• Our People

    Our Board of Directors, full-time staff and volunteers are the backbone of FLAP Canada.

    Birds on a Telephone Wire

Board of Directors

FLAP Canada is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board meets six times a year to ensure the effective management of FLAP Canada. No Board director receives remuneration in his or her role as a director. The Board is composed of members who bring a variety of talents, experiences and expertise to the governance of FLAP Canada.

Please direct any Board inquiries to flap@flap.org.

Ben Coleman

Ben Coleman

Chair

“As more and more people live in cities, it’s important that we appreciate nature right where we live and make our neighbourhoods safe for bird species. I volunteer with FLAP because I want to help secure the funding and support that our volunteers and staff need to save birds’ lives every day.”

Albert Koehl

Albert Koehl

Vice-Chair

“Each migratory bird has an incredible story — one to be marvelled at and celebrated. And yet we allow these incredible stories to end with a violent crash against a building window and death on the cold pavement. In working on the FLAP board I hope to continue my previous work in leading two private prosecutions against corporate building owners — resulting in an important legal precedent to protect migratory birds — and in my current role as adjunct professor of Natural Resources Management at Osgoode Hall Law School.”

Brad Evoy

Treasurer

“As an Indigenous organizer and professional, I have worked with various organizations as part of my lifelong commitment to supporting our ecosystems thrive and to support environmental justice work. I am happy to join FLAP Canada to continue this work through practical and effective means to support birds and prevent needless death in urban settings. I hope to bring my fifteen years of non-profit experience to support the governance and finances of FLAP Canada to make sure the critical work of bird preservation can continue with strength.”

Kerrie Blaise

Kerrie Blaise

Director

“I have a fondness for birds – having once spent much time among double-crested cormorants as a field assistant – and I’m acutely aware of the destruction and harm caused by our built environment to migratory species. I’m also passionate about advancing their legal protection, whether by highlighting gaps in the law or through law reform and advocacy. I truly welcome this opportunity to combine my expertise as an environment lawyer and board member of FLAP Canada, to work towards protecting Canada’s incredible diversity of migratory birds.”

Heather Smith

Director

“I feel so fortunate to live in a city where nature is a part of my daily life, and find it heartbreaking that so many birds are injured or killed by colliding with buildings. I was introduced to FLAP in the mid-90s while caring for birds at the Toronto Wildlife Centre, when birds rescued by FLAP would be dropped off to us. Twenty-five years later, I’m drawing on my two decades of scientific experience to volunteer with the FLAP board because their mission to make the built environment safe for birds resonates with me.”

John Robert Carley

B. Arch, FRAIC

Director

“I believe that the bird-building collision issue must be addressed legislatively, by mitigation and prevention measures included in Zoning and Building Codes. Architects, Owners, and Builders must come to accept that including bird-strike deterrent measures in building design and construction are the ”best practice” and are simply part of doing good business.”

Kristin Lauhn-Jensen

Director

“I have spent my career working to advance the protection of animals and our environment, leading fundraising teams to empower the work of leading national and international non-profits dedicated to this cause. The web of biodiversity is so important to life on earth, and all species play a critical role. I am thrilled to join the FLAP Canada Board and hope that my experience can support FLAP to continue to grow and thrive in its efforts to make Canada a safer place for the birds.”

Honorary Board Member

Dr Daniel Klem Jr

Dr Daniel Klem Jr

“For 45 years, as a scientist I have studied, written, and taught about the threat that sheet glass and plastic pose to birds. I am motivated by available and growing evidence that bird-building collisions are an important conservation, building industry, legal, and animal welfare issue for birds and people worldwide. I feel privileged and honored to have served on the Board of an organization that is a model world leader addressing the unintended and unwanted avian mortality resulting from bird-window collisions.”

Our Staff

A core team oversees the day-to-day management of FLAP Canada.

Michael Mesure

Executive Director

A co-founder of FLAP, Michael has over 30 years’ experience bringing attention to the bird collision issue. He has worked tirelessly with government – federal, provincial, municipal – to develop migratory bird protection policies, collaborated with manufacturers of bird-deterrent technologies, and produced FLAP’s BirdSafe® Building Standards and its accompanying building auditing tool. He has also co-authored numerous reports, peer-reviewed articles, and research papers. Finally, he has taught numerous workshops to industry professionals, and addressed audiences on the issue and bird-safe solutions.

Susan Krajnc

Program Manager

On staff since 2005, her activities include fundraising and public policy development. She has a Bachelor of Political Science.

Kaitlin Brough

Volunteer & Campaigns Coordinator

Kaitlin joined FLAP Canada as a volunteer in 2016, and in 2019 took on the role of the Global Bird Rescue coordinator. She officially joined the staff team in 2024. Her main activities are coordinating the volunteers, managing the building monitoring program, and running our annual event: Global Bird Rescue. She received a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from the University of Guelph.

Retired Staff

Paloma Plant

Paloma Plant

A founding member of FLAP, Paloma was the Program Coordinator from 2012 to 2024. She is a wildlife rehabilitator, and her main activities included overseeing the building monitoring program, public outreach and volunteer coordination.

Our Volunteers

In addition to full-time staff, FLAP Canada is supported by a backbone of dedicated volunteers. In 2015, over 125 volunteers worked over 4,000 hours. That’s equivalent to 2.38 full-time employees working 35 hours per week for the entire year.

FLAP Canada Volunteers