MEET OUR VOLUNTEER Team

Eric has been a paddler for many years. First as a canoeist, but upon finding that kayaks are more durable for the water he likes to swim in, he took a 5 hours crash course at the Gull in 2016. He quickly got an unreliable roll and has been finding new ways to wreck his kayak ever since. For those that don’t know, after 7 roll attempts he does tend to look for a t-rescue.  Parts of his sanity (and paint from various boats) pepper the continent but his new plastic love has only seen the Ottawa, Mississauga, Gull, Grand, and lock 28 on the Trent-Severn. With a knack for bringing pretty good food to our potlucks, he looks forward to being as friendly and welcoming to new members, as he has been fortunate to have experienced.

Leah fell in love with whitewater paddling when she first stepped into a kayak more than 22 years ago. Since then, her passion for the sport has only grown, taking her to exotic paddling destinations such as Mexico, Costa Rica and Chile, as well as the Grand Canyon of the Colorado and countless other rivers in Canada and the USA.  In 2007 Leah achieved the distinction of being the eldest participant ever to complete Esprit’s W.I.L.D. Program (Whitewater Intensive Leadership Development). Leah has been an active member of KWP for more than fifteen years, and thoroughly enjoys sharing her river knowledge and enthusiasm for paddling with others. Now retired and living with her husband, Wayne in the Madawaska Valley, Leah enjoys paddling much of the year, and also embraces gardening, hiking, and in winter, sports such as cross country skiing and snowshoeing.  Leah continues to share her love of river running with other paddlers as a trip leader for KWP, teaching her nephews to kayak each summer, and encouraging others to try new lines to challenge themselves on the river. Always eager for the next adventure, you will find her kayaking or canoeing down local runs, paddling the gnar gnar and exploring new rivers.

Do Yeon Lee (AKA Do) joined our board as member at large in 2023.  In 2024 he took on the Membership director position.  Do Yeon is making another switch for the 2025 season and now has transitioned into the role of Events Director.  If he stays on for a few more years, he can try all the other positions!  

DoYeon started his whitewater journey on the Ottawa River in 2017, perfectly nailing McCoys on his first attempt, comfortably sitting on a raft guided by a professional (on his first attempt in a kayak, he went into right side Phil's). When he saw the kayakers on the Ottawa River, he knew he had to give that a try. He took a weekend course at MKC in 2020 and he was hooked. The following year, he was welcomed into the community and supported by the wonderful members of KWP. As a board member, he hopes to extend the support he received to more paddlers, keeping the club a welcoming and inclusive environment for all. Do Yeon is most often seen rolling up after being flipped by Horseshoe Falls at the Minden Whitewater Preserve and rolling into campsite after midnight at OWL on Ottawa River club trips. When there's ice on the rivers, he enjoys going on diving trips, cross country skiing, and swimming the Nottawasaga River.

Chris joined KWP in 2019.  This is his third year on the KWP board, transitioning from membership director in 2022 to Social Media and IT director in 2023.   Chris designed and manages this new website.....so all the tech issues are his fault!.   When not crushing code, he spends most of his time at the Minden White Water Preserve.  He has paddled flat water for many years and has worked in the outdoor adventure industry off and on since 2003. In 2015 he took a job managing a little outdoor shop in Minden. They specialized in whitewater gear sales and lessons, which were done at the Minden White Water Preserve, just a paddle stroke from the store. By chance, the PanAm games happened to be held in Minden that same year and Chris instantly became obsessed with learning to paddle whitewater. He set upon teaching himself to kayak by watching endless YouTube instructionals and practicing obsessively. In 2016 he achieved his L2/I2 instructors certification and received a swift water rescue technician certificate in 2023.   Chris has a passion for helping others achieve their goals. When he’s not crying for his mommy while getting an unplanned, yet epic surf in left-side Horseshoe (Ottawa), Chris enjoys wilderness survival, wild edibles, hiking, X-country skiing, wild ice skating adventures and really anything to get away from this soul sucking screen! For the record, he makes the best spicy pickled wild leeks.

Growing up in northern Ontario, Wayne developed a passion for the outdoors very early in life. His love of whitewater paddling started in 2004. Since then, most holidays have involved paddling, exploring rivers in Ontario and Quebec, the Southeastern United States, Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica. In 2019 Wayne and Leah retired and moved to the Madawaska Valley to be closer to the rivers and outdoors they both love. When not paddling, you can expect to find Wayne taking photographs, hiking, foraging in the woods, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Having been quite involved with organizing kayak festivals in the past and volunteering for Whitewater Ontario, especially for River Advocacy, Wayne has decided to step up and help out on the KWP Board with Communication. If you have anything you want to share with the club in a newsletter, be it a story or photos, send it to Wayne, by email, at KWPsecretary@gmail.com.

DJ is new to the board this year but has been a member of KWP since 2018. He has volunteered and participated in a number of club events over the years with MACKFest being his favourite (the start of the paddling year). His canoeing experience started off as solo and tandem flatwater canoe trips across Eastern and Central Ontario. His first true whitewater canoeing experiences occurred in 2003 and 2013 with trips to James bay via the Harricana and Missinaibi Rivers. In 2017, he bought his first whitewater canoe (an old Dagger Rival), and he continues to enjoy unplanned swims in Ontario and Quebec all year round. When not white water paddling (which is not often enough) he continues to enjoy  wilderness flatwater tripping, being a Scout Leader (especially the week long canoe camp), woodworking, and cross country skiing. He finds that work gets in the way of canoeing (there are rivers outside of Ontario, right?) and plans to retire (or at least semi-retire) in a few years. As a member of the board he hopes to help grow the community and help with river advocacy.

Hi all, no one stepped up to fill this position for the 2025 season, but you can still send us an email to the address above and one of our other board members will respond.     Please consider volunteering next year.  

Thanks, 

The 2025 KWP Board of Directors Team.