Management & Headquarters Team

Kevin Smith

CEO, Co-owner, Expedition Leader, Captain

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An adventurer and explorer all his life, and a professional mariner since the age of 18, Kevin is the leader of Maple Leaf Adventures and one of its owners. His experience as a geographer, backcountry park ranger and teacher all contribute to his vision for this respected ecotourism organization. Kevin continues Maple Leaf’s long tradition of building the framework for ecotourism on the coast, and he is an executive member of many industry organizations including a director of the Wilderness Tourism Association of BC and the Gwaii Haanas Tour Operators Association and a co-founder and director of the Commercial Bear Viewing of BC.

“Being open with your so-called competitors can help you create outrageous, never-before-dreamed successes together.”

Kevin taught high school youth and subsequently adults when he developed and taught the Ecotourism for Entrepreneurs course for North Island College in British Columbia. His 5-year tenure as a negotiator on the central coast (Great Bear Rainforest) land use plan brings a rare depth of understanding to the area’s history and current situation and resulted in his pioneering the use of protocol agreements with the region’s Indigenous nations when he took over Maple Leaf Adventures 20 years ago.

One of his career highlights so far has been envisioning and co-leading a great industry collaboration to clean the marine debris from the Great Bear Rainforest coast during the covid-19 pandemic, resulting in the removal of 750,000 pounds (337 metric tonnes) of debris – 60% of which was recycled — in an epic expedition that saved companies and over 100 coastal jobs, protected wildlife, and strengthened trust and relationships between so-called “competitors” and “regulators” — the Small Ship Tour Operators Association of BC, Coastal First Nations governments and communities, and the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. This effort inspired a multimillion-dollar, multi-year clean-up movement along the coast and raised the spirits of countless people whose livelihoods were threatened by the pandemic closures.

Kevin’s extensive marine experience began with family cruising (under sail) while growing up on this coast. To pay for his university degree he took any job that involved being on the ocean. Skill and experience developed from years as a rowing coach and sailing instructor, a Coast Guard rescue training officer and rescue boat coxswain, fisheries research vessel Captain, backcountry (marine) Park Ranger, sail training instructor, and captain on passenger carrying vessels. He is a senior bear guide certified by the Commercial Bear Viewing Association.

Kevin was raised on Salt Spring Island in the southern Gulf Islands, and, following his formal education, he was employed for a decade by the B.C. government to steward the marine parks of northern Vancouver Island and southern Great Bear. He is a strong advocate for protecting the coast. As Maple Leaf’s owner since 2001, he has continuously explored the breadth of this, North America’s last great rainforest, from Victoria to Sitka, Alaska. As an expedition leader and captain, he is a genial host whose love of B.C. and Alaska’s wilderness places is infectious.

Education & Certifications

• Fellow, Royal Canadian Geographical Society BA Geography (University of Victoria)
• Full Bear Guide (Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC)
• 60-ton Masters Limited (Transport Canada)
• 60-ton Small Vessel Machinery Operator (Transport Canada)
• Advanced Wilderness First Aid for Leaders (Slipstream)
• CPR, Oxygen, AED Dive Master (PADI)
• Backcountry recreation and tourism representative, Great Bear Rainforest land use plan Co-founder and director, Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC Director, Wilderness Tourism Association of BC

Maureen Gordon

Headquarters Team

She/Her/Hers

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Maureen grew up, like most coastal children, influenced by the beaches, ocean, and rainforest of British Columbia.

After professional work in the journalism, publishing and high-tech industries, she joined her now-husband, Kevin, in building the eco-expedition cruise company, Maple Leaf Adventures.

Maple Leaf is a pioneer in developing conservation-based travel in British Columbia and Alaska. The company was designed from the inside out as an ecotourism company in 1986 — a long time before it was cool to be green. It has a reputation for superb quality and integrity, and as such, Maple Leaf’s principles are happy to talk about issues to media — whether they be about the value of wildlife viewing versus trophy hunting; the value of conservation-based economies; or the astonishing come-back of baleen whales on the BC coast.

