Board of Directors

Gordon has a keen curiosity about nature and has worked continuously for 40 years to address environmental challenges around the Salish Sea. He has been a forestry worker, an environmental planner for local governments and First Nations, and the conservation director for the Whatcom Land Trust. Gordon moved to Lasqueti in 2009 and joined the LINC Board in 2011. He has been Chair since 2014. He believes the vibrant mix of Lasqueti’s unique landscapes, cultures and ecologies makes this one of the most exciting places to live in the Gulf Islands, and he is grateful to be here.
Gordon Scott, President
Gordon has a keen curiosity about nature and has worked continuously for 40 years to address environmental challenges around the Salish Sea. He has been a forestry worker, an environmental planner for local governments and First Nations, and the conservation director for the Whatcom Land Trust. Gordon moved to Lasqueti in 2009 and joined the LINC Board in 2011. He has been Chair since 2014. He believes the vibrant mix of Lasqueti’s unique landscapes, cultures and ecologies makes this one of the most exciting places to live in the Gulf Islands, and he is grateful to be here.
Wendy Schneible, Vice-President
Lasqueti grabbed Wendy during a January blizzard in 1975 and ever since, it’s felt like the right place to be. She’s lived a typical island lifestyle in an array of dwellings — tent, tipi, floathouse, her own hand built house — while doing a mixed bag of jobs — cooking, gardening, plumbing. Plants, yoga and food have been constant threads; how their interaction contributes to health Intrigues Wendy. Being involved with LINC is a creative way to encourage the natural world to thrive on this island she is lucky enough to call home.
Sheila Harrington, Secretary/Treasurer
– On sabattical –
Sheila first came to Lasqueti by sailboat in the mid ‘90’s from Salt Spring Island. She has worked in the environmental education and conservation fields for most of her life, bringing people together to share their knowledge and inspirations about nature. As founding Executive Director of the Land Trust Alliance of BC, she worked with many other conservationists on conferences, research, publications, and conservation projects, such as an annual Seminar Series and the BC Kingfisher magazine. With fellow Salt Spring Islander, Judi Stevenson, she coordinated and edited the Islands in the Salish Sea community mapping project and award winning Atlas.
Ken Lertzman, Director
A Professor Emeritus at the School of Resource and Environmental Management at SFU, Ken is a forest ecologist specializing in the temperate rainforests of the west coast of North America, and has published extensively on old growth forests. Much of his recent research examines how changing climate drives ecosystem change, including effects on fires and watershed hydrology. Ken has received awards for research, contributions to forest management and conservation, and for education and community engagement.
Duane West, Director
Duane West and his husband Tejomaya moved to Lasqueti from Gabriola Island in the fall of 2018. Shortly after while standing in the yard of their place at the base of Earl’s Mountain he heard a strong voice state, “this is the home you have been seeking all your life”. Could it have been Johnny Osland? Retired from a conservation career with Parks Canada in 7 National Parks from Cape Breton Highlands to Kluane, Duane’s passions include hiking and amending soil.
James Schwartz, Director
James has been a property owner on Lasqueti island since 1984. He finally retired from his landscape garden business on Salt Spring Island a few years ago and is now a full time resident.
Lasqueti Island finally claimed Hilary in 2015 after extensive travels, a degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from UVic, and over a decade of varied work as a kayak guide, natural builder, landscaper and farmer among other things. She is a keen student of ecological restoration, permaculture design and homesteading skills and enjoys producing local food, reading lots and dancing often. She is very grateful to live work and play on Coast Salish territory.
Hilary Duinker, Director
Lasqueti Island finally claimed Hilary in 2015 after extensive travels, a degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from UVic, and over a decade of varied work as a kayak guide, natural builder, landscaper and farmer among other things. She is a keen student of ecological restoration, permaculture design and homesteading skills and enjoys producing local food, reading lots and dancing often. She is very grateful to live work and play on Coast Salish territory.

Morgan Maher, Director
Morgan moved to Lasqueti on a whim in 2016 and fell deeply in love with its forests, people and life.
The practical, spiritual and mythological aspects of nature inform his work as an artist, writer and storyteller. He has worked with the Buckminster Fuller Institute, spent nearly twenty years working with plant medicine, co-produced and contributed to two books on Amazonian medicines, and is a student of conflict resolution practices.
He is an optimistic realist dedicated to unity and well being.
Shirley Rogers, Director
Shirley has been involved with various aspects of the environmental movement for the last 40 years. Earlier being an active supporter of the “Save Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park” from old growth logging through the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, and as a Director of WILD, the international offshoot of the Wilderness Committee that has campaigned for the rights of indigenous communities to keep their lands from the intrusion of development. For the last 30 years she has called Lasqueti home and involved herself in various social causes on island. She has a background in social work and finance.