Keynote Speakers
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Chief Darcy Bear, Whitecap Dakota First Nation
Chief Bear has been widely-recognized for his economic, business and cultural achievements. He was a recipient of the Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan in 2005, he was named one of the “Ten Most Influential People” by Saskatchewan Business Magazine and was awarded the CANDO “Economic Developer of the Year” in 2006. In 2009, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations awarded Chief Bear the Circle of Honour Award for Community-Based First Nation Business. In December 2011, Chief Bear received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the highest recognition given to residents of the province.
On January 25, 2012, Whitecap Dakota First Nation signed the Framework Agreement for Self Governance, which kick-started Whitecap’s journey towards self-governance. On May 23, 2012, Chief Bear was honoured with the prestigious Diamond Jubilee Medal, reflecting his commitment to service. In 2013, he was named an Inaugural Grandey Leadership Honouree, and the City of Saskatoon also bestowed a municipal park in his honour. The 2014 Throne Speech in the provincial Legislature recognized Chief Bear’s “progressive leadership.” He was the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Saskatchewan in the fall of 2014. Most recently, he was awarded the 2016 Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business Hall of Lifetime Achievement Award for his oversight of the transformation of the community, increasing opportunity and prosperity against formidable odds. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes First Nations business person whose community leadership and business success has made a substantive contribution to the economic and social well-being of Aboriginal people across Canada.
Chief Bear was instrumental in developing a self-governing Land Code, which created a business-friendly environment on Whitecap lands, complete with a land tenure system, commercial infrastructure and a real-property tax law. Whitecap now serves as a national example of positive community development and heightened self-determination. To date there has been approximately $100 million in capital investment in the community and an unemployment rate reduction from 70% to 5%.
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Jonathan Pereira, Plant Chicago
Jonathan Pereira is the Executive Director or Plant Chicago. He has over 15 years of experience in informal science education and program development in Chicago and New York. He’s worked in non-profit, for profit and government and managed programs that have involved numerous partners in all three sectors.
Plant Chicago operates out of The Plant, a collaborative community of food businesses that are incubating a local circular economy. A 93,500 sq. ft. former meatpacking plant located in Chicago’s disinvested Back of the Yards neighborhood, The Plant currently houses over a dozen small businesses, including indoor and outdoor farms, kombucha and beer breweries, a bakery, a cheese distributor, a coffee roaster, and other emerging food producers and distributors.
The mission of Plant Chicago is to develop circular economies of food production, energy conservation and material reuse, while helping to empower people of all backgrounds to make their cities healthier and more efficient. Plant Chicago re-imagines the economy as a circular system of resource flows, where the output from one industry becomes an input for another. In a circular economy, economic growth is decoupled from infinite resource consumption. The Plant offers a unique opportunity to create a local circular economy by closing waste loops at many levels. Plant Chicago partners with the businesses co-located there to close waste loops and develop circular economies and engages the public to create more resilient communities. Plant Chicago’s educational programming, year-round farmers market, and open-source technology demonstration programs empower people of all backgrounds to participate in the growing circular economy.
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Christina Seidel
Christina holds a PhD in Engineering Management, a Masters degree in Environmental Design (Environmental Science), as well as a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering. She operates sonnevera international corp., a waste reduction consulting firm, and is the current Executive Director of the Recycling Council of Alberta. She is also currently co-chair of the National Zero Waste Council’s Circular Economy Working Group.
Christina loves rural life, choosing to live on a farm near Bluffton, Alberta, where she and her family raise Warmblood horses and enjoy many other outdoor activities.
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Sabine Weber
Sabine worked for nearly twenty years in Europe as product manager/head of design in the fashion industry and international buyer/team leader in retail for different brands before she came to Canada six years ago. She worked as a college instructor and taught courses in fashion marketing, product knowledge, sustainable fashion, product management and international trade. While teaching at Humber College she discovered her passion for ethical and sustainable fashion and decided to go back to university to earn a Master’s degree in Environment and Resource Studies at U Waterloo with a focus in waste management and social marketing. In her thesis she examined textile waste and studied the ways consumers manage their unwanted garments in order to developed strategies to change behaviour. In December 2015 she founded Sustainable Strategies & Solutions, for which she currently works on different consulting projects. One of her projects in 2016 was the Tip of the Iceberg Textile Diversion Symposium in Markham and in 2017 she conducted a social marketing campaign for textile diversion at Seneca College.
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Mikhael Metauro
Mikhael Metauro has grown up with Green in his blood, having been a part of the Cascades family for over 15 years in one capacity or another. With his undergraduate degree in Sales Strategy & Strategic Marketing, Mikhael currently works within the Recovery division of Cascades focusing on Business Development and Corporate Strategy.
