Curriculum Vitae

Andrew D.F. Simon

PhD Candidate | Biological Sciences | University of Alberta

8735 80 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T6E 2H6 · (250) 888-6144

adsimon@ualberta.ca · imerss.org · Bluesky

Education

presentEdmonton, AB
PhD Candidate — University of Alberta (Biological Sciences)
2020Victoria, BC
Master of Science — University of Victoria (Environmental Studies)
2016Squamish, BC
Bachelor of Arts and Sciences — Quest University Canada

Work History

Jan 2026 – Apr 2026Edmonton, AB, Canada
Teaching Assistant — University of Alberta, Department of Biological Sciences
  • Facilitated labs in biological diversity (BIO108)
Sep 2022 – May 2026Átl’ka7tsem, BC, Canada
Biodiversity Data Science Specialist — Squamish Environment Society / Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative
  • Co-designed integrative biodiversity assessment framework synthesizing biodiversity, geospatial, and remote sensing data sources
Jan 2024 - Apr 2024Edmonton, AB, Canada
Teaching Assistant — University of Alberta, Department of Biological Sciences
  • Facilitated labs in algal diversity (BOT330)
Sep 2022 – Dec 2023Iqaluit / Pond Inlet, NU, Canada
Research Assistant — University of British Columbia O’Connor Lab / Advisian
  • Quantified biomass and carbon sequestration in Arctic macroalgae communities
Jul 2022 – Dec 2022Vancouver, BC, Canada
Research Assistant — University of British Columbia O’Connor Lab / Hakai Institute
  • Coordinated UN Decade on Ocean Conservation Biodiversity Synthesis Hub
  • Researched science-policy gaps in the Salish Sea
Sept 2021 – Mar 2023Southern Gulf Islands, BC, Canada
Biodiversity Specialist — BC Conservation Data Centre
  • Conducted floristic inventories and rare species surveys focusing on rare lichens, bryophytes, and vascular plants
Nov 2020 – Aug 2023Galiano Island / Cranbrook, BC, Canada
Biodiversity Specialist — Keefer Ecological Services Ltd.
  • Conducted rare species inventories and terrestrial ecosystem mapping
  • Developed habitat suitability index models for rare species
  • Mapped species of conservation concern using NatureServe Biotics5
  • Developed project proposals and budgets, and coordinated complex multidisciplinary projects in a team environment
Jan 2019 – Aug 2019Mayne Island, BC, Canada
Stewardship Coordinator — Mayne Island Conservancy
  • Coordinated inter-island bioblitz focusing on Galiano and Mayne Islands
  • Compiled comprehensive dataset of historical baseline and contemporary species occurrence data using R and iNaturalist
  • Prepared conservation management plans & implemented restoration projects focusing on private & protected lands
2015 – 2020Galiano Island, BC, Canada
Environmental Consultant — Independent Consulting
  • Completed forest cover maps, inventories & management plans covering >600 ha in the Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) Biogeoclimatic Zone
  • Implemented geospatial infrastructure for BC Parks Biodiversity Mapping Project, inc. >1,000 protected areas
  • Clients inc.: BC Parks, the Galiano Club, Galiano Conservancy Association, BC Ministry of the Environment, & Keefer Ecological Services Ltd.
2016Mt. Revelstoke / Glacier / Banff / Jasper National Parks, BC, Canada
Researcher — Parks Canada
  • Synthesized technical reports on the potential risks and mitigations of prescribed fire in caribou habitat in collaboration with experts & Parks Canada officials
2015 – 2018Clearwater / Robson Valley / Tumbler Ridge / Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Research and Field Assistant — Enlichened Consulting Ltd.
  • Assisted in ecological research, biodiversity inventories & rare plant surveys throughout BC, focusing on lichens, bryophytes, & vascular plants
  • Collected field data, maintained databases, helped with curation of UBC lichen herbarium

Leadership

2026Rome, Italy
Canadian delegation for the sixth meeting of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity
  • Nominated Delegate
2025 – presentOttawa, ON, Canada
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC)
  • Mosses and Lichens Species Specialist Subcommittee Member
2023 – 2025Squamish, BC, Canada
Squamish Environment Society
  • Wildlife Connectivity Project Technical Working Group Member
2020 – presentGaliano Island, BC, Canada
Institute for Multidisciplinary Ecological Research in the Salish Sea
  • President and Founding Member
2016 – presentGaliano Island, BC, Canada
Biodiversity Galiano Island Project
  • Project Curator
2023 – 2024Vancouver, BC, Canada
Coastal Douglas-fir Conservation Partnership
  • Biodiversity Data Science Mentor
2022 – 2024Victoria, BC, Canada
Northeast Pacific Biodiversity Action Network
  • Steering Committee Member
2019 – 2024Galiano Island, BC, Canada
Capital Regional District Galiano Island Parks and Recreation Commission
  • Commissioner

