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Speakers

Adam Norris

Adam completed a Bachelor of Environmental Science at the University of Alberta and spent time abroad and working as a forestry consultant before doing a Master of Science degree in Environment Management at Royal Roads University. Since 2012 he has worked as the Watershed Coordinator at the Mighty Peace Watershed Alliance, which is a not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder, non-governmental organization. In this position Adam provides technical advice on watershed planning and policy as well as managing projects.

Other activities in his life include involvement with conservation and community organizations, mushroom-picking, fishing, hunting and off the grid living. His two kids and their questions constantly remind him that biology is immensely practical and useful.

Alec Carrigy

Alec has been a project manager with the Alberta Water Council (AWC) and its sister organization, the Clean Air Strategic Alliance, for four years. The work is primarily supporting multi-stakeholder consensus-based project teams complete work to support improvement in air and water-related outcomes in Alberta. He has worked on the source water protection project since it began in 2021. Prior to AWC, he worked in water management consulting. He holds an Master of Science in Biology from the University of New Mexico and Bachelor of Science in Ecology from the University of Alberta.

Andrew Ambrocichuk

Andrew, P.Eng., is a civil engineer and the founder and CEO of Hydrasurvey. He has over 10 years experience completing bathymetric surveys on engineered lagoons and ponds and a marine construction background.

Arthur Mohr

Arthur is the Founder and CRO of Sniffer Robotics. Arthur has over 35 years of senior-level sales/marketing, business development, and operational leadership experience in the waste, solar photovoltaic, and automotive industries at companies including ESI, Carlisle, Energy Conversion Devices, and Saint-Gobain. His experience extends internationally as well, with extensive business experience in various countries and an expatriate assignment in Germany. 

He has focussed this experience in forming Sniffer Robotics, a leading technology-enabled services company focussed on emissions management and related services to benefit operations and the environment. Arthur earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Michigan State University.

Ben Dahl

Ben is the GIS Technician with Aquatera Utilities. With six years of experience in mapping utilities, data management, and asset management analysis. He works closely with field operations in the use of work order management software and field data collection software. In his spare time, Ben enjoys woodworking and hiking.

Brett Hambley

Since joining AWI in 2011, Brett has been involved in numerous filter optimization projects across Canada. Throughout these experiences, he has gained an appreciation for the fact that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer to filter optimization and each location will require a site-specific approach to optimization. Brett has a passion for sharing his experiences and knowledge by regularly presenting at the various industry conferences, contributing valuable insights to the water treatment community. In addition to conferences, Brett conducts inspections, studies, and operator training sessions at water treatment facilities across Canada on a monthly basis. When he is not working, Brett can be found spending time with his family and playing music.

Brian Wirbelauer

Coming soon!

Charlotte Glenn

Charlotte was born and raised in Grande Prairie and enjoys traveling and golfing. She cherishes time with her husband and family, finding joy and balance in their shared adventures. She is a dedicated and accomplished professional known for her exceptional leadership and people skills. Her commitment to excellence and passion for fostering strong relationships have solidified her reputation as a formidable force in the industry.

At ElevationHR, Charlotte has spearheaded numerous personal and professional development programs, specializing in communication skills and third-party resolution. Her ability to design and implement effective training programs, both on-site and off-site, has greatly benefited clients and their employees. As a qualified mediator with extensive conflict resolution training, Charlotte excels in navigating complex situations with grace and expertise. Her deep knowledge and unwavering dedication to continuous learning make her a standout trainer and advisor in the field of human resources and development.

Christine Donovan

Christine is the Water and Wastewater Operator Certification Acting Team Lead based out of Grande Prairie and has been with the Government of Alberta for 10 years. Christine ensures that the operator certification program is effectively coordinated, providing direction to municipal and industrial facility operators, consulting staff and maintaining all pertinent data regarding operator certification within water and wastewater operations in Alberta. Christine is passionate about learning and development, is outgoing and enjoys camping, fishing, golfing and loves a good book!

Dalen Crouse

Dalen is a seasoned technical sales representative with 15 years of experience in the industry. Throughout his career, he has delivered numerous presentations at conferences, offering CEU credits to operators and engineers. Dalen’s expertise in technical sales, combined with his ability to communicate complex concepts effectively, has made him a respected speaker in the field.

Danielle Hessler

Two Twelve Consulting and The Agency Founder and Senior Human Resources Consultant, Danielle, is action-driven, results-oriented and energized by solving problems. Danielle deeply cares about growing her business, supporting others and serving her community, drawing from over 15 years of HR experience to generously share her knowledge and expertise, empowering her clients, employees and others along the way.

Danielle started her career as a human resources consultant for Peace Country Health, which amalgamated with Alberta Health Services, and then went on to become the Director of Human Resources for Grande Prairie Regional College. Although Danielle is well-versed in all key areas of human resources, she specializes in employee and labour relations, performance management and recruitment.