Day in and day out Mikhael has the opportunity to deal with a wide range of customers from different market segments and backgrounds with various types of discarded material recovery needs. “Its amazing to see how more and more organizations are focusing on sustainability and have put the people power in place to start thinking about better ways to recover more and waste less. For me this is where my focus has been and always will be, working with organizations to help them achieve their sustainability goals through coaching, strategy planning and execution.” Mikhael believes in the power of the Cascades Family and is focused on creating a world where all materials have a positive end of life – a truly Circular Economy”
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Chris Lindberg
Chris Lindberg leads the development and implementation of CEIL. In this role he brings public and private sector organizations together to help them understand and capture the opportunities provided by sustainability and the circular economy.
Chris has more than 20 years of experience working with public and private sector organizations to develop and implement their strategic plans, engagement strategies and sustainability initiatives. Prior to joining The Natural Step Canada, Chris worked as a sustainability professional with a variety of organizations, including the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Golder Associates, Stratos Inc. and the Light House Sustainable Building Centre. He is a proud father of two and a graduate of Simon Fraser University.
Speakers
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Alex Hayes
Alex is a research engineer with InnoTech Alberta, an applied research organization, where he works in a group focused on value-added processes for organic residuals and wastewater. Through a combination of strategic applied research and client-focused projects, Alex helps facilitate the growth of the biogas industry in Alberta. Alex has worked on the implementation of biogas solutions in several sectors, including municipal, agriculture and agri-food, forestry and oil and gas where he has performed technical and economic assessments surrounding the integration of anaerobic digestion processes into industrial operations. Prior to joining InnoTech Alberta, he worked at the National Research Council after completing his PhD at the University of Toronto.
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Ashley Keep
Ashley is a graduate from Brandon University with Bachelor of Science Degree in Geography, Geology and Applied Disaster and Emergency Studies. She currently maintains her MOLO certification and is a Canadian Certified Environmental Professional (EP) in Policy, Legislation and Waste Management.
Ashley has been working for the Province of Manitoba in various roles for over ten years, including working as an Environment Officer in the Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Branch of Manitoba Conservation and in her current position as the Solid Waste Management Coordinator for Manitoba Sustainable Development. Ashley is responsible for the Solid Waste Program and delivery of the Waste Management Facilities Regulation. Ashley also works on landfill gas systems, landfill and commercial composting, and assisting in new solid waste projects for Manitoba. -
Barry Friesen
Barry Friesen leads the team at CleanFARMS, the organization that is best known for its empty container recycling program. Barry’s first job was on a dairy farm in Mount Herbert, PEI. He now focuses his energy on innovative recycling and waste management solutions. His résumé includes senior positions with Product Care Association and the Nova Scotia Department of Environment.
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Betsy Varghese
Betsy’s love of garbage began at the age of 10 when she was asked to attend the opening of Kingston’s recycling facility on behalf of her school and write an article about recycling for the school newspaper. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Queen’s University and leads the national Waste Management group at Dillon Consulting.
Betsy has contributed to a range of waste management assignments for public and private sector clients across Canada. Betsy’s areas of expertise include reviewing existing programs and initiatives and identifying areas for improvement in order for diversion goals to be achieved, developing and implementing public and stakeholder consultation programs and securing permits and approvals for waste management facilities.
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Bob Jardine
Bob Jardine is a Certified Engineering Technologist with Associated Engineering with over 12 years of experience in the construction of Class II and Secure Landfills in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Working alongside Norm Richards P.Eng. of NLR Associates, Bob has been involved with each phase of the design from drafting and inspection, to contract administration and design lead.
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Cathy Davidson
Cathy Davidson is a Health & Safety Superintendent with the City of Saskatoon supporting the Roadways & Operations and Water & Waste Stream Divisions since 2012. Prior to joining the City, Cathy worked for five years as a Safety Consultant assisting employers in the Mining, Construction and Service & Hospitality industries develop and implement their Safety Management Systems. She has over eight years of experience in Disability Management and achieved her CRSP designation in 2010. Cathy has developed and facilitated multiple education and training sessions for all levels of an organization and enjoys sharing her passion for Health & Safety.
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Che-Wei
Che-Wei is the Manager of Waste Stewardship and Recycling Section with the Ministry of Environment. The team manages regulatory oversight for all provincial stewardship and product management programs such as SARCAN, used oil, waste paint, waste electronics, Multi-Material Recycling Program, scrap tires, and grain bags and researches future opportunities for program expansion, such household hazardous waste and the solid waste management strategy.