Awards, Grants, Recognitions

2026
University of Alberta — Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Fellowship
2026
Canadian Botanical Association — J. Stan Rowe Award
2026
BC Conservation and Biodiversity Awards — BC Conservation and Biodiversity Award
2025
University of Alberta — ASPB Robin Leech Graduate Scholarship in Biological Sciences
2025
University of Alberta — President's Doctoral Prize of Distinction
2024
Canadian Institute for Ecology and Evolution — Living Data Project Grant III
2024
Alberta Conservation Association — ACA Grant in Biodiversity
2024
BC Conservation and Biodiversity Awards — BC Conservation and Biodiversity Award
2024
University of Alberta — President's Doctoral Prize of Distinction
2023
Canadian Institute for Ecology and Evolution — Living Data Project Grant II
2023
University of British Columbia — NSERC CGS D
2023
Institute for Multidisciplinary Ecological Research in the Salish Sea, Inclusive Design Research Centre — SSRHC Connections Grant
2023
University of British Columbia — Zoology Graduate Fellowship
2022
Canadian Institute for Ecology and Evolution — Living Data Project Grant I
2020
BC Parks — Living Lab for Climate Change Grant
2020
Royal BC Museum — Royal BC Museum Volunteer Award
2019
House of Commons — Recognition from Honourable Member of Parliament Elizabeth May
2019
Islands Trust — Islands Trust Community Stewardship Award
2018
University of Victoria — Lorene Kennedy Graduate Student Field Research Award

Certifications

2022WorkSafeBC OFA Level 1 - Occupational First Aid Level 1
Alert First-Aid Inc. — Occupational First Aid
2021Basic Drone Pilot's License
Transport Canada — sRPAS Basic License
2015Wetland Mapping and Stewardship Course
BC Wildlife Federation — Wetland Keepers Certificate

Presentations, Workshops

A.D.F. Simon, T. Spribille (2026) Boreal lichen photobiont networks: structure, stability, and vulnerability. The 10th Symposium of the International Association for Lichenology.

A.D.F. Simon, T. Spribille (2026) When ITS does not tell the whole story: Genome-scale analyses of the threatened Canadian lichen Collema coniophilum. The 10th Symposium of the International Association for Lichenology.

A. Basman, A.D.F. Simon, R.A. Martin, C. Robinson, Q. Cronk (2026) Detecting extirpation: a localized approach to a global problem. State of the World’s Plants and Fungi Symposium.

A.D.F. Simon, A. Basman, R.A. Martin, C. Robinson, Q. Cronk (2026) Detecting extirpation: a localized approach to a global problem. Canadian Botanical Association.

A.D.F. Simon (2026) How to use iNaturalist to support the never-ending bioblitz. Saturna Island Marine Research and Education Society.

A.D.F. Simon, S. Peters (2026) Biodiversity Galiano: retrospective (2016–2025). Nature Vancouver.

A. Basman, A.D.F. Simon (2025) Introduction to Bayesian statistics for ecology workshop: Detecting extirpation: a novel statistical framework supporting localized studies in biodiversity change. Hakai Institute.

A.D.F. Simon, A. Basman (2024) Frameworks for community engagement in long-term ecological research. Biodiversity Beyond Boundaries: mobilizing data for the future of our shared waters.

Q. Cronk, A.D.F. Simon, A. Basman, R. A. Martin, C. Robinson (2024) Operationalizing the study of local extirpation: the key role of herbaria. Botany 2024.

A.D.F. Simon, L.R. Best, B.M. Starzomski (2024) Community science and systematic sampling provide convergent evidence for historical change in an island bumble bee community. Canadian Society for Ecology and Evolution.

A.D.F. Simon (2024) Using historical and community science data to detect change in bumble bee and vascular plant communities on Galiano Island. Community Science Webinar, Coastal Douglas-fir Conservation Partnership.

K. Andy, A.D.F. Simon (2024) The use of community science to develop integrated species distribution models. Community Science Webinar, Coastal Douglas-fir Conservation Partnership.

M. Hessing-Lewis, F. Beaty, K. Collins, E. Paroo, A.D.F. Simon, T. Van Der Stap (2024) Biodiversity Data Mobilization in British Columbia and Washington Waters. Northeast Pacific Coastal Biodiversity Action Network.

D.S. Srivastava, E. Menchions, T.M. Lavender, A.D.F. Simon (2023) Data Rescue Project: Janszen Legacy hack-a-thon. Canadian Institute for Ecology and Evolution, Living Data Project.

