The new Get to Know Speakers Bureau is made up of outstanding biologists, naturalists and educators from across Canada who are eager to share their enthusiasm for "getting to know." These dynamic and popular speakers are happy to give presentations about their area of expertise and/or the Get to Know program. Whether you are hosting an event or want to interview a scientist on television or radio, you can count on the Get to Know Speakers Bureau to deliver engaging, scientifically accurate presentations that will fascinate and inspire young and old alike.
Below is the most up-to-date list of the Get to Know speakers and their areas of expertise.
| Speaker | Area(s) of Expertise |
| John Acorn | Insects |
| Roberta Bondar | The Environment |
| Gordon Court | Raptors |
| Dave Fraser | Conservation Biology and Endangered Species |
| Jeff Hutchings | Ecology and Evolution of Fishes |
| Mary Krupa-Clark | Environmental Education; Get to Know Program |
| Wayne Lynch | Bears; Penguins |
| Gordon Stenhouse | Carnivores |
| Margo Pybus | Wildlife Diseases; Bats |
| Ian Stirling | Polar Bears |
Please call or email us for bookings.
Insects
John Acorn was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1958, and has been fascinated with animals his entire life. He still lives in Edmonton, with his wife, Dena, and their two young boys Jesse and Benjamin.
John is perhaps best known as the writer and host of the television series "Acorn, The Nature Nut," a family-oriented, how-to-be-a-naturalist show. He also hosted “Twits and Pishers,” a travel show for bird watchers, and is the video host for the galleries of the Royal Tyrell Museum, where he has also served as a research associate. These days, John lectures at the University of Alberta, and travels widely as a public speaker. He finds time for the study and photography of insects as well, and is an Associate of the E. H. Strickland Entomology Museum at the University of Alberta. John has written 17 books, including many well-received field guides.
John is the recipient of NSERC’s Michael Smith Award for Science Promotion, the University of Alberta’s Distinguished Alumni Award, two “Rosies” (as Best Host, in the Alberta Motion Picture Industry Awards), and two nominations for Canada’s national television award, the Gemini. Both the Entomological Society of Alberta and the Canadian Society of Zoologists have also recognized his contributions to public education.
The Environment
As the world's first neurologist in space, Dr. Roberta Bondar is globally recognized for her pioneering contribution in space medicine research. Aboard the Discovery mission STS-42 in 1992, she conducted experiments in the shuttle's first international microgravity laboratory.
For more than a decade at NASA Dr. Bondar headed an international research team, continuing to find new connections between astronauts recovering from the microgravity of space and neurological illnesses here on Earth such as stroke and Parkinson's disease. Her techniques have been used in clinical studies at the B. I. Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and at the University of New Mexico.
A true renaissance woman, Dr. Bondar is an acclaimed photographer of the natural wonders of our planet. She is the author of four best-selling photo essay books featuring her stunning photography of the Earth. They are: Passionate Vision ~ Discovering Canada's National Parks, Canada ~ Landscape of Dreams, The Arid Edge of Earth which features deserts of the world and the Canadian Arctic deserts and Touching the Earth the story of her astronaut experiences.
As an author, environmental educator and celebrated landscape photographer, Dr. Bondar has also earned a reputation as a leading speaker and consultant within the medical and scientific communities, and in the field of corporate social responsibility and care for the Earth's environment.
In 2007 the Ontario Government appointed Dr. Bondar to chair the Working Committee on Environmental Education, to strengthen environmental education in the curriculum of elementary and secondary schools. The Committee presented the report and all 32 of their recommendations have now been implemented.
Dr. Bondar has been recognized with the NASA Space Medal, inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and into the International Women's Forum Hall of Fame for her pioneering research in space medicine. In addition, she has received 24 honorary doctorates from Canadian and American universities. In 2003 TIME magazine named her among North America's best explorers.
Currently, Dr. Bondar is in her second term as Chancellor of Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario and she continues photographing the extremes of our planet.
Speakers Bureau Chair, raptor expert
Gordon Court has studied the breeding biology and toxicology of predatory birds at both ends of the Earth. His Ph.D., conducted while on a Commonwealth Scholarship to New Zealand, involved the study of marine pollutants in sea birds breeding on Ross Island, Antarctica. Earlier in his career, he completed a Master of Science degree on the toxicology and breeding biology of Tundra Peregrine Falcons in the Canadian Arctic. This study, located at Rankin Inlet, was conducted over a 20-year period was one of the most intensive research projects ever undertaken on the peregrine falcon.
Gordon has also worked for over two decades on the recovery of the Peregrine Falcon in western Canada and is recognized internationally as an expert on this species. He has also studied forest dependent raptors in the boreal forest of Canada, particularly those species affected by the expansion of industrial timber harvesting in Western Canada. Gordon is formerly the Canadian Director of the U.S.-based Raptor Research Foundation. Presently, he is the Provincial Wildlife Status Biologist for Alberta Environment. A keen amateur photographer, Gordon has enjoyed recognition is a number of nature photography competitions in North America, and has contributed prize winning entries in the prestigious, BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, on 3 occasions.
