Happy New Year, everyone! Last year was a banner year for many of our First Nations, Métis and Inuit clients in your assertions of jurisdiction and stewardship, and your pursuits of prosperity. We’re excited to see what opportunities and successes this new year will bring, and are honoured that so many of you have chosen to work with us.
As you grow, so do we! We’re ringing in the new year with a round-up of 2018’s new faces at SVS - five fabulous individuals who have added their superpowers to our crew to serve you even better:
- Erin Stapleton – Senior Impact Assessment Specialist
- Aireal Starr – Aquatic Biologist
- Maeghan Willms – Environmental Scientist
- Richard Baxter – Terrestrial Ecologist
- Sally McMullen – Financial Coordinator
Read their detailed bios below to see how their talents align with your vision and project goals. Here’s a link to our full team page to see who else you might like to connect with. And stay tuned for announcements of more new talent arriving in the coming months.
Erin Stapleton, MEDes., MCIP, EP
Senior Impact Assessment Specialist
Erin is a senior impact assessment specialist and project director with over a decade of experience conducting, managing, and reviewing provincial and federal impact assessments for natural resources and energy projects across Canada. She has provided impact assessment, stakeholder engagement and regulatory expertise for natural gas pipelines, high-voltage transmission lines, power plants, mining operations, marine terminals, and renewable energy projects. With deep knowledge of environmental legislation and established relationships with government agencies, Erin provides strategic advice to help clients navigate the regulatory landscape. Erin is also the owner of Stapleton Environmental Consulting, an award-winning consultancy serving the renewable energy and clean technology sectors in Atlantic Canada.
Erin is a professional planner with the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP), a certified Environmental Professional (EP) in Natural Resource Management, and a licensed BEAHR Trainer. She is a member of the International Association of Impact Assessment and the International Association of Public Participation. Erin serves on the board of directors of the Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association, sits on the City of St. John’s Planning Appeal Board, and is the Director of Indigenous Youth Initiatives with Women in Science and Engineering – Newfoundland and Labrador.
Superpowers
Impact assessment | stakeholder engagement | provincial and federal regulatory processes | renewable energy projects
Aireal Starr, B.Sc.
Junior Aquatic Biologist
Aireal Starr is Ojibway and a proud member of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg. She is a fisheries and aquatic biologist with three years of experience in the field, working all across Ontario, and more specifically within First Nations communities. She has led and conducted various baseline and long term monitoring fisheries projects in the non-profit sector to evaluate fish community and fish habitat. She is experienced with a wide variety of fish sampling gear (i.e. gill nets, trap nets, seine nets, etc.) and knows their limitations and applications.
Aireal graduated from Western University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science with a double major in biology and psychology. As an Indigenous person, Aireal is committed to ensuring the conservation of resources and protection of the rights for Indigenous communities. She has always had a passion for the outdoors and conserving the environment to preserve the land for future generations.
Superpowers
Aquatic Biology | Fish Habitat Assessment | Regulatory Support | Stream Assessment | Environmental Monitoring | First Nations Cultural and Knowledge Awareness | Integration of Indigenous Knowledge | Technical Peer Reviews | Environmental Assessment
Maeghan Willms, B.Sc., EPt
Environmental Scientist
Maeghan Willms is an environmental scientist with a background in contaminated sites and water quality monitoring programs. She has conducted many Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) for both private sector and First Nation clients across Ontario. As part of Phase II ESAs, she has conducted subsurface soil and groundwater investigations included the advancement of boreholes, installation of monitoring wells, collection of soil and groundwater samples, and the consequent review of chemical analysis results for comparison to prescribed standards. She has experience carrying out stream assessments and flow-tracking; and assisting with electrofishing and benthic invertebrate sampling for water quality monitoring programs. She has significant field experience calibrating, installing and operating a wide array of monitoring instruments such as data loggers and multi-probe sondes.
Maeghan completed her B.Sc. in Environmental Science at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC, in 2016. Prior to this, she completed the Environmental Protection & Compliance diploma program at Canadore College, where she focused on water quality monitoring, including drinking water, wastewater and treatment systems, through courses offered by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and the Walkerton Clean Water Centre.
