Teika Newton LOWWSF International Watershed Coordinator. Teika is a long-time participant in regional watershed science, policy, and governance activities.The Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation is pleased to introduce Teika Newton as the new International Watershed Coordinator.
Teika is a long-time participant in regional watershed science, policy, and governance activities. She has served as a board member for the International Joint Commission’s International Rainy–Lake of the Woods Watershed Board, and co-chaired the Board’s Community Advisory Group, Engagement Committee, and currently the Adaptive Management Committee. Teika also has been helping to guide the IJC Board’s work on climate adaptation since 2016.
Todd Sellers, LOWWSF Executive Director, commented on the opportunity for the watershed’s future. “With Teika joining our team, the Foundation is doubling down to move projects forward that are central to a sustainability plan, including defining recommendations for international water quality objectives and a multi-nationally coordinated monitoring program, in collaboration with the IJC, Nations, and agencies in the basin.”
Teika comes to the Foundation following several years at Climate Action Network - Réseau action climat Canada, where she helped grow the network to 150 civil society member organizations and cultivate a powerful team of diplomats and climate policy experts under her leadership as Managing Director. At the local level, Teika continues to contribute as a member of the City of Kenora’s Sustainability Advisory Committee.
“After many years devoted to creating climate and environmental policy solutions for Canada, I am overjoyed to once again focus my energies and expertise on the place I call home”, commented Teika, “for me, Lake of the Woods and the Treaty 3 region is the most beautiful and precious place on the planet — a place worth protecting and stewarding for the benefit of all who are sustained here. I am elated to join the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation in continuing its mission to thoughtfully care for this precious lake and watershed, enhancing its ecological integrity through robust science, policy, and community engagement.”
Born and raised in Kenora, Teika lives with her husband Mike and their children Maya and Sam, in the off-grid house they built just outside town. Teika holds a Masters degree in evolutionary biology from the University of British Columbia.
Teika starts work in January 2023 and thereafter can be reached at