Standing Committee

Tammy Tugnum

Tammy served on the WLCF Board of Directors from 2018 through 2024, and joined the Standing Committee in 2025.

Lauren Neufeld

Lauren joined the WLCF Standing Committee in the fall of 2023.  Lauren Neufeld has grown up exploring on the unceded Secwepemc territory of Williams Lake.  Lauren holds a Bachelor of Education and 10 years experience in Youth Recreation.  She is passionate about both educational and recreational opportunities within the Cariboo Region, as well as the sustainability of the resources within the Forest.  Lauren recently pivoted to follow her passion for real estate and became an agent serving the Williams Lake Community in 2024.

Wendy Friesen

Wendy moved to Williams Lake in 1990 and worked for a variety of Ministries within the Provincial Government before retiring.  First working at the Fire Center, then BC Parks, Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Forests.  Wendy has a great love of the outdoors and appreciates all the recreational opportunities that the Cariboo offers, and hopes that these opportunities will be viable for many years by careful management of our environment.  Wendy joined the Standing Committee in the fall of 2023.

John Walker

John Walker joined the WLCF Standing Committee in the Fall of 2023 after serving on the WLCF Board of Directors since the Fall of 2020.   John is a Registered Professional Forester and is the Stewardship Forester for Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN).  John has worked in the forest industry around the Williams Lake area since 1996.  His experience includes consulting, harvesting, fire fighting and business management.  John is impassioned by wildlife and ecosystem management.

Chris Masters

Chris Masters was born and raised in Williams Lake and surrounding areas. Has spent most of his career as a Millwright working in a majority of the local mills and mines.  He spent a time in Victoria going to school for an Eco Adventure Tourism Diploma, then worked as a guide in Whistler for several years before coming back home.  Chris is a Volunteer on the Williams Lake Cycling Club and spends a lot of time biking and hiking in the FlatRock / Ne Sextine portion of the Williams Lake Community Forest area.

Bette McLennan

Bette McLellan is a retired teacher who has been in the Cariboo for 40 years.  Bette belongs to the Williams Lake Wanderers, a group that "plays" in the Williams Lake Community Forest and other parts of the Cariboo.  She has worked in and on environmental topies for many years. 

Susan Woermke

Susan is a Registered Professional Forester who has been in the Cariboo since 1998.  Formerly a Silviculture Forester with one of the major licensees in the area, Susan is now running her own consulting business working for a diverse group of clients.  She loves her home in the Cariboo, acting as a mentor to students going into the profession, and enjoys her garden and many animals.  Susan has been on the standing committee since its inception, and is passionate about forests for the community.

Dave White

Dave White is retired, with a technical forestry background amassed from his work experiences in England, Alberta and British Columbia.  Most of his experience is from the Silviculture side of forestry, and he maintains interests in forestry, natural history and year-round outdoor activities.  Dave has been a Cariboo/Chilcotin resident for 20 years.  

Leonard Teppema

Leonard Teppema is a RFT (Registered Forestry Technician) with 13 years experience with the Ministry of Forests.  He is President of the Cariboo Small Scale Harvesters Association and has a trapline in Horsefly.  Leonard was born in Horsefly, grew up on a ranch, and has been a faller for 33 years.  He is an original member of the WLCF Standing Committee, has been Fire Fighting for 33 years and Small Scale Harvesting for 17 years.  

Jim Hilton

After graduating from the University of Alberta, Jim Hilton spent 3 years working on a research facility in South America.  He then spent nearly 3 decades with the Forest Service, primarily in the Cariboo Region, with approximately equal time spent in Range, Inventory, Silviculture and Timber Tenures.  Jim retired in 2002 and has kept busy as an active member of the WLCF Standing COmmittee, milling lumber using his portable sawmill, and trying to keep up with his 3 grandsons.  

Gord Flatt

Gord Flatt is a store manager of Winners in Williams Lake.  Gord has a small farm, and moved to Miocene in 2011.  He is interested in sustainability of forests, ranching, and farming in our area, and how these can all work together.  Gord is interested to see how the Community Forest positively or negatively affects the local communities.  

Henry Doucette

Henry has lived and worked in Williams Lake his whole life.  He has been involved in many aspects of the forest industry, from small scale salvage logging to industrial finishing for 20 years.  Henry is a land owner in the WL Community Forest Flat Rock block, where he is practicing sustainable land use for small scale farming.  Henry has been with the WLCF as a member of the Standing Committee since the very beginning.