Welcome, Jennifer!

We are thrilled to bring Jennifer Archer on as Watershed Security Senior Projects Specialist to support our watershed-focused work.

In addition to being a warm and caring person, Jennifer brings value-aligned passion and directly relevant experience to this work. Over the last 11 years, she has specialized in strategic and policy advice related to freshwater protection in British Columbia.

In 2016, she helped launch and then codirected the BC Freshwater Legacy Initiative over a period of six years. During this time, she served as a liaison and partner to Indigenous governments, the Crown, and non-profit organizations to advance watershed governance.

She facilitated and managed the BC Water Funders Collaborative over a period of seven years and was an active partner and advisor on the Koksilah Water Sustainability Scoping Initiative, and the province-wide Collaborative Monitoring Initiative. Prior to that, she practiced law in the corporate and non-profit sectors for 10 years.

In 2012, she completed a Master of Laws from UBC directed at Indigenous interests in international water law and identifying opportunities for shared watershed governance to advance reconciliation and protect fresh water. In 2023, she completed a graduate certificate in Executive Coaching.

Jennifer is very grateful to live and work in the Nanaimo River watershed on Vancouver Island with her partner and two teenage boys in the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.

“Building relationships across sectors, fostering community, advising leadership, and advancing new ways of working together has been at the heart of my professional journey,” Jennifer said. “I look forward to continuing this journey working with REFBC and our partners in community to support the watersheds and waterways that connect us all.”