Keynote Speakers
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Wayne Hubbard
Wayne Hubbard is the Chief Executive Officer of ReLondon, where he leads efforts to help London’s boroughs reduce waste, increase recycling rates, and accelerate the city’s transition to a low-carbon circular economy. He has been at the forefront of circular economy development in London since 2014, and in 2017 he led the publication of the world’s first city Circular Economy Routemap.
He recently served as a member of the UK Government’s Circular Economy Taskforce and has contributed to the development of a national Circular Economy Growth Strategy for England, where he chaired the Textiles and Clothing Sector Roadmap group, and the finance, innovation, and business support group.
In addition to his executive role, Wayne is a trustee of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and the international development organisation Waste Aid.
He has been working in the waste and circular economy sector for 30 years.
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Sergeant Katherine Strong
Katherine is a Search and Rescue Technician with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Since joining the CAF in 2008, she has supported high-risk search and rescue operations across Canada, providing medical care and extraction in remote and austere environments. Her training includes parachuting, hoisting, mountain rescue, diving, paramedicine, avalanche safety, and survival operations.
She crewed Canada’s first all-female search and rescue operation and continues to work in small, highly skilled teams where decisions matter and conditions can change quickly.
With this year’s conference beginning on Earth Day, the theme Waste in a World of Change reflects a sector navigating rapid and overlapping shifts. Climate impacts, more frequent disasters, supply chain disruptions, emerging technologies, and population growth are reshaping how systems are planned and operated. Katherine’s experience offers a grounded perspective on resilience, preparedness, and teamwork on the front lines, and what it really takes to respond when conditions are uncertain.
Speakers
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Loren Bekeris
Loren Bekeris is a Program Engineer in the Waste Reduction and Management Division at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). In this role, she contributes to Canada’s efforts to reduce landfill methane emissions, including the federal Landfill Methane Regulations which came into force in December 2025. She is also involved in promoting collaboration and developing and disseminating tools and resources in support of improved measurement of landfill methane emissions and emerging approaches to methane mitigation. Prior to joining ECCC in 2022, Loren worked in the consulting industry in the hydrogeology field.
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Elise Duma
Elise is a Waste Management Engineer with over eight years of experience in engineering consulting. Her expertise includes the design of landfill closures, cell expansion, transfer stations, soil treatment pads, feasibility studies, and landfill siting, along with a strong background in environmental monitoring systems and regulatory compliance. Elise also has experience in business analysis for a waste management company, supporting operational planning and data analysis, and has hands-on experience at a Class I landfill, contributing to both auditing and environmental compliance. She is also known for her excellent communication skills, ability to coordinate multidisciplinary teams, and engage stakeholders effectively.
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James Nicholls
James Nicholls has been the Collections Manager with the City of Lethbridge’s Waste and Environment team for the past four years. He is responsible for the collection of waste for Lethbridge’s 106,000 residents and has recently completed the implementation of the City’s curbside organics program. He has also been busy working through the rollout of EPR programs for Lethbridge.
Prior to his time in the waste industry, he previously worked with the City’s asset management team and other operations groups for over a decade. Throughout this time James has been focused on incorporating technology into operational processes to optimize existing systems.
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Jeff Gunderson
Jeff Gunderson is a Process Analyst with the City of Lethbridge, where he has worked for the past 12 years after graduating from the University of Lethbridge. He has moved into his current role from a systems technician position, bringing experience in finding practical ways to incorporate technology into municipal waste collection services.
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Tony Colangelo
Tony Colangelo is an accomplished, culture-focused leader with a career in Waste Services spanning over two decades, specializing in complex waste management and operational excellence.
Currently serving as the Director of Waste Collection Services, he oversees the budget, efficiency, and safety of Curbside Collections, Communal Collections (Multi-Family), Waste Drop-Off Services (Recycling Depots, Big Bin Events, Assisted Waste Collection), and Eco Stations (HHW/HSP and large item drop-off facilities).
Tony provides direct leadership, guidance, and oversight to five managers, with an overall workforce of 400; fostering a positive work environment, actively considering employee experiences, and contributing to diversity and inclusion initiatives.
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Rocky Strong
Rocky holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Memorial University. As the leader of Strong Data, he focuses on driving waste industry growth across North America. A dedicated leader, Rocky served as a director for the Gander and Area Chamber of Commerce and the SWANA Atlantic Canada Chapter before relocating to British Columbia in January 2026.
