Tanya Wahbe, PhD

Experience

Tanya Wahbe (she/her) is a member of the Shouf Muwahideen people from the mountains of Lebanon, holding deep gratitude to live on ancestral and unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, səl̓ilwətaʔɬ Territories since 1994. She began her journey with The Firelight Group in 2024 as a Research Director for the Ecology team.

Since 1997, Tanya has worked as an ecological and cultural resource management professional to conserve lands and waters, at-risk species and ecosystems, and support Indigenous community-based health. She earned an MSc and PhD in wildlife ecology and population genetics from the Centre for Applied Conservation Research (UBC Faculty of Forestry) and postdoctoral fellowships in Indigenous-driven environmental health (UBC Institute for Aboriginal Health).

Tanya has worked with Indigenous nations in the Salish Sea, Clayoquot Sound, Central Coast, Haida Gwaii and West Chilcotin; universities and government organizations (US and Canada); provincial and national non-profit organizations; and the private sector. She has also worked in Perú, Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Lebanon, and Ecuador. Since 2015, Tanya has been an Adjunct Professor in the UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems, collaborating on land- based research, education and wellness initiatives and serving on graduate student supervisory committees.