Conservation Biology and Endangered Species
David Fraser. M.Sc. R.P. Bio. is a biologist, photographer and artist living near Victoria, on southern Vancouver Island. He is a member of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, works with native plants in a nursery and his garden, and has travelled widely painting and photographing nature. He is currently working as the Endangered Species Specialist for the province of British Columbia.
Ecology and Evolution of Fishes
Dr. Hutchings is a professor of biology at Dalhousie University and currently chairs (2006-10) the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), the national science advisory body responsible for advising the federal Minister of the Environment on the status of species at risk in Canada. He is the former editor of the Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences (2002-07), and has founded, chaired, or been a member of many important biology advisory bodies. His research centres on questions pertaining to the life history evolution, behavioural ecology, population dynamics, and conservation biology of marine and anadromous fishes, particularly Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis).
Environmental Education, Get to Know Program
Mary Krupa-Clark is the founder and President of Morningstar Enterprises, one of Canada’s leading environmentally-focused communications firms. A former teacher with an Honours B.Sc. in Botany, Mary’s lifelong passion for nature, excellent communication ability, and infectious enthusiasm are not lost on anyone she meets. Mary has contributed to countless social marketing campaigns and coauthored three widely-used science textbooks, which have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in Canada and around the world. As president of Morningstar Enterprises Inc., Mary has been responsible for overseeing many prominent environmental projects, including the re-introduction of the anatum peregrine falcon to the interior of British Columbia, the introduction of linear parks to urban centres, the Trudeau family Kokanee Glacier Alpine Campaign, the Kelowna Wild Festival for Youth, and the Robert Bateman Get to Know Program. She has been the Director of the Get to Know Program since it was founded in 2000 and is currently working on several major new Get to Know Initiatives across Canada and the launch of the program in California.
Bears, Penguins
Dr. Lynch is a popular guest lecturer and an award-winning science writer. His books cover a wide range of subjects, including: the biology and behaviour of owls, penguins and northern bears; arctic, boreal and grassland ecology; and the lives of prairie birds and mountain wildlife. He is a fellow of the internationally recognized Explorers Club - a select group of scientists, eminent explorers and distinguished persons, noteworthy for their contributions to world knowledge and exploration. Membership is by invitation only and has included such renowned explorers as Peary, Lindbergh, Byrd, Roosevelt, Stefansson and Issac Asimov. He is also an elected Fellow of the prestigious Arctic Institute of North America . He was elected in recognition of his contributions to the knowledge of polar and subpolar regions. The electing board applauded his diverse career as a naturalist, wildlife photographer and science writer.
Carnivores
Gord is the Program Lead of the Foothills Research Institute Grizzly Bear Research Program. This research program began in 1999 and has grown to be one of the largest and most comprehensive bear research programs in North America. There are now over 60 scientific papers from the research team working on this program.
Gord received both his Bachelors and Masters Degree from the University of Manitoba. After graduating he moved to the NWT where he worked as a wildlife biologist for the Northwest Territories government. During this time he focused primarily on polar bear research. However, over a 15 year period in the north he also conducted research and management studies on a number of other wildlife species (grizzly bears, barren ground and peary caribou, muskoxen, moose, dall sheep, peregrine falcons, wolves, and arctic nesting geese).
In 1995 Gord relocated to Hinton and worked as a biologist with Weldwood for a 3 year period. Since the fall of 1998 Gord has been working with the Foothills Research Institute. Gord is on secondment from SRD Fish and Wildlife Division and is an adjunct professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan. He is also the past chairman of the Alberta Grizzly Bear Recovery Team.
Wildlife Diseases, Bats
Dr Margo Pybus has spent the better part of a life-time learning from wildlife. She grew up among the fields, forests, and marshes of southern Ontario and has spent recent years in the prairie, foothill, mountain, parkland, and boreal landscapes of Alberta. With a strong background in science, natural history, and public communication, Margo’s presentations invariably teach and entertain at the same time.
Margo received a Bachelors and Masters degree from the University of Guelph, specialized in Fish and Wildlife Biology and Wildlife Parasitology, respectively. She also holds a PhD in Wildlife Parasitology from the University of Alberta. Margo currently is on staff with the Alberta Fish and Wildlife Division first as the Provincial Wildlife Disease Specialist. She heads up high profile programs involving West Nile virus, avian influenza, and chronic wasting disease, to name a few. She also is known for her passion with regards to bats and established the Alberta Bat Action Team (ABAT) which continues to guide provincial bat conservation and education programs in Alberta.
Polar Bears
Dr. Ian Stirling is a Research Scientist Emeritus with the Canadian Wildlife Service and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton. He has done research on polar bears and polar seals (Arctic and Antarctic) for 42 years, particularly in the areas of ecology, behaviour, evolution, relationships between polar bears and seals, the biological importance of polynyas, and the conservation and management of polar marine mammals and ecosystems. For his work, he has won the Northern Science Award, been made an Officer in the Order of Canada, and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He participates in a number of national and international committees on polar bears and marine mammals and has authored or co-authored over 200 scientific articles and 3 books.
Please call or email us for bookings.