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Erin Bird
Erin (she/her) is passionate about building a more sustainable world through mentorship, volunteerism, and working within the public service sector. Her day job is as an engineer at The City of Calgary, but her second “job” is volunteering with non profit grassroot organizations, Circular Calgary, and Fair Trade Calgary, a venture under Engineers Without Borders. Erin has been leading Circular Calgary since 2019 and the club wrote a Calgary Repair Guidebook for hosting community-led Repair Exchange events and has hosted several education and networking events to showcase circular businesses in Calgary.
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Martin Ortiz
Martin Ortiz is a municipal leader with more than 24 years of experience leading complex environmental, operational, and capital‑intensive portfolios for The City of Calgary’s Waste & Recycling Services. With a foundation in hydrogeology and a proven track record managing multimillion‑dollar operating and capital programs, he brings deep expertise in risk management, regulatory compliance, asset stewardship, and long‑range financial planning. Known for building strong teams and delivering results through clear structure, collaboration, and technical expertise, Martin has guided diverse groups through complex operational, regulatory, and financial challenges. He is a Professional Geologist (P.Geo.) and active member of APEGA and SWANA.
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Lori McGillivray Moroz
Lori McGillivray Moroz is a LEED certified architect and project manager whose expertise lies in sustainable design and project management. Lori is currently leading the Public Space and Event Waste Diversion project in the department of Sustainability with the City of Saskatoon.
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Liane Little
Liane Little serves as the Waste Reduction Specialist at the City of Edmonton Reuse Centre, a facility that supports waste reduction and the circular economy. She builds community engagement through facilitating practical sustainability initiatives including DIY Thursdays workshops, community swap events and markets. Liane also works to reduce waste and strengthen the circular economy by creating educational partnerships with like-minded organizations and supporting a Waste Reduction and Reuse Grant.
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Kelvin Tsun Wai Ng
Prof. Kelvin Tsun Wai Ng is the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Environmental Sustainability and Professor of Environmental Systems Engineering at University of Regina, Canada. Prof. Ng is interested in sustainable waste management system design. He has authored/coauthored over 200 publications, and he has received both research and teaching awards. Prof. Ng is also a prolific reviewer. Many of the world’s prestigious journals are relying on his expertise for editorial decisions. Prof. Ng reviewed over 575 journal manuscripts for various publishers, including leading journals such as Nature Sustainability (2024 JIF=27.1) and Nature Communications (2024 JIF=15.7). In addition, he reviewed hundreds of conference papers, journal special issues, and book proposals for Elsevier, Springer, and Cambridge University Press. He is currently serving as an Associate Editor and Guest Editor for Waste Management (Elsevier), an Editor for Environmental Science and Pollution Research (Springer), and an Editorial Board Member for Ecological Informatics (Elsevier). Prof. Ng is the former chair of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) Environmental Division (2018-2024) and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan Awards Committee (2022-2024). Prof. Ng organized and chaired/co-chaired eight international CSCE conferences. He has been appointed to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment’s Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee since 2021. He is an elected Fellow of the CSCE.
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Erica Peris
Erica Peris is a Project Engineer at Rochem Americas. She has published research on sterile filtration technologies and developed product purification methods for biotech applications prior to her role at Rochem. Erica has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University.
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Tim Abbott
Tim Abbott is an Environmental and Wastewater Engineering specialist at AECOM Canada and is currently based out of Winnipeg, MB. He received his PhD from the University of British Columbia where he was focused on biological and thermochemical treatments to better treat contaminants and to recover resources from waste materials. Since joining industry, he as worked on several trace contaminant and PFAS projects, facility upgrades and masterplans, and other studies for municipalities and government agencies across North America.
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Pulkit Gupta
Pulkit Gupta is a Waste Management Engineer with The City of Calgary, where he supports the contract management of the Calgary Composting Facility. He previously worked at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre, contributing to the commissioning, operation, and maintenance of composting and anaerobic digestion facilities. Pulkit collaborates closely with multidisciplinary internal and external teams to analyze operational data, enhance process efficiency, mitigate environmental risks, and advance sustainable waste management solutions through continuous improvement and technical rigor.
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Jon Heinrichs
Jon Heinrichs is a Project Manager with the City of Calgary. His career has centered around capital projects delivery, first as a consultant in municipal utilities and water resources, and later at The City in waste management. Jon is currently managing the construction phase of the Calgary Composting Facility Expansion, adding another 60% processing capacity through anaerobic digestion, and the concept development to upgrade the captured biogas to renewable natural gas.
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Julie Flynn
Originally from Québec City, Julie studied chemical engineering at Université Laval and earned a master’s degree from McGill University. She spent more than 12 years in France and one year in Guadalajara, Mexico. From 2006 to 2021, she developed leading expertise in biogas and hydrogen engineering at Air Liquide, working on projects in Europe, North America, and Asia. She has long been convinced of the importance of renewable gases in the energy transition.