Che-Wei joined the ministry in 2014 after four years with the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association as the senior policy advisor focusing on economic development, environment and transportation.
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Chris Riddle
Chris Riddle is an Applications Engineer with EPG Companies of Maple Grove, MN. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Chris has over 28 years of experience in the design, installation, and operation of environmental recovery and treatment equipment including groundwater and leachate recovery pumps, air and water treatment equipment, and control panels.
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Christa Rust
Christa Rust is the Program Manager for CBCRA Recycle Everywhere, Canada’s first province-wide away from home beverage container recycling program. She is an experienced program manager with over 10 years working experience with a demonstrated history of working in the environmental services industry. Skilled in Public Space Recycling, Sustainable Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Issues, Urban Planning, and Program Evaluation. She holds a Master’s degree focused in Natural Resources Management from University of Manitoba. Christa also sits on the Community Indicators Consortium (CIC) Board of Directors and the Canadian Sustainability Indicators Network (CSIN) Advisory Council.
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Daniel Mireault
Daniel Mireault is an Environmental Coordinator for the City of Saskatoon. In this position, he works on a variety of waste diversion initiatives, including the residential recycling programs and the City’s waste diversion strategy. He serves on the board of the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council.
Daniel holds a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo. In his free time, he enjoys reading, running, and riding his bike.
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Daryl McCartney, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Dr. Daryl McCartney is a Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta and the Executive Director & Director of Research at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence, a not-for-profit agency supporting research and development waste management. His current research program is focused on organic waste utilization, e.g. source separation of ICI organics; integrating anaerobic digestion processes into existing composting facilities; and optimization of full-scale composting facilities. During his career, he has authored or co-authored over 170 journal manuscripts, conference papers, and technical report publications. Dr. McCartney currently sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Compost Science & Utilization; and the University of Alberta’s Waste Diversion Working Group.
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Greg Kuntz
Greg Kuntz is the Manager of Environmental Services for the City of Regina. Greg received a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Environmental Systems Engineering from the University of Regina. He is a Professional Engineer with 16 years of Civil and Environmental Engineering experience as a consultant and in his current position. Greg manages a branch that provides regulatory and landfill engineering support for the City of Regina.
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Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming is a Professor in the Department of Civil, Geological & Environmental Engineering at the U of S. For the past 30 years his professional practice and research interests have focused on Environmental Geotechnics, particularly geosynthetic and clayey barrier systems and the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of wastes. In addition to work with mining and other wastes, Dr. Fleming has been involved with projects at over 100 landfills throughout Canada and internationally. These projects have included barrier engineering, landfill drainage and performance of systems for the collection of gas & leachate, deformations and settlement of waste fills and the strength and stability of waste materials.
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Jamie Bakos
Jamie is a specialist in clean technology and has provided leadership in delivering clean technology projects in Canada and internationally for over 20 years. A native of Saskatoon, Jamie moved to Guelph, Ontario, in 1990 to complete one of the first Environmental Engineering degrees offered in Canada. Since then, he has worked for companies such as Domtar, Ontario Power Generation, Pillsbury/ Green Giant Canada, Wardrop Engineering and Ingenium Group. Jamie has served on several boards, inclluding the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council (SWRC) and the Canadian Bioenergy Association (CANBIO). He is committed to promoting the sustainable use of forestry, agricultural, and municipal biomass in renewable energy and bio-products applications.
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Jim Lapp
Jim Lapp has gained a broad range of experience in waste management over the past 35 years. He is actively involved with the Solid Waste Association of North America and currently serves and the Canadian Representative to the International Board. Jim has worked with the Provincial government, private consultants, and a municipal government. He is presently employed by the City of Edmonton and until recently was the supervisor of compost operations At the present time, he is working on regulatory issues.
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Josh Domingues
Josh Domingues is the Founder and CEO of Flashfood, a start-up company tackling the food waste epidemic with a mobile app solution. Prior to founding Flashfood, Josh worked in investment management for BMO Nesbitt Burns, Sage Private Counsel and management consulting with Carpedia International. At BMO Nesbitt Burns, Josh was an associate on a private wealth group managing over $1 billion in client assets. Josh became the youngest licensed investment advisor in Canada on Bay Street, running his own practice before exiting to consulting to seek hands-on business experience. At Flashfood, he leads a team of six people who are building an app to allow grocery stores, restaurants, cafes and bakeries to sell high-quality, surplus food at steep discounts to savvy users who can browse deals in their area and purchase items directly through Flashfood – saving money for users, increasing revenue for vendors and lessening our collective environmental impact.
