Susan Antler
Bio not available.
Ron Berezan
Ever since his first “accidental” food garden as a young
university student, Ron has been exploring and promoting new possibilities
for growing food in urban areas. He has had extensive training in
the “Bio-Intensive” organic gardening method and in Permaculture Design.
Ron is a Master Gardener and a member of the Society of Organic Urban
Land Care Professionals (SOUL). He has been a frequent CBC gardening
commentator and has been published in numerous gardening magazines.
Currently, Ron operates The
Urban Farmer, an organic gardening, edible landscaping and Permaculture
design service. Ron offers workshops on a variety of organic gardening
and permaculture themes throughout Western Canada and offers regular
trips to Cuba to visit urban agriculture projects and organic farms.
With more than half of the world’s population now living
in urban areas, the pressure on cities to feed themselves and to recycle
organic waste materials effectively is growing by leaps and bounds.
In response to this demand, there has been a recent global surge in
urban food production initiatives which are now popping up in Canada
as well. Ron’s presentation will explore some of the most exciting
models for urban agriculture in Alberta and beyond and will consider
the implications of the growing urban agriculture trend.
CONNIE BOYCE
Connie has worked as the director of strategic planning and community
relations with the City of Edmonton’s Waste Management Branch
for the past 12 years. Her team’s programs have won several international
advertising awards and an Emerald Award for their recycling and
waste reduction campaigns. These campaigns have contributed to some
of North America’s highest participation rates in voluntary recycling
and waste reduction.
Connie has 30 years experience working in communications,
community relations and social marketing, including 10 years
managing her own communications consulting firm. Connie’s focus on
achieving measurable behavior change is grounded in her interest in
both environmental issues and social marketing.
Grant Cameron
As a consultant in the solid waste and recycling industry for
two decades, Grant Cameron's career has been in the dumpster.
He has been involved in operations, design and policy at more than
75 Alberta landfills, transfer stations and recycling facilities.
Hands-on experience with the diversion and recycling of organics,
metals, paper fibre and plastics has allowed him unique perspective.
Since 2007, Grant has been the Executive Director
of the Alberta Plastics Recycling Association. The Association's current
focus includes developing multi-municipality capacity to recycle expanded
polystyrene cushion packaging in Alberta and a western Canadian system
to recycle agricultural plastics.
Grant resides in Vernon, B.C.
CHERIE COHEN
A dynamic and bilingual Brand Marketing & Communications leader
with proven success transcending industry, Cherie has over 15 years
of experience, including positions with two of Canada’s largest banks –
CIBC and RBC; part of the launch teams at the National Post newspaper
and St. Joseph Media’s Wish Magazine; Rogers Cable managing the
Yahoo! partner relationship; online local search startup ZipLocal,
that was sold to Canpages in 2009; and now to Alberta Beverage
Container Recycling Corporation (ABCRC) spearheading their environmental
stewardship recycling efforts across Alberta.
Never straying too far from her disciplined database
marketing analytic roots, Cherie’s true talents lie within her ability
to marry brands through innovative and integrated non-traditional
sponsorship and partner opportunities. These unique and creative undertaking
continue to deliver solid results and attract consistent media attention.
As an early adopter of all things new in technology,
Cherie continues to carefully weave the many threads of online and
social media into her vision. Most recently, under her leadership
with ABCRC, Alberta has seen the province’s recycling rate increase
from 70% to 82% in just under two years.
Earlier in 2010 Cherie returned from Costa Rica,
where she completed her 200 hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training
Certification, and now teaches as a volunteer for Lululemon, helping
to keep her balanced, both personally and professionally.
Cal Dallas
Mr. Dallas was elected to his first term as a Member of the Legislative
Assembly for Red Deer-South on March 3, 2008. On January 13, 2010
he was appointed as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Environment.
In addition to his regular duties as MLA, he currently serves as
a member of the:
* Standing Committee on Public Accounts
* Standing Committee on Resources and Environment
* Standing Committee on Private Bills
* Regulatory Review Secretariat
* Cabinet Policy Committee on Resources and Environment
* Youth Homelessness Review
* Child Intervention System Review Panel
* Climate Change Central Committee (chair)
From February 2008 to January 2010, Mr. Dallas served on the Cabinet
Policy Committee on Health and the Standing Committee on Health.