Actively promoting the role of women in engineering, Julie Flynn joined Waga Energy in 2021 as CEO of the Canadian subsidiary. When she arrived, the subsidiary had 3 employees; it now has more than 30. In 2023 and 2024, Julie played a key role in the launch of three renewable natural gas production units in Québec. The first and largest site, located in Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, helped create an ecosystem in the Mauricie region in partnership with several local stakeholders, thereby supporting the company’s growth.
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Tom Jacklin
Tom is a Principal Engineer with Worley Canada’s Environment and Liability team. Tom’s role as a subject matter expert in solid and industrial waste management, regulatory and sustainable remediation, allows him to bring his technical knowledge to a wide array of industrial programs both domestically and internationally. He has participated and led waste projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Nigeria, New Zealand, Philippines, United States and Brazil). His extensive background for example includes renewable natural gas, waste circularity, and sustainable remediation. His project portfolio has incorporated experience with decarbonization, energy security, biodiversity protection, water security and climate change mitigation. He has developed a technical reputation for delivering integrated technical solutions covering the complete project life cycle and addressing coordination of multi-discipline international teams, negotiation with stakeholders and regulators, and interfaces through to successful handover to Clients.
By leveraging his skills during design, construction and operations, he ensures environmentally sound and regulatory-compliant solutions. His commitment to excellence in safety, engineering design, construction management, and waste facility permitting add significant value, ensuring the client’s success and sustainability.
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Shawn McKay
Shawn McKay is the Authority Manager at the Newell Regional Landfill and is responsible for overseeing the landfill’s daily operations. He was born and raised in Drumheller, Alberta and later in life, after obtaining a wide variety of education along with work and life experience, returned to Drumheller and spent 8 years with the Drumheller landfill and recycling before landing in Brooks, Alberta with his wife in 2021.
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Kendra Johnston
Kendra Johnston is the Office Manager of the Newell Regional Landfill. Born and raised in southern Alberta and has built a career at the landfill and been at NRL for over 20 years.
She has experience in all aspects of the landfill operations and has built her career in the industrial and MSW sides of the landfill. Currently has the main landfill site along with 5 transfer stations under her purview. In her spare time, she can be found with her husband in her RV on an adventure.
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Michelle Tomasiewicz
Michelle is a Professional Environmental Engineer based in AECOM’s Saskatoon office. She has 5 years of experience working on a variety of environmental and regulatory projects including environmental monitoring, hydrological studies, detailed design, construction administration and regulatory reporting. Michelle has collaborated with teams in both the public and private sectors working with multi-disciplinary teams.
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Matt Rawluk
Matt has an extensive background that, in addition to waste, includes the life sciences, transportation, oilfield, and construction industries. Born and raised in Alberta and educated at the U of A, Matt has both frontline and management experience with a strong track record of commitment to health and safety, environmental stewardship, and team building. He has been COO of Claystone Waste since 2024 and lives in Leduc with his wife Kyla and their three young children.
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Adam Wasylyshyn
After moving from North Vancouver to Calgary in 2007, Adam studied at the University of Calgary’s Human Performance Lab, obtaining undergraduate and graduate degrees in Exercise Physiology while competing for the Dinos track & field team. Following graduation, Adam worked as an applied sport scientist in Vancouver, where he designed and implemented training programs for high-performance athletes. Adam began working with frontline first responders from the Burnaby and Coquitlam Fire Departments in 2017, then returned to Calgary to work in the Wellness Clinic of the Calgary Fire Department and on the Physical Training Team of the Calgary Police Service.
Most recently, Adam has been supporting the over 8000 frontline employees that make up the City of Calgary’s Operational Services department. From delivering weekly wellness breaks to helping improve movement mechanics of the people that keep our city running, Adam has an infectious enthusiasm for preparing frontline staff to be both operationally ready and safe on the job. When not on a jobsite, you can find Adam on the ski hill or in the kitchen trying to perfect his pad thai recipe (the secret is in the tamarind sauce).
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Andy Kitchen
Known for her high energy, Andy has a love for movement mechanics and workplace wellness solutions that focus on making the body and mind feel good at work and beyond. She is a Clinical Exercise Physiologist (CSEP), Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (NSCA) and Fitness Alberta Leader and Trainer.
Andy has been a Recreation Program Specialist with the City of Calgary for 20 years. In her current role she helps support the over 8000 employees that make up the City of Calgary’s Operational Services department, including Waste & Recycling Services.
