jbeverly@ualberta.ca

Dr. Beverly founded Wildfire Analytics in 2017. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta and has been studying wildfires for over 25 years with a focus on fuels, fire behaviour and fire risk assessment at local to landscape scales. Jen holds MSc and PhD degrees from the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, and an Honours BES from the University of Waterloo. She is a fire behaviour specialist, former helitack crew leader (Ontario Fire Ranger), and former federal government research scientist.

tadgh@ualberta.ca

Tadgh Dalton is an MSc student in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta. he is investigating wildfire extinguishment and the influence of overnight weather conditions on extinguishment processes. Tadgh holds a BSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of Alberta Augustana Campus. Tadgh has worked in the Alberta Wildfire crew program since 2020, allowing him to fight fire across the province. Tadgh also worked the 2023 season on a crew in NSW, Australia.   

davidigu@ualberta.ca

Katia is an MSc Candidate in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta. She is investigating optimal aircraft locations for fire response operations in Alberta. Katia holds a BSc with Distinction in Mathematics from MacEwan University and worked as a research assistant focusing on statistical learning. Since 2018, Katia has worked seasonally with Alberta Wildfire including 5 years as an airtanker base supervisor and most recently in aircraft logistics. These positions sparked Katia’s interest in wildfire response decision-making. .

amforbes@ualberta.ca

Air Forbes is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta. She is applying spatial analytics to develop novel multiscale approaches to understanding wildland fuels and wildfire vulnerability. Air holds a BSc in Forestry from the University of Alberta, and an Advanced Diploma with Distinction in Geographic Information Systems from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. She has worked for Alberta Wildfire in seasonal positions for three summers, most recently as a crew member with the Alberta Wildland Fuels Inventory Program. 

bfornerw@ualberta.ca

Bri Forner-Walker is an MSc student in the Department of Resources at the University of Alberta. She is investigating fire interactions with non-fuel barriers to spread to inform fuel break design. Bri holds a BSc in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Alberta and initially joined Wildfire Analytics as an undergraduate research assistant in 2023. Bri has been a wildland firefighter for the Government of Alberta since 2020. She has fought fire in Alberta, Quebec and Ontario.

sidra_ijaz010@hotmail.com

Sidra is a research associate with Wildfire Analytics. She recently completed  a Ph.D. at the University of Lisbon, SUSFOR Doctoral Scholarship Program, Sustainable Forests and Products. Her thesis research assessed wildfire hazard, community vulnerability and mitigation programs. Sidra's Ph.D. research was co-supervised by Dr Conceição Colaço, Prof. Francisco Castro Rego and Dr. Jen Beverly. Sidra also holds an MSc dual degree under the Joint Masters Erasmus Mundus MEDFOR scholarship program from the University of Padova, Italy and Karadeniz Technical University Turkey; as well as a BSc in Environmental Sciences from University of Punjab, Pakistan.

kennedy.korkola@mail.utoronto.ca

Kennedy Korkola is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto supervised by Dr. Patrick James and co-supervised by Dr. Jen Beverly at Wildfire Analytics. She is investigating the relationship between spruce budworm and forest fires, with a focus on the influence of defoliated stands on the  risk of a fire escaping initial attack and how we can use predictive models to better understand and respond to these fires. Kennedy completed her BSc in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Human Biology at the University of Toronto. She previously worked as a Fire Ranger in Northwestern Ontario which provided practical knowledge on fire behaviour and management in Ontario. 

carter.kuiper@lowerkootenay.com

Carter is a research associate with Wildfire Analytics. He recently completed an MSc thesis that integrated socioeconomic factors of vulnerability with the Landscape Fire Exposure Metric to assess telecommunications vulnerabilities to wildfire. Results were published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. Carter also holds a BSc in Environmental and Conservation Sciences, a BA in Native Studies, and a Certificate of Sustainability from the University of Alberta. 

klong1@ualberta.ca

Keara Lightning is a PhD student in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta. She is exploring collaborations with Indigenous communities to apply mapping technologies and cultural burning practices for mitigating wildfire risk. Keara is a member of Samson Cree Nation and holds an MA in Native Studies and a BA in Indigenous Environmental Studies from Trent University. Her research centers on Indigenous-led science and environmental management, with a focus on collaboration, environmental histories, and wildfire management. Keara is a historian laureate for the Beaver Hills Biosphere, a research fellow at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, and she currently sits on Parks Canada's advisory Indigenous Fire Circle.

sonja@shiftingmosaics.com

Sonja Leverkus is an Ecosystem Scientist and Wildland Fire Practitioner. Dr. Leverkus joined our team as a Research Associate in 2018 and is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Renewable Resources. She holds a PhD from Oklahoma State University with a specialization in pyric herbivory and fire ecology.  She has worked with the BC Wildfire Service as one of the province’s Ignition Specialists and is the owner and manager of Shifting Mosaics Consulting and Northern Fire WoRx, a type 2 suppression wildland fire crew specializing in prescribed fire. 

jrandal@ualberta.ca

Jared Randall is PhD candidate in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta. He is investigating interactions between wildfire and timber harvesting, and how this relationship changes with time since harvest. Jared joined Wildfire Analytics as an undergraduate research assistant in 2020, while completing a BSc with Distinction in Environmental and Conservation Science from the University of Alberta in 2022. Since then, he has gained experience as a wildland firefighter and summer field assistant, among other assignments. 

mrrober1@ualberta.ca

Mackenzie Robertson is a Master of Forestry student in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta. She is investigating the effects of modern wildfire suppression tactics on sensitive ecosystems, including soils, vegetation, and fungal networks. Mackenzie earned a BSc with Distinction in Environmental and Conservation Sciences from the University of Alberta in 2025. Since 2024, she has worked seasonally with Alberta Wildfire on a unit crew in the Peace River district, with deployments to Slave Lake and High Level.

dtyrrell@ualberta.ca

David Tyrrell is a BSc student in Computer Science at the University of Alberta, specializing in Software Practice. He has worked seasonally as a Wildfire Crew member since 2024, fighting fires in Alberta and parts of BC. He spent time in his first season working in the Edson forest district as a unit crew member, being exported to areas such as Fort McMurray, High Level, and Kootenay National Park. His wildfire experience led him to become interested in how he can mesh the relationship between computer science and wildfire behaviour. David's contributions involve GIS mapping activities and working with spatial data.

turquoisewild@gmail.com

Sarah is a research associate with Wildfire Analytics. She was recently awarded an MSc Forestry with Distinction from the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences at Bangor University, UK. Her research adapted the wildfire exposure and directional vulnerability assessments to the British landscape. She holds a BA in Geography from the University of Oxford and an MA in Medical Anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.  Prior to studying forestry, she taught English in Japan and worked as a research project manager at the University of Oxford. Sarah completed the UK Forestry Commission’s LANTRA-accredited award, ‘Wildfire and Prescribed Fire Training’.