Core team
Meaghen McCord
Executive Director
A seasoned conservation leader with over 20 years of experience in ocean and terrestrial conservation, Meag was most recently the Executive Director of CPAWS-BC. Prior roles include policy advisor, marine ecologist and conservation manager with Parks Canada, where she advanced Canada’s ocean conservation targets through close collaboration with First Nations and federal and provincial agencies. Previously, Meag founded and directed the South African Shark Conservancy where she developed strategies to protect threatened marine species and ecosystems in the southwestern Indian Ocean. A champion of gender equity and inclusion, Meag also served as Vice Chair of the African Network for Women in Marine Science. As CCIRA’s Executive Director, Meag provides oversight for the day-to-day development and management of our programs, projects and teams, ensuring this work serves the interests, objectives and aspirations of Central Coast Nations.
Keith Granbois
Director of Finance & Operations
With more than 20 years of experience in operational leadership, financial management, business development, marketing and communications, IT Systems, and strategic planning, Keith Granbois has built a reputation for driving organizational transformation, cultivating enduring community partnerships and championing sustainability initiatives. He is dually designated as a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner. Keith grew up and resides in Quw’utsun (Cowichan) on Vancouver Island, where he is highly active in supporting the community. As a provincial woodlot licence holder, Keith brings 25 years of hands-on experience in small-scale sustainable forest management and government relations. He is also the treasurer for Tourism Nanaimo and the South Island Woodlot Association; Board member of the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce and the Chair of its Business Advisory Committee; a community advisory member to the Xwulqw’selu Watershed Plan Collaborative Community Advisory Table; and volunteers with the Cowichan District Hospital Foundation.
Jean-Phillip Sargeant
Project Manager, NMCAR Feasibility Assessment
As Project Manager for the Central Coast’s National Marine Conservation Area Reserve feasibility assessment, Jean helps the Nations determine if a NMCAR aligns with their stewardship objectives. The role includes coordinating Nation representatives, producing technical material, visiting communities, and ensuring the assessment takes into account other ongoing work, such as the Marine Protected Areas Network. Previously, Jean worked for three years as the Marine and Shipping Coordinator for CCIRA, ensuring the Nations’ perspectives, knowledge and expertise guided all aspects of his work. With a graduate degree in coastal and marine resource management from the University of Akureyri, Jean has worked for more than a decade on improving the marine environment—whether on board fishing vessels as an observer or working on marine protection with First Nations on the North Coast.
Geneviève Reynolds
Monitoring Coordinator
As CCIRA’s Monitoring Coordinator, Geneviève Reynolds supports the Central Coast Guardian Watchmen and Coordinators to build capacity for implementing marine monitoring and compliance programs, data management, collaborating with Coastal Stewardship Network, and participating on the MaPP regional monitoring subcommittees. Geneviève’s life-long passion for nature, and coastal ecosystems in particular, has led to extensive research work focusing on the relationships between culture, ecology and history. During her Masters at the University of Victoria, she investigated the ecology of Pacific yew on ancestral village sites of the Central Coast, using ecological and archaeological perspectives to examine subtle human impacts on complex ecosystems.
Molly Fraser
Marine Shipping & Response Coordinator
As CCIRA’s Marine Shipping & Response Coordinator, Molly Fraser helps to advance the Central Coast Nations’ important marine shipping and response work. Born and raised on Northern Vancouver Island, Molly is at heart a coastal person, and has spent countless days in, on, and around the ocean. Her passion for the ocean led to a Master of Science at the University of Victoria, where she researched vessel compliance to marine mammal distance regulations around cetaceans in the Salish Sea. Previous work experience includes projects with Parks Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the WSANEC Leadership Council.
Cyndi Hanuse
Administrator
Cyndi helps coordinate CCIRA programs and contractors, assisting with accounting, project administration, bookkeeping, financial accountability and program updates, plus correspondence with each Nation’s business and administration teams. She manages banking, internal meetings and hiring coordination, and communicates with government entities and external parties on CCIRA’s behalf as needed. Before joining CCIRA in 2012, Cyndi worked five years as an Environmental Technician in Stream Mapping and Habitat Restoration, and for Homalco Indian Band, Klahoose Indian Band and the Wuikinuxv Nation, as Fisheries Manager and implementing the Wuikinuxv Guardian Watchmen program. Cyndi attended North Island College for Applied Business Technology Office Skills and Vancouver Island University for the Essential Field Skills Certificate Program.
