Jeffie McNeil is one of MTRI’s co-directors, along with Jane Barker. Jeffie focuses on species at risk as well as finance and budgeting. She began working with Blanding's turtles in the 1990s when she did her honor's thesis at Acadia University, followed by her MSc thesis. Upon graduation she continued working with Blanding's turtles, Eastern ribbonsnakes, and other reptiles at risk as recovery coordinator. She is a co-chair of the NS Reptile and Amphibian Recovery Team and manages the species at risk resource site. She is grateful for the chance to get to know these long-lived turtles and work with amazing volunteers, staff, students, and partners.

Colin Gray has been involved with the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute since 2008. Joining the team as a volunteer, a member of the Board of Directors, Chair of the Board of Directors and since 2013 as a regular full time staff member. Colin spent 20 years in policing before returning to his earlier passion for environmental science and research. He has had the pleasure of working with a dedicated and passionate team of researchers on a multitude of interesting projects in the past 13 years and credits the team for his success and continued enthusiasm. 

Carter Feltham officially started as a summer student with MTRI in 2014 fresh out of high school, however she had been volunteering with the Blanding’s Turtle nesting program since 2003. Through those years she has worked on several projects, but always continued with Blanding’s Turtle initiatives. She went to Acadia University for a Bachelor of Science, and ended up with an offer to do a Master's degree focusing on a newly discovered group of Blanding’s Turtles. She continually works on analyzing data for both Blanding’s Turtles and Eastern Ribbonsnakes while leading the reptile field team to monitor known populations. Most recently she has been working on analyzing habitat use of Ribbonsnakes, nesting success of Blanding’s Turtles, and creating maps in GIS. 

Abby has worked at MTRI since the fall of 2018 on a variety of forestry, outreach, and species at risk research projects. She previously graduated from the University of Northern British Columbia with a BSc. in Forest Ecology and Management, and is currently studying at the NSCC Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) toward the Geospatial Data Analytics graduate certificate. Having grown up in southwestern NS, Abby is pleased to be rooted in the community as a member of MTRI and other local organizations. In spare time she enjoys exploring the waterways of southern NS, bird watching, and roaming about in the woods. 

Laura has worked at MTRI since January of 2022, shortly after completing her Master’s degree in Resource and Environmental Management at Dalhousie University (DAL). During her time at DAL she worked with the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables on projects involving site productivity and old growth forests, combining her interest in forest ecology with her background in Geology, in which she holds a BSc. from Saint Mary’s University. Laura is currently working on developing a pilot incentives program for species at risk on private woodlots, as well as assisting with old growth forest research and outreach projects. In her spare time Laura enjoys yoga, ultimate Frisbee, tending to her extensive collection of houseplants, and hiking with her dogs.   

Brad Toms started working as a Wildlife Biologist for MTRI in 2009. Previous to that he studied seabirds and other bird species at risk for Canadian Wildlife Service, Massasauga Rattlesnakes for Parks Canada and Black Bears for the Ontario MNRF. Brad's projects almost always focus on recovering species at risk in Nova Scotia through collaborative studies and stewardship. In his spare time he enjoys staring at the ocean looking for pelagic seabirds, orienteering and spending time at Shingle Lake.