Melissa Tesche Named New OBWB Executive DirectorTesche, originally from northern Alberta, moved to the Okanagan with her husband in 2008 to pursue a master’s degree in Conservation Biology at UBC Okanagan. Her research took her across the valley’s lakes, where she spent summers studying painted turtles and deepening her appreciation for the region’s interconnected water systems. From 2010 to 2012, she worked at OBWB, covering a maternity leave placement, where she developed a passion for local governments collaborating on shared water challenges. She then spent nearly a decade leading the Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release Program, during which she started a family and put down roots in Kelowna. Most recently, she served as General Manager of the BC Fruit Growers’ Association, successfully guiding the organization through a year of multiple crises, before returning to OBWB as Executive Director.
