Gaetan Pelletier

Executive Director

At NHRI, Gaetan manages the team and all the in and outs associated with running an applied research center. On top of reporting to the board of directors, constantly identifying new funding opportunities and developing promising partnerships; Gaetan is also a hands-on director who likes to get involved with partners, clients and supporting the team in delivering results and products.

Gaetan is a forester and forest operations manager with over 30 years experience. He spent most of his career with the forest industry where he successively held various positions related to forest operations and management. He is a technical expert in forest management, silviculture and ecology and, over the years, has developed leading edge, large-scale practices and management strategies for planted stands, natural mixed woods and hardwoods.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in management studies from University of Waterloo, a college diploma, Forest Technology, specializing in Forest Management, CEGEP de Rimouski and started a Master of Science in forestry at Université de Moncton.

Jennifer Saunders

Communication Specialist 

Since joining NHRI in 2021, Jennifer has become a vital communications specialist within the Knowledge Mobilization team. Her expertise in visual communication ensures user-centered messages and impactful designs.

New to the forest industry, her diverse background in website design, content creation, and business administration adds flexibility and value to her role. Jennifer’s passion lies in not just disseminating information but fostering a genuine connection between the industry and the public. Her commitment to strengthening communication initiatives contributes to NHRI’s mission of mobilizing knowledge into effective solutions and advancing responsible forest management.

Storm Robinson

Manager of Knowledge Mobilization | Research and Development Forester

Storm manages our team’s knowledge mobilization efforts. She is responsible for making sure the research produced at NHRI is useful, and used, by forestry professionals. Her efforts are focused on continuously improving our knowledge transfer processes with the objective of ensuring we mobilized knowledge efficiently and that our tools are effective for our clients. Her over 10 years of experience in various communications and event planning roles assist her in understanding the needs of clients.

Storm started with us as a research and development forester, and as such Storm is still responsible for leading applied research projects in collaboration with a variety of partners and clients. Storm’s current research at NHRI focuses on artificial regeneration of maple and adaptive silviculture.

Storm holds a Master of Science in Forestry, University of New Brunswick, Bachelor of Science in Forestry, University of New Brunswick, and diplomas in GIS Cartographic Specialist and Forestry Technician from Fleming College. She currently sits on the Canadian Institute of Forestry Maritimes Section board as the Communications and Events Specialist.

Jeneya Smith

Research Forester

Jeneya Smith is a graduate student of forestry and a new part-time employee of NHRI. He is currently working on phenology modelling as part of our precision forestry and remote sensing species identification efforts.

Jeneya holds a Bachelor of Science in Environment and Natural Resources from the University of New Brunswick, where he is currently pursuing his master’s degree. His graduate thesis research centers on climate change and its impact on seasonal phenology. Particularly, his work investigated the role of spring-frost events in controlling the northern distribution limits of temperate tree species. Jeneya is very excited to be transitioning into a research forester role and to be a part of the NHRI team.

Bastien Vandendaele

Researcher

Bastien is working to improve the use of ULS, MLS and TLS data to support wood harvesting operations. His work involves developing methods for extracting structural attributes at the scale of individual trees from high-density LiDAR points clouds. His research will provide a better understanding of the potential and limitations of these new mobile sensors, with the objective to integrating them into the new generation of enhanced forest inventories.

Bastien Vandendaele holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in bioengineering from the University of Liège-Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (ULiege-Belgium) where he specialized in forest and natural areas management. He completed his master’s thesis at University of Sherbrooke on the development of methods for the use of terrestrial LiDAR in forest inventories. He completed his Ph.D studies at University of Sherbrooke in collaboration with NHRI, ULiege and FPInnovations. His research project dealt with the use of mobile and drone LiDAR data in precision forestry.

Elizabeth White

Graduate student

Elizabeth White is one of NHRI’s latest additions to the long list of young minds who have chosen to work on research projects related to our mission. She is currently working on mapping and modelling tolerant hardwood species regime preferences across New Brunswick. The ultimate objective is to develop a geospatial tool that can predict high quality hardwood potential sites across New Brunswick.

Originally from Moncton New Brunswick, Elizabeth completed a bachelor’s degree in environment and natural resources from the University of New Brunswick and she is currently enrolled in the Master of Science in forestry, also at UNB. She is part of the Forest Watershed Research Center at UNB, and her research work is being completed under the supervision of Dr. Paul Arp.

Sophie Cation

Research Forester

Sophie Cation works for NHRI part-time while completing her post-secondary studies in forestry. In the coming months she will be working on various projects and deliverables related to Sugar Maple site characteristics. Sophie is proficient in GIS and LiDAR applications and knowledgeable in forest soil health, including soil degradation and recovery strategies.

Sophie’s appreciation for forests started from a young age in the expansive boreal forests surrounding her hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. She completed an HBSc from the University of Toronto with a major in Forest Conservation Science and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a minor in French studies. Sophie is currently a Master of Forestry student at the University of New Brunswick.

Marie-Pascale Keyanfe

Mobilization and administration support

Marie-Pascale is excited to join the NHRI team as Mobilization and Administration Support. Originally from Cameroon and a newcomer to both Canada and the forestry industry, Marie-Pascale brings over eight years of experience from a French multinational company, including its subsidiary in Cameroon. Throughout her career, she has consistently contributed to the management team by ensuring efficient resource utilization through cost control and optimization.

At NHRI, Marie-Pascale is eager to apply her expertise in analysis, administrative management, budgetary control, and financial information processing to help elevate NHRI as one of the top applied forest research centers in North America. She hold a bachelor’s degree in business management from the Graduate School of Economics and Business at the University of Douala, Cameroon.

