Founding Director

An avid adventurist and citizen of the world, Anne-Marie Dekker has an insatiable curiosity and desire to bring together her past training and knowledge with the exploration of new learnings. Born in Jakarta of Dutch and Indonesian extraction, she can trace her much older ancestry’s DNA to India and China. Educated in Europe and North America, she originally studied languages and dance and ended in accounting and corporate administration. Armed with these varied disciplines, she embarked on her mission of adding, subtracting and learning how change is always possible.

Anne-Marie was part of a team that founded and launched the second Canadian privately owned independent television station CKVU in Vancouver. Initially as Executive Assistant to the Board and legal team, later she also served as its first female director on the Board and on the Audit Committee. Anne-Marie has worked on various film productions. One of the assignments was the Golden Globe and Emmy awards mini-series The Thorn Birds, one of the most watched dramas in television history. She also worked in China on the feature film Tai-Pan, based on James Clavell’s best selling novel. Anne-Marie was Associate Producer on the Canadian made movie Fatal Memories, and has worked as advisor on several Hallmark made for television stories. Anne-Marie founded Scarlett magazine, a unique business-lifestyle publication that celebrated the achievements of women. The Library Journal of New York recognized Scarlett as one of The Ten Best New Magazines the year it first published. 

Anne-Marie has served on the board of several not-for-profit organizations. During her tenure as president of the Canadian Society for Asian Arts, she quadrupled their financial donations. She has served as a member of the Board of the Goh Ballet Youth Ensemble, and as an Advisory Board member for KCTS, the PBS station located in Seattle. Until recently she was a Board member and an Audit Committee member of Friends for Canadian Broadcasting. She continues to serve as a board member of BC Film Foundation.

As a Certified Coach from the Co-Active Training Institute, and as alumni from other international certification programs, Anne-Marie has created and lead workshops for private groups and companies such as SAP, VanCity, Dress for Success, AFCC, IGH Institute of Gender Health Montreal, RCMP Civilian Members British Columbia, CPHR Vancouver Chapter. She has recently, for the second time, became a number one International Best Seller for the collaborative book Voices of the 21st Century: Women Transforming the World. Her favourite pastime is with her grandchildren, making them aware how fragile and the  responsibility each of us have to protect our planet. She is the family steward of properties and a couple of cottages on Savary Island in British Columbia. These properties and cottages have been in the family for over a hundred years. She feels very fortunate and never tires to know that deer make their homes in the salal, where they have their fawns; that eagles hunt for fish and rest on nearby trees; and where she can watch sunsets and storms, swim in warm water, and see humpback whales and orcas swim past.

It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.

– David Attenborough

Founding Director

Art Sterritt a member of the Gitga’at First Nation. Beginning in the 1980s, he spent five decades as an advocate and community organizer on behalf of Nature and the peoples of Canada’s North Pacific Coast. Art led the successful multi-decade effort to raise $120 million from public and private donors to secure concessions from provincial and federal governments to protect the 6.4 million hectare coastal Great Bear Rainforest, an area larger than Sri Lanka, and restored First Nations’ authority over its development. He subsequently played a central role in organizing Eleven First Nations with more than 30,000 members living along the North Coast and Haida Gwaii, into the Coastal First Nations, serving as its Founding Executive Director with a mission to develop a sustainable, conservation-based economy for the region. Additionally Art served as a founding member of the BC Treaty Commission, Founding President of the Tsimshian Tribal Council, Chief Treaty Negotiator for the Gitga’at First Nation, and President of the North Coast Tribal Council. A former commercial fisherman, he is an artist, sculptor, and goldsmith, whose Nature-inspired works hang in the Royal Ontario Museum,Royal BC Museum, UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, and Canadian Museum of Civilization, among others. Art lives in Prince Rupert, BC, where he continues his activism on behalf of coastal communities, First Nations, and Nature. Some of Art’s recognitions include:

2013 — 29th place on Vancouver Magazine’s list of 50 Most Powerful British Columbians for his efforts to protect the Environment

2014 — Number 18 on Maclean’s Magazine’s list of 50 Most Powerful People in Canada for his efforts to protect the Environment