She has a passion for employee education, and she is often heard saying, “if you want to feel good outside of work, you have to move well at work.”
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Sebastien Tessier
Sébastien Tessier is Executive Chef at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, bringing over 20 years of leadership in hospitality and food and beverage. He combines strong business acumen with refined culinary expertise, supported by a Chef de Cuisine certification from SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology), a Chef’s Diploma from ITHQ (Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec), and a sommelier certification from the International Sommelier Guild.
His career spans senior roles with Fairmont properties, including Banff Springs Hotel, Jasper Park Lodge, Château Lake Louise and Fairmont Orchid Hawaii, as well as luxury rail service with Canadian Pacific Railway. At Banff Centre, he served for 12 years in progressive leadership roles before returning in 2024 as Executive Chef.
Prior to his return to Banff Centre, Sébastien broadened his leadership experience as Director of Food & Beverage at Lake Louise Ski Resort and Culinary & Hospitality Director at Panorama Mountain Resort, overseeing large-scale food and beverage operations.
A committed advocate for sustainability, Sébastien has contributed to the SAIT Professional Cooking Advisory Committee (2015–2021). His leadership also supported Banff Centre in earning the Town of Banff Zero Waste Trailblazer Award, and he has been an active contributor to the Culinary Tourism Task Force for Banff & Lake Louise Tourism.
Sébastien’s career reflects a deep commitment to culinary excellence, innovation, and sustainable hospitality.
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Stacey Schaub-Szabo
Waste Archeologist – S-Cubed Environmental
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Kathleen Van Ihinger
Former Acting Executive Director of Green Calgary, former Founder and Race Organizer for the Calgary Earth Run. Currently Operations Manager for Devour Events and Catering, a position whose mandate includes sustainability.
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Alyson Schill
Alyson is the CEO of the food donation app, Careit. Careit utilizes technology to connect the edible surplus food in businesses directly to local nonprofits and provides donation data tracking tools for nonprofits, municipalities, and corporations to meet government mandates and corporate social responsibility initiatives. She’s passionate about reconnecting all members of a community and healing through food.
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Alanna Pettigrew
Alanna Pettigrew is the founder and CEO of Banff Food Rescue, a volunteer-driven non-profit organization. Founded in 2016 as a passion project out of her home, the organization now operates from a commercial space in downtown Banff. Her work focuses on reducing landfill waste by recovering and redistributing surplus food. The approach not only diverts food from the waste stream but also helps address food insecurity, supporting families and individuals while strengthening the community. She contributes to more sustainable waste management practices while advancing meaningful local impact.Alanna Pettigrew is the founder and CEO of Banff Food Rescue, a volunteer-driven non-profit organization. Founded in 2016 as a passion project out of her home, the organization now operates from a commercial space in downtown Banff. Her work focuses on reducing landfill waste by recovering and redistributing surplus food. The approach not only diverts food from the waste stream but also helps address food insecurity, supporting families and individuals while strengthening the community. She contributes to more sustainable waste management practices while advancing meaningful local impact.
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Ibrahim Karidio
Dr. Ibrahim Karidio is a leading authority in clean energy transition, currently serving as the Senior Thermochemical Engineer and Lead for Waste Innovations for the City of Edmonton. As the founder and Principal Manager of the Alberta Clean Energy Technology Accelerator (ACETA), he serves as the City’s primary technical lead for future-ready energy solutions.
With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Karidio’s career is defined by a rare blend of technical mastery and entrepreneurial vision. He has been instrumental in the creation of specialized business units focused on air emission control and pulp and paper energy systems optimization, bridging the gap between R&D and commercial viability.
In his role managing the Advanced Energy Research Facility (AERF), Dr. Karidio has overseen the full lifecycle of the facility—from development and construction to commissioning and R&D program optimization. His extensive expertise includes:
● Waste-to-Energy: Biomass and municipal solid waste gasification.● Industrial Systems: Energy efficiency policy and computational fluid dynamics.● Global Leadership: Former leader of the Biomass Thermochemical Processes Group at FPInnovations and policy advisor for Alberta Environment.Education & Credentials
● Executive MBA: University of Northern British Columbia● PhD & M.Sc. in Engineering: University of New Brunswick● Engineering Degrees in Industrial Chemistry: École Supérieure de Chimie Industrielle & University Claude Bernard (Lyon, France) -
Brett Snell
Brett Snell P.L.(Eng.) is a Project Manager and Civil Engineer with over 17 years of experience. Brett specializes in planning, designing, and constructing landfills in the municipal and industrial sectors. He has supported over one hundred solid waste projects, including siting new facilities, cell expansions, and capping infrastructure. His projects draw upon new and developing technologies, including the use of drone-captured images and photogrammetry data to support construction progress monitoring, design development, and stakeholder consultation.
