Management Team

“I have an enormous respect for the people that work in the ABMI. They are passionate and committed to bringing good science to the challenging business of natural resource management in Alberta."

Jim Herbers has been actively sharing the story and the science of biodiversity in Alberta through his work at the ABMI since 2004. Jim presented at more than 200 venues and has contributed to numerous peer-reviewed and other scientific publications.

He has an extensive background in research, planning, and ecology, which he gained through projects in wildlife research and management and as a consultant with British Columbia’s forest industry and provincial government, focusing largely on research to support coarse and fine-filter strategies for maintaining biological diversity. Jim holds an M.Sc. from the Department of Forest Sciences, University of British Columbia, and a B.Sc. from the Department of Zoology at the University of Alberta.

When not building awareness on biodiversity science, Jim likes to spend time with his family exploring Canada’s wilderness.

Colleen has been the ABMI’s Program Manager since 2006. What started out as a short-term engagement turned into a long-term commitment to the ABMI’s vision and mission. Working with such an enthusiastic and committed group of people has made her years with the ABMI fly by! Her days are spent managing all things corporate, supporting our Executive Director and working with our Board of Directors and Members.

Colleen came to the ABMI from the Alberta government, where she worked with government and industry forest management specialists. Prior to that, she worked in both the private and not-for-profit sectors. She has a diverse employment history, with more than 20 years of experience in project and issues management, strategic communications consulting, emergency management, and planning and development.

She was educated at MacEwan and Royal Roads Universities and is an accredited business communicator.

Dr. Cynthia McClain is a scientist with over 15 years of experience managing environmental monitoring and research programs in the public and private sectors. She believes that solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental problems require that diverse perspectives be at the table. At ABMI, she has grown the geospatial team by over 150% and her major projects include wetland and groundwater dependent ecosystem mapping, satellite-based algal bloom monitoring, and LiDAR based vegetation regeneration mapping for caribou habitat management. As an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary, Dr. McClain also conducts research on provincial-scale groundwater quality and stream temperatures. She is devoted to increasing diversity in science through mentorship, leadership, and education, with a focus on the retention of women in science. Dr. McClain holds a Ph.D. in Geological and Environmental Sciences and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, and a B.S. in Geology from the University of California, Davis.

Corrina Copp has been with the ABMI since 2015. As the Director of the Information Centre, Corrina leads and supports the ABMI’s quality assurance program, online reporting and tools, data analytics, and WildTrax.

Previously, as the Information Coordinator, Corrina was heavily involved with the ABMI’s field data quality assurance program, ensuring field data was of high quality and accessible by the public. She also led the release of the ABMI-wide Quality Management Plan. She was also involved in the development of WildTrax, project managing the implementation of new features and functionalities to support user needs. Before that, Corrina was a Rare Vascular Plant and Wetland field technician with the Monitoring Centre. Her involvement from the implementation of field protocol and data collection to the release and use of ABMI data in public products provides her with a strong understanding of the ABMI. Corrina completed her M.Sc. in Conservation and Restoration Ecology at Memorial University, and continues to participate in local group initiatives and with Recovery Team members on the work she completed in 2015.

Corrina lives in Edmonton with her family. She enjoys being a mom, and spending time exploring the vast wilderness and landscapes of Alberta and Canada with her family.

Monica is approaching her fourteenth year with the ABMI and has been involved in a diverse set of initiatives over that time, giving her a strong understanding of the ABMI and our programs. She currently leads our overall operations, all the way from high-level annual work planning for the organization down to putting out day to day fires of various kinds. Over the past several years, she has helped build partnership-based platforms, including WildTrax and the Bioacoustic Unit. She has led efforts to build relationships and raise awareness with a number of organizations spanning multiple sectors. Previously, Monica was heavily involved in coordination and work planning for both the Joint Oil Sands Monitoring program and the Ecological Monitoring Committee for the Lower Athabasca.

Monica has a love for bees and completed her MSc studying native bee diversity at the University of Alberta in 2017. 

Dr. Tyler Cobb is a Research Associate and Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta who has served as Director of the ABMI’s Processing Centre since 2008. He currently manages a team of scientists responsible for the institute’s taxonomic research and delivering our plant, lichen and invertebrate datasets. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Cobb served as Curator of Invertebrates and Head of Life Sciences at the Royal Alberta Museum. A keen advocate for taxonomy with an aptitude for building lasting professional networks and developing strong scientific leaders, Dr. Cobb’s collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach to science has resulted in numerous local and international partnerships aimed at biodiversity conservation and mitigating the ecological consequences of disturbance. He holds a PhD from the University of Alberta, a BSc and MSc from the University of Regina, and is recognized for his work in entomology, forest fire ecology, and species-level monitoring.

Erin is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta.  As co-director of the ABMI Science centre he facilitates interaction between academics, ABMI, government, and industry. His research focuses on how biodiversity is impacted by human activities with the goal of seeking ways to minimize impacts. Most recently he has focused on using environmental sensors like ARUs and cameras and data integration to answer large scale conservation and macroecology questions by directing development of the WildTrax platform. While he does not have a particular taxonomic focus, he is best known for the development of tools that help us understand the behavioral, population, and community dynamics of birds at various spatial and temporal scales.

I joined the ABMI in 2022 as Co-Director of the Science Centre. I come to the ABMI largely from the technical science world, with terrestrial ecological research experience in habitat modelling, climate change, environmental monitoring, and cumulative effects. My dedication to transparent, open, and accessible science helped focus my scientific work on methods development, particularly related to model validation and other components of reliable error reporting and uncertainty.

My time in both academics and government, as well as within the energy industry in Alberta provides an important breadth of perspective and has taught me the value of collaboration, teamwork, and supportive leadership. As a born-and-raised Albertan who grew up exploring this province’s diverse natural landscapes (and who now subjects his own kids to long days trudging through the wilds), I feel a strong sense of place here and this connection drives my dedication to the conservation of Alberta’s biodiversity. I am a registered Professional Statistician (P.Stat.), I hold a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology from the University of Alberta, and I hold two B.A.s from the University of Calgary.

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I find bringing together all of the pieces required to deliver a province-wide field program with the breadth of the ABMI very rewarding. I am fortunate to have a dedicated, hard-working team of people around me that consistently deliver a high quality data product, one that forms the basis of the Institute’s species level dataset.

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Since 2007, Colin has served as Director of the ABMI’s Monitoring Centre. In this role, he manages the Institute’s field data collection activities. Over one thousand terrestrial and wetland biodiversity surveys have been completed at sites across Alberta, from the Canadian Shield in the extreme north-east of the province to the grasslands in the south.

Colin has a strong background in field-based research and monitoring projects through his work for InnoTech Alberta, an ABMI partner organization, over the past 19 years – previously as a Senior Research Technologist and more recently as a Senior Business Partner.

Mustafiz Rahman is a passionate Remote Sensing Scientist with over 15 years of experience in leveraging cutting-edge geospatial technologies to address environmental challenges. Holding a Ph.D. in Remote Sensing from the University of Calgary, Mustafiz has made significant contributions to the field through developing innovative image processing algorithms, geospatial tools, and models. His career spans across academia, research institutions, and industry, where he has led numerous multi-stakeholder projects focused on natural resources management, wetland monitoring, ecosystem assessment, and large-scale GHG emission mapping. Mustafiz is committed to advancing the application of remote sensing technologies for sustainable natural resource management and looks forward to making a meaningful impact in his role as the Imaging Center Director.