ICOMOS Canada’s board elections are now live! ICOMOS Canada is looking to fill 6 vacancies on the board, and received 4 qualifying applications. Members may vote to affirm the candidates, who’s profiles can be found in this post with candidate statements are linked.
All current members should have now received voting information for the current ICOMOS Canada Board of Directors nominations. As per section 41 and 49 of the Bylaws, Directors shall be elected by electronic ballot of the Members.
Results of the election will be announced and ratified at our General Meeting which will take place over Zoom on December 16, 2025 at 12pm EST. Elected Directors take office at the close of the meeting.
Please contact secretariat@canada.icomos.org if you are a member in good standing and you did not receive a ballot, if you require access information for the General Meeting, or if you require additional information or assistance.
Candidate Profiles and statements
Elana Zysblat
Elana Zysblat, BFA, CAHP, ICOMOS – is the Principal Heritage Consultant with Ance Building Services, based in Vancouver, BC. Formerly the Programming Director for the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, Elana has practiced as an independent heritage professional since 2011. Her firm provides heritage conservation planning services, as well as support, education and workshops for local governments, Indigenous communities and Heritage Commissions. Elana is past President of the BC Association of Heritage Professionals (BCAHP) and past Vice President of CAHP.
Candidate Statement:
Having served the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals, both at a provincial level in British Columbia (BCAHP 2016-2022) and at a national level (CAHP) since 2022, I have now completed my board terms and remain involved with a few CAHP and BCAHP committees.
I have always been curious about ICOMOS Canada’s work and activities, and I often refer to and cite UNESCO charters and approaches in my policy work, but until I was able to step down from directing the BCAHP and CAHP boards, I couldn’t dedicate the time.
My international training and experience in cultural tourism in the Middle East and in Europe is an aspect of my professional career that I have put on the back burner in the last two decades of work in BC, and I now feel an appetite to re-immerse in big picture, national and international thinking and policy. I am especially passionate about leading the adaptation of the heritage conservation field in Canada to evolving societal, political, and environmental contexts. It is for this reason that I decided to join ICOMOS after attending the ICOMOS Canada session during the Montreal 2024 National Trust conference.
As a leader in the conservation field on a local level in Vancouver, then on a provincial level in BC and in recent years on a national level, I align wholeheartedly with ICOMOS’ mission to raise the quality of conservation locally, nationally and internationally. I am also immensely motivated to continue to raise awareness about the value of conservation and its principles in this climate and housing crisis. I enjoy my role teaching emerging and existing professionals as well as sitting on the CAHP Advocacy Committee – both these activities raise awareness and capacity in our field.
The promotion of conservation principles, methodologies, and lessons from around the world is an effort I would like to invest in through the ICOMOS lens. There is so much bridge building, collaboration, and capacity building that still needs to happen within our field as well as advocacy for the importance of conservation externally to our local governments, our politicians, our construction industry, our regional economies and our international peers.
I believe my role on the ICOMOS Canada Board could focus on partnership building and alignment with the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals, a steadily growing organization that is gaining momentum and voice, and exploring how ICOMOS could capitalize on the commonalties and differences with CAHP and other related groups to raise national awareness for heritage conservation, as well as the relevancy, impact and quality of the conservation itself.
My strong professional connections and breadth of experience in British Columbia, both in the heritage field, as well as in academia, government, construction and development, could bring BC’s unique innovative and energetic conservation perspective and challenges to the ICOMOS Canada board. I have also been fortunate to have had several opportunities to work with indigenous communities here in BC, and have established strong working and personal relationship with several, especially with Ktunaxa leaders. Together we have carried out heritage initiatives, including co-authored heritage projects and co-led courses about reconciliation and partnerships. This evolving capacity and understanding garnered through Indigenous mentors informs all my work and relationships.
My personal objectives on the board would be to explore ways and opportunities to revitalize ICOMOS Canada’s engagement in the heritage practitioner’s world and bring more value and engagement to ICOMOS members in Canada.
Ameneh Karimian
Ameneh Karimian is a Policy Analyst at the B.C. Government with an M.A. in Architecture. A longtime ICOMOS member, she brings over a decade of international, cross-sectoral experience spanning government, academia, Indigenous and local communities, and UNESCO-affiliated institutions. She has extensive experience in heritage documentation and policy research, and is particularly passionate about embedding cultural heritage and traditional knowledge into disaster risk management and climate adaptation strategies.
