7 Leagues Crew
CEO & Chief Visionary
Tasha is a curious entrepreneur, attuned to social enterprise and keen on business models successful not just on a commercial level but also designed to enhance the wellbeing of individuals, communities, and the environment. When she encountered a group of Vancouver artists teaching themselves small-batch fish leather tanning, she set out to research and test the market for scaling that idea up from artisanal handwork to commercial production for job creation and wider impact. Building a new type of manufacturing business that will blaze a way forward (re)using local, sustainable resources is what gets her up in the morning. Oh, and she has a serious shoe habit. 7 Leagues Leather is the result.
Tasha Nathanson
Director of Tannery
Research & operations
Minh is an experienced leather technologist with a First – Class Degree in BSc (Hons) Leather Technology from the University of Northampton, UK. His interest in circular economy and vegetable tannins are his main motivations for immigrating from Vietnam to Canada, to work on the 7 Leagues team. He calls himself a “pro-caffeinating” person - with the tendency not to start anything until he has had a cup of coffee.
Minh Thieu
Tannery & Research manager
Lacey is an experienced research scientist and lab manager with a passion for biomaterials that come from nature. She has a PhD in Chemistry from Queen’s University and 6 years of experience working in industry, researching ways to make and break down biomaterials and develop new applications for their circular use in commercial value chains. She joined 7 Leagues to manage the tannery’s day-to-day operations and fish leather research. When Lacey is not in the lab, she can be found writing poetry or walking in nature taking pictures of mushrooms
Lacey Reid
Chief finanical Officer
John is a conjurer of finance and strategy, leveraging his years in the Fairtrade movement, his MBA & CPA, as well as his experience as CEO of Realize Strategies (an advisory services firm for purpose-driven businesses) and Hyperion (an accounting firm). If we don’t keep a close eye on him in good weather, he’s likely to be up and down the coast on his Ericson sailboat.
John Kay
SUstainable design Manager
Nicole has a love of costuming and dressing up that most people only experience during Halloween. It sparked her design and sewing journey, fueled her education in Theatre Production and Design at UBC and led her into costuming in the film industry. She recently finished a Sustainable Business Leadership Diploma hoping to combine sustainability with textiles, and that is how she joined 7 Leagues as the Sustainability Manager. During her spare time you can find her organizing her personal costume collection, thrift shopping or creating something new.
Nicole Bairstow
head of brand & marketing
Jen has been designing and creating in one way or another her whole life. A graduate of Emily Carr University of Art & Design, she started her design career creating shoes at John Fluevog, and has since worked across a wide range of industries as a brand designer. She is currently Creative Director at Science World and Co-Founder at Otto Studio, and spends free time rollerskating and hanging with her pup, Cosmo.
Jen Cook
Chief Advisor
Gunnsteinn brings us wise advice borne of experience. After running the famed Atlantic Leather tannery in Iceland for 30 years, he now works as a business consultant in tanning and the sale of leather. He is a graduate of the agricultural university Hólar and received tanning technician certification in 1992. Active in Kiwanis and local government, Gunnsteinn is dedicated to making the world better through service, community-building, and family. Never one to be pigeon-holed and bored due to Covid's lull, he also recently worked aboard a fishing boat, spending 5 weeks in rough seas, hauling lumpfish out from beneath the waves.
Gunnsteinn Björnsson
Marketing & Indigenous partnerships officer
Jackson is a devotee of the world of Indigenous Business and social enterprise, as well as a graduate of UBC Commerce. He came to us first through the BC Tech Association’s HyperTalent Indigenous Internship and was so good, we couldn’t let him go. He now guides our Indigenous Partnerships Strategy. Depending on the season, you can find Jackson in the wild - either paddling Burrard Inlet, skiing, or mountain biking in Vancouver’s local mountains.
Jackson Rogers
chief morale officer
Finkelman is 7 Leagues’ Chief Morale Officer. Quick to disrupt unproductive stress-induced ruminations, he also frequently points to research that movement can unlock creative thought and problem-solving. When not at work, he can be found at the park, sniffing and wrestling with friends, or at home disemboweling his collection of rat stuffies.
Finkelman Ratberg
Alumni
Digital Marketing coordinator
Talya is an International Economics student at UBC with a passion for environmental economics, particularly environmental justice and resource conservation. Her experience in marketing & research, combined with advocacy for sustainable and ethical practices, makes her a great fit for 7 Leagues' digital communications and brand growth work. Outside of academics and work, you can find her skiing in the winter, mountain biking in the summer, and honing her painting skills all year round!
Spring 2023
Talya Ghert
Digital Marketing coordinator
Bianca is an experienced graphic designer and budding fashion marketing consultant. She came to 7 Leagues for the Fall 2020 semester through coursework at Lasalle College. Influenced by her life in Brazil, a year in Norway, immigration to Canada, plus Harajuku street fashion, Bianca has a multicultural perspective on trends and communication. She lives boldly in Vancouver, far from her roots but cozy with her husband and two cats.
Fall 2020
Bianca Bittencourt