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Kim Timmer
Kim’s connection to agriculture began ten years ago when she made her best career move ever – moving from the pharmaceutical field to agriculture. She now manages stakeholder relations at CleanFARMS and has been actively engaged on the grain bag recycling file.
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Mary Curtis
Since 2008, Mary has worked for the City of Red Deer as Waste Management Technical Specialist. Prior to working for Red Deer, she worked 11 years with the City of Airdrie as the Recycling/Compost Coordinator. Mary has been the City of Red Deer representative as liaison director for the Recycling Council of Alberta since 2008. She has joint degree in Biology and Physical Geography.
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Michel Lefebvre
Michel is a member of both the SWANA Northern Lights executive (Treasurer) and training faculty involved in MOLO, landfill operations, transfer station and fire management training programs. He is a manager in Tetra Tech’s Solid Waste Management Practice, located in the Edmonton Office.
Michel has 20 years’ experience in civil and solid waste engineering and design (both nationally and internationally), and has supervised the construction of numerous landfill infrastructure projects, including landfill gas collection systems, storm water and leachate management systems, and lateral expansions of landfills. In addition, Michel has developed numerous landfill integrated design and operations plans, environmental monitoring plans, and landfill risk assessments.
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Molly Morse
Molly Morse is a Senior Program Scientist with Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Waste Reduction and Management Division. She has over 15 years of experience in waste management at municipal and federal government levels, ranging from policy development and planning to technical analysis and field experience. She discovered her interest in northern and remote issues through working with territorial and provincial governments to improve waste management in Canada. For the past few years, she has been working closely with the territorial governments and others to develop practical waste management guidance that recognizes the unique circumstances of northern and remote regions.
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Randall Soutter
Randall Soutter is FleetMind’s Director of Strategic Accounts for Canada. As a business development director with a reputation for creating innovative and effective solutions for his clients, Randall has over 15 years of leadership experience in multiple industry verticals including software and IT, renewables and the environment. He has presented on environmental and ‘smart’ technology themes at American Water Works Association (AWWA), Association of Accredited Environmental Laboratories (AAEL) and other technology-focused events. Randall is a graduate of Montreal’s Concordia University.
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Sarah Keith
Sarah has been with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment since 2002 and is currently the Manager of the Landfills Section of the Environmental Protection Branch. Sarah began her career with the ministry as an Environmental Project Officer regulating municipal operations including water, wastewater and landfills. After three years of municipal operations, Sarah moved her focus to the industrial sectors where she primarily regulated potash mines and industrial landfills. During this time she was also a Provincial Hazardous Materials Coordinator responding to spill and emergency situations across the Province. In 2011 she made a move to become the manager of Case Management of the newly created Client Service Office, with a role of assisting clients fulfill their regulatory requirements with the ministry. In 2014 Sarah rejoined the Environmental Protection Branch where she now managers the landfills and solid waste management program which is responsible for regulating solid waste management activities at municipal and industrial landfills and transfer stations. Sarah holds a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of Calgary.
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Scott Torgerson
Chef Scott Torgerson is Executive Chef of the Radisson Hotel in Saskatoon. Working in the industry since the age of 14, he has demonstrated his talent in some of Manitoba’s premiere kitchens, including an apprenticeship at St. Charles Golf and Country Club under Master Chef Takashi Murakami. Over the years, Chef Torgerson has received many provincial, national and international awards for his work in the culinary arts, most recently taking home a Gold Medal at the 2016 Gold Medal Plates Saskatoon culinary competition. He was a member of the 2016 National Culinary Team Canada, and received two gold medals and one silver medal at the 2016 IKA culinary
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Steve Johnson
Steve has an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Environmental Engineering from the University of Alberta. He has worked for Hydrogeological Consultants, Alberta Environment, Waste Management of Canada, and AECOM throughout his career specializing in waste management over the past 15 years. At Hydrogeological Consultants he conducted landfill groundwater monitoring programs and surface water availability evaluations. While at Alberta Environment he was an approval writer for landfills, water, and waste water treatment facilities and then the Province’s Landfill Specialist instrumental in the development of the Standards for Landfills in Alberta, the Guidelines for Landfills in Alberta, and initiating the Standards for Composting in Alberta. While at Waste Management, Steve was the Site Engineer responsible for landfill capping, developing and operating a leachate treatment plant, waste acceptance approvals, regulatory reporting, gull control, and the upgrade to a landfill gas collection and flaring system. At AECOM, he has conducted projects in airspace assessments, transfer station design, and landfill design. He has presented frequently at SWANA conferences and is a SWANA instructor for the landfill basics course.