Staff Spotlight | Taan Forest

Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad

KIRBY JONES

Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad Kirby Jones is from the Ts’aahl clan from HlGaagilda Skidegate and was born and raised on Xaayda Gwaay.yaay Haida Gwaii. She is also raising her son Mason in HlGaagilda. Her parents are Patti and Jimmy Jones, and her grandparents are Illona and Herb Jones. The Jones family has been working in the forestry sector for generations and Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad grew up learning all about it.  

Taan Forest has been fortunate to have Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad on our team for the past four years. She started her position as our Administrative Assistant in 2018 and over time has taken on additional responsibilities and has demonstrated her leadership skills. She has built positive relationships with her co-workers and our contractors and treats everyone like they are family.  

“When you start working with the contractors, you realize how hard they all work, how many people they employ and how many of our local families and businesses benefit from forestry. Whether it be fallers, machine operators, road graders, tree planters, or engineers, it’s amazing to see how it all comes together.” - Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad 

Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad has recently been promoted to our Office Manager and we want to recognize her hard work and achievements. She isn’t shy to jump in to new and exciting opportunities to increase her skillset through training and mentorship. In April 2022, Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad successfully completed the Leadership Excellence for Administrative Professionals at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. This training course focused on developing leadership skills, performance management, effective communication, and problem solving. 

“Taan Forest’s management team supports and encourages staff to pursue new training and education opportunities. Anything from online Excel courses, First Aid, management courses and more. If you are willing to learn it, they will support it. I have participated in the courses offered to me that I thought would benefit my day-to-day work.” - Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad 

Over the past few years, Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad has been a huge asset to our team, and we are excited to have her in her new role as Office Manager continuing to support our team and the administrative work of our forestry operation. Please join us in congratulating Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad on her achievements! 

“We are happy to see as Gulxaa Gwaay Jaad advance and will continue to support her in her new role. She has been a hardworking and resourceful part of the team. Her positive attitude and willingness to support coworkers has been a pleasure to have in the office.” – Jeff Mosher, Chief Forester