Mr. Dallas has carried Bill 40, the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement
Amendment Act, 2008 through the Legislative process for the Minister
of Children and Community Supports, as well as Bill 10 in 2009, the
Supportive Living Accommodation Licensing Act, for the Minister of
Seniors and Community Supports.
Prior to service with the Legislative Assembly of Alberta Mr. Dallas
was executive director of the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce, and before
that, he worked in the printing and publishing industry for 25 years,
including nine years as publisher of the Red Deer Express.
An active member of his community, Mr. Dallas has been involved
in the following organizations:
* Red Deer Rotary Club, director
* Alberta Chamber of Commerce, vice-president (volunteer)
* United Way of Central Alberta, director
* Innisfail Golf Association, president
* Red Deer College, board of governors
* STARS Capital Campaign
* Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness
In recognition of his community involvement, Mr. Dallas has received
the Canadian Chamber of Commerce volunteer of the year award in 2002
and a Queens Jubilee Medal in 2003. Additionally, he received the
Bill Draayer award from the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association
in 2004, and the Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005.
Mr. Dallas and his wife, Jacqueline, live in Red Deer.
LORENZO DONINI
Lorenzo began his career in the Waste Management /
Environmental Industry after graduating the University of Alberta
at the age of 24. Lorenzo and his business partner, Tamara Brown,
began Ever Green Ecological Services with the intention of providing
convenient curbside recycling programs to their home municipality
of Strathcona County and initially began with subscription-based services.
These services were expanded to the City of St. Albert before they
began pursuing municipal contracts for a number of communities in
the Edmonton Capital Region. As part of their goal of establishing
curbside recycling throughout the Capital Region, they quickly realized
the necessity to provide a broader base of services including waste
and organics programs. Today, Ever Green is servicing over 200,000
homes each week with recycling, organics and waste services including
the City of St. Albert and Strathcona County. Ever Green
also operates its own Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for the sorting,
baling and shipping of mixed single stream recyclables and is proud
to be expanding this Facility to a much higher capacity system over
the next 60 days.
In the future, Ever Green hopes to continue promoting
recycling efforts and expanding its service offering to new municipalities
and companies throughout Alberta. Of particular interest to them is
the establishment of more local markets for recyclable commodities
and in this regard they are investigating possibilities for viable
glass and plastic remanufacture into a marketable product.
Darcy Dragonetti
Darcy is currently employed by the Regional Municipality of Wood
Buffalo’s Environmental Services as the Manager of Solid Waste.
Before coming to Alberta, he lived in British Columbia
spending the past 24 years employed in local government. After
completing his diploma in Civil Technology at BCIT, his focus has
been mainly in public works working firstly as an engineering technologist
designing and managing capital projects and later as a as an Operations Manager
in both the Water and Wastewater fields as well as Solid Waste. Darcy
also has had the pleasure of being involved in developing and instructing
certification courses for operators working throughout BC, Alberta
and the Yukon.
Darcy recently moved from Vancouver to Fort McMurray
and enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, as well as
other family members and close friends.
PETER DUCK
Peter holds a Master Degree in Environmental Studies with a career
background that ranges from hydrometeorology to wildlife ecology and
environmental impact assessment.
Over the last 30 years, Peter has also worked as a natural
history guide and instructor as well as interpretive planner in the
Canadian Rockies. He is certified as a Master Interpreter by the Interpretive
Guides Association and has received the Bow Valley’s Outstanding
Heritage Interpreter award.
Currently serving as the Regional Zero Waste Coordinator for
the Bow Valley Waste Management Commission, he works with businesses
and residents in the local communities to promote the principle of
Reduce, Reuse and then Recycle to divert valuable natural resources
from outdated landfill disposal.
Peter firmly believes that reducing the massive amounts of waste
produced by modern society is the catalyst that will stimulate the
economic efficiency and environmental sustainability essential to
supporting healthy lifestyles.