Dave Hare

Dave is the Health and Safety Manager for Aquatera. He holds a Health and Safety Certificate from the University of Alberta and has been a Canadian Registered Safety Professional since 2010. Dave has over 25 years experience in the health and safety field, within several industries such as the chemical industry, oil and gas and the electrical industry.

Dave Miendertsma

Coming soon!

Dhaval Vaghasiya

Dhaval, a chemical engineering graduate, having completed a dual Masters Degree in Environmental Management and Energy, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Calgary. This solidified his expertise in water and wastewater treatment, with a particular focus on aeration design.

Since joining ACC Water Solutions Inc. in 2021, Dhaval has been pivotal in addressing clients’ water-related challenges across Canada. His focus on aeration and oxygenation has allowed ACC to emerge as an industry leader in designing aeration/oxygenation systems and accurately predicting the outcomes of their projects. Known for his technical proficiency and innovative approach, Dhaval is a recognized authority in the field, frequently contributing to advancements in water management through research and technical presentations.

Diane Dix

Coming soon!

Garnet Dawes

Garnet is ISL's Community Development Manager with 17 years of expertise in public and private municipal servicing and development. He has extensive experience in project planning, management, and detailed design of municipal systems and private sites across Alberta.

Garrett Scott

Garrett is ISL's Core Power Platform developer, utilizing his expertise to craft dynamic solutions, including databases and low-code applications.

George Bontus

George, P.Eng., is the Director of Engineering at Insituform Technologies Limited, overseeing all aspects of pressure pipe lining across North America, including marketing, design, estimating, and project management. He is responsible for the design and review of CIPP liners in both gravity and pressure pipe applications throughout Canada.

Active in the AWWA, George has contributed to the revision of Manual M28 - Watermain Rehabilitation and currently chairs the NASTT NW Chapter. With over 20 years of experience, he has delivered numerous papers and courses on trenchless technology and is an approved instructor for the NASTT CIPP Good Practices course.

George has also presented at the ASCE Pipelines Conference and served as Track Chair for the 2024 conference. Before joining Insituform in 2004, he spent over 15 years as a senior project manager with municipal consulting firms and five years as a senior hydraulic engineer with the City of Edmonton Drainage Services.

He is a Registered Professional Engineer in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.

Grant Dixon

Grant is the Manager of Regional Water with ATAP Infrastructure Management Ltd. Grant has over 35 years experience in both water and wastewater systems’ operations and administration, including experience as a utility operator, manager and CAO. This diverse background led him to provide training for operators and clients, for municipalities and First Nation clients.

Ian Perry

After graduating with a Civil Engineering Technology Diploma from NAIT in 1996, Ian started his career with the City of Grande Prairie Engineering Department. In 2003, he moved to Aquatera Utilities where he has held roles as Project Technologist, Asset Manager and currently as Asset Management and Planning Manager. During his time with Aquatera he has managed numerous water and wastewater capital projects, subdivision development inspections and asset management initiatives. In 2018, he oversaw the implementation of Cityworks, Aquatera's CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software), allowing Aquatera to manage their assets more effectively, plan maintenance work and track key performance indicators.

Jessica Schultz

Jessica is an experienced educational leader, currently serving as the Academic and Curriculum Director at San Roberto International School in Monterrey, Mexico. Previously, she was a middle school Principal for nine years. Jessica holds degrees from the University of Alberta, TEC de Monterrey, and Framingham University, along with an International Principalship Certificate from the Principal Training Center.

She has contributed to the arts community in Grande Prairie, Alberta, and was the theme song singer for the 1995 Winter Games. Jessica has delivered keynote speeches, TEDx talks, and published articles in TIE Magazine and other international publications. She co-hosted the podcast "Broads a-Broad" and appeared on the "AI in ED Podcast."

Jessica has led dozens of workshops and conferences internationally on themes such as leadership, goal setting, engagement strategies, and other professional development topics. She is dedicated to helping learners explore their potential through education and the arts.

Jody Malo

Jody has worked in the water industry for over 30 years after graduating from UBC in Vancouver, BC. Previously Jody was the Director of Sales for Singer Valve, an automatic control valve manufacturer for the water industry based in British Columbia. At Singer he traveled the world teaching engineers, municipal workers, and well as contractors on all key aspects of control valves. He taught course on maintenance and troubleshooting, as well valve selection on applications ranging from basic to difficult. During his seven years at Singer, Jody taught and spoke at water conferences around the globe, as well as oversaw Singer’s training programs at the factory.

