I grew up in in the Bay of Islands, and finished my B.Sc in Biology from Acadia University in 1993. I worked for about 10 years as a biologist for the NL provincial Wildlife Division, conducting habitat studies on bats, caribou and black bear. Following this I began working on inland fish populations of trout and landlocked salmon (ouananiche). As the son of a commercial fisherman, I always had an interest in fisheries, so in 2004 I began working for the provincial department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, not doing research, but contributing to economic and industry development projects. The combination of a science background and economic development and policy experience led me to the Masters in Environmental Policy program at Grenfell, 20 years after my first degree. Along with working full time and studying part-time, I have 2 kids, and my wife and I run Garden Hill Inn here in Corner Brook. Free time is not part of my vocabulary! I’ll be the old guy at the back of the class.