Danah Duke

B.Sc, M.Sc
Executive Director

Danah has been the Executive Director of the Miistakis Institute since 2001. The Miistakis Institute is a not for profit environmental research institute affiliated with Mount Royal University in Calgary Alberta. Miistakis scientifically investigates environmental challenges, analyzes policy implications, develops decision support tools, and catalyzes community conservation action to realize environmental benefits and outcomes. Her role as the ED of Miistakis puts Danah at the interface between academia, policy and decision-making and community conservation. Through her tenure at Miistakis, Danah has developed skills in various conservation related disciplines that include spatial analysis, research design, wildlife management, transportation ecology, citizen science and ecosystem services. Her experience also includes non-profit management and governance, facilitation and collaboration and community engagement. Danah holds M.Sc. in Environmental Biology and Ecology at the University of Alberta and a B.Sc. in Biology from McMaster University.

Tracy Lee

B.Sc., M.Sc.
Director of Conservation Research

Tracy is a senior project manager at the Miistakis Institute. Tracy acquired her BSc from University of Victoria in biology and environmental design and her MSc from the University of Calgary, Resources and the Environment Program. Tracy's graduate work, in association with the Miistakis Institute, focused on the development and assessment of a citizen science project to monitor wildlife movement across a major highway. Tracy is also a founding member and director of The Ssubi Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to alleviate poverty through educational initiatives in Uganda, East Africa.

Ken Sanderson

Dipl. Environmental Sciences
GIS and Web Developer

Ken is a GIS Developer with the Miistakis Institute. He enjoys problem solving and the creation of applications that help people understand and use GIS data. Ken originally started his career in Parks Management working with the Alberta Park Service for ten years, first as a Park Ranger then later as a Cartographer and finally as a GIS Specialist for Kananaskis Country. Joining the Miistakis Institute in 2001 Ken is responsible for system administration and server management, data management, GIS and website development, online mapping applications and any other tool that can be developed in a GIS or Web environment. Ken currently works remotely from his home in Prince Edward Island.

Holly Kinas

B.Sc., P.Biol
Conservation Analyst

Holly Kinas is a Conservation Analyst with the Miistakis Institute, and aids in the research needs of projects at Miistakis. Holly obtained her Bachelor of Science in General Science, Biology specialty, from Mount Royal University. She has worked in environmental consulting for 2 years as a Wildlife Office Assistant and Wildlife Biologist working on projects in Alberta and British Columbia. She began volunteering for the Miistakis Institute's citizen science project 'Call of the Wetland,' in spring of 2016 and was later hired by Miistakis.

Nicole Kahal

B.Sc., M.Sc.
Conservation Analyst

Nicole is a Conservation Analyst for the Miistakis Institute. Nicole holds a Master of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Water Resource Economics from the University of Arizona. Nicole supports Miistakis' science and engagement goals, and currently works on the citizen science for conservation programs, Calgary Captured and Call of the Wetland. Prior to working with Miistakis, Nicole has worked in private consulting, writing environmental regulatory reports, as well as in community-based not for profits, developing long term habitat stewardship programs.

Nilo Sinnatamby

B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.
Manager of Conservation Research

Nilo is the newest addition to the Miistakis team. She holds an M.Sc. in Biology where she studied paleolimnology and a Ph.D. in Biology focused on fish ecology, both at the University of Waterloo. Since then, Nilo has conducted a variety of research projects as a Post-doctoral Fellow and Research Associate at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta where she specialized in assessing human impacts on aquatic environments and fisheries. Prior to joining Miistakis, Nilo worked as a Species at Risk Biologist and a Marine Planning and Conservation Biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Sara Jordan

B.Sc., M.Sc.
Conservation Analyst

Sara is a Conservation Analyst for the Miistakis Institute. Sara has earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of Calgary and a Master of Science in Environmental Practice from Royal Roads University. Sara has a diverse background from biological field work to wildlife rehabilitation, animal welfare and environmental education. Sara began working with Miistakis on Calgary Captured, a long-term wildlife monitoring project in the City of Calgary in 2017 and now supports various projects with the Institute. Sara likes to connect the dots between ecosystems and human systems and enjoys working to bring scientific knowledge to real world problems.