Meet Our People
We are a unique team of ecologists, data scientists, and software developers
who bring dedication and passion to the work we do
Meet Our People
We are a unique team of ecologists, data scientists, and software developers who bring dedication and passion to the work we do
Colin Daniel
Systems Ecologist
Colin is a systems ecologist and president of ApexRMS. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (University of Toronto), an M.Sc. in Zoology (University of British Columbia), and a B.A.Sc. in Systems Design Engineering (University of Waterloo). As an ecological consultant for over 25 years, Colin has under-taken over 200 projects for natural resource management agencies around the world. Most of these projects have focused on ecological modeling, landscape change, ecosystem carbon, wildlife management, spatial analysis and decision support.
Leonardo Frid
Systems Ecologist
Leonardo is a systems ecologist with over 20 years of consulting experience. He holds an M.Sc. in Zoology and a B.Sc. in Conservation Biology (University of British Columbia). Leonardo’s work focuses on landscape simulation modeling, wildland fire risk and fuels management, invasive plant management, species at risk, and land use/land cover change. Leonardo has led numerous workshops, covering topics ranging from technical and scientific issues to strategic planning, and regularly delivers training courses in the use of landscape simulation modeling tools for decision support.
Hannah Adams
Quantitative Ecologist
Hannah is a quantitative ecologist. She has an M.Sc. in Biology (Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador) and a B.Sc. in Environmental Science with a specialization in Ecology (University of Waterloo). Hannah has a background in ecological modeling, geospatial analysis, and integrating empirical and modeling approaches to support adaptive management of ecosystems. She is experienced with ArcGIS and QGIS, and her preferred programming languages include R and Python.
Diego Bilski
Systems Ecologist
Diego is a biologist with a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Ecology and Conservation, and a B.Sc. in Biology (Federal University of Parana). He has experience working on a broad range of wildlife conservation and management projects using large spatial and temporal datasets. Diego also has extensive experience working in industry settings outside of ecology, with a focus on developing technical documentation and robust project management systems. His programming languages of choice are R and Python.
Katie Birchard
Data Scientist
Katie is a data scientist and research software developer. She holds a Master of Data Science (University of British Columbia), an M.Sc. in Computational Genomics (Queen's University) and a B.Sc. in Biology (Queen's University). She has experience with a wide range of data science techniques, including in machine learning, neural networks, Bayesian inference and frequentist statistics. Katie is also skilled in using high performance computing environments to analyze big data. Her programming languages of choice include Python and R.
Sarah Chisholm
Spatial Ecologist
Sarah is a spatial ecologist. She holds an M.Sc. in Biology and a B.Sc. in Biology with a specialization in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (University of Ottawa). Sarah is experienced in working with large spatial data to answer ecological questions and support conservation decisions. She uses a range of Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to conduct spatial analyses including ArcGIS, QGIS, Google Earth Engine, R, and Python.
Alessandro Filazzola
Data Scientist
Alessandro is a data scientist and computational ecologist. He is an Adjunct Faculty member at Western University and holds both a Ph.D. and B.Sc. in Biology (York University). Alessandro enjoys finding new data sources or approaches to improve our ability to manage and conserve biodiversity. He has expertise in spatial data analysis, predictive modelling, and machine learning. He often uses high performance computing for analyses of big data and codes in R, Python and Javascript, among other languages.
Carina Rauen Firkowski
Quantitative Ecologist
Carina is a quantitative ecologist. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (University of Toronto), an M.Sc in Ecology and Conservation, and a B.Sc. in Biology (Federal University of Parana). Carina has a background in ecological modeling and data analysis applied to decision-making contexts. She has experience monitoring change in biodiversity and ecosystem services due to the impact of management actions. She enjoys communicating science through data visualization using R and Adobe Creative Cloud.
Christopher Givelas
Application Developer
Christopher is a software developer with a B. Comp. (Queen's University). He has 6 years of experience in the tech industry working on projects ranging from small web-based prototypes to fully integrated cloud and desktop applications. Chris is well-versed in a range of technologies including Java, C#, JavaScript, TypeScript, and SQL Query Languages, and is focused on supporting and growing the software ecosystem at ApexRMS.