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Jennifer Koole
Jennifer Koole is the Executive Director of the Recycling Council of Alberta, a non-profit organization with over 350 members. With a degree in environmental science, many years in municipal government, and international experience as a zero-waste consultant, Jennifer brings both technical insight and on-the-ground perspective to advancing circular economy and waste reduction initiatives. She’s passionate about connecting people and ideas to drive collaboration, spark innovation, and help communities, businesses, and policymakers reimagine waste as a valuable resource in building a more sustainable future.
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Carla Bitz
Carla coordinates the Town of Banff’s reuse initiatives, which support the Town’s goal to divert 70% of waste by 2028 and ultimately send zero waste to landfill. As a municipality uniquely situated within a National Park and UNESCO world heritage site, Banff faces both unique challenges and opportunities in moving toward zero waste and striving to become a model environmental community.
Carla is a nature lover, aspiring farmer, and policy nerd. Growing up in Calgary, Carla has always had the privilege of enjoying Banff as her backyard and outdoor playground. Her deep connection to the mountains is what drives her work in ensuring that Banff’s pristine beauty remains to be enjoyed by generations to come.
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Steve Johnson
Steve graduated from the University of Alberta with an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters of Engineering in Environmental Engineering. He has worked for Hydrogeological Consultants, Alberta Environment, Waste Management of Canada Corporation, and AECOM throughout his career specializing in waste management over the past 30 years.
At Hydrogeological Consultants he conducted landfill groundwater monitoring programs and surface water availability evaluations.
While at Alberta Environment he was and approval writer for landfills, water, and waste water treatment facilities and then the Provinces 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. He also was the chair of the Alberta Landfill and Compost Operator Certification Committee, a member of the Technical Guidance for the Quantification of Specified Gas Emissions from Landfills, the Technical group for the Management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials in Waste, and a variety of dead animal disposal committees.
While at Waste Management of Canada Corporation Steve was the Site Engineer responsible for the Big Valley and West Edmonton landfill for landfill capping, developing and operating a leachate treatment plant, waste acceptance approvals, regulatory reporting, gull control, the upgrade to a landfill gas collection and flaring system, as well as the engineering and regulatory submission processes for the development of the Thorhild landfill.
At AECOM he is the Solid Waste Manager for Canada. He is involved with the National Solid Waste Benchmarking Initiative, Circular Economy initiatives, solid waste management feasibility studies, landfill & compost siting studies, landfill & compost design, transfer station design, landfill master plans, operations plans, environmental monitoring plans, fill plans, compliance audits, related environmental studies and regulatory applications, and solid waste construction projects.
Steve has presented frequently at SWANA conferences on topics such as Alberta regulation, Alberta Operator Certification, dead animal disposal, gull control, waste acceptance, waste operations, Regional waste systems, landfill cap design, and leachate management.
Steve is a long time SWANA board member and instructor for the Manager of Landfill Operations, landfill operator basics, fire, leachate, and household hazardous waste courses.
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Joe Angevine
Joe was born and raised around the Calgary area and has worked in the waste & recycling industry for close to 20 years. He completed a Bachelor of Management degree from the University of Lethbridge and has been managing the Foothills Regional Landfill & Resource Recovery Centre for 13 years.
Joe completed a Master’s Degree in Environment & Management from Royal Roads University and completed his master’s thesis: Come Hell or High Water: A Comparative Analysis of the 2013 High River Flood Response. This thesis focused on improving disaster debris management practices in Alberta and Joe has been helping teach SWANA’s Disaster Debris Management Course since that time. He also helps teach the SWANA Landfill Operations Basic Course and is an acting member of SWANA’s Board of Directors.
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Imad Touahar
M. Imad E. Touahar is the PFAS initiative leader in the Canada region for AECOM. He has been involved in environmental studies regarding emerging contaminants and their elimination since 2012 during his post-graduate studies.
M. Touahar has both theoretical and hands-on experience regarding the sampling and reporting of PFAS contaminants in multiple matrices including soil, sediments, surface water and groundwater.
He has also worked as a water treatment engineer, and acquired experience that included PFAS testing and elimination in water using electrochemical oxidation.
M. Touahar, based on his experience in both PFAS characterization and elimination, understands and works on both challenges of evaluating contamination of PFAS-impacted media and eliminating such persistent contaminants.
Mr. Touahar has also worked as a project manager and field coordinator in the context of a long-term data acquisition project of air quality monitoring at an industrial site.