Candidate Statement:
I am writing to express my keen interest in serving on the ICOMOS Canada Board of Directors. With a multidisciplinary background bridging cultural heritage conservation and disaster risk management, I bring both a deep commitment to safeguarding heritage and a practical understanding of how heritage contributes to community resilience in a changing world. My professional and academic journey has equipped me with research, policy analysis, and project development experience that aligns with ICOMOS Canada’s mission to promote the conservation of cultural heritage in all its forms and diversity.
Over the past decade, my work has focused on documenting and revitalizing cultural heritage systems that embody sustainability and traditional knowledge. I have contributed to the documentation of several heritage assets for potential inscription on the National and UNESCO World Heritage Lists. In my former role as a Senior Research Analyst at the Natural Disasters Research Institute (NDRI) in Iran, I helped establish collaborations that strengthened institutional ties between heritage and disaster management sectors. I connected ICOMOS Iran with NDRI, resulting in a signed memorandum of understanding. I also initiated a partnership between NDRI and Ritsumeikan University in Japan (where I had previously participated in a cultural heritage training course) and organized a well-received international webinar on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage. I believe I can use these experiences when serving as a member of ICOMOS Canada Board of Directors.
If elected, my vision for ICOMOS Canada is to further its role as a dynamic platform connecting Canadian expertise with global dialogues in heritage conservation. I believe ICOMOS Canada can expand its reach by actively engaging more professionals, scholars, and students across provinces and territories, fostering interdisciplinary exchange, and promoting inclusivity in heritage practices.
I see particular opportunities in:
- Expanding membership and engagement: Encouraging greater participation from emerging professionals and diverse communities, especially by creating mentorship and learning opportunities through webinars, workshops, and volunteer initiatives.
- Strengthening international collaboration: Hosting thematic sessions with international experts to share Canada’s conservation experiences and to learn from successful practices abroad.
- Integrating climate resilience into conservation practice: Given Canada’s increasing exposure to floods, wildfires, and other natural hazards, ICOMOS Canada can play a leading role in advancing policies and research that integrate heritage conservation with disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation.
- Championing Indigenous and intangible heritage: Promoting initiatives that incorporate Indigenous worldviews and traditional knowledge in heritage documentation, conservation, and management.
- Advancing nominations and recognition: Supporting efforts to nominate additional Canadian heritage assets for national and international recognition, showcasing the country’s cultural and natural diversity.
I also bring experience in securing and managing project funding, including a €15,000 grant I secured in 2022 under the Net Zero Project: Heritage for Climate Action, which integrated traditional knowledge into climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies. Using these experiences, I believe I can contribute to ICOMOS Canada’s strategic planning and fundraising initiatives, ensuring long-term program sustainability.
I am fully committed to serving actively on the Board and attending all meetings and related activities if elected. I also affirm my commitment to supporting ICOMOS Canada’s collaborative, inclusive, and forward-looking approach to heritage conservation. As a racialized professional born in Iran and now based in Canada, I identify as belonging to a historically disadvantaged group and strongly value the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion that guide ICOMOS Canada’s work.
Katharine Lochnan
Katharine lives in Ontario. She is Senior Curator Emeritus, Art Gallery of Ontario where she worked from 1969-2017 retiring as Senior Curator International Exhibitions. She was appointed sessional lecturer at the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto from 2017-2024. An art historian, she holds an Hon. B.A. and M.A. from the University of Toronto and Ph.D. from the Courtauld Institute, University of London. She was appointed an expert member of PRERICO in 2023.
Candidate Statement
I am a semi-retired museum curator specialized in decorative and fine arts. I have spent 50 years working in or with museums in Canada, the United States, France and Britain. I have mentored several young Canadian museum professionals who keep in touch with me. I am keen to use my lifetime of experience to help emerging professionals.
I am applying to sit on the board of ICOMOS Canada because I see this as a critical moment to offer to put my personal and professional experience to work to help preserve Canadian monuments and sites. I am afraid that, given the pressure to build housing and extract minerals at unprecedented speed, much of our built history and natural landscape could be destroyed if we do not identify and preserve significant buildings and landscapes.
I believe that preserving monuments and sites is of the greatest importance to understanding who we are as a people. As Charlotte Gray has pointed out, they are primary documents of Canadian history. As a Canadian child growing up in England, I fell in love with British history by visiting historical sites which brought the past to life. When I began to study history at the universities of Ottawa and Toronto in the late 1960s, I wanted to study cultural and social history but found it focused on colonization, politics and economics. Although I continued to study history, I switched to Art History which encompassed archaeology, art and architecture. To-day history as a discipline is being challenged and is not seen as an important area for study. Given the current political situation I believe that the future existence of our country will depend, in large part, on how we perceive ourselves as a historical and cultural entity.
