About us
In 1991, Ecotrust, an American charity based in Portland, Oregon, was established with the purpose of developing a conservation-based economy in the Pacific Northwest. Founder, Spencer Beebe, set out to work with Indigenous people in the world’s largest intact coastal temperate rainforest, located in northwestern BC. He soon realized that he needed a Canadian partner organization and, in 1994, asked one of his Canadian Ecotrust board members, Jacqueline Koerner, to take the lead on founding Ecotrust Canada. Jacqueline became Founding Chair and soon environmental journalist, Ian Gill, became the organization’s first executive director. In 1995, Ecotrust Canada received charitable status, marking the beginning of its journey toward building resilient economies in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.
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