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Mannie Cheung
Mannie Cheung is the Vice President of Operations at Product Care Association of Canada, a not-for-profit industry association that develops, implements, and operates extended producer responsibility programs for household hazardous and special products in Canada and the USA. Mannie has over 25 years of leadership and management experience in the extended producer responsibility sector and more than 9 years in the hazardous waste management industry.
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Stacey Rexin
Stacey Rexin is the Operations Manager at Penticton and Area Cooperative Enterprises (PACE), where she has worked for five years overseeing multiple inclusive employment programs. PACE operates long-standing initiatives including the Rusty Springs Mattress Recycling Program — now running for more than 15 years — as well as e-waste recycling, computer and electronics refurbishment, and general labour services. Stacey co-wrote the updated Rusty Springs Program Guide with PACE board member Terri Margo, helping share a proven model for community-based recycling and barrier-free employment.
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Scott Theede
Scott Theede is a Project Engineer with the City of Saskatoon. Since 2011 he has held multiple engineering roles at the City’s waste management centre. In Late 2020 one of his responsibilities was planning waste placement areas and tracking airspace consumption. He currently works on delivery of capital projects at the site.
Scott is also a Northern Lights Chapter Faculty Member and currently serves as Past-President of the Chapter.
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Tessa Janzen
Tessa Janzen is the Director of Collection at Recycle BC and SK Recycles, where she has spent more than five and a half years contributing to the organization in a variety of roles. In her current position, Tessa oversees collection procurement and is responsible for setting the strategic direction for future innovations in material collection across the province. When she’s not focused on advancing recycling systems, Tessa can be found travelling BC hiking or snowboarding.
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Michele LeBlanc-Havard
Michele LeBlanc-Havard is the Director of Environmental Protection with the Government of Nunavut, where she leads initiatives to protect air, land, and water across one of the most complex and rapidly changing environments in the world. Working at the intersection of environmental stewardship, public health, and northern infrastructure, Michele oversees programs related to contaminated sites, solid waste management, environmental compliance, and land use planning.
With extensive experience in environmental health and northern governance, Michele has played a key leadership role in advancing Nunavut’s approach to solid waste management, including the development of territorial strategies in partnership with municipalities and Inuit organizations. Her work emphasizes practical, community-driven solutions that respond to the realities of remote Arctic communities—where climate change, permafrost degradation, and infrastructure limitations present unique challenges.
Michele has also contributed to intergovernmental collaboration on environmental protection, including engagement on marine protected areas, environmental assessment processes, and contaminated site management. She is a strong advocate for integrating Indigenous knowledge with scientific approaches to support sustainable and culturally relevant environmental outcomes.
Her current work focuses on strengthening environmental policy frameworks, modernizing legislation, and advancing innovative solutions—such as regional waste systems and waste-to-energy approaches—to improve environmental and public health outcomes across Nunavut.
At the SWANA Northern Lights Conference, Michele brings a northern leadership perspective grounded in experience, collaboration, and a commitment to getting the fundamentals of environmental protection right in Arctic communities.
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Keegan Story
Keegan has been with the City of Swift Current for eight years and is currently the Manager of Environmental Services. Kegan has a degree in Geological Engineering and has worked as an environmental consultant, mechanic, and farm hand.
In his free time, he chases around a 5 and a 3.5-year-old, spends evenings pulling wrenches in his garage on things that were better left for dead, and spend as much time outdoors on as possible on anything motorized.
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Shawn Cable
After retiring from nine year career playing professional lacrosse, Shawn decided enroll in a Supply-Chain Management program at Mount Royal University. As part of an Inventory and Warehouse Management course, the class took a trip to the Sears Distribution Warehouse. During the tour, Shawn realized there were no facilities available in Alberta for companies and individuals to dispose of used mattresses. He spent the next several months researching the business of mattress recycling, which led to the birth of Re-Matt.
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Mario Poveda
Mario is a Waste Management Engineer with over 15 years of experience leading environmental engineering initiatives across Manitoba, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. As a PMP-certified Project Manager and Lead Engineer, he specializes in the full lifecycle of solid waste systems, from the detailed design of facility expansions and closures to the implementation of complex leachate treatment and stormwater infrastructure. His expertise spans technical design, contract administration, and the development of critical operational strategies such as financial assurance reports and site life assessments.
A dedicated industry leader, Mario currently serves as President of the SWANA Northern Lights Chapter. He remains deeply involved in professional education as a faculty member for the Landfill Operation Basics (LOB) and Leachate Management, sharing his extensive field and regulatory knowledge with the broader waste management community.
