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.

Storm Robinson

Research and Development Forester

As a research and development forester, Storm is responsible for leading several applied research projects in collaboration with a variety of partners and clients. She is responsible for ensuring NHRI’s research efforts meet the highest industry standards and that results are timely and aligned with the needs of our clients. Storm’s current research at NHRI focuses on artificial regeneration of maple and climate adaptation.

Before joining NHRI, she worked on projects in the National Tree Seed Centre (volunteer – working with germination testing and cryopreservation practices) and with Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve highlighting their Maple-Beech single tree selection efforts.

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.

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.

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.

Céline Parent 

Manager of Administrative Services

Céline is responsible for General Accounting, claims to funding partners and administrative services. She was NHRI’s first employee in 2012. Céline held the position of manager of administrative services full-time for 2 years and has since worked for us part time to pursue her own projects.

Céline has over 20 years of management experience in NGOs and SMEs. Owner of CURA Solutions since 2014, Céline offers accounting and management services in several companies in the region as well as translation services. She is also co-owner of Moonshin’hers, a restaurant in downtown Edmundston, since 2018. Céline and her husband also own the Cherry on Top Adventures outfitter, where they offer complete bear and moose hunting packages.  Céline is truly an entrepreneur at heart!

Céline Parent holds a SME Management diploma (CCNB Dieppe) and Accounting Certificate (Université de Moncton, Campus d’Edmundston).

Hélène A. Daigle

Knowledge mobilization

Hélène’s main role at NHRI is to communicate and mobilize the results of our research to make them useful to our partners and clients. She works closely with our research team to make sure the knowledge produced at NHRI is communicated clearly and in the most effective formats. Hélène is currently working on improving NHRI’s video production capacity.

Before joining our team, she worked in the field of photography and then occupied various positions in the film making industry, such as screenwriter, director, stage manager, camera operator and editor. Before joining NHRI, Hélène held a position in public relations and project coordinator at COGERNO (Northwest Regional Service Commission) and as a program coordinator at the Centre des arts in Edmundston. While not at work, Hélène is in the countryside with her husband where they take care of their herd of Angora goats.

Hélène Daigle holds a college diploma in image technique with photography concentration including training in video and cinema from CEGEP de Matane. She also holds a certificate in group facilitation.

Joey Volpe

Manager of Knowledge Mobilization

Joey manages our team’s knowledge mobilization efforts. He is responsible for making sure the research produced at NHRI is useful, and used, by forestry professionals. His 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.

He has a diversified background that has led him to work in the private, public, and academic sectors. In the private sector, he has worked primarily in sales, human resources, and communications. During his stay in the academic sector, he worked on issues relating to the legislative frameworks applicable to forestry and agricultural. He also worked as an economic development officer for the province of New Brunswick and as chief of operations at the CCNB Biotechnology Scale Up Center and the Eastern Canada Soil and Water Conservation Center.

Joey Volpe holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial relations from McGill University and a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in environmental studies from Université de Moncton.

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.

Jennifer Saunders

Graphic Design and Communication

Jennifer’s role at NHRI is to ensure that all communications produced by our team are visually engaging and user friendly. Her contribution to NHRI includes graphic design, layout services, website management and visual communications.

Jennifer joined the NHRI team in 2021 bringing a distinct, creative style that she acquired from over 20 years of administrative coordination and management experience while working with healthcare and NGOs.

She has completed post-secondary studies in both the Dental as well as Optometric fields while maintaining her creative and artistic talents through her personal endeavors such as bee-keeping, landscape design and gardening.

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.

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.

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.

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

Graduate student

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.

Emily Nicholson

Graduate student

At NHRI, Emily Nicholson is one of our graduate students coming into her role as a research forester. She is working on projects stemming from forest productivity and forest management focusing on the digitalization of forest inventory and the analysis thereof.  

Prior to coming onboard with NHRI, Emily has experience in forest inventory and productivity research; both on the ground and digitally. She is a Forester in Training working towards her Registered Professional Forester (RPF) status in New Brunswick.

Emily holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of New Brunswick and is finishing her Master of Science in Forestry from the University of New Brunswick.

When not working or studying she is active in the local horse community spending her time riding and caring for her horses.