Board of Directors

Kevin Ainsworth, Chief Executive Officer

Kevin Ainsworth has had an extensive career primarily in the forestry sector in Western Canada. In addition to co-founding Merchant Advance Capital Ltd., Kevin Ainsworth was Chief Executive Officer of Whispering Pines Energy Ltd., a Vancouver-based alternative energy company with substantial timber contracts in the BC interior.

Prior to founding WPE, Kevin was Senior Vice President, Western Panel Operations at Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd. (TSX:ANS), a BC based panel company. During his 20 years at Ainsworth, Kevin was responsible for the company’s BC timberlands, four panel manufacturing facilities in BC and Alberta and the company’s investor relations. Kevin holds BSc and MBA degrees from the University of British Columbia.

Thomas Olsen, Managing Director

Thomas Olsen is a visionary managing director that leads organizations through an integrated approach of aligning stakeholder interests within coordinated strategic roadmap.

Thomas likes start up and early stage development opportunities where there are multiple options and many moving pieces. Thomas has worked as management of private companies in forestry, marine transportation, airlines, precast concrete, real estate development and oil and gas technology.

Through the course of Thomas's career he has worked in cooperative ventures with First Nations' communities to build sustainable infrastructure and long-term employment on the North Coast of British Columbia. Thomas has worked in many multi-stakeholder engagements of most recent was the Premiers Roundtable on forestry in 2009 and served as a director of the Truck Loggers Association for eleven years and finished his work with the organization in 2010 as past President.

Roslyn Kunin

Dr. Roslyn Kunin is one of those rare economists who can make the often difficult subject of economics understandable and even interesting.

She was educated in Quebec and Ontario, finishing her studies with a Ph.D. in economics from the University of British Columbia. The University of Victoria has granted her the degree of Honorary Doctor of Laws. The Institute of Corporate Directors has granted her the ICD.D designation.

She has been awarded the Crystal Ball Award by the Association of Professional Economists, the Woman of Distinction Award by the YWCA and a Canada 125 medal for service to Canada and is a member of the Order of Canada.

Bill Dumont

Bill Dumont is an award-winning professional forester with more than 35 years of experience in BC and internationally.

Through most of his career, Bill has been immersed in the complex world of managing BC’s coastal rainforests and SE Asia’s tropical rainforests. He was actively involved in the Central Coast land and resource management planning process and helped create the Coast Forest Conservation Initiative that turned conflict over coastal forest management into collaborative solutions.

Bill has been named Distinguished Forester by the BC Professional Foresters, as well as receiving the Bill Young award for Excellence in Integrated Resource Management from the BC Professional Biologists and Foresters, the Canada Recreational Fisheries Award and the BC Environment Minister’s Award. He is a past President of the Association of BC Forest Professionals.

Kelly Russ

Kelly brings 9 years of experience as a Commissioner with the Canadian Human Rights Commission and in that capacity, was a part of the process that lead to the repeal of section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which enables the application of the Act to First Nations across the country.

In Kelly's work as a lawyer for the past 15 years, he has worked extensively with First Nations clients in respect to family law matters, as well as working with various First Nations in Aboriginal Rights and Title matters. As a member of the Haida Nation, Kelly has a deep understanding of Nation issues.

Reg Davidson