Celina Starnes, Board President

Celina Starnes

Celina works as the Outreach Director at the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance, a national conservation organisation. There, she is keenly focused on driving forward solutions to the biodiversity and climate crises by fostering meaningful collaboration across diverse stakeholders to accelerate conservation on a national scale.

Celina’s deep passion for ecology and public engagement led her to pursue an accomplished career developing and overseeing environmental initiatives in both the public and nonprofit sectors. She is now approaching two decades of experience in professional leadership roles, in addition to two decades spent sitting on the Board of Directors for various organisations.

Celina’s career journey gained momentum during her summer jobs doing field research with the Capital Regional District in Quebec, and then with her environmental education work with Ducks Unlimited in Manitoba. Her work became more impactful when she headed west to British Columbia after graduating from the McGill School of Environment. After moving, she began working in roles that honed her management and collaboration skills.

During her time working in the public sector for Metro Vancouver Parks and as a manager at Stanley Park in Vancouver, Celina coordinated cross-department initiatives, regularly working with community groups, external contractors, and staff. She also took on project management for the development of the interpretive aspects of a new regional park. She created innovative partnerships with businesses and community groups to draw in new park users into events and other programming relevant to their interests.

In the nonprofit sector, Celina served as the Executive Director for the FUN Society, where she regularly met with funders and created and strengthened partnerships to ensure that the objectives of all parties were being met through the organisation’s programming. She has also worked with the City of Surrey as the Green Timbers liaison, an environmental non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving and enhancing Surrey’s natural areas. There, she coordinated numerous staff for outreach, education, and restoration activities across the city.

When Celina isn’t driving forward environmental initiatives, you can find her hiking with her friends as she excitedly launches into detailed explanations of one ecological phenomenon or another. Outside of the woods and other natural areas, Celina stays adventure-ready by going to the parkour gym or riding on her bike.

She is honoured to bring this experience as the Board President of the Nature-Based Solutions Foundation and help the organisation achieve its critical role in the national conservation community.