J. Aitken, D. Ayotte, A. Basman, H. Carpendale, M. D’Souza, J. Georgeson, A.D.F. Simon, L. Wilson (2023) Transboundary Gathering: Digital ecocultural mapping in the Salish Sea. Whiteswan Environmental, Institute for Multidisciplinary Ecological Research in the Salish Sea, Inclusive Design Research Centre.

A. Gonzalez, M. I. O’Connor, A. E. Bates, K. Bobiwash, P. van Dam-Bates, I. Eckert, D. Gravel, J. Idrobo, L. J. Pollock, P. Sólymos, A.D.F. Simon, M. Slein, B. M. Starzomski, J. M. Sunday, E. W. Tekwa (2023) Canadian Biodiversity Observation Network Working Group. Canadian Institute for Ecology and Evolution.

A.D.F. Simon, A. Basman (2023) Co-creating a biodiversity assessment framework. Howe Sound Conservation Network Gathering, Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative.

A.D.F. Simon, A. Basman (2022) Biodiversity beyond boundaries: building capacity for pluralistic biodiversity research. Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference.

A.D.F. Simon, D.M. Gibbs, A. Lamb (2022) Toward an atlas of Salish Sea biodiversity. Wonders of the Salish Sea.

A.D.F. Simon, P. Janszen (2022) The life and legacy of Harvey Janszen. Victoria Natural History Society, Friends of Ecological Reserves AGM.

A.D.F. Simon (2022) Bumble bees in the southern Gulf Islands. Mayne Island Conservancy.

A.D.F. Simon (2021) Salish Sea Symposium. Friday Harbour Labs, University of Washington.

C. Sandilands, L.D. Magner, A.D.F. Simon (2020) Storying climate change in the Salish Sea. Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University, Salish Sea Institute.

A.D.F. Simon (2019) Backyard biodiversity: a model for community-based biodiversity research. Valdes Island Conservancy AGM.

A.D.F. Simon (2019) Eight ways YOU can contribute to biodiversity research and conservation. Galiano Library.

A.D.F. Simon (2019) Implications of seasonal drought for plant-pollinator communities in the southern Gulf Islands. BC Protected Areas Research Forum.

A.D.F. Simon (2018) The bumble bees of Galiano Island, BC. Entomological Society of America.

Publications

M. Webber, E. Humphrey, A. van Asselt, A. Chang, E. Morien, A.D.F. Simon (2026) Diatoms (Bacillariophyta) of the Salish Sea, Northeast Pacific: annotated checklist and new species reports. Biodiversity Data Journal. 14(e189060).

A.D.F. Simon, A. Basman, R.A. Martin, C. Robinson, Q. Cronk (2025) Detecting extirpation: A localized approach to a global problem. Plants, People, Planet. 8(4).

A. Gonzalez, M.I. O’Connor, A.E. Bates, P. van Dam-Bates, K. Bobiwash, C. Burton, I. Eckert, G.C. Dominique, J. Idrobo, L.J. Pollock, A.D.F. Simon, M. Slein, P. Sólymos, B.M. Starzomski, J.M. Sunday, E.W. Tekwa (2025) A Biodiversity Observation Network to support conservation action and mainstream knowledge in Canada. Facets. 10(1-19).

R. McMullin, A.D.F. Simon, I. Brodo, S. Wickham, P. Bell-Doyon, M. Kuzmina, B.M. Starzomski (2024) DNA barcoding aids in generating a preliminary checklist of the lichens and allied fungi of Calvert Island, British Columbia: Results from the 2018 Hakai Terrestrial BioBlitz. Biodiversity Data Journal. 12(e120292).

A.D.F. Simon, L.R. Best, B.M. Starzomski (2023) Evidence of bumble bee extirpation and colonization: Galiano Island, British Columbia, Canada. Northwest Science. 96(3–4).

A.D.F. Simon, E.M. Adamczyk, A. Basman, J.W.F. Chu, H.N. Gartner, K. Fletcher, C.J. Gibbs, D.M. Gibbs, S.R. Gilmore, R.M. Harbo, L.H. Harris, E. Humphrey, A. Lamb, P. Lambert, N. McDaniel, J. Scott, B.M. Starzomski (2022) Toward an atlas of Salish Sea biodiversity: the flora and fauna of Galiano Island, British Columbia, Canada. Part I. Marine zoology. Biodiversity Data Journal. 10(e76050).

A.D.F. Simon, H.E. Marx, B.M. Starzomski (2021) Phylogenetic restriction of plant invasion in drought-stressed environments: implications for insect-pollinated plant communities in water-limited ecosystems. Ecology and Evolution. 11(15).