About Us

Alternatives Journal, Canada’s national environmental magazine, delivers thoughtful analysis and intelligent debate on Canadian and world environmental issues, the latest news and ideas, as well as profiles of environmental leaders who are making a difference. Never predictable, always on the edge, the publication focuses on how we can move forward. Featuring bright, lively writing by the nation’s foremost environmental thinkers and researchers, Alternatives offers a vision of a more sustainable future as well as the tools needed to take us there. Articles are carefully edited by an experienced editorial team. All articles are fact checked, and feature-stories are peer reviewed by experts in the field. With a surgeon’s precision, Alternatives successfully walks the line between a popular, but intelligent, consumer magazine and an academic journal. Published since 1971, Alternatives is Canada’s oldest environmental magazine. It is also a registered charity (charitable number 89018 4245 RR0001). For the complete Alternatives story, click here.

The Alternatives Team

Board of Directors
Alternatives' board of directors, which currently consists of Robert Paehlke, Robert Gibson and Sally Lerner, will soon be undergoing a restructure as part of our ongoing governance review. Read the current board's bios here.

Editorial Board
Alternatives' editorial board comes together to design each issue of the magazine. Members (currently 12) go through the article ideas submitted by authors and recommend which ones should be included in the issue. They also point out topics that have been missed through the submission process and suggest who might write about this topic. Read about the board members here.

Employees
Nicola Ross – Editor in chief On sabbatical 2012
Raised on southern Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment in Toronto’s urban shadow, Nicola developed a keen sense of place at an early age. She studied biology at the University of Guelph but soon discovered that a pen was her tool of choice. The award-winning author of four books, Nicola is the editor-in-chief of Alternatives Journal and a regular columnist with In the Hills magazine.

Eric Rumble - Editorial Manager
Eric holds a dusty bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Waterloo, and has worked as a journalist in Canada for more than a decade. He has held editing positions with up! Magazine (WestJet Airlines’ in-flight publication), Adbusters, Reader’s Digest and other publications, and his writing has been featured in Canadian Geographic, Maisonneuve, Canada’s History, Swerve, Saturday Night, and more. He also curates a blog about great Canadian record cover art at lpwtf.tumblr.com.

Marcia Ruby - Production Co-ordinator

Brian St. Denis - Audience Development Manager
Brian is a graduate of Brock University with a BA in History, as well as holding diplomas from Loyalist College in Print and Online Journalism. He is rarely outdoors without a camera, holds an almost IMDB-like knowledge of film trivia, and by and large dictates the music played in the Alternatives office.

Michael Torreiter - Finance Manager
Michael is a proud graduate of UW's ERS program and manages Alternatives' finances on Mondays and Tuesdays. The rest of the week, he dons his naturopathic hat and works with his amazing patients at Healing Path Centre for Natural Medicine. He loves canoe camping, cycling, indie music and co-operative housing.

Frank Leng - Website brain-trust
Frank is an Environment and Business graduate who lives double life in cyberspace. As a wannabe foodie, Frank enjoys cooking and all the refreshing flavours of organic foods. When he is not strapped to the computer or blogging, you may find him outdoors with his camera and astronomical telescope. He telecommutes from San Francisco part-time to keep this website humming.

Interns
At any time, Alternatives has about four interns who work on a part time basis. Some are paid, while others are volunteers.

Chelsea Gutzman - Editorial Intern
Chelsea is completing her Joint Honours BA in Literature, Rhetoric, and Music at the University of Waterloo. She loves singing, writing, reading, yoga, cooking and the environment, and is still trying to figure out how to integrate those aspects of her personality into a cohesive identity. Chelsea plans to continue her studies in journalism and become a yoga teacher.

Jessica Kuepfer - Marketing and Business Intern for ESAC
Jessica is completing her degree in Literature and French at the University of Waterloo. When she is not reading Modernist literature and writing essays, she is cooking healthy food, writing a lifestyle blog or outdoors training for her next ultra-marathon.

Fatima Naveed - Publishing Assistant
Fatima is a student at University of Waterloo and is currently majoring in International Development with a minor in Geography and Environmental Management. In her free time she loves reading, travelling and cooking. She hopes to combine her love for journalism and development studies and make a difference in the lives of others.

Emily Slofstra - Web Intern
Emily is a masters student in Environment and Resource Studies at UW. Her research interests lie in collaborative geomatics and decolonizing theory and practise, amongst other buzz words. When not on campus, Emily can be found on her bicycle, singing with her band the Tra La Las, or homesteading in Kitchener with an array of wonderful housemates, including the Dingo.

Isabel Slone - Editorial intern
Isabel is completing her degree in Environment and Resource Studies at the University of Waterloo. She loves print media, fashion and the environment and integrates these interests by working for Alternatives Journal and writing a fashion blog. She spends more time thinking about sustainability in the fashion industry than is considered normal, and recently released a zine called PLANT. She grew up on a farm in Ameliasburgh, Ontario, but still isn't quite sure how that works.

Volunteers
We estimate that each issue of Alternatives involves the unpaid or nominally paid assistance of over 40 writers, photographers, proofreaders, peer-reviewers, graphic artists and fact checkers.

Troy Dettwiler - Production and design volunteer
Troy is a graduate from Humber College with a Film and Television Production advanced diploma. With a love for portaging and winter camping, Troy spends as much time as possible in some of Ontario’s most beautiful parks. Barefoot running is a new cherished pastime, along with gardening, swimming, and new adventures.

Martin Kastner - Editorial volunteer (Bio to come)

Neil Moser - Events volunteer
Neil graduated from the University of Waterloo with an Honours Degree in English Literature. A published poet, he enjoys playing with words and consuming them. When he isn't working in the optical industry, Neil can be found backcountry camping, climbing things, running and recommending awesome indie rock music.