Board

Kat Glasspoole (she/they)

PRESIDENT

Kat comes to Wild Embrace with a desire to reconnect with nature and get stuck in the garden after so many years in the big city! She has spent the last 6 years training and learning alongside dogs and their people at Discover Dogs in Vancouver, but long before that she was a wild child roaming the lush jungles of Costa Rica’s pacific coast with her sisters, Maya and Tatiana. Kat and Hannah met at University at UVIC where she studied Creative Writing and political science and developed a desire to use her voice and skills to combat inequality and systemic exclusion of marginalized folks from various communities.

In her work at Discover Dogs, Kat learned how to compassionately handle and care for dogs with many different needs. Kat believes that we can learn as much from animals as they can learn from us, and she is so excited to share the therapeutic nature of living in community with furry and feathered companions. 

Kat leaps at any opportunity to get dirty in the garden, play with animals, or trap Hannah in a never-ending game of 20 questions. She is an amateur potter and avid tide pool explorer, and she can’t wait to share her love of nature with kiddos and their families.

Hannah Glasspoole (she/her)

VICE-PRESIDENT

Hannah comes from a background of arts and design, but has always found comfort in the natural world, and wanted to share that with others.

After graduating UVic with a Fine Arts degree and a subsequent graphic design program, she began working with her wife Kat at Discover Dogs, a local dog walking and retail company. From her job as an administrator, she slowly collected roles in HR, Marketing, and client communication. At Discover Dogs, Hannah watched how much animals could connect a group, and bring out new sides of people.

She intends to bring with her marketing know-how, the lessons of caring for your staff as much as your clients, and empathetic communication skills to her role at Wild Embrace Farm.

Melanie Gagnon (she/her)

SECRETARY

Melanie brings the perspective of an indigenous tradeswoman. She is Mikisew Cree, Dene, French and Irish, and was born and raised on the island. Her first career earned her a red seal in cooking, then came a welding apprenticeship at a metal fabrication shop. In her free time she’s wrenching, foraging, motorcycling, or wrestling her hound dog. As a 10+ year student at Camosun, she is passionate about making the trades more accessible and inclusive for future generations by sharing resources and helping to navigate training. Her goal as a board member is to broaden that mindset and to step into a community where knowledge, care and connection naturally grow. 

Fletcher Waller (he/him)

TREASURER

Fletcher knows first-hand the peace and empowerment that is found by putting one’s hands in the soil. He’s been in gardens since he was a child, picking bucket loads of raspberries and strawberries in mom’s garden, while today his pride and joy is a small native plant and pollinator boulevard garden. Fletcher’s passion for growing is rooted in the belief that the care we give to the earth and to others ripples outwards and has much larger impacts than we expect. One of his favourite things is getting to meet the neighbours who walk past when he works on his garden.

Fletcher currently studies accounting at Camosun College, adding to a background in physics & astronomy and a decade of experience in research, non-profit, and service industries. He hopes to obtain his CPA certification and to use his financial and accounting skills to empower artists, food-system workers, and community-builders. He is excited to apply his unique blend of skills towards growing Wild Embrace and facilitating confidence-building programming for families and underprivileged youths.

Tatiana Thompson (she/her)

FOUNDING DIRECTOR

Tatiana has an extensive background in working with children and youth with diverse needs. She has recently attained her degree in Child and Youth Care from Vancouver Island University.

Tatiana is enthusiastic about working alongside children and youth to help them develop life skills, foster a sense of belonging, and build strengths-based relationships. She is a firm believer that all children deserve to be supported in a way that values and honours their unique selves.

Tatiana believes nature holds therapeutic values and enjoys incorporating the outdoors into her program planning. She spent multiple years working as a community outreach support worker for children with diverse needs and currently works at a group home for children in care. Throughout her degree, Tatiana has become increasingly aware of the importance of trauma-informed practice and places this notion at the forefront of her practice.

Tatiana intends to bring her experience, education, and passion to Wild Embrace and create an inclusive environment for all children and youth she has the opportunity to work alongside.

In her work at Discover Dogs, Kat learned how to compassionately handle and care for dogs with many different needs. Kat believes that we can learn as much from animals as they can learn from us, and she is so excited to share the therapeutic nature of living in community with furry and feathered companions. 

Kat leaps at any opportunity to get dirty in the garden, play with animals, or trap Hannah in a never-ending game of 20 questions. She is an amateur potter and avid tide pool explorer, and she can’t wait to share her love of nature with kiddos and their families.

Celine Miller (she/her)

DIRECTOR

Celine has a background in arts and cooking as well and managing and organizing events and people. She worked for many years in restaurants that worked with local, fresh produce. She believes that it is important to form a connection with the food that we eat and understand where sustainable food comes from as well as the work that goes into creating and growing it.

Through managing a large team of people she has learnt how to be patient in situations of conflict and approach every situation with empathy. She believes that every person deserves to feel empowered and confident in their day to day life and hopes to bring this energy to Wild Embrace Farm.

Samantha Stade (she/her)

DIRECTOR

Sam (she/her) is a neurodivergent queer woman. She grew up mostly in Southern Saskatchewan, which is treaty 4 territory. She completed a Bachelor of Art and Science with a major in Psychology then moved out to the coast! Sam works as a support person for Neurodoivergent students, helping them to learn reading and writing skills. Outside of her career she loves spending time outside with her 10 year old dog, going on hikes, and camping.

Sam is passionate about creating more inclusive public spaces and ensuring that disabled and chronically-ill persons are able to enjoy parks, trails and other outdoor spaces by advocating for accessible infrastructure, transit, and public health practices.

Lynden Parry (they/he)

DIRECTOR

Lynden (they/he) is a queer neurodivergent settler of German, English, Scottish and Welsh ancestry living on lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ territory. He is a plant nerd, an herb witch and a disability justice advocate. They come to this space with three years of experience on small scale organic farms and many more in advocacy, food security, education, and facilitation. He is excited about the opportunity to join the Wild Embrace board and to continue to bridge his two deep interests. It is their goal, in vocation and in life, to build spaces of kinship with food, land, and one another with other disabled and neurodivergent people.