Candy McManiman

"I joined AFC in 2001 (then World Wide Nature Artist Group) where members donate a portion of art sales to conservation groups of our choice, to help preserve the flora and fauna that inspires our art. Painting what we love and supporting conservation and education makes this an unique organization!

Candy has been honing her photo and art skills since public school. She grew up in the Southern Georgian Bay area eventually teaching near Algonquin Park until she returned to College and University. With a Design Arts honours diploma and a BA in religion/native studies she then worked as an Interior Designer in Toronto and later returned to teaching. In the early 80’s, she and her late ecologist spouse Paul Prevett, planted a Carolinian forest on 4-5 acres they acquired. In 2000 Candy took an early retirement from teaching art and photography and they travelled to every continent, birdwatching. A Signature member of AFC and member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, when at home she enjoys the wood ducks at boxes from her patio and the other wildlife of the Carolinean forest covering most of her property.

Directors & Advisors

With the assistance of our international Board of Directors and Advisory Board, AFC continues to set a standard of excellence as the world's leading non-profit group dedicated to support the environment through art. We are grateful to the people who help strengthen our mission, business practices, partnerships and financial stability by providing their time, talent and expertise to our cause.

Brent Cooke

AFC BOD; Signature Member

"As an artist specializing in wildlife, I am constantly approached by a wide range of organizations seeking support for their own various causes.

Joyce Trygg

Advisor, Signature Member, Patron

Joyce Trygg was born in Antigonish and as a child she lived close to nature at Cross Roads, Country Harbour in Nova Scotia. She surrounded herself with every animal she could adopt and find a place for in her family's small home . These pets were her first "models". Joyce drew constantly throughout her childhood and art was one of her majors in high school.

Suzie Seerey-Lester

Advisor, Signature Member

Suzie Seerey-Lester is a highly accomplished artist and instructor, and a dedicated conservationist in the field, and through her art. Suzie was honored by the Raymond James Financial Organization in “Women in Arts,” and has had her artwork published in “The Best of Oil Painting” book. Suzie is also an author and instructor in the art marketing field and authored the book “My Painting is Done—Now What Do I Do?”.

Stephen Quinn

Advisor, fmr Director

Stephen C. Quinn is an award-winning artist, naturalist, author and world-authority has spent a lifetime exploring the natural world and working in a career at the intersection of art and science. Quinn joined the staff of the American Museum of Natural History in 1974, after graduating from the Ridgewood School of Art and Design, where he apprenticed under such diorama-art masters as Raymond deLucia, Robert Kane, and David J. Schwendeman.

Victor Elderton

Advisor

In June 2016 Victor retired from his formal education work as a Vice Principal at Norgate Community Elementary in North Vancouver SD. At Norgate he continued his primary work on nature and placed based experiential learning for children and families. Prior to this appointment Victor was a teacher and Principal Co-Administrator for the North Vancouver Outdoor School (re-branded as the Cheakamus Centre) where he worked for 28 years.

Guy Combes

Advisor; Signature Member

Aside from his career as an artist, Guy Combes is US Development Director for Soysambu Conservancy and sits on the board of Friends of Soysambu Conservancy, a US based non-profit fundraising organization. He has raised tens of thousands of dollars for a project to build mobile cattle enclosures to mitigate human-wildlife conflict and ensure that lions can continue to roam free on 48,000 acres of ideal habitat in Kenya’s central Rift Valley.

William Whiting

Managing Director; Co-Founder

Bill has 30 years of industrial and trade policy experience with the Canadian Federal Government. A Professional Engineer with a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA), he was a senior executive for a number of years with the Industry Department, where he managed a staff of senior professionals before his retirement.

Antonio Fins

Director AFCIF

Antonio Fins is the Politics and TrumpWatch editor at the Palm Beach Post. Most recently, Antonio led efforts to cover the 2018 midterm elections and recounts. He curates a weekly newsletter with 122,0000 statewide subscribers and is a producer of two podcasts, Inside Florida Politics and Real Donald Trump. Antonio got his start in journalism as a correspondent for Business Week magazine in the Miami bureau.

Darcy Dobell

Advisor, fmr Director

Darcy Dobell is a seasoned NGO executive known for creativity, authentic community and stakeholder engagement, inspired alliance-building, and operational excellence. She has a strong record of success in organizational leadership and development, and a proven ability to unite diverse interests and teams around shared goals. Darcy also draws on a firmly-rooted personal commitment to ecology and community.

Dr. Robert Butler

Advisory Board; Signature Member

Dr. Rob Butler is an ornithologist, author, and artist. He holds a graduate degree from Simon Fraser University (MSc) and the University of British Columbia (PhD). He spent 40 years mostly with the Canadian Wildlife Service as a biologist and then a scientist researching birds. Rob is an adjunct professor of Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser University and has published over 140 works for scientific and popular audiences.

Robert Bateman

Advisory Board (Honorary Chair); Signature Member

Born in Toronto, Robert Bateman has been a keen artist and naturalist from his early days, and is renowned internationally as a force for environmental education and conservation of our natural world. Bateman's artwork has received international critical acclaim and has attracted an enormous and distinguished following. Bateman's realistic painting style, featuring wildlife in its habitat, encourages the viewer to examine the natural world.