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Terry Deakin
Terry Deakin is the founder and CEO of INEO Employment Services, a Port Alberni–based agency recognized for innovative, community-driven solutions to local challenges. With more than 25 years of experience, Terry leads multiple impact-focused ventures, including INEO’s mattress recycling program. Terry actively collaborates with regional partners to advance circular-economy initiatives across Vancouver Island. Terry is a speaker, coach, and community leader – receiving recognition as a BC Career Development Leader of the Year in 2024. Her claim to fame is that INEO has saved enough mattresses from a life in the landfill to fill about 7 football fields, three feet deep!
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Tammy Schwass
Tammy Schwass is the executive director of the Alberta Plastics Recycling Association (APRA), a not-for-profit organization advancing Alberta’s transition to a sustainable plastics circular economy. APRA makes introductions among stakeholders to build important relationships. Its membership consists of plastics resin producers, manufacturers, fabricators, converters, wholesalers and retailers of plastic products, along with plastics recyclers and other members of the recycling community.
Tammy has connections with a variety of participants in the plastics value chain and leads the organization to help facilitate recycling opportunities. She is in tune with the global discourse, issues and opportunities of managing plastics. APRA is one of the founders, and Tammy is the secretary, of the Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group (APRG), a group of over 20 organizations representing commodity groups, industry, non-profits, government and municipalities looking for solutions to manage agricultural plastics in Alberta. She has also worked on stakeholder engagement projects for the national agricultural materials stewardship organization, Cleanfarms, for Rocky View County in Alberta and the Canadian Council for Ministers of the Environment. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Calgary and a Masters of Arts in Environment and Management from Royal Roads University. -
Giselle Beaudry
Giselle Beaudry has been working on waste reduction and waste management initiatives with the Government of the Northwest Territories’ Department of Environment and Climate Change since 2013. Her work has focused on developing regulated waste diversion programs for the Northwest Territories and improving existing programs. Most recently she has been updating legislation to enable EPR and determine next steps for EPR in the NWT. Prior to this work, Giselle spent eight years with the Government of Alberta working on waste reduction, product stewardship and greening government initiatives.
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Blaire Gaalaas
Blaire Gaalaas is Managing Director for Alberta and the Yukon at Circular Materials. In this role, Blaire is responsible for overseeing Circular Materialsʼ extended producer responsibility (EPR) recycling program operations in Alberta and the Yukon, ensuring compliance with the regulatory frameworks in both regions. Her strategic vision, deep knowledge of regulatory environments and exceptional team leadership is key to driving operational success and advancing a circular economy. Prior to joining Circular Materials, Blaire spent 15 years at the Beverage Container Management Board (BCMB), including 5 as CEO, where she successfully led initiatives focused on sustainability, compliance, beverage container collection system design and innovation. Blaire values connecting with Circular Materialsʼ partners and stakeholders and looks forward to continued collaboration as she and her team work to develop efficient and effective recycling programs in Alberta and the Yukon.
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Mother Earth Recycling
Based in Winnipeg, MER is an Indigenous social enterprise that creates meaningful employment opportunities while advancing environmental stewardship through recycling programs, with a particular focus on mattress recycling. This work helps divert bulky waste from landfill while creating practical social and environmental value in the community.
If your organization is looking for a practical mattress recycling solution in Manitoba, Mother Earth Recycling would welcome the opportunity to work with you.
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Gavin Sidhu
Gavin is a client relations and stakeholder engagement professional with a background spanning municipal operations, supply chain, and environmental policy. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Supply Chain Management from MacEwan University and has built his career at the intersection of complex systems and public impact.
Early in his career, Gavin drove high-profile operational projects with the City of Edmonton, contributing to how the city delivers services to hundreds of thousands of residents. That foundation carried forward into his current role at ARMA (Alberta Recycling Management Authority), where he played a pivotal role in standing up Alberta’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program, a landmark shift in how producers, municipalities, and recyclers share responsibility for packaging and hazardous materials. The program now touches the lives of over 4 million Albertans.
As Director of Client Relations at ARMA, Gavin works at the intersection of policy, people, and practice helping producers, communities, and recyclers navigate a shared responsibility model that is reshaping how Alberta thinks about waste.
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Jason Brown
Jason Brown is the Director of Western Canada at Call2Recycle. At Call2Recycle, Jason oversees multiple provincially and territorially mandated consumer battery stewardship programs. He works closely with a wide range of stakeholders, including program industry members, regulatory bodies, advisory committees, service providers, and the public. Jason has over 8 years of experience managing EPR Programs across Canada and in the United States.
