Our Team
Board Chair
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Habitat Restoration, Farm & Apiary Director
Kate Mizenka (she/they)
Meet Kate, Elk Root Conservation’s visionary leader, founder, and Habitat Restoration, Farm & Apiary Director. In the midst of a successful career as a lawyer, business entrepreneur and educator, Kate suffered an unexpected brain injury that forced her to retire early. But Kate will tell you that is not her story, she sees her reality as an opportunity for personal growth that has opened her mind and heart to what is important.
Through this transformative journey, Kate has experienced first hand the ways in which vulnerable individuals can be overlooked and fall through the cracks. She wanted to create a safe, supportive place for all people in her community. Through Kate’s vision, the magic of Elk Root Conservation was formed.
Kate is the creator of the Sustainable Apiary Model and designer of ERC’s Pollinator Demonstration Gardens and Native Plant Educational Demonstration Gardens. She is an avid advocate of organic regenerative agriculture, pollinator wellness, and environmental education, conservation and restoration. Her passion for growing community and protecting our planet is woven into the fabric of all we do here at ERC. She is the creative mind behind ERC’s organic regenerative agriculture research and innovation striving towards a world where agricultural practices go hand-in-hand with environmental conservation. In 2023, Kate was awarded the Suzy Hamilton Legacy Fund Award in recognition of her contributions as a female-identified environmental activist in the West Kootenay region who embodies the environmental and social activism for which Hamilton was known.
Kate is not only an expert educator, beekeeper, and organic regenerative grower but also a sought-after speaker. She has shared her knowledge and insights across the country on topics such as native plant propagation and garden design, the responsibility of apiarists to protect wild bees, planting for pollinators, and ERC’s ORAA agri-tech research and innovation projects.
Today, Kate volunteers her time to Elk Root Conservation while she continues to live with traumatic brain injury, spinal degeneration and chronic pain. Her ability to lead through adversity, her empathy towards vulnerable community members, and her ‘outside-the-box’ approaches to making ERC accessible and welcoming to all our diverse community members, is truly an inspiration to all who experience the Elk Root magic.
Brianna Thompson (she/her)
Farm, Forest & Field Manager
Two years ago, Brianna moved from Vancouver to the Kootenays, craving a place with a deep sense of community and easier access to nature and mountain life, Nelson and the Slocan Valley were the perfect answer.
Transplanting herself from her home town in Calgary to Vancouver 10 years ago, she went back to school and attended the University of British Columbia and studied food systems, eventually getting her Masters in Land and Water Systems. Upon graduation she started a not-for-profit urban farm serving her local community while teaching garden education on the side. During this time, the plight of pollinators came to her attention and became incorporated on her urbanfarm gardens and also in her teaching. Elk Root Conservation has been the perfect fit for her to share and expand on her own knowledge. As the first Farm, Forest and Field Manager she has her fingers in all of the delightful project pies working from increasing pollinator habitat to supporting the food forests grown on site.
In her spare time, you can find her hiking, climbing, biking and paddling (the classic Kootenay combo) and hopefully, wing foiling in the future!
Farm, Forest & Field Lead
Kaitlin Warren (she/her)
Born and raised in the Central Kootenays Kaitlin has always loved hiking, camping, and learning about the natural world in a hands-on way. She studied the connections between humans and nature through a degree in environmental studies, anthropology, and Indigenous studies at the University of Victoria.
She deepened her connection to place-based learning through her work with Green Teams of Canada, leading groups of youth and people of all ages through hands-on educational restoration activities throughout the Greater Victoria area.
Upon returning to the Kootenays, Kaitlin was drawn to Elk Root because of its focus on feeding mind, body, and spirit. The integration of environmental restoration, community education, and sustainable farming that Elk Root does, are perfectly aligned with Kaitlin’s passions and she is excited to learn and grow with the organisation throughout the 2026 field season.
When not at work in the gardens Kaitlin enjoys doing yoga, hiking with her dog, and taking in the natural beauty of the Kootenay region.
Administration & Program Coordination Assistant and Food Forest Gardens Assistant
Eve A’Court-Wills (she/her)
Originally from the English countryside, she spent much of her spare time hiking, camping, and exploring the outdoors—an early connection to nature that eventually inspired her move to Canada. She lived in the Rockies in Canmore for six years, embracing an active outdoor lifestyle and a love of adventure, before recently moving to the Kootenays, where she was drawn to the region's strong sense of community and slower pace of life.
Her passion for the outdoors runs deep, with experience in backcountry hiking, multi-day camping trips, and canoe expeditions. One of her most memorable adventures was paddling the Yukon River, an experience that reflects her appreciation for remote landscapes, wilderness travel, and time spent immersed in nature.
She is currently pursuing a degree in Environmental Science and brings a strong passion for ecosystems, conservation, and hands-on field learning. At Elk Root Conservation, she works both on the farm and in the office as the Admin & Project Coordination Assistant, supporting community programs and day-to-day operations.
Taiya Taylor (she/her)
Farm & Food Forest Worker Assistant
Taiya is originally from Edmonton, Alberta where her connection to the outdoors was shaped through gardening, camping and skiing. Seeking a career rooted in environmental stewardship, she moved to Nelson, British Columbia to pursue her passion for environmental conservation.
Taiya is currently enrolled in the Recreation, Fish and Wildlife program at Selkirk College and plans to carry on and complete her degree in the environmental field. Her interests are currently centred around botany and plant ecology with a particular passion for understanding and protecting native ecosystems.
Roz Godfrey (she/her)
Farm & Food Forest Worker Assistant
Originally from a small town in Ontario, Roz moved to Nelson 5 years ago to live in the mountains and quickly fell in love.
She started post-secondary in Ottawa at Algonquin College for Environmental Studies and then continued with Selkirk College’s Environmental Science and Planning diploma program. Upon graduating she worked in Terrace for BC Parks as a student park ranger, before returning to hospitality roots as the general manager at Pitchfork Eatery.
Following the restaurant’s permanent closure, she began searching for meaningful work aligned with her environmental values — eventually finding the perfect fit with Elk Root Conservation!
When not tending to the food farm and forest gardens, she can be found with her dog, at the beach, paddle boarding, hiking, snowboarding, practicing aerial hoop or spending time with horses and other animals.
Emmalee Valls
Food Forest Gardens Assistant
Originally from Abbotsford, Emmalee moved to the Slocan Valley at the age of four, where her love of nature, animals, and gardening first took root. She holds a TESOL diploma from Selkirk College and a Bachelor of Psychology from UBC Okanagan.
Before joining Elk Root Conservation, Emmalee worked with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation as a transcriptionist and assistant researcher, helping document traditional place names and culturally significant information. She has also pursued interests in mushroom cultivation, foraging, and herbalism.
After spending a year and a half in Australia exploring ecosystems such as the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, Emmalee returned to the Kootenays with an even greater appreciation for the natural beauty of the region and a passion for protecting and restoring local ecosystems.