Craig Fitch
Craig Fitch has over 25 years experience in real estate and land development project management. He is currently the City of Edmonton’s Land Development Coordinator, with responsibility for the redevelopment of the Edmonton City Centre Airport as a world-leading, transit-oriented, sustainable mixed use development. Prior to this, Craig was Development Manger for the Village at Griesbach, another major infill redevelopment project in Edmonton that won numerous awards for environmental sustainability and innovative planning, including LEED ND Gold certification. In addition to a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Alberta, Craig also received his MBA from Queen’s University and the FRI designation from the Real Estate Institute of Canada.
JENNIFER KOOLE
For the past 2 years, Jennifer has been working in the Middle East on the Masdar Project – planning, designing and building the world’s first sustainable city. The premise of the $21 billion dollar development is to be powered 100% by renewable energy, use no-fossil fuel vehicles, and to be a zero waste community – meaning to send less than 2% of the waste generated in the city to landfill. The city, located within Abu Dhabi, UAE, is to be home to 50,000 residents and 40,000 commuters at full build out capacity with the first phase, a renewable energy focused university, to be operational as of September 2010. Jennifer acted as the waste technology lead and assisted the Abu Dhabi client in evaluating and planning for the required resource recovery programs and infrastructure for Masdar city.
Prior to her work in Abu Dhabi, Jennifer worked in Calgary as a solid waste consultant working for regional clients including Town of Okotoks, City of Calgary, Calgary Regional Partnership, Calgary Board of Education as well as clients from British Columbia. Before consulting, Jennifer held various municipal waste related positions including solid waste manager for Rocky View County, Alberta, and waste reduction program assistant for the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority in Ontario.
Irene Korgul
Irene’s career has included working for the YWCA, in Community Development in Municipal Recreation and over a decade as a partner in a small Toronto company that specialized in consumer promotions and event marketing. In late 2000, she joined Tim Hortons as a Regional Marketing Manager for BC and focused on developing programs and partnerships with numerous community groups and organizations. Irene moved to a new position in Environmental Affairs in mid-2009 where her primary role is to work with her store owners in SK, AB & BC to implement waste diversion programs.
Dale Lefebvre
Dale Lefebvre has been involved in the community of Vegreville
since 1988 when he joined the Vegreville Fire Department as a
volunteer firefighter. From 1995 to 1997, he served as Fire Chief,
Safety Codes Officer in the fire discipline, and Director of Emergency
Management for the Town of Vegreville. In his 22 years as a firefighter,
Dale received both Provincial and Federal Medals of Bravery in 2004
and, in 2009, he received a Federal Long Term Service Award.
He currently retains his Safety Codes Officer and Director of Emergency
Management status and still serves as a Captain.
Dale began his employment with the Town of Vegreville
Public Works Department in 1985 as an Apprentice Mechanic. He received
his Journeyman Red Seal Certificate in 1990. Over the next
five years, Dale gained experience in fleet management, water and
wastewater treatment, collection and distribution, solid waste collection,
landfill operations, and airport maintenance. He also assisted with
the development and implementation of the Town’s automated solid waste
collection system, which was followed shortly after by the Town’s
first recycling program.
Upon his resignation as Fire Chief, Dale accepted
the position of Public Works Manager. Over the next 11 years,
he received his Level II Operators Certification in water distribution
and wastewater collection, Level I Operators Certification in
water and wastewater treatment, and his Class IIC Landfill Operators
Certification. His responsibilities include leading the operation
of roads, water, sanitary and storm sewer systems, landfill, solid
waste collection, airport, cemetery, and recycling. In 2009,
he was promoted to Infrastructure, Planning & Development
Director, which added Parks and Open spaces as well as Planning &
Development to his responsibilities.
Recent recycling success in Vegreville includes
the addition of automated processing equipment, an aggressive restructuring
of the Vegreville Materials Recovery Facility, the addition of the
Central Recycling Drop-Off Centre, the implementation of the residential
“Adopt-A-Bin” recycling program, confidential paper shredding and
the resurrection of the Annual Household Hazardous Waste Round-up.
These efforts and initiatives have brought a 400% annual increase
in production volumes over the last three years.
CLINT MAHLMAN
Clint Mahlman is the Senior Vice President of London Drugs
Limited, Retail Operations, Distribution, ECommerce; Senior Vice President
of TLD Computers ( a division of London Drugs Limited);
and Senior Vice President of London Enterprises DBA Sonora Resort.