John Hudson

John is a professional engineer with over 40 years of experience in safety, training and various technical areas for electric utilities and the oil and gas industry. He has leveraged online, classroom and on-the-job learning learning to create effective blended approaches to support rapidly growing organizations. Recently, he has also acted as a General Manager overseeing water and wastewater operations. In the technical area of bonding and grounding, John was instrumental in developing the bonding and grounding approaches used by utilities and hydrovac operations across Canada and providing the training to help operators understand and manage the dangers of electricity.

Jonathan Lee

Coming soon!

Jordan Van Shane

Coming soon!

Kate Polkovsky

Coming soon!

Kelvin Browne

Kelvin has over 20 years of experience in the mechanical contracting field and holds a Journeyperson Plumbing Ticket, a General Gas Ticket and is a certified Cross Connection Control Specialist. Before joining ATAP, he successfully owned and managed a local plumbing and heating company. His diverse background encompasses residential, commercial, and industrial mechanical projects, offering a multifaceted range of experiences and valuable construction insights.

In addition to his wealth of knowledge, Kelvin possesses remarkable troubleshooting skills. He is well-versed in pump maintenance and controls, proficient at valve identification and servicing, and highly knowledgeable in hydronic and forced air heating, plumbing, and water treatment systems.

Kevan Howard

Kevan is a project manager at Insituform Technologies, where he has overseen all CIPP projects for the City of Winnipeg, City of Regina, and City of Calgary, as well as numerous smaller municipalities throughout western Canada, for the past 12 years. He is a certified NASSCO PACP/MACP/LACP reviewer and a certified NASSCO ITCP Inspector.

Actively involved in the NASTT, Kevan has presented at No-Dig Minneapolis 2022 and No-Dig North Edmonton 2023 and contributed to the technical review committee for No-Dig North 2023. He is a registered professional engineer in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.

Before joining Insituform Technologies, Kevan worked as a project engineer on various infrastructure projects in Southern Alberta and British Columbia and was involved in the construction and engineering of multiple oil sands projects in northern Alberta.

Kevin Zorniak

Kevin is a graduate of the NAIT Electrical Engineering Technology Program with 20 years of experience in the electrical industry. He is well-versed in CSA Z462 (Canadian Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace), the Canadian Electrical Code (CEC), and Alberta OH&S electrical legislation.

Kim Westlund

Kim is a speaker, podcast host and Chief Visionary Officer at Kim Westlund Inc. Kim is currently launching her brand new podcast, Create Your Vision, where she and guests share wisdom, strategies and stories about the importance of creating and living out the vision for your life and business. Kim spent over 30 years in various corporate and non-profit senior leadership roles. Her company offers strategy, tools and resources through inspiring content, conversations, coaching, courses and life-changing messages to ignite leaders for positive change on a global scale.

Luc-Rejean Lepine

Luc-Rejean, P.Eng., earned his engineering degree from Quebec University in Montreal. His professional journey includes roles as an Automation Design Engineer for wastewater pumping systems, Inside Sales Supervisor for the Montreal region, Market Manager for Aftermarket and Services, and Technical and Training Manager at Xylem Water Solutions. He has played a key role in implementing ISO 9000 Quality Standards and leading Kaizen events to enhance companies' Lean processes.

Luc-Rejean also holds a Value-Based Six Sigma Green Belt certificate from the University of Michigan College of Engineering. Currently, he is the Automation and Digital Services Senior Market Development Manager at Xylem Water Solutions in Canada, where he supports all sales locations in delivering innovative solutions for water and wastewater challenges.

Luke Opyr

Luke is the Principal, Business Centre Practice Leader, in Stantec’s Water Group, with over 17 years of experience in water and wastewater treatment related projects as a design engineer and project manager. He’s worked on a number of small and large scale multi-disciplinary projects, from inception to completion. He has significant experience leading teams for water and wastewater treatment plant projects including retrofits, upgrades, and implementation of new and innovative technologies.

Michael Cowan

Michael is an Instrumentation Engineering Technologist (CET) from NAIT, with 12 years of industry experience specializing in instrumentation, valves, and actuation. He is a recognized speaker at CsHm events in Grande Prairie and Calgary, sharing his expertise and insights with industry professionals.

Michael Kerr

Michael is an international business speaker and a member of the Canadian Speakers’ Hall of Fame. He is known as one of North America’s leading authorities on how to create more inspiring workplace cultures, inspiring leadership, and how leaders and businesses can leverage their humour advantage to achieve outrageous results. His ideas on building great workplaces have been featured in hundreds of publications worldwide.

Michael is also the author of eight bestselling books, including The Jerk Free Workplace: How You Can Take the Lead to Create a Happier, More Inspiring Workplace; The Humour Advantage: Why Some Businesses are Laughing all the Way to the Bank; and Hire, Inspire, and Fuel Their Fire: How to Recruit, Onboard, and Train New Employees to Love Your Culture Out Loud. His Inspiring Workplaces blog has been recognized as one of the top 25 workplace blogs in the world.