Taylor Mason (on leave)
Marine Planning & MaPP Implementation Coordinator
Taylor helps to advance Central Coast Nations’ marine planning efforts and to enhance the sustainability of BC’s marine environments. Taylor grew up in the unceded territory of Mi’kmaq First Nations (Prince Edward Island), which fostered an interest in marine and coastal water resources early in her life. She has an undergraduate degree in Aquatic Resources and Public Policy and a Masters in Marine Management from Dalhousie University, and has worked with Indigenous communities on all three Canadian coastlines—each role focused on enhancing Indigenous capacity and interests at a community-level and in partnership with government and stakeholders.
Megan Adams
Salmon Programs Coordinator
Megan is passionate about salmon and the ecosystems and communities they support. For over a decade, she worked in close collaboration with First Nations on projects aimed at upholding Indigenous sovereignty while also fulfilling stewardship objectives. At CCIRA, Megan supports Central Coast Nations in various salmon programs, including habitat restoration, catch monitoring, and expanding knowledge of genetic baselines in the region. Prior to this role, Megan worked with a team of artists, researchers, and facilitators to assess cumulative effects on salmon and other key species across the Central Coast. She also built relationships and expanded her knowledge of natural history in the area through her work on a grizzly and black bear monitoring program that spans the Central Coast, including monitoring bears alongside stewardship staff in Wuikinuxv territory.
Danny O’Farrell
Fisheries Governance Coordinator
Danny O’Farrell has more than 20 years’ experience in marine and freshwater fisheries management, most of it with First Nations across BC, including the Nuu-chah-nulth and St’at’imc Nations. He has also helped develop various stewardship Guardian programs, as well as salmon research and habitat restoration projects. For all of this work, Danny is committed to ensuring that First Nations’ rights are upheld, and that fisheries health is maintained for future generations. Danny has a graduate degree in Coastal Marine Management from the University of Aukureyi. In his role with CCIRA, Danny will support Central Coast Nations’ priorities under the Fisheries Resource Reconciliation Agreement (FRRA) framework, and help to advance opportunities to develop collaborative fisheries governance in their territories.
Melissa Evanson
Fisheries Policy Coordinator
Melissa has been working in fisheries for over 20 years primarily at the intersection of science, management, policy and governance. Her experiences have been focused on First Nations fisheries, collaborative agreement development, and marine spatial planning, including working with the Haida, Heiltsuk, Yekooche, Wuikinuxv and Squamish Nations. After 12 years at DFO, she left with the hope to more directly support First Nation communities and governments in achieving priority fisheries access and implementing inherent rights and title. Melissa completed an Honours BSc in marine biology (UBC), MSc in aquatic toxicology (University of Guelph), and an interdisciplinary applied doctorate (UCLA) but has often learned the most through grounded experiences with the people who live, work and rely on the ocean and its resources. In her role at CCIRA, Melissa will support Central Coast Nations’ governance priorities under the FRRA.
Rachel Munger
Marine Planning & Stewardship Program Manager
Rachel leads CCIRA’s Marine Planning & Stewardship Program, supporting our Nations in advancing their shared vision for healthy coastal ecosystems. Her work brings together marine use planning, Marine Plan Partnership (MaPP) implementation, conservation, and community-based fisheries to strengthen collaborative, ecosystem-based management across the Central Coast. Working closely with CCIRA’s technical team and the Nations’ stewardship offices, Rachel helps ensure that marine initiatives, including MaPP, the Marine Protected Area Network, Coastal Marine Strategy, and Hecate Strait MPA, reflect Indigenous governance, knowledge systems, and priorities. Prior to CCIRA, Rachel worked as a Natural Resources Manager for the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) Rights and Title Department and as a Scientific Diver and Marine Science Educator on the west coast of Vancouver Island. She holds a Master’s degree in Biology (Marine Ecology) from SFU, and is passionate about supporting work that asserts, protects, and expands the inherent rights of the Wuikinuxv, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, and Kitasoo Xai’xais Nations.