Clint joined London Drugs in 1984 as a part time stock
clerk while he completed his studies at BCIT. Clint’s career over
the past 26 years has spanned Store Management, Retail Operations,
Human Resources and Distribution and Ecommerce. He is also responsible
for the company’s sustainability initiatives and aboriginal relations.
This varied background and responsibilities affords him
a unique perspective of these inter-related areas and exemplifying
London Drugs’ unfailing commitment to providing development and
career opportunities to their people.
In addition to a Diploma of Technology from BCIT in Administrative
Management, Clint is a graduate of the Queen’s University Executive
Development Program and the Justice Institute of BC, Negotiation and
Mediation program.
He is also active with the Retail Council of Canada,
on provincial Retail Issues committee, and National Environmental
Issues committee. Clint is also elected to the board of the Recycling Council
of BC representing the private business sector, and is a former
board member of the Human Resources Management Association of BC.
He is also a content advisor to the University of Alberta’s School
of Retailing.
Carey McIver
After graduating from Simon Fraser University in 1977
with an Honours BA in Geography, Carey spent four years working
for environmental consulting firms in Toronto and Montreal. She moved
to Ottawa in 1981 where she spent the following 7 years
working in the energy conservation field for the Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation and Energy, Mines and Resources Canada.
For the last 20 years, Carey has worked for
the Regional District of Nanaimo. In her current position as Manager,
Solid Waste, she is responsible for all aspects of solid waste
management including solid waste management planning, zero waste programs
and disposal facilities.
In 1993, Carey was seconded by the Minister of Environment,
Lands and Parks to chair a committee reviewing several province-wide
solid waste management studies. Carey has also served as President
of the Recycling Council of B.C. as well as founding Chair of
the Coast Waste Management Association.
Carey earned a certificate in Local Government Administration
from Capilano College in May 1997. In October 2003, she
received her MA in Environment and Management from Royal Roads University.
In 2006, Carey participated in two RDN technical
missions to Ghana to develop a solid waste management plan for the
city of Sunyani. As a result of this experience, Carey joined the
Rotary Club of Nanaimo, where she is currently very active in world
community service with a focus on developing and funding humanitarian
projects in partnership with the Rotary Club of Sunyani Central.
Brenna McLennan
Brenna started working at Alberta Environment in 2005 after completing her B.Sc. in Environment and Conservational Sciences at the University of Alberta. Since then her work as a Pollution Prevention and Conservation Specialist has focused on developing and improving waste stewardship programs in Alberta. Some of her work with Alberta Environment includes the beverage container recycling program, the paint recycling program, the household hazardous waste program and the development of an online waste measurement system for the province.
DAVE MERREDEW
For the past 2 years, Dave has been the Leader of Community and Customer Initiatives with the City of Calgary Waste and Recycling Services. In this position he has developed, coordinated and evaluated waste reduction programs throughout Calgary. Dave is completing his PhD in Secondary Education at the University of Alberta, with a focus on Environmental Education.
Gordon Murphy
Gordon Murphy is the Senior Program Development Officer at the
Multi-Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB) in Newfoundland and Labrador.
He is responsible for the research, development, design, negotiation
and implementation of new provincial recycling programs, provincial
recycling regulations and provincial recyclables purchasing contracts.
In this capacity, Gordon counsels government and non-government clients
on the development of recycling and waste management activities and businesses.
Prior to joining MMSB, Gordon worked in the area
of business development, specializing in management consulting and
marketing in both official languages. Gordon has a Bachelor of Economics
and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Memorial University
and when not talking trash, you’ll find him out on the water.
Natasha Page
Natasha Page works as a Pollution Prevention and
Conservation Specialist with Alberta Environment.
In 1998, Natasha graduated from the University of Alberta
with a B.Sc. in Environmental Conservation and Science. After working
for several years at the Alberta Research Council on projects
like revegetation with native plants and pathogen management on pulse
crops, Natasha returned to the University of Alberta, studied composting,
and obtained an M.Sc. in Food and Bioresource Engineering in 2002.
Natasha joined the Government of Alberta in 2002.