I was introduced to the conservation and restoration of art and artifacts at the Royal Ontario Museum and Art Gallery of Ontario where I was put in charge of building the paper lab. I have been involved in the many issues surrounding the designation, preservation and restoration of historic buildings as a member of the Toronto Historical Board. I have hands-on experience in the restoration of a 19th century Victorian townhouse in Toronto and a 19th century stone farm house in Grey County.
I want to do everything I can to assist in the process of reconciliation. I am keen to support indigenous initiatives and play an active role where appropriate. As a longstanding member of the Canadian Cultural Property Review Board I am familiar with the complex issues surrounding the export of indigenous artefacts and their repatriation. I encouraged NUIG Galway to send the Maliseet canoe to Canada for restoration. I am giving my own small collection of bead and quill work to the collection of the Environment Office of Parks Canada at the Saugeen Ojibway Nation near Cape Croker.
The constantly changing Canadian cultural mosaic requires recalibrating our definition of Canadian heritage. I believe in inclusivity and the importance of preserving monuments and sites created by different ethnic groups. I am of Irish descent and sat on the board of the Canada Ireland Foundation which has been raising public awareness of the reception of Famine immigrants in “Black ‘47” by marking sites of importance to the Irish community.
I believe in encouraging groups of volunteers to help the cause. In the late 1980s, my late husband, George Yost (a restoration architect and planner), and I noticed that the beautifully proportioned pre-Confederation Leith United Church, burial place of Tom Thomson, was boarded up and deteriorating. We formed the Sydenham Township LACAC which conducted research, applied for designation, raised funds, received provincial matching grants, and spun off a ”Friends” group. The church was restored by the Friends and has been the venue of the hugely successful Leith Summer Concert series for over 25 years. It remains a volunteer operation and is a community gathering place once again. It is open to visitors on summer Sunday afternoons.
I would like to be on the board because I want to learn more about the vision of ICOMOS Canada and how I can support it. I also want to meet and discuss current issues with others. I can confirm that, if elected, I will serve and attend board meetings.
Aliaksei Fearenka
Aliaksei is a senior member of the Capital Conservation Services team, providing leadership in specifications, materials testing, condition assessments, and conservation strategy for complex heritage projects. He holds degrees in Art History and Archaeology (Aix-Marseille), Built Heritage Diagnosis and Restoration, and an MA from the University of Montréal. His experience includes major monuments in France, Parliament Hill’s West Block rehabilitation, and ICCROM’s Stone Conservation Course. At CCS, he leads the key projects at the Centre Block.
Candidate Statement
I, Aliaksei Fedarenka, hereby submit my candidacy for the Board of Directors of ICOMOS Canada with commitment, conviction, and a deep sense of responsibility toward the conservation of cultural heritage. Although I have been a member of ICOMOS Canada only since 2025, I strongly support its mission: to promote excellence in professional practice and to strengthen awareness and understanding of built and archaeological heritage in Canada and internationally.
I am also an active member of the Canadian Association of Professional Conservators (CAPC-ACRP) since 2019 and have served on its Board of Directors since 2025. In this capacity, I contributed to the creation of a new accreditation category in Building Conservation: Masonry, intended to provide Canadian heritage stewards with a trusted means of identifying qualified professionals bound by a rigorous code of ethics. CAPC-ACRP remains the only Canadian organization that formally validates conservation expertise, integrity, and professional ethics through a structured accreditation process.
With more than twenty years of experience in architectural conservation, I have led or overseen numerous projects ranging from condition assessments to full-scale rehabilitations. My professional strengths include preparing specifications, conducting materials testing, carrying out condition assessments, writing technical reports, and developing conservation strategies for complex heritage structures.
If elected, I commit to:
- contributing thoughtfully and actively to the strategic direction of ICOMOS Canada;
- participating regularly and reliably in Board meetings and committee work;
- leveraging my professional network to strengthen collaborations with heritage organizations, provincial authorities, academic institutions, and international partners;
- promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion to ensure broad representation of regional, cultural, and disciplinary perspectives;
- supporting ICOMOS Canada’s efforts to engage emerging professionals and foster renewal within the conservation field.
I fully understand the fiduciary, legal, and strategic responsibilities associated with this role. If elected, I will serve with diligence, integrity, and transparency throughout the mandate.
I would be honoured to contribute my experience, energy, and commitment to ICOMOS Canada and to support its mission of safeguarding cultural heritage.