Mike Wong serves as the Regional Chair for North America for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) World Commission on Protected Areas. His current interest is on promoting a nature positive recovery following the pandemic. Retired from the federal government, Mike is a biologist with Bachelor’s (St. Francis Xavier University) and Master’s (University of Ottawa) degrees, with the latter examining the impact of chemicals on fish and wildlife. He was with the ecosystem health group of Environment Canada for 15 years, directing the development of national environmental quality guidelines and the ecological monitoring and assessment network. Mike also worked 15 years with Parks Canada as the Executive Director of Ecological Integrity, developing monitoring and ecological restoration programs for Canada’s national parks, which are continuing today.

While captivated by the world of birds, Mike self-declares that he does not have a life list, but is very interested in advancing conservation overall in Canada and globally! He has governance experience with the National Committee of the IUCN, the Conservation Committee of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and with Ocean Bridge, a program empowering Canadian youth from coast to coast to coast to make a difference towards ocean conservation. Mike brings a wealth of familiarity in environmental matters and public engagement for conservation.