2014 — Awarded the Bright Award for Environmental Sustainability from Stanford University, chosen from nominees representing North and Central America

2015 — Recognized with Canada’s Clean 50 Award in recognition of his contributions to Sustainable Development and Clean Capitalism in Canada.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

– Margaret Mead

Founding Director

Bourke is the founder of a marketing technology company which uses the power of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning and sentiment detection to provide new and powerful qualitative insight gathering and analysis combined with fast, precise tools that are designed to shorten cycle times between insight understanding and sharpen and focus message delivery to target audiences. These capabilities benefit users by crafting more relevant, resonant and contextually appropriate consumer communications in ways previously not possible. 

With more nearly 30 years of marketing experience that spans research, advertising and product/service marketing, Bourke possesses a deep understanding of the business and the art of persuasion. Bourke started his career with Nielsen Marketing Research. He developed a strong sense of the role and importance of research and metrics in sales and marketing while working with clients Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola Foods and Kellogg. Bourke was part of an eight-person team that introduced Tropicana to Canada and created a top-10 grocery brand in less than 5 years. Later, Bourke led the development and implementation of Bell ExpressVu’s High Definition TV marketing strategy and ongoing brand expansion as well as initiating ExpressVu’s first-ever multicultural marketing efforts. Over the course of his career, Bourke has led and worked with such brands and companies as The National Canola Marketing Partnership, Cadillac Fairview, INCO/Vale, Forest Producers of Canada (FPAC), Scott Paper (now Kruger), Ontario Ministry of Health, CIBC, Telus, Canada Post, Tetra Pak, Alberto Culver, Canad Post, Purolator, NorthWestTel and others. In keeping with his keen interest in the changing consumer landscape and his fascination for learning what makes consumers tick, Bourke’s experience includes marketing to a significant array of cultures in Canada in addition to English and French. Bourke is the consummate consumer expert who is equipped with a thoroughly modern understanding of the marketing world in Canada and beyond.

Bourke brings an honest and well-founded interest in Nature that began at an early age. Summers spent at an ecology camp in Haliburton ON nurtured his deep fascination and interest in the natural world. 

The opposite of Nature is impossible.

– Buckminster Fuller

Endlessly fascinated by all things Nature, Bourke has a well-earned reputation for being the guy who’s usually looking for turtles, snakes and frogs while at someone’s cottage when everyone else is lounging on the dock.

Years spent working in support of brands, products and services have cemented the undeniable understanding of the impact that consumer persuasion has on our natural world. Paired with the knowledge that the current tools of persuasion and awareness generation used in the marketing world can be a vehicle to reach more people in pursuit of driving a more robust understanding and appreciation of the crises we face, Bourke passionately believes that by using these capabilities and techniques, there is an opportunity to contribute to the necessary, transformative changes needed to create a better future for the entire planet.

Bourke is a long-time resident of Toronto Ontario and has lived in the Beaches area for the last 20 years with his family.  In his non-Nature time, Bourke is a proud father, a big fan of his garden (his specialty is coaxing bamboo to survive and thrive in Toronto’s climate) an avid snowboarder, mountain biker and certified motorcycle nut. Bourke earned an Honours BA in Politics and Economics from Trent University with a particular emphasis on the interactions and tensions between governance and economics.

Founding Director

Chris Wood’s half-century storytelling career spans radio, print and internet. After abandoning a liberal arts B.A. to work as a disc jockey and found a business, Chris found his calling in journalism initially in radio news. He won the first of numerous awards in 1981 for an independently produced radio documentary exploring the New Brunswick government’s high-stakes investment in nuclear power.