Dr. Jiban Chandra Deb

Research and Development

At NHRI, Jiban works on Research and Development activities. He is carrying out spatial and statistical analyses with the data generated to inform sustainable forest management. He is responsible to supervise teams of forestry professionals to conduct R&D activities and contributing to the NHRI mobilization activities. 

Jiban holds a Bachelor (Honors) and a Master’s degree in Forestry from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Bangladesh) and a PhD degree in Forest Science from University of Queensland (Australia). He is a forest scientist with over fourteen years’ research experience in the fields of Forest Ecology, Biodiversity Conservation and Global Climate Change. He has applied his expertise in academia, and worked in close collaboration with Government and NGOs. His job responsibilities during his previous and current employments have helped him acquire adequate knowledge and technical skills to establish professional excellence in the field of natural resource management.

Dr. Rakesh Mishra

Senior Research Scientist – Remote Sensing & AI

At NHRI, Rakesh leads the Precision Forest Inventory Services (PFIS) initiative. He focuses on cutting-edge research to improve PFIS using remote sensing and advanced AI technologies. His responsibilities include innovation and product development, managing projects, and fostering collaborations related to PFIS.

Rakesh is a leading expert in spectral science, advanced AI, multi-sensor data fusion, and computer vision. He has over 15 years of experience managing teams of scientists and engineers to create innovative AI-based geospatial products using remote sensing data. Rakesh is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering at the University of New Brunswick. He supervises graduate students and guides their research in remote sensing and advanced AI.

Rakesh holds a B.Sc. degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Allahabad, India, an M.S. degree in Computer Science from U.P. Technical University, India, and a Ph.D. in Remote Sensing from the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering at the University of New Brunswick, Canada.

Elena Abboud

Part-time Forest Technician | Translation Services

Elena Abboud, having recently become a part-time forest technician at NHRI, is engaged in diverse translation and mobilization responsibilities within the team. Originally from Gatineau, Québec, she pursued her forestry education at La Cité collégiale, obtaining her college degree. Currently, she has relocated to Edmundston, New Brunswick, to pursue her bachelor’s degree in forest management at Université de Moncton.

Evan St-Hilaire

Part-time Forest Technician | Translation Services

Evan works part-time for NHRI as a forestry technician, with his main task being knowledge mobilisation.

Evan St-Hilaire, originally from the Eastern Township Quebec, is passionate about nature and forestry. A graduate in forestry technology from Collège La Cité, he is currently pursuing his studies to obtain a bachelor’s degree in forest management at the University of Moncton. His fascination with nature, coupled with his passion for hunting, fishing, and outdoor activities, guides his academic and professional journey. His commitment to ecosystem preservation and his desire to understand the subtleties of nature make him a determined individual dedicated to contributing to the sustainable management of forest resources.  

Stéphanie Landry

Collaborator

Stéphanie’s research collaborations with NHRI focus on the use of remote sensing tools, such as satellite images and LIDAR to characterise forest regeneration. Her work aims to improve the characterization of forest regeneration in complex forests live he Acadian Forest.

Stéphanie is passionate about sustainable forest and wildlife management and has considerable experience in the field of environmental management. She is currently an assistant professor of forestry at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.

Stéphanie Landry holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the Université de Moncton and a master’s degree in environment from the Université de Sherbrooke. She is currently a doctoral candidate in biology at UQAR.

Yves Claveau

Collaborator

Yves’s work at NHRI focuses on assessing the vulnerability of New-Brunswick forests to climate change. He also conducts research on new silviculture practices aimed at improving the adaptability to climate change of hardwood and mixed forests.

Yves is a forest engineer and holds a master in dendrometry and silviculture. He also did doctoral and postdoctoral studies to improve his comprehension of trees and forest ecosystems. This specialization gave him the opportunity to carry out terms as auditor, and chief auditor, within the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme. Lately, Yves teaches natural resources management, plant ecology, and statistics in various universities.

Carine Annecou

Collaborator

Carine’s expertise is an important resource for the Northern Hardwoods Research Institute.  She specializes in the field of sugar maple and their adaptability to climate change. A forest engineer with 20 years of experience, she coordinated the production of a guide on the risk caused by climate change in central Québec. A first volume was released, and many versions have been made since. A second volume that will deal with silviculture practices for adaptation to climate change is also planned.

Carine Annecou holds a bachelor’s degree in forest management and environment from Université Laval.

Roxanne Michaud

Forest Technologist

Roxanne is responsible for completing various field work assignments within applied research projects. As a forest technologist she works under the supervision of the forester and the team leader.  Roxanne began her career as a forest technologist at NHRI. Prior to graduation, she worked at J.D. Irving Ltd., in customer service and for the plantation department.

Roxanne Michaud holds a Diploma in Forest Technology from the Maritime College of Forest Technology, Bathurst Campus.

Pierre Lagacé

Forester

At NHRI, Pierre is called upon to lead the field work associated with selected research projects. He also contributes to our mobilization activities and works with collaborators, partners, and clients to identify and implement silvicultural solutions to pressing forestry issues.

Pierre has been a forester for fifteen years and has acquired various experiences across Canada. He worked in New Brunswick for Acadian Timber and Fiready. In Quebec, for the Temiscouata group venture. In British Columbia for CANFOR and finally in Alberta for Bushmen Enterprise Inc. and S.R.D.

Pierre Lagacé holds a bachelor’s degree in Forest Science from UMCE and a Diploma in Forest Technology from the Maritime College of Forest Technology, Bathurst Campus.