{ Our Team |
Emily Payne
Co-Founding Director 
Emily hails from the mouth of the Fraser River on Coast Salish land. She is a certified teacher with 15 years experience working with young people of all ages. Aside from growing up by the salt and sea of coastal BC, her ancestral roots go back to the Celtic-Anglo isles and Scandanavia.
Emily has a background working as an international youth leadership trip facilitator outtrip director, motivational tour speaker, native plant researcher, curriculum designer and classroom teacher. She holds a BEd in Indigenous Perspectives from SFU, and a BA Biogeography from UBC. She co-founded Rivers to Ridges out of her belief that building curiosity for the natural world at a young age is an integral part of a healthy life. A big passion of hers is working with plants, which she pursues through basket-weaving, harvesting wild plants and making medicinal salves. These days, Emily spends time gardening, playing music, and falling in love with her new baby boy, Llewyn. |
Wren Nicolardi
Co-Founding Director 
Wren was raised between the Niagara Escarpment and the shores of Lake Ontario on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Attiwonderonk, Mississauga, and Mississauga of the New Credit.
Wren has always felt called to work outdoors with young people, and is a certified teacher, with her BEd in Outdoor, Experiential Education. Rivers to Ridges was born out of a desire to create space for young people to feel curious about and connected to the land around them, and Wren uses their experiences to mentor young people and support those in the fields of education and child and youth work. Wren feels most alive when working in relationship with youth as they develop their sense of self in connection to place/land; being welcomed into children's explorations of the natural world; creating accessibility for children to take part in programs that connect them to the land; learning from local land stewards; exploring and supporting risky play; and celebrating bird language and song as a doorway to deeper awareness. |
Kelly Scott
Program Manager & Educator
Program Manager & Educator
Kelly was born in Guelph Ontario on the ancestral homelands of the Anishinaabek People, specifically the traditional territory of the Missisaugas of the Credit First Nation. She moved to the Yukon in 2014 to pursue a career in teaching while increasing her naturalist knowledge found in this beautiful territory. Kelly holds a BA in Modern Languages (French and Spanish) and Sociology from Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Quebec. In the summer of 2018 Kelly completed a course with National Geographic in Ottawa with a focus on Indigenous Studies and teaching Indigenous Perspectives. She also holds a certificate as a trained Montessori Elementary Teacher through the Association Montessori Internationale from Toronto, Ontario where she was guided down a path of mentoring the natural curiosity and deep sense of empathy that exists in children.
Kelly has been teaching in Montessori for 10 years in a few capacities: as a French Assistant in a preschool setting as well as in a lower elementary classroom and she has spent the last 6 years in Whitehorse teaching in a Montessori elementary classroom with grades 1, 2 and 3. Kelly is now excited to be bringing her passions forward with the Rivers to Ridges Team.
Outside of work Kelly can be found writing music, playing guitar and ukulele, writing poetry and short stories, practicing yoga, reading, working in theatre productions, and on arts based volunteer boards. She enjoys handwork such as crocheting, sewing, beading, bookmaking and up-cycling or repurposing clothing. Kelly is most curious about plants life, the changing seasons, life in the Age of the Invertebrates (and beyond!), human interconnectedness and recognizing what binds us as a community.
Kelly has been teaching in Montessori for 10 years in a few capacities: as a French Assistant in a preschool setting as well as in a lower elementary classroom and she has spent the last 6 years in Whitehorse teaching in a Montessori elementary classroom with grades 1, 2 and 3. Kelly is now excited to be bringing her passions forward with the Rivers to Ridges Team.
Outside of work Kelly can be found writing music, playing guitar and ukulele, writing poetry and short stories, practicing yoga, reading, working in theatre productions, and on arts based volunteer boards. She enjoys handwork such as crocheting, sewing, beading, bookmaking and up-cycling or repurposing clothing. Kelly is most curious about plants life, the changing seasons, life in the Age of the Invertebrates (and beyond!), human interconnectedness and recognizing what binds us as a community.
Lyndsay Amato (Héel')
Program Coordinator & Facilitator
Program Coordinator & Facilitator
Lyndsay was born in Whitehorse in the territory of Kwanlin Dun and is a member of the Carcross\Tagish First Nation. She spent her childhood days growing up in Carcross on the beach of Bennett wondering about the stars and the water, surrounded by the mountains and the traditional land of the Tagish and Tlingit people. She also has Blackfoot (Siksika, Southern Alberta), Cree, Italian and English in her ancestral roots.
Lyndsay has dedicated her life to working with children, completing her Early Childhood Development Diploma and Education Assistant Certificate (both with honours) as a single mother, and has worked in child care and education for many years. She is passionate about incorporating and strengthening Indigenous perspectives in education programs, develops programming and curriculum, and is a director for the Network of Healthy Early Human Development Yukon. She is always looking for a new story to tell, or a new way to incorporate indigenous knowledge into Early Learning programming. She believes that all children have the right to learn, to be curious and to experience the land like our ancestors.