Mai Nguyen
Marketing Specialist
Mai is a marketing specialist. She holds a BBA with a minor in User Experience (UX) Design (Wilfrid Laurier University). She has experience working in the tech industry across various areas of marketing. Her expertise lies in product marketing while incorporating UX design techniques to elevate the customer experience. Mai enjoys connecting with customers by developing impactful strategies and brand narratives. Her mission is to drive the growth of ApexRMS in the commercial space.
Skye Pearman-Gillman
Quantitative Ecologist
Skye is a quantitative ecologist with 5 years of experience working at the interface between ecological modeling and the management of natural resources. She holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources (University of Vermont) and a B.Sc. in Biology (University of Washington). Skye specializes in species conservation, spatial and statistical modeling, and data analytics. Her work to date has primarily focused on climate and land use change, decision support for conservation and resource management, and wildlife risk assessment. Skye’s preferred programming languages include R and Python.
Doriana Romualdi
Quantitative Ecologist
Doriana is a quantitative ecologist. She holds an M.Sc. in Forestry and a B.Sc. with a double major in Biodiversity and Forest Conservation Science (University of Toronto). Doriana has a background in forest disturbance interactions and wildfire modeling. She has experience analyzing how burn severity in western Canada is influenced by mountain pine beetle outbreaks as well as other environmental variables. Doriana is well-versed in Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, such as ArcGIS and QGIS. Her preferred programming language is R.
Amanda Schwantes
Quantitative Ecologist
Amanda is a quantitative ecologist with a Ph.D. in Ecology (Duke University). She also holds a double major B.Sc. in Environmental Science and a B.A. in Chemistry (University of Virginia). Amanda’s expertise lies in ecological modeling, remote sensing, geospatial analysis, and ecosystem service assessment. She has developed innovative ways to monitor, model, and forecast ecosystem change and its impacts on human well-being. Currently, she is focused on modeling the effectiveness of natural climate solutions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and storing carbon. Her programming languages of choice include R and Python.
Alex Embrey
Application Developer (Associate)
Alex is a software developer with over 15 years experience. He has developed ecological modeling software and is the lead architect for ApexRMS’s core products, including SyncroSim, ST-Sim and DG-Sim. Prior to joining ApexRMS, he was part of Microsoft’s Visual Studio team.
Colin Daniel
Systems Ecologist
Colin is a systems ecologist and president of ApexRMS. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (University of Toronto), an M.Sc. in Zoology (University of British Columbia), and a B.A.Sc. in Systems Design Engineering (University of Waterloo). As an ecological consultant for over 25 years, Colin has under-taken over 200 projects for natural resource management agencies around the world. Most of these projects have focused on ecological modeling, landscape change, ecosystem carbon, wildlife management, spatial analysis and decision support.
Leonardo Frid
Systems Ecologist
Leonardo is a systems ecologist with over 20 years of consulting experience. He holds an M.Sc. in Zoology and a B.Sc. in Conservation Biology (University of British Columbia). Leonardo’s work focuses on landscape simulation modeling, wildland fire risk and fuels management, invasive plant management, species at risk, and land use/land cover change. Leonardo has led numerous workshops, covering topics ranging from technical and scientific issues to strategic planning, and regularly delivers training courses in the use of landscape simulation modeling tools for decision support.
Hannah Adams
Quantitative Ecologist
Hannah is a quantitative ecologist. She has an M.Sc. in Biology (Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador) and a B.Sc. in Environmental Science with a specialization in Ecology (University of Waterloo). Hannah has a background in ecological modeling, geospatial analysis, and integrating empirical and modeling approaches to support adaptive management of ecosystems. She is experienced with ArcGIS and QGIS, and her preferred programming languages include R and Python.
Diego Bilski
Systems Ecologist
Diego is a biologist with a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Ecology and Conservation, and a B.Sc. in Biology (Federal University of Parana). He has experience working on a broad range of wildlife conservation and management projects using large spatial and temporal datasets. Diego also has extensive experience working in industry settings outside of ecology, with a focus on developing technical documentation and robust project management systems. His programming languages of choice are R and Python.