Mike Boyce

Mike has been with Aquatera for 13 years. As the Senior Technician, Mike oversees the operation of Aquatera's Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and other related facilities. He ensures these facilities meet and exceed both provincial and federal regulations as per Alberta Certification Guidelines and Alberta Environment Operation Approval. Mike is also proud to mentor and coach operating staff in Aquatera‘s water and wastewater‘s systems.

Nancy Hessler

Coming soon!

Olugbenga Ibikunle

Dr. Ibikunle is one of global leaders in infrastructure practices. With over 16 years experience in academia and industrial he has, over the last six years, been focussing on the (i) use of trenchless methods in pipelines design and construction, (ii) development and application of new condition assessment methodologies, (iii) unique trenchless rehabilitation solutions for linear infrastructure, and (iv) asset/infrastructure management practices. He is a Certified Reliability Leader and a cross-border certified Asset Management professional and has won multiple national and international awards in his areas of expertise.

Dr. Ibikunle actively contributes to his fields of expertise by authoring papers and presenting at local and international conferences. Additionally, he is a member and working committee member of various international professional and charity organizations. As a dedicated teacher and mentor, outside technical world, he channels his passion toward empowering junior professionals to achieve remarkable success in the marketplace.

Ricardo Nolazco

Coming soon!

Ryan Ropcean

Coming soon!

Serena Labrecque

Coming soon!

Shayne Conway

Shayne is the GIS Supervisor with Aquatera Utilities. He has over 16 years of experience applying geographic analysis and technologies for improved information management in both municipal and private sectors. He recently played a key role in implementing Aquatera’s Cityworks CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software) by integrating Aquatera’s GIS enterprise to create a system with GIS-centric asset management capabilities. In his spare time, Shayne enjoys travelling with his family and making music.

Steve Herman

Steve is a professional engineer who holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering from Queen’s University and the University of Calgary. As the Director of Engineering at WaterSMART Solutions, Steve uses his expertise in project management and water management, regulations, and technologies to provide clients with a range of services related to water access, water management strategies, and development planning.

Steven Justus

Steve is an electrical engineer with over 20 years of experience managing projects of varying scales. He has been involved in all phases of multidiscipline project development from studies, planning and detailed designs through to construction and commissioning. He has extensive experience with the design and construction of both conventional and membrane water treatment plants ranging is size from 30 L/s production to 100 ML/D. Steve has been the Manager, Power and Automation at Associated Engineering’s Edmonton office since 2015. Steve has a reputation for bringing pragmatic, practical and common-sense perspectives to guide projects and resolve problems.

Suraphel Fresenbet

Suraphel joined Aquatera in 2019 as the GIS/Engineering Technician after completing studies at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology GIS program, with a background in Geology. Currently, he is involved in mapping assets, maintaining the enterprise GIS system, and also supports the Cityworks CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software).

Tim Kruse

Coming soon!

Tom Pura

Coming soon!

Trevor Boston

Trevor, M.Sc., P.Eng. is an Associate and Software Development Lead with Greenland. With 25 years of technical project management experience, Trevor oversees research, development and implementation related to Greenland’s software platform initiatives. He regularly collaborates with university partners across Canada. He has extensive experience in modeling water quality, flood mapping, watershed processes and undertaking projects with a cumulative effects and assimilative capacity focus.

Trevor has worked extensively with ECCC and the Ontario MECP to develop policy options and conduct benefit/cost assessment of management practices to reduce contaminant loading to Lake Erie and Lake Simcoe. He is currently working with Alberta Water Council and deliver the THREATS platform to stakeholders across Alberta for use in developing Source Water Protection Plans.

Troy Thibert

Coming soon!

Tyler Bennett

Tyler, M.Eng., P.Eng., is a water and wastewater engineer with experience in design, construction, commissioning, operation, and optimization of complex water and wastewater treatment and conveyance systems. Tyler’s career has included both consulting and working for a municipality at a level IV water treatment plant as the Plant Engineer. During his master’s degree at the University of Alberta he began exploring the concept of using machine learning to optimize drinking water treatment chemistry. Tyler founded Coagtech in September 2022 after successfully deploying machine learning to optimize coagulation chemistry at a water treatment plant serving over 100,000 people.

Zane Spencer

Zane is the Vice President of Instrumentation and Controls at MPE, a Division of Englobe. A graduate of the Industrial Instrumentation Technology Program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Zane has 20 years of experience in designing, installing and commissioning process control and SCADA systems. Zane utilizes his knowledge and experience in undertaking projects of various sizes and complexities throughout Canada, including implementation and/or upgrading of over 50 SCADA systems for municipalities within the last 10 years.