Lyndsay also helps other local organizations to design educational programs that are inspired by indigenous history for youth to strengthen their interest in First Nations’ knowledge and history, arts, media and theatre. She works with youth across the north, telling her story of life and growth as a young woman in broadcasting and the importance of living with curiosity and respect as guiding principles for success.
During her free time she loves to find moments of fun and wonder to learn and grow with her 11 year old son, Taylor and 1 year old cat, Zelda. She also loves photography, music, art, cooking healthy food, plants, travelling and loves to try new things as she is driven by a very adventurous spirit.
Lyndsay has dedicated her life to working with children, completing her Early Childhood Development Diploma and Education Assistant Certificate (both with honours) as a single mother, and has worked in child care and education for many years. She is passionate about incorporating and strengthening Indigenous perspectives in education programs, develops programming and curriculum, and is a director for the Network of Healthy Early Human Development Yukon. She is always looking for a new story to tell, or a new way to incorporate indigenous knowledge into Early Learning programming. She believes that all children have the right to learn, to be curious and to experience the land like our ancestors.
Lyndsay also helps other local organizations to design educational programs that are inspired by indigenous history for youth to strengthen their interest in First Nations’ knowledge and history, arts, media and theatre. She works with youth across the north, telling her story of life and growth as a young woman in broadcasting and the importance of living with curiosity and respect as guiding principles for success.
During her free time she loves to find moments of fun and wonder to learn and grow with her 11 year old son, Taylor and 1 year old cat, Zelda. She also loves photography, music, art, cooking healthy food, plants, travelling and loves to try new things as she is driven by a very adventurous spirit.
Debbie Payne
Consultant & Mentor
Consultant & Mentor
Debbie’s heart and roots are centered in the southwest coast of British Columbia. She lives in a small community called ‘sunny’ Tsawwassen close to the gentle waves of Boundary Bay and not far from the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary; yet only 30 minutes to bustling Vancouver.
Debbie holds an M.A. in Leadership and Training from Royal Roads University and a variety of people development designations and education. Her skills include facilitation, project management, instructional design, e-learning, business process review, survey design, evaluation, succession planning, strategic planning, and visioning. She is the author of several leadership books and over 20 articles and curriculum publications. Her work experience includes employment in three large organizations (WorkSafeBC, Terasen Gas Inc, Open Learning Agency) where she managed and developed teams; and provided organizational learning and leadership advice to senior leaders. As owner of DP Leadership Associates she is grateful for the opportunity to work with over 50 clients, providing them with an outside perspective, and a critical yet solution-based focus to empower them to make positive change.
Debbie’s nature name is ‘Sunbeam’ and she has brought rays of energy, vitality and an extra pair of hands to the Rivers to Ridges team since October 2018. Debbie, as a mentor, helps the team focus on their vision and strategy, coaches and provides a listening ear, and jumps in to help review proposals and documents. Debbie is delighted to dedicate her energy to Rivers to Ridges, a social enterprise that is making a difference in the world.
Debbie holds an M.A. in Leadership and Training from Royal Roads University and a variety of people development designations and education. Her skills include facilitation, project management, instructional design, e-learning, business process review, survey design, evaluation, succession planning, strategic planning, and visioning. She is the author of several leadership books and over 20 articles and curriculum publications. Her work experience includes employment in three large organizations (WorkSafeBC, Terasen Gas Inc, Open Learning Agency) where she managed and developed teams; and provided organizational learning and leadership advice to senior leaders. As owner of DP Leadership Associates she is grateful for the opportunity to work with over 50 clients, providing them with an outside perspective, and a critical yet solution-based focus to empower them to make positive change.
Debbie’s nature name is ‘Sunbeam’ and she has brought rays of energy, vitality and an extra pair of hands to the Rivers to Ridges team since October 2018. Debbie, as a mentor, helps the team focus on their vision and strategy, coaches and provides a listening ear, and jumps in to help review proposals and documents. Debbie is delighted to dedicate her energy to Rivers to Ridges, a social enterprise that is making a difference in the world.
Our team of highly qualified staff has a range of education, training and certifications from the following bodies:
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{ Our Story |
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An early fall multi-day backpacking trip in with a Yukon experiential high school program is where Emily found Wren in 2014. At the time, Wren was fresh to the territory and woefully unprepared for her first backcountry hiking trip. With the help of a shared tent, warm tea and lots of duct tape, Emily supported Wren on the adventure. A couple months later, Wren had the chance to repay the love by heading out with a friend to support Emily who was stuck in Watson Lake with a broken down vehicle. A surprise snowstorm closed the roads, and they were forced to stay the night at the Cozy Nest. Conversation eventually turned to life passions, and it turned out that Wren and Emily both had the same (not-so) secret dream of building a program that guides young people towards a meaningful connection with the land. Rooted in mutual support for one another and a deep love of mentoring children on the land, Rivers to Ridges was born! Now, in 2021, Rivers to Ridges celebrates over five years in operation. |