Katie Birchard
Data Scientist
Katie is a data scientist and research software developer. She holds a Master of Data Science (University of British Columbia), an M.Sc. in Computational Genomics (Queen's University) and a B.Sc. in Biology (Queen's University). She has experience with a wide range of data science techniques, including in machine learning, neural networks, Bayesian inference and frequentist statistics. Katie is also skilled in using high performance computing environments to analyze big data. Her programming languages of choice include Python and R.
Sarah Chisholm
Spatial Ecologist
Sarah is a spatial ecologist. She holds an M.Sc. in Biology and a B.Sc. in Biology with a specialization in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (University of Ottawa). Sarah is experienced in working with large spatial data to answer ecological questions and support conservation decisions. She uses a range of Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to conduct spatial analyses including ArcGIS, QGIS, Google Earth Engine, R, and Python.
Alessandro Filazzola
Data Scientist
Alessandro is a data scientist and computational ecologist. He is an Adjunct Faculty member at Western University and holds both a Ph.D. and B.Sc. in Biology (York University). Alessandro enjoys finding new data sources or approaches to improve our ability to manage and conserve biodiversity. He has expertise in spatial data analysis, predictive modelling, and machine learning. He often uses high performance computing for analyses of big data and codes in R, Python and Javascript, among other languages.
Carina Rauen Firkowski
Quantitative Ecologist
Carina is a quantitative ecologist. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (University of Toronto), an M.Sc in Ecology and Conservation, and a B.Sc. in Biology (Federal University of Parana). Carina has a background in ecological modeling and data analysis applied to decision-making contexts. She has experience monitoring change in biodiversity and ecosystem services due to the impact of management actions. She enjoys communicating science through data visualization using R and Adobe Creative Cloud.
Christopher Givelas
Application Developer
Christopher is a software developer with a B. Comp. (Queen's University). He has 6 years of experience in the tech industry working on projects ranging from small web-based prototypes to fully integrated cloud and desktop applications. Chris is well-versed in a range of technologies including Java, C#, JavaScript, TypeScript, and SQL Query Languages, and is focused on supporting and growing the software ecosystem at ApexRMS.
Mai Nguyen
Marketing Specialist
Mai is a marketing specialist. She holds a BBA with a minor in User Experience (UX) Design (Wilfrid Laurier University). She has experience working in the tech industry across various areas of marketing. Her expertise lies in product marketing while incorporating UX design techniques to elevate the customer experience. Mai enjoys connecting with customers by developing impactful strategies and brand narratives. Her mission is to drive the growth of ApexRMS in the commercial space.
Skye Pearman-Gillman
Quantitative Ecologist
Skye is a quantitative ecologist with 5 years of experience working at the interface between ecological modeling and the management of natural resources. She holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources (University of Vermont) and a B.Sc. in Biology (University of Washington). Skye specializes in species conservation, spatial and statistical modeling, and data analytics. Her work to date has primarily focused on climate and land use change, decision support for conservation and resource management, and wildlife risk assessment. Skye’s preferred programming languages include R and Python.
Doriana Romualdi
Quantitative Ecologist
Doriana is a quantitative ecologist. She holds an M.Sc. in Forestry and a B.Sc. with a double major in Biodiversity and Forest Conservation Science (University of Toronto). Doriana has a background in forest disturbance interactions and wildfire modeling. She has experience analyzing how burn severity in western Canada is influenced by mountain pine beetle outbreaks as well as other environmental variables. Doriana is well-versed in Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, such as ArcGIS and QGIS. Her preferred programming language is R.
Amanda Schwantes
Quantitative Ecologist
Amanda is a quantitative ecologist with a Ph.D. in Ecology (Duke University). She also holds a double major B.Sc. in Environmental Science and a B.A. in Chemistry (University of Virginia). Amanda’s expertise lies in ecological modeling, remote sensing, geospatial analysis, and ecosystem service assessment. She has developed innovative ways to monitor, model, and forecast ecosystem change and its impacts on human well-being. Currently, she is focused on modeling the effectiveness of natural climate solutions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and storing carbon. Her programming languages of choice include R and Python.
Alex Embrey
Application Developer (Associate)
Alex is a software developer with over 15 years experience. He has developed eco-logical modeling software and is the lead coder on ApexRMS’s core products, including SyncroSim, ST-Sim and DG-Sim. Prior to joining ApexRMS, he was part of Microsoft’s Visual Studio team.