Val Bishop - Chair

Val has spent the last 20 years working and playing in the outdoors.  She graduated from Lakehead University with a combined Bachelor of Science and an Honours Bachelor of Outdoor Recreation degree.  She completed a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Art in Education from the University of Toronto.  Her specialized area of formal study is in experiential education.

Over the years, Val has worked at many outdoor education facilities in Ontario and overseas, including Bark Lake Leadership Centre and Outward Bound Australia.  She has also run many team building workshops and women's weekends in the outdoors.  Currently she owns a small consulting company called Turning Point.  Val is a certified Level II Alpine Ski Instructor and an ORCA Lakewater Instructor.

Currently Val is Chair of the  Ontario Ecotourism Society Board of Directors and an active board member on the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Outdoor Committee.  Val is also a member of the Ontario Recreational Canoeing Association, Interpretation Canada, Project Adventure, the Association of Experiential Education and the International Ecotourism Society.

Val lives in the Village of Haliburton and enjoys walking along the lake to work most days.  She loves to be outside with her family.  She also loves seakayaking, canoeing, birding, butterflying, hiking, dogsledding, alpine skiing, biking, reading and jumping on the trampoline!

Tegan Moratz - Secretary

Tegan moved to the Haliburton Highlands in 2006, with her better half, to pursue a higher education at Sir Sandford Fleming College in Ecotourism and Adventure Tourism Management.  She spent the first 20 years or so of her life residing in Garson, Ontario (a small town close to Sudbury).  She has branched off to work in Manitoulin Island (Gordon's Park), Temagami (Smoothwater Outfitters) and Sioux Lookout (Ghost River and Sturgeon River Camp).

Currently, Tegan is the secretary for the Ontario Ecotourism Society Board of Directors.    She resides in Minden, Ontario.  Tegan has worked as the administrative coordinator for the Haliburton Highlands Trails and Tours Network.  Tegan is currently an office administrator at Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve Ltd.

Having worked for, visited and/or represented many of the tOES members during various field trips with Cambrian College during her Nature Based Adventure Tourism days and Fleming College, as well as volunteering for PEAT (Partners in Eco-Adventure Tourism) she found that tOES was a perfect fit.  She just recently purchased her first house and is very excited to decrease her eco-footprint over the next couple of months.

Jennifer Demille - Treasurer

Jennifer Demille is a graduate from McMaster University with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree and has obtained her Chartered Accountants designation.  Jennifer and her husband, Tzach, are the proud owners and hosts of Nature's Harmony "off-grid" ecolodge, which is located on 485 acres outside Mattawa, On.  Jennifer brings to the board her wealth of travel experince, talents as an accountant and the unique perspectives of a young ecotourism entrepreneur.

Rod Bilz - Director

Rod is a principal partner of FRi Ecological Services with an extensive background in natural resource management and natural environment assessment studies.  His career has included posts in both the public and private sector over the past 25 years.  His areas of specialization include natural heritage studies, community-based tourism and environmental assessment process.

He has been involved in a number of community-based tourism projects.  Many of the tourism projects were linked to Canada's National Trans Canada Trail Project.  His recent involvement with the Ontario Ecotourism Society is a natural progression as the popularity and market expands for ecotourism in Ontario.  He has a keen interest in standards and 'green' certification for the ecotourism industry.  He also actively participates in a wide range of outdoor activities including adventure racing, mountain biking, cross country skiing and sailing. 

Kara Mitchell - Director

Kara has balanced work as an environmental and experiential educator with that as a guide, manager and administrator in Ontario's ecotourism industry over the last fifteen years.  An avid traveller, she is inspired by wild places and sustainable ways of life.  She appreciates the people and communities she visits and their creative steps towards protecting and advocating for environmental wellness.

Kara has actively volunteered as a board member with tOES since 2005 and enjoys contributing her background in geography, eco-lutionary ideas and skills towards achieving the objectives and growth of the organization.  Kara enjoys paddling, dog sledding and land stewardship from her current home base in South River by Algonquin Park's North West Corner.

Shari Simpson-Campbell - Director

Shari Simpson-Campbell is a privacy consultant and author with the Canadian Privacy Institute.  In the recent past she has been the Director of the Green Tourism Association, and worked with the Region of York leading a provincial partnership sponsored tourism research project. 

Kristen Martyn - Director

Kristen’s explorations of the natural world began at a very young age and developed into a lifelong passion for wildlife and the outdoors.  This same passion led Kristen to pursue a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Zoology as well as a post-graduate program in Ecotourism and Adventure Tourism Management. 

Kristen’s specialty lies in the field of herpetology (study of reptiles and amphibians).  Kristen has had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects in the field with some of Canada’s most endangered reptiles.  As avid birdwatcher, Kristen has who has birded all over North America, the Caribbean and Central America, and volunteered to assist with for a number of birding projects. 

Combining her love for travel and the natural world Kristen, has spent time living and working in the travel industry (ecotourism and educational tourism) in Canada and Costa Rica for the past two years. 

Kristen currently lives in York Region on the Oak Ridges Moraine.  In addition to bird watching, wildlife viewing and travelling Kristen enjoys spending time at her cottage in Northern Ontario, being outdoors, photography, geocaching and spending time with her family and friends.