Maureen and her husband are not ones to shy from a challenge. They resolved to create a flourishing employer and force for good from their company that, as one flabbergasted person in 2001 said, “takes people in the fall, on a boat in the rain, ‘way up the central coast, to sit in the forest and look at a bear”. Twenty years on, they’ve won more than a dozen awards, grown the company to 20x what it was then, and employ dozens of skilled coastal residents while continuing to build conservation business with their colleagues along the coast. All while maintaining two of Canada’s heritage vessels as certified passenger vessels as well as one newer expedition catamaran in one of the world’s toughest regulatory environments.

In addition to helping to develop and manage the company, Maureen is an experienced freelance writer and speaker. She is chair of the board of Raincoast Conservation Foundation, an amazing, science-based conservation group and one of the recipients of Maple Leaf Adventures’ donations.

She lives in British Columbia, Canada.

Education & Certifications

• BA, University of Victoria
• Assistant Bear Guide, Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC
• Small Vessel Operators Proficiency, Transport Canada
• Marine Medical and Advanced Wilderness First Aid, Alert First Aid 
• Marine Emergency Duties A2, Transport Canada
• Fellow, Royal Canadian Geographical Society

Cameron St. John

Vice-president

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As Vice President of Maple Leaf Adventures, Cameron is at the helm, charting the course for the company’s growth and success. With a vision to elevate Maple Leaf Adventures into a top-tier industry leader on BC’s wild coast, Cameron oversees aspects of operations and executive functions, ensuring that every voyage exceeds expectations.

Cameron brings a wealth of experience to his role, with a background as a turnaround executive specialising in revitalizing midsized companies.

Leana Meyer

Financial Administrator

She/Her/Hers

Bio to come.

Education & Certifications

• Accounting Diploma
• Red Seal Chef
• Certificate in Computer Based Business Systems & Business Administration

Amelia Johnston

Headquarters Team

She/Her/Hers

Amelia joins the Maple Leaf Adventures team with a travel bug and a wealth of knowledge in the travel/tourism world. Her passion for photography led her to take the Applied Photography program at Sheridan Institute.

After winning a photography contest with a trip to Thailand, Amelia realized that travel pulled at her heart more than commercial photography. Amelia has since worked for the tourism and cruise ship industry in New Zealand, Europe, the Caribbean, Central America and Canada.

Amelia’s passion for travel, beautiful landscape and environmental sustainability landed her here in Victoria helping guests at Maple Leaf Adventures. If you give us a call, you’ll be greeted by her friendly voice! When not working, Amelia can be found on multi-day hikes around Vancouver Island, gardening and planning her travels. Her goal is to set foot on every continent (only Antarctica left).

Jordan Lambe

Marketing & Communications Lead

Jordan is our digital marketing specialist, a man behind many of our online communications, social media and paid advertising. Growing up in landlocked Manchester, England, Jordan caught the travel bug in his adult years, when he headed to Southeast Asia with nothing but the backpack on his shoulders. In Melbourne, Australia he cultivated his marketing craft, working with the likes of Virgin Holidays, FIJI Water and New Zealand adventurewear brand Kathmandu.

While part of our office-bound crew, Jordan has journeyed many corners of the globe, from driving the length of the Australian outback to scuba diving remote Polynesian islands. Still, there’s nowhere quite like his new home of British Columbia: “Bringing awareness to this incredible corner of the coast, and enabling folks to go out and see it in a regenerative way – it’s a dream come true.”

Outside of his professional life, Jordan is passionate about the environment, having offered pro bono social media and content support for non-profits such as Greening Australia and the Australian Conservation Foundation. This passion extends offline too, as a hobbyist wildlife photographer and digital illustrator.

Education & Certifications

• Leeds Beckett University, BA Business Studies Degree
• Certifications in Google AdWords, Google Analytics, LinkedIn for Business, and Graphic Design
• Commercial Bearviewing Certification
• PADI Licensed Open Water Diver