Staff & Partners

Current Staff

KIM HATCHER

Field Station Operations Manager

Kim is a Yukon-based geologist with a passion for mountains, volcanoes, and glaciers. While earning a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of British Columbia, she pursued geophysics research on volcanic plume dynamics. She has spent the last six years exploring mineral potential throughout Northern Canada and Alaska.

As the Station Manager, Kim aims to use her background in geoscience and project management to help contribute to the growth and success of programs at KLRS. Through communication and collaboration, she strives to facilitate a positive space for researchers and community members to feel welcome.

An outdoor enthusiast, Kim enjoys adventuring in the mountains year-round. She resides in an off-grid cabin near Haines Junction, and is grateful to live, work, and play in the traditional territories of the Kluane, Champagne and Aishihik, and White River First Nations.

BROOKLYN MILLER

Operations Assistant

Brooklyn was raised on a farm in Haines Junction and is very grateful to have experienced growing up in the Yukon. Originally born in Saskatchewan, she moved to the Yukon when she was six and has been here ever since. Brooklyn is Woodland Cree and a part of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.

Currently on a gap year, Brooklyn is very excited to work at KLRS this summer as the Operations Assistant. In the fall she will go to the University of Victoria for an Environmental Sciences program, and she is thrilled to start her education. She would eventually like to attain a career that allows her to work outside and on the land.

Brooklyn loves animals and has two pet snakes and a cat who are all loved dearly. She loves to garden and keep house plants; she also loves to paint and draw. All summer she enjoys to camp and hike in the Yukon along with other activities like kayaking and fishing.

NATHAN BOULANGER

Operations Assistant

Nathan is a member of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon. Growing up, he was always doing outdoor activities like mountain biking, snowboarding, and hiking. He is almost always full of energy and loves to meet new people.

Nathan has a cat that he loves very much and is excited to move to Victoria with her in September to start his visual arts degree at UVic. He hopes to at some point move back to the Yukon and open a tattoo shop.

VERONIQUE POIRIER

Executive Chef

Veronique is from Quebec, where she completed her Red Seal Chef certification and Nutrition diploma. She has over 20 years of experience working as a Chef and Food Inspector and specializes in accommodating all dietary restrictions and allergies. As the Executive Chef at KLRS, she is looking forward to running the kitchen and making great food for staff and guests all summer.

In her spare time, Veronique enjoys hiking, working out, gardening and spending time on the beach. Through work and travel she has visited over 40 countries and has been living in Mexico for two years. Her dream is to own land with fruit trees.

JADY HURLBURT

Maintenance Groundskeeper

Jady was born and raised in the Kluane area near Haines Junction, and now lives next door to KLRS where he and his partner run their tourism business, Kluane Outdoor Inspirations (KOI).

His professional life has taken him on an almost 20-year journey working with PCL in an intense career in commercial residential construction in Vancouver. A job which eventually brought Jady back to Whitehorse, and a reconnection to the Kluane area and its people.

Jady has slowed down life and settled into the area with working in a land-based program at Kluane Lake School for nearly five years and then working for Kluane First Nation as a carpenter. He is happy to have recently been hired as the Maintenance person for KLRS.

PAULY SIAS

Cropbox Advisor

Pauly is a citizen of the Kluane First Nation, with a unique upbringing on an off-grid family homestead and land-based tourism operation in Silver City. She has lived and worked in Kluane her entire life, with many executive and heritage roles at Kluane First Nation, Kluane National Park, and Dan Keyi Renewable Resource Council.

With her partner Jady, she runs Kluane Outdoor Inspirations (KOI) at their home near KLRS. Pauly and Jady operated the Cropbox (containerized hydroponics system) at KLRS last year, and this year Pauly has signed on as the project advisor.

Pauly is an entrepreneur, interpreter, and creates beautiful Donjek berry jewellery. She has a deep passion to respectfully share and acknowledge the gifts given to her, to help others be comfortable, and to have fun!

Partners

The Arctic Institute of North America is a member of the Canadian Network of Northern Research Operators (CNNRO) and the International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT). Both networks strive to build capacity for terrestrial research, to improve collaboration and coordination of efforts, enable access to partner stations, and implement best practices for station management, use, and station-based research and monitoring.

In 2017, KLRS became an official CryoNet station within the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Cryosphere Watch initiative. Our automated weather station meets WMO specifications and records a range of observations.

KLRS also initiated an Artist in Residence program in 2017. Through partnership with Parks Canada and Yukon Arts Centre, this work was expanded with the Kluane National Park Artist Residency, launched in 2023.

In addition to our many station users from across Canada conducting research in the environmental and social sciences, we have begun a number of in-house research programmes at KLRS, including a renewable energy and sustainability project, and an environmental data rescue and environmental monitoring project. Through these projects we partner with government, First Nations, organization, and industry partners.

Former Staff

KLRS is thankful to everyone who makes the operations and research possible!

Staff Member	Role	Year(s)
Alix Devlin	Communications Assistant	2022
Amra Causevic	Research Assistant	2017
Arryk Butcher	Chef	2022
Ben Pearse	Operations Assistant	2018
Emma Cumming	Research Assistant	2019
Garrett Stagg	Assistant Chef	2018, 2019
Gloria Macelheron	Assistant Chef	2017
Heather Clarke	Research Assistant	2020
Henry Penn	Research Station Operations Manager	2017–2022
Jacob Swartz	Research Assistant	2020
Julia Frasher	Research Assistant	2019
Kelly Tolbalt	Research Assistant	2018
Kristina Miller (Penn)	Science Coordinator	2022
Kristina Penn	Research Station Operations Manager	2023
Luc Pinard	Operations Assistant	2021
Matthew Ayre	Research Station Manager	2020, 2021
Matthew Wiebe	Assistant Chef	2022
Michael Moloney	Research Station Manager	2017–2019
Michael Myer	Operations Assistant	2022
Michael Schmidt	Research Station Manager	2017, 2018
Mitch Brown	Operations Assistant	2017
Natalie Gillis	Communications Assistant	2021
Phoenix Skailes	Operations Assistant	2022
Robert Reich	Executive Chef	2017–2022
Shelby Montgomery	Agricultural Operations Manager	2018
Sydney Mackinnon	Operations Assistant, Chef	2021, 2022
Tracey Neale	Chef	2023
Zana Everett	Research and Operations Assistant	2023