development Centre  Indian Head, Saskatchewan

• Direct and manage a multi-disciplinary research program with emphasis on problems specific to the semi-arid and temperate regions.
• Responsible for the development of new knowledge and technology for tree improvement, nursery propagation, silviculture, fruit production and management for tree planters, and the agricultural and forestry community in the Canadian prairies.
• Duties included human resource management; budget preparation and research project management.
• Co-ordination and negotiation of research projects with industry and other government agencies.
• Technology transfer and dissemination of research results to the agriculture and forestry community in Canada and Internationally.
• Technical support for nursery production at the Shelterbelt Centre.

International Technical Adviser                                                                         

June 1998, August 1999

Food and Agriculture Organization                                                                               Beijing, China

 

• Provide technical advice on the UNDP funded project Seabuckthorn Development in China.
• Reviewed project activities and advised on their implementation.
• Identified technical fields for further support from FAO and provided advice on technology transfer and use of seabuckthorn for rural development and resource conservation.

 

International Technical Adviser                                           October 2003, September 2004, August 2005

Food and Agriculture Organization                                                                            Yinchuan, China

• Provide technical advice on the FAO funded project Shelterbelt management and Control of Asian Longhorn Beetle in the Three North Region of China.
 
• Reviewed project activities and advised on their implementation.
• Reviewed techniques and species used in the Three North Shelterbelt Program.
• reviewed tree and shrub selection and breeding programmes of relevance to North China.

EDUCATION

 

Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSA)                                                                                         1976

University of Saskatchewan, College of Agriculture                               Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Major:      Horticulture.

 

 

Master of Science (M.Sc.)                                                                                               1983

University of Saskatchewan, College of Graduate Studies                      Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

 

Major:              Plant Physiology

Minor:              Soil Physics

                       

 

 

MANAGEMENT SKILLS

 

• Project proposal and report preparation.
• Budget preparation and financial management for research projects. Managing research projects funded financed through negotiated partnerships with private industry, universities and Non Government Organizations.
• Human resource management including supervision of technical and professional staff.
• Co-ordination of multi-discipline research projects.
• Negotiation and preparation of agreements related to collaborative research projects with private industry and/or other government agencies or departments.
• Negotiation of royalty agreements for release of new plants developed in breeding program.
• Tree nursery management, including planning, technical support and problem solving.
• Management of agroforestry research program. Set priorities, develop work plans and performance analysis for work unit.
• Strategic planning to develop mandate and business plans for research and program delivery

 

 

COMMUNICATION AND EXTENSION SKILLS

 

• Extensive oral and written communication skills to present, discuss and explain scientific results to clients, funding agencies and senior management; and prepare research proposals, reports, articles.
• Experience leading and organizing meetings, workshops and symposia.
• Word processing (WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Powerpoint).
• Scientific paper, report, factsheet and newsletter writing and editing. Prepared over 150 scientific papers, book chapters, poster and conference papers and technical reports.
• Provided over 100 oral presentations to producer/commodity groups, extension specialists, private industry, and other scientists at local, national and international meetings.

 

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS/BOARDS

 

• Member, Poplar Council of Canada
• Charter Member, Plains and Prairie Forestry Association
• Member, Canadian Tree Improvement Association
• Member, Association for Temperate Agroforestry (AFTA)
• Charter Member, International Centre for Research and Training on Seabuckthorn, Beijing China
• Board Member, Advisory Committee, AFIF Agroforestry Chair, University of Saskatchewan
• Vice-Chair, Board of Directors, Power Greenhouses Inc.

 

RESEARCH

 

• Scientific peer review of research project proposals
• Peer review of scientific journal publications related to tree breeding and agroforestry
• Management of multi-disciplinary research program including experimental design, statistical analysis and dissemination of results in scientific peer-reviewed papers.
• Writing research grant proposals to government, non-government organizations and industry to conduct research to develop and to promote innovative techniques and technologies with particular emphasis on agroforestry practices for environmental protection. Received funding for 57 grant applications with a combined value of $5.4 million.
• Senior or co-author for 150 papers published in reports, proceedings or peer-reviewed journals.
• Working knowledge of analytical, spreadsheet and database software.
• Agroforestry BMP development for water protection – Developed willow based wetland and riparian buffer system
• Agroforestry systems for climate change mitigation and biomass production – Developed novel system of preserving wetland function, carbon sequestration and biomass production
• Research techniques related to agriculture including agroforestry design, stress physiology, soil/plant relationships, nursery management, genetics, weed and pest management.
• Extensive experience and knowledge of tree breeding, provenance testing, selection and seed orchard design for agroforestry and shelterbelt species specifically Populus, Salix, Prunus, Pinus, Fraxinus, Quercus, Hippophae and Larix.
• Development of new genetic lines of woody species used in agroforestry systems – Released over 15 new genetic lines of tree and shrub species for agroforestry systems ie. Populus, Prunus, Pinus, Fraxinus, Hippophae and Larix
• Developed and conducted a breeding program that was instrumental to the success of the Prairie Shelterbelt Program. The deployment of released varieties has contributed to the establishment of 43 million improved trees in the Canadian prairies by over 15,000 farmers. These new varieties are resilient, extremely hardy and create more effective tree plantings for erosion control, biodiversity enhancement and used worldwide for conservation tree planting.
• Developed and led one of the largest and most successful poplar breeding program in Canada. The program has developed over 15 poplar cultivars which are used worldwide for agroforestry planting.
• Managing and science authority for three national research projects on riparian and wetland buffers for biomass production and water protection.
• Seabuckthorn breeding efforts have yielded 30,000 genotypes. Through the breeding program eight high yielding cultivars with few thorns have been developed. The cultivars are extremely hardy and adapted to cold, semi-arid continental climates. Four cultivars, Harvest Moon, Orange September, AC Prairie Sunset™ and AC Autumn Glow™ have been released for commercial use. The breeding program is the largest in North America and is key to the development of seabuckthorn as a viable fruit industry in Canada

 

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

• Negotiated, organized and participated international plant collection expeditions to Russia (1985, 1987, 1996) and China (1990, 1995, 1997).
• Organized study tours for Russian (1990), Chinese (1991) and Indonesian (1992) delegations.
• Negotiated, developed and implemented international collaborative tree improvement projects with China (North East Forestry University, Harbin PRC) and Russia (VNIALMI, Volgograd; Lisavenko Institute, Barnaul).
• Organized a three week FAO Study tour for Chinese Agroforestry delegation.
• Designed and implemented training program on nursery management and tree improvement for Chinese delegation from International Centre for Training and Research on Seabuckthorn.
• Organized, administered and hosted technical exchange/training program with the North East Forestry University, Harbin PRC.
• International Technical Advisor (FAO) for UNDP project Seabuckthorn Development in China.
• International Technical Advisor (FAO) for Shelterbelt Management and Control of Asian Longhorn Beetle in the Three North Region of China project.
• Collaborating member of SIBLARCH team developing genetically improved Siberian larch for the northern hemisphere
• Technical advisor to Patagonian Shelterbelt Centre, Coyhaique Chile (2006)

 

 

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

 

• Raised on a mixed farm in central Saskatchewan.
• Actively involved in community service with Lions International, including terms as President, Secretary and Treasurer.
• Interests include nature study, travel, photography and sports.