Shaun Leonoff (she/hers) grew up in Winnipeg but spent all her summers outdoors at her grandparents cottage at Laclu, Ontario where she was a “free range child” roaming the forests and canoeing on the lake with no boundaries. If she was not at the lake, she was camping with her parents all over Manitoba. Her father was a long time Scout leader who believed every child should be skilled in bushcraft and her mother was a conservationist long before the general population understood the need to protect our land.
Shaun moved to Ste. Anne to be closer to nature, was hired at Ste. Anne Hospital and started a family. She added 4 children and assorted pets to the family. While raising her children, she became very involved in the community, chairing the Parks and Rec Board for several years, participating in safety advisory committees for Seine River School Division, member of the Southeastman District Health Advisory Committee and a Scout Leader for 20 years including co-leading the first Scout Troop for girls in Canada. She was also always the camp volunteer parent for school camping trips, teaching canoeing and creating adventures.
Shaun believes strongly that children need to be part of nature in order to thrive and grow to be caring, empathetic adults. Making a career change midlife, Shaun has been employed at Assiniboine Park for the past 14 years, developing and growing their volunteer program to its current size of over 1000 volunteers ranging in age from 14 to 90 years. For Shaun, working in the park is not really “working” because everyday she gets to share her love of the natural world with like-minded people in a park and zoo.