Search

Instructor, Culinary Arts Kootenay-born professional pastry chef and chocolatier Merri Schwartz has been working in the BC food community since 2002. Merri credits her childhood with awakening her interest in baking. Raised by back-to-the-land hippies, she didn’t buy her first bag of granulated sugar until the age of 18 and learned, in a kitchen filled with carob, honey and whole wheat flour, that

Kayla Tillapaugh is a proud mother and Selkirk College alumni whose early passions for sustainability and stewardship brought her to the Kootenays from her homeplace in the Okanagan/Shuswap. She pursued studies in Integrated Environmental Planning here at Selkirk College and gained work experience in Indigenous land stewardship, rural research and innovation, and environmental nonprofit management

Instructor, Practical Nursing

Taylor Norman is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 10 years of accounting experience working in external audit, government, non-for-profits and private corporations. A part from instructing, he is currently the Controller for the Nelson & District Credit Union. He has worked directly with numerous non-profit organizations throughout his career and currently sits on the board of the

Dr. Christine Elsey received her PhD, MA and BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Simon Fraser University. Formerly, she was an Associate Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, in the School of Culture, Media and Society, where she taught Anthropology and Sociology courses at the undergraduate level. Her main areas of expertise are anthropological and sociological theory, and BC. First

Kristina Deenik is an experienced environmental professional with a diverse background in conducting impactful research across academic, private and government sectors. She has extensive experience as a field biologist and is a skilled data analysist. She holds a master’s degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the University of British Columbia where she used cutting-edge remote sensing

Faculty Assistant, Physics Noah McIntosh grew up in the Okanagan valley, fostering a passion for outdoor activities from an early age. He completed a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering followed by a Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Noah performed research in the Laboratory for Solar Energy and Fuels

Instructor, Psychology

Amanda is an instructor the Practical Nursing Program and in the Post-Graduate in Gerontological Nursing Program. She graduated from Confederation College in the Practical Nursing Program in 2016 and later completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at OntarioTech University becoming a Registered Nurse in 2020. Since becoming a nurse, Amanda has worked in community care, pediatrics and most

Lukas entered the pipe trades in 2007 in the pre-apprenticeship program at Camosun College. During his training he worked on a variety of projects from residential new construction to geothermal heating solutions to aquatic center renovations. He received his Red Seal in 2013 and after a short stint in Fort McMurray, Alberta he returned to the Kootenays and worked as a general service plumber and

Instructor, Faculty Assistant, Chemistry Born and raised in the Niagara region of Ontario, Jeff studied chemistry at both McMaster University and Dalhousie University before returning to McMaster University for many years as an instructional assistant. The draw of the mountains was, however, too strong and Jeff resettled in the West Kootenay region to enjoy all the outdoor recreational