Our Team

The Otesha Project staff is composed of knowledgeable, passionate and youthful changemakers who want to see sustainable lifestyle choices become a part of the Canadian mainstream. We are a dedicated staff supported by a wonderful network of volunteers, O-lumni, and our Board of Directors. We are looking to spark dialogue about sustainability with every Canadian, whether it be with a workshop, play performance, keynote or even a patented Otesha high-five.

If you are interested in getting in touch, give the office a ring-a-ling at 613-237-6065. You can also click on our names to email us directly:

Elly Adeland, Executive Co-Director
for finance, administration and volunteer opportunites

Elly Adeland started jamming with the Otesha Team back in 2009 when she worked as Campaigns Coordinator at the Polaris Institute.  Coming from an environmental, social justice, theater and biking background Elly gravitated towards everything Otesha.  Elly was born in Chicago, grew-up in Plattsburgh, NY and went to university in Ottawa--Let's just say if you ever speak with her on the phone or see one of her interactive presentations, her accent stands out as a smorgasbord of goodness. In the fall of 2011 Elly joined the Otesha Staff Team and is excited to keep her wheels in motion--no matter what season!

Shirley Manh, Development Director
for donations, partnerships and O-lumni inquiries

Shirley jumped aboard the good train Otesha with the Highlands & Islands cycling tour in the Fall of 2010, one of the greatest adventures of her lifetime. She hails from Toronto and is thrilled to be in Ottawa and spend her time with fine folk in a sunny office getting to know Otesha supporters and working on new programs. Life before Otesha involved a five-year degree, setting foot in six continents, working for an educational student travel company, community theatre, and realizing that a sense of community was really, really important. Shirley believes strongly in waste reduction, (environmental) education and setting an example for others, but also for herself. When she's not hopping around discovering how neat the world is, she enjoys the company of inspiring people, live music and delicious food.

Matt Schaaf, Programs Coordinator
for programs and tour inquiries

Matt is on loan to Otesha from his four-year-old daughter and mentor, Livia Day, and other generous family members. Matt has an extensive theatre background in puppetry, if watching Sesame Street as a child counts for anything. His current two-wheeled love affair is a bicycle painted "mink blue". Born in BC, raised on the Prairies, Matt's work in conflict transformation and teaching has taken him from Winnipeg's inner city to rural Colombia to Grassy Narrows First Nation to Ottawa. Send him your questions and suggestions on Otesha's life-changing bike tour extravaganzas!

Kira Burger, Communications Coordinator
for media inquiries, website feedback, and other communications requests

The Otesha Bug bit Kira back in 2008, when she and her sidekick (bike) Zoombot traversed Ontario on Otesha's Algonquin Tour. In 2011, Kira returned to coordinate the Phenomenal Food Tour and get her hands dirty on farms between Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa with 14 fabulous teammates. Eager to keep her bum on a bike, she took the role of Safety Coordinator on last year's first ever 9-day Pedal to Plate Tour around Ottawa. She's back again, this time as Otesha's Outreach and Communications Coordinator. She and Zoombot are already excited to hit the road in July on the next Pedal to Plate Tour!

Tricia Enns, Tour Coordinator - Rising Tide Tour

After cruising the slippery coast of British Columbia on the Sunshine Coast Tour 2011 Tricia is in the office rocking those phone calls as the Tour Coordinator for the 2012 Rising Tide Tour. Otesha has brought her closer to her values, food, and bicycle seat. Tricia has been spicing up the office with sound effects, gremlin voices and artistic expressions of her love for the environment, animals, people, and her bike. Before Otesha, Tricia was all over the place! With an engineering degree she decided to swim against the engineering stream and go WWOOFing, meditating, coordinating community gardens, canvassing for the earth, and just living. You can find her in Ottawa cruising the snowy roads, dancing like an alien, running, doing art, and perhaps peeking through your window and giving you a funny face. Funny face her back. Funny face tag!

LindsEy Tulloch, Tour Coordinator - Water Works Tour

Nicole E Schlosser, Tour Coordinator - Phenomenal Food Tour

Nicole is a multidisciplinary artist whose experiments include eating local, sleeping under the stars, socializing with new friends, and cycling on her gifted bike Sally. Often her artwork focuses on the temporal nature of everything that is, and surrounds life, but since she embarked on the 2010 Coast to Capital Tour, well… she’s been doing fieldwork. And not just the kind of fieldwork her colleges would consider artistic research, but literally working in fields- specifically the rice fields of  Việt Nam alongside the farmers who make up the amazing commune of Yên Mông. Presently, Nicole is coordinating the Phenomenal Foods tour and is excited to be starting another round of fieldwork- in both senses of the word (and possibly in free-cycled spandex onesie that she is currently refurbishing).