Superpowers
Waste management planning | contaminant hydrogeology |watershed monitoring | designated substance surveys
Richard Baxter, B.Sc.
Terrestrial Ecologist
Richard is a Terrestrial Ecologist with over thirteen years of professional experience in conducting biological field assessments, technical report writing and the permitting and natural heritage planning process for various developments. He completed a Technologist’s Diploma in Fish and Wildlife Management from Sir Sandford Fleming College in 2001 and a BSc in Resource Management from the University of Northern British Columbia in 2007.
Richard has worked as a part of multidisciplinary teams within various government and non-governmental agencies, as a research assistant, and in private consulting. He has expertise in avian, wildlife, botanical and vegetation community surveys, and is certified and experienced in performing Ecological Land Classification (ELC) and Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES) fieldwork. He has worked extensively throughout Ontario, and has also worked in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba. He is experienced applying policy and legislation to protect and manage natural heritage features that may be impacted by development work. He has worked on several types of development with a focus on renewable energy projects, but also including others like sub-division planning, road improvement works and municipal servicing. Richard recognizes the importance of early consultation involving all stakeholders to ensure projects get off to the best start possible.
Superpowers
Ecology | Wildlife and Plant Species Identification | Species at Risk | Ecological Field Studies | Impact Mitigation | Natural Resource Management | Environmental Impact Assessment
Sally McMullen, MSc, BSc
Financial Coordinator
Sally has a background in municipal planning in rural Ontario and both provincial and municipal policy writing experience. She is fulfilling a lifelong goal of owning and operating a dairy farm with her family and credits this achievement to building solid partnerships, strategic business planning and matching her passions to her work.
Sally has a MSc in Rural Planning and Development and a BSc in Agricultural Science from the University of Guelph. She is a full member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and Ontario Professional Planners Institute. At SVS, Sally is focused on financial coordination to ensure that business runs smoothly and accounts are balanced. She has a keen interest in tracking production and financial data with the purpose of using data to help drive the spirit and goals of the company.
Superpowers
operations | communications | collaborative team processes|project coordination|
SVS is still growing!
If you or anyone you know would like to work with us, please check out our current job postings and share widely with your networks:
http://sharedvaluesolutions.com/join-our-team/
We are always looking for people who are dynamic, entrepreneurial, exhibit strong leadership, take responsibility for their actions, have good judgement, are hard workers, love collaborating with a team, and care deeply about the environment and the well-being of society.
In the spirit of reconciliation and diversity, we are committed to increasing our number of Indigenous employees. Please let us know in your application if you are First Nations, Métis or Inuit.
Unsolicited applications are welcome!
Don’t see the perfect post but you know you’d like to work with us? We encourage people with confirmed access to funding opportunities that would help fund your role at SVS to send unsolicited applications. The intention is to allow you to express interest in joining SVS in the near term (within roughly the next two years) and pitch us on the business case – from the standpoint of how you’d contribute to the growth and vision of SVS and how your role would be funded – without having to wait and hope for the right specific role posting.
About Us - Shared Value Solutions
SVS is a Canadian B Corp, and we assist Indigenous communities with support throughout regulatory processes surrounding major development projects like mines, hydroelectric facilities, transmission lines, highway expansions, oil and gas pipelines, natural resource transport applications and nuclear power.
We have deep context and experience behind the recommendations we provide, having worked for our clients on almost every major project in Canada over the last 10 years. For us, it’s all about building long-term relationships with our clients. We want to get to know you and what you want to do so we can help you move your plans forward.
- Reviews of Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements
- Indigenous Land Use Studies, Indigenous Knowledge Studies, Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Studies, Community Cultural Values Mapping
- Strategic Regulatory and Environmental Assessment Process Support
- First Nation Environmental Management Planning
- Indigenous Guardian Programs
- First Nation Land Code communities
- Impact Benefit Agreements: technical and regulatory support for negotiations
- Indigenous Jurisdiction initiatives: joint management agreements and co-management agreements
- Community-based Indigenous environmental monitoring
- Indigenous Land Use Planning
- Participant funding negotiation and application support
- Multimedia Storytelling