Connect with Lori
Dr. Lori Daniels
Director of the Tree Ring Lab
Professor, UBC Vancouver
lori.daniels@ubc.ca
Dr. Lori Daniels is the inaugural Koerner Chair and Co-Director of UBC’s Centre for Wildfire Coexistence. Lori also directs the Tree-Ring Lab in the Faculty of Forestry & Environmental Stewardship at UBC-Vancouver. Lori investigates the impacts of natural and human disturbances and climate change on forests. Her research team has on-going projects on wildfires, forest dynamics, and social-ecological resilience across British Columbia. Her enduring partnerships with all levels of government, First Nations, community forests, environmental organizations, and forest managers ensure their scientific advances are translated to active conservation, restoration and management. To share with the public, she has given more than 400 media interviews on wildfires and their impacts on forests and communities. She is among the 150 Canadian Scientists recognized for research shaping new frontiers and making our world a better place (#150Scientists). An award-winning professor and researcher, Lori was honoured to receive the King Charles III Coronation Medal for service to Canada in 2025 and to be named to Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 in 2026.
Connect with Mathieu
Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais
Director of the Fire Ecology and Remote Sensing Lab
Assistant Professor, UBC Okanagan
mathieu.bourbonnais@ubc.ca
Dr. Bourbonnais is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at UBC Okanagan. He is the Principal’s Research Chair in Wildland Fire Risk and Fire Management, the Co-director of the UBC Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, and the Principal Investigator of the Earth Observation & Spatial Ecology Lab. Dr. Bourbonnais’ research spans the realms of technology and ecology. He develops new tools and sensors to monitor and predict fire risk, fire severity impacts on biodiversity, and to support prescribed fire planning, operations and monitoring. Dr. Bourbonnais is also a leader at UBCO in curriculum development. He is the Geospatial Program Chair and since joining UBCO in 2018, has developed and launched a Minor in Geospatial Sciences and the Fundamentals of Wildland Fire Ecology and Management Micro-credential Program. His research is informed by over a decade of experience in wildland fire management as a Wildland Firefighter with the Alberta Wildfire Rappel Program and Parks Canada.
Connect with Jen
Dr. Jen Baron
Director of the Fire Ecology and Management Lab
Assistant Professor, UBC Okanagan
jen.baron@ubc.ca
Dr. Jen Baron is an Assistant Professor in Fire Ecology at the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence, University of British Columbia Okanagan. Her applied research program focuses on the landscape ecology of fire, wildfire and ecosystem management, and ecocultural restoration. Through her research she works to understand how the ongoing legacies of colonial land management and climate change have altered wildfire regimes and ecological dynamics, and how the strategic applications of treatments and management can restore resilience in fire-adapted communities, ecosystems, and landscapes. In partnership with Ktunaxa communities, her collaborative research aims to support the revitalization and expansion of Ktunaxa stewardship practices and enable the re-introduction of beneficial fire to ecosystems. Dr. Baron has given over 40 media interviews and has translated her research widely to influence wildfire and forest management policy and practice. She is also an Associate Editor for Fire Ecology, which focuses on ecological and management aspects relating to wildland fire. Her research is informed by her prior experience as a consultant working with First Nations communities and organizations and conducting fire effects monitoring on prescribed fire operations.
Connect with Crystal
Dr. Crystal Kolden
Professor, UBC Okanagen
crystal.kolden@ubc.ca
Dr. Crystal Kolden, Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in Wildfire Resilience, is a leading scholar in pyrogeography, the study of fire and its relationship to climate, vegetation and human activity. Joining UBC Okanagan in September 2026, her research bridges wildfire science, fire management and public policy to help communities better understand, prepare for and live with wildfire. Her career includes experience as a wildland firefighter, federal land manager and environmental consultant, as well as a professorship at the University of California, Merced.
Connect with Sarah
Dr. Sarah Dickson-Hoyle
Research Associate, Centre for Wildfire Coexistence
sarah.dickson-hoyle@ubc.ca
Dr. Sarah Dickson-Hoyle is a Postdoctoral Research and Teaching Fellow in the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Stewardship, University of British Columbia – Vancouver. Her research focusses on the collaborative stewardship and governance of fire-adapted landscapes, community wildfire resilience, and post-fire community and ecosystem recovery. Through this applied and interdisciplinary research program, conducted in partnership with First Nations, Community Forests, local communities, and provincial agencies, she aims to support local and Indigenous-led approaches to wildfire management, fire stewardship, and eco-cultural restoration. She is passionate about teaching and mentoring students in relational and community-engaged research approaches, and co-designing research to inform wildfire policy and practice. Originally from Australia, her research is informed by her previous professional experience as an environmental consultant, including leading biodiversity assessments and community engagement for burn planning, as well as more recent training as a Fire Effects Monitor in British Columbia. She is also an Associate Editor for People and Nature: a journal of relational thinking.