In 1985 he suspended his communications business to join Maclean’s, then a weekly newsmagazine. There he served in several roles including as senior writer of dozens of cover stories, Business Editor, and terms as Bureau Chief in Halifax, Dallas, and Vancouver. As National Editor, Chris led Maclean’s editorial team covering the multi-faceted constitutional crises of the Meech Lake political era. Chris also led special editorial projects such as Olympic games coverage and, in the mid-1990s, the creation of a Chinese-language edition of Maclean’s. After leaving Maclean’s at the turn of the century, Chris’ work turned to long-form story-telling and an increasing focus on environmental issues. With Peter S. Grant, he unpacked media economics in Blockbusters and Trade Wars: Popular Culture in a Globalized World (Douglas & McIntyre, 2005); the book was a finalist for the Donner Prize for the best public policy  book by a Canadian and has appeared on numerous university-level reading lists. His Dry Spring: The Coming Water Crisis of North America (Raincoast, 2008) accurately forecast the fires, floods, and droughts of the current decade, and was short-listed for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. Down the Drain: How We Are Failing to Protect Our Water Resource (Greystone, 2013) written with Ralph Pentland, documented Canada’s failed stewardship of its natural security. Chris’s story-telling entered the internet era as an early contributor to then-fledging TheTyee.ca — Canada’s first and now oldest web-native news site. In addition to his own journalism for The Tyee, Chris mentored young teams producing solutions-oriented coverage of such thorny issues as street youth and housing affordability. Chris has also written three young-adult mystery novels with his writer wife of more than 30 years, Beverley Wood. Together they spent 2012 to 2021 living in Mexico, where Chris became conversant in Spanish. In 2016 Chris received a late-in-life Master of Arts in Global Change from Athabasca University. He and Beverley live now on Vancouver Island.

Founding Director

J.P. is a leader in the Canadian asset and wealth management industry. His work roles have included bank brokerage Investment Advisor, mutual fund company Regional Vice President and National Sales Manager, financial services Business Consultant, and money management firm President & Chief Marketing Officer.

J.P.’s main strengths are in the areas of business strategy and sustainable investment solutions. His approach to work is collaborative, innovative and strategic. On the education front, J.P. has a BA in Economics and an MBA in Strategy & Leadership. In the community, J.P. has experience as a Concordia University West Coast Vice Chair and Alumni Mentor, Langara College Advisory Committee Member with the Financial Management and Computer Applications Program, and serves as an Advisory Board Member with the Simon Fraser University Beedie Endowment Asset Management Program. He has also guest lectured at the undergraduate and graduate level in sustainable business strategy. In his free time, J.P. loves spending time in nature with his friends and family, and enjoying activities like sailing, kayaking, skiing, biking, and hiking.

Founding Director

Sonny is an award-winning marketing strategist and creative director who has worked with clients such as Air Canada, Audi, BC Hydro, BC Lottery, Tropicana, Rio Tinto Alcan, Rogers Media, Subaru, and others. He is passionate about sustainability and wonders how marketers can, in good conscience, continue to sell more stuff on a Planet that can’t produce more stuff. With the Nature Agency, he plans to find the solutions, driven by the belief that marketing can play a role in the betterment of society and the Planet. Sonny has also had a life as a social and marketing entrepreneur leading projects that span marketing/media, live programs and events, sustainability, arts and culture, creativity, and social innovation. Sonny was founder of the Board of Change, a sustainability business network, and co-founded and produces the annual Leo Awards, BC’s awards program for film and television; he was a partner and creative director at Dinosaurs Unearthed, a traveling exhibition company that staged exhibitions all over the world; and was a founding member of the Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival, the largest and most celebrated dragon boat event in North America, serving as its general manager for over a decade. He has produced global conferences, cultural programs and many other live productions. Sonny is a committed community steward with a strong record of engagement and leadership. He serves as a Board Director of Capilano University, Chinese Canadian Museum, KCTS 9/Cascade Public Media (Seattle, WA), Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of BC, and BC Entertainment Hall of Fame. He is a City of Vancouver appointee to the Chinatown Legacy Stewardship Group and serves as a director on the Pacific Council of OMNI Television. Previously, he served on the Pacific Board of the World Wildlife Fund. Sonny is a published writer and thought leader having contributed to Adweek, Business in Vancouver, Huffington Post, Medium, and Strategy, and has spoken at many conferences and events. Sonny has been recognized as a Business in Vancouver 40 Under 40 recipient. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from UBC, where he also served as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing. In his spare time, he is an avid road cyclist always trying to ride faster than he did the last time.

It’s up to us.

– Nature Agency