Since that time, her regulatory experience includes work with industry
to update standards for composting facilities, pesticide management,
and develop land reclamation practices for upstream oil and gas. She
currently chairs the Leaf & Yard Waste Diversion Committee,
a group intent on finding innovative ways to keep leaf and yard waste
from being buried in landfills.
Otto Parets
Otto Parets is the Senior Production Leader for
Dow Chemical's High Density Polyethylene plant located near
Red Deer, Alberta. He has been in this position since June 2008.
Otto started his career in Gas Phase Polyethylene manufacturing
in 1996 at Dow's Victoria, Texas (US) site. He worked through various
positions of production engineering, project implementation and process
scale-up and experimentation through a Dow Chemical and ExxonMobil
joint venture. In 2001, Otto then moved into a production management
position within a Catalyst manufacturing plant. In 2005, he took on
the position of Global Improvement Leader of Dow's Solution Polyethylene
and Elastomers technology supporting 11 plants in the US, Canada,
Argentina, Spain, The Netherlands, Germany and Thailand. He stayed
in this position until coming to Canada with his recent assignment.
Otto graduated Summa cum Laude with a Bachelor of
Science in Chemical Engineering from Tulane University in New Orleans,
Louisiana. He is married with two sons ages 5 and 8, and
currently resides in Red Deer. His pastimes include hiking, skiing,
spending time with family, and playing the classical guitar.
jerry powell
Jerry Powell is the owner of three magazines (Resource Recycling,
Plastics Recycling Update and E-Scrap News). He
edits Resource Recycling. In addition, he aids in the management
of three annual conferences, The E-Scrap Conference and Exhibition,
The Plastics Recycling Conference and Exhibition, and The Resource Recycling
Conference and Exhibition, several of which are the world’s largest
in their fields.
Previously, Jerry founded and managed a recycling consulting firm
for a decade and founded and managed a recycling business in Portland,
Oregon for more than eight years.
He is a past three-time chair of the board of the National Recycling
Coalition and the three-time chair of the board of a state recycling
association. He has spoken on waste management and recycling issues
in 48 states and five Canadian provinces.
Lori Sheremeta
Lori Sheremeta is a lawyer, Research Officer at
the National Research Council’s National Institute for Nanotechnology,
and Nanotechnology Research and Development Initiatives Counsel at
the Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta. Currently she is
seconded to Alberta Innovates-Technology Futures where she works as
a Special Advisor on Nanotechnology.
Lori currently sits on Health Canada’s Science
Advisory Board and recently served as a member of the expert panel
on nanotechnology established by the Council of Canadian Academies.
This panel was tasked with evaluating the current state of knowledge
of nanomaterials, their health and environmental impacts that could
underpin regulatory perspectives on the need for research, risk assessment
and surveillance. In 2005, Lori participated as a member
of the National Science Advisor’s Canadian Expert Panel on nanotechnology.
The function of the committee being to provide an overview of the
state of nanoscience, nanotechnology and ethical, legal and social
research at that time in Canada with a view to the development of
a national strategy. Lori’s current research efforts include
strategic risk communication and the legal and regulatory challenges
raised by nanomaterials, from the environmental, human health (including
occupational health and safety) and consumer product perspectives.
Sarah Webb
Sarah Webb has experience in the environmental
field, working closely with industry, government and non-governmental
organizations.
Her first job after graduating from the University
of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science (Environmental), was to establish
a national aerosol recycling program and to support the development
of this program at the municipal level. Since that time, she has been
involved in various initiatives to bring municipal and industrial
sector partners together to advance a wide range of waste management
and stewardship alternatives.
Specifically, Sarah began working in the retail
sector in early 2004 and has been responsible for ensuring compliance
with various product, waste and packaging regulations. She is currently
the Manager of Product & Environmental Stewardship Programs for Canadian Tire,
with specific responsibilities for leading its numerous product stewardship
initiatives. Sarah has worked collaboratively with industry and government
representatives to advance key recycling and waste management programs
including: the Retail Council of Canada, Waste Diversion Ontario (household
special waste/electronic recycling), Stewardship Ontario, Canadian
Council of Ministers of the Environment, and the Recycling Council
of Ontario. Sarah is also on the Board of Directors for Ontario Tire
Stewardship and Product Care Association and a member of the Alberta
Recycling Tire Industry Council.