President (and Molecular Artificer) Dr. David Paetkau developed many techniques and statistical methods that are used at WGI, and in other laboratories around the world. He has authored numerous scientific publications, including the first use of genetic methods for assigning individuals to their population of origin. David’s Ph.D. thesis was awarded the Governor General’s gold medal and won him an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship that he used to study Australian small mammals at the University of Queensland. Contact David to discuss feasibility and pricing of potential projects, or to discuss any other aspect of the work done at WGI.

Lab Manager Jennifer Weldon came to WGI with a B.Sc. from the University of Victoria (specialization in molecular biology and genetics). Jennifer looks after inventory and ordering, and is likely to be the person handling unusual or developmental projects. When David is away, Jennifer is the best person to contact regarding project feasibility and costs.
	Jennifer, July and Sarah at our 2004 Cathedral Lakes reading retreat.

Gamefarming Specialist Renee Prive earned a B.Sc. in Zoology from the University of Calgary, and gained experience in a medical genetics laboratory before coming to Wildlife Genetics. Contact Renee with any questions about parentage certification for your breeding program.

Senior Project Manager Sarah Waterhouse graduated from the Biology Co-op Programme at Simon Fraser University, where her area of concentration was Ecology. Since joining WGI Sarah has completed more than 50 noninvasive population inventory projects; a level of experience that we suspect is unmatched. You can rest easy if Sarah’s stamp of approval has been put on your project, because Sarah’s attention to detail is even more impressive than the depth of her experience.

Senior Project Manager Candace Harris earned her B.Sc. at Thompson Rivers University, and earned her DNA-mark-recapture stripes on the 34,000-sample Northern Divide Grizzly Bear Project. Candace's ability to produce results from the worst possible samples has given her the dubious honour of being our main person for all things stinky and rotten (i.e. scat samples and the like).

Account Manager Jessica Wastl is a graduate of the Business Administration programme at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and first came to our attention because of her reputation as a bookkeeper. Accounting and lab work require similar skills, so we taught Jessica some molecular biology and now she divides her time between the lab and the books.

Board of Directors Our board draws on a range of expertise that is intended to maintain our position of scientific leadership without loosing sight of economic reality. Curtis Strobeck is a professor at the University of Alberta with an international reputation as a leader in molecular ecology. Curt keeps us abreast of the latest developments in molecular ecology. Garth Mowat was one of the first wildlife biologists to apply noninvasive techniques to large-scale wildlife management, and he continues to develop field methods that will expand the range of species and questions to which DNA methods can be applied. Dave Duncan is a successful Nelson entrepreneur whose many enterprises run the gamut of forest management, including wildlife management. David Paetkau occupies the last position on the board, overseeing the day to day management of both scientific and financial aspects of the company.

Some publications by WGI’s directors