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Ash Raichura
Ash Raichura is a professional engineer with over 20 years of experience in waste management across the public and private sectors. His work is driven by a passion for developing sustainable designs that integrate natural and built environments in a world of change. He currently serves as a Project Manager with the City of Winnipeg’s Solid Waste Services Division, where he leads waste diversion and landfill optimization initiatives.
He feels privileged to have contributed to major waste diversion projects in his home city, including the 4R Depots and the City’s planned residential Green Cart program. He leverages his experience to bridge practical municipal operations and landfill engineering applications, including the use of tire-derived aggregate in landfill designs for leachate collection.
He is actively involved with the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), serving as an instructor supporting professional training and knowledge sharing across the industry, and as Treasurer of the Northern Lights Chapter Board of Directors.
Outside of work, Ash enjoys playing hockey, practicing yoga, cycling, travelling, reading, and making pizzas in his wood-fired oven. He lives with his wife and two sons on the banks of the Assiniboine River in Winnipeg.
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Kim Timmer
Kim Timmer, Director of Stakeholder Relations & Policy at Cleanfarms, plays a key role in fostering collaboration between government, industry leaders, and farmers to advance ag plastics recycling programs.
With a trade association background, Kim enjoys advancing sector-wide projects that require buy-in from multiple stakeholders with varying interests. She has a hands-on approach to fostering industry commitment and promotes transparency and openness as tools to overcome the initial hesitation that some stakeholders when they encounter stewardship programs for the first time. Known for her leadership and expertise in navigating regulatory frameworks, she is passionate about helping industry partners meet sustainability goals while making a real impact on Canadian agriculture.
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Danika Pal
Danika Pal is an environmental consultant specializing in extended producer responsibility (EPR) and hazardous waste management. She works at the intersection of policy, industry, and operations to support effective stewardship programs and advance circular economy outcomes.
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Gayleen Creelman
Gayleen Creelman is the Saskatchewan Program Director for the Electronic Products Recycling Association. She has been with EPRA since November 2014. This role covers all aspects of end-of-life electronics management in Saskatchewan, including government and public relations; contract management with service providers, such as collection sites, carriers, and processors; and working with communities to increase awareness and action regarding proper disposal of end-of-life electronics. She is also the current chair of Recycle Saskatchewan (RS), an informal alliance of all EPR programs and SARCAN Recycling in Saskatchewan. RS members work collaboratively to be the overall voice of EPR to government at the rural, urban, First Nation, and provincial levels. Its most recent project was in conjunction with Mistawasis First Nation, Indigenous Services Canada, and Saskatchewan Aboriginal Land Technicians, resulting in the launch of a Recycling Toolkit for Saskatchewan First Nations.
Gayleen’s educational background is in transportation, logistics, and distribution management. She earned the CCLP (CITT Certified Logistics Professional) designation in 1996. As with many professional designations, continuous learning is a key component. She relishes any opportunity to learn, whether that be in her professional or personal life. She previously worked with Cargill at the largest canola seed-crushing facility in North America and with Canpotex Limited, the company that exports Saskatchewan potash to many regions of the world. Her passion is fitting puzzle pieces together as efficiently and effectively as possible, which is probably why she has chosen logistics as the backbone of her career. She also dabbled in IT for a few years, including systems design, implementation, and support, managing a team of employees and contractors to serve users around the world.
Along with her husband, Danny, and daughter, Hannah, she has travelled the world (and all are Disney fans). Her downtime is spent watching football with her husband, cheering for her favourite F1 driver with her daughter, or finding a place to spread out and work on her family genealogy. She loves a good (or bad) game of golf when she can and plays soccer.
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Brent Boss
Brent is the Chief Operations Officer, at Catapult Environmental Inc., where he oversees operations in both Alberta and Manitoba. He provides strategic growth and vision to the operating teams, with the aim of growing the business from its composting roots to a thriving renewable energy business. With more than seventeen years of experience, Brent has built deep expertise in waste resources management, strategy, and engineering covering anaerobic digestion, composting, transfer stations, landfill design, and alternative treatment technologies. He also has extensive experience in greenhouse gas assurance, auditing and carbon transactions, having audited and/or transacted on projects in more than a dozen countries around the world.
Before joining Catapult Environmental Inc., Brent spent three years as the General Manager of Biofuels Assets for Skyline Clean Energy, managing strategic direction and business operations for Skyline’s two anaerobic digestion facilities (Lethbridge Biogas LP and SBE LP (formerly BioEn)). Prior to that he spent over a decade in environmental consulting, working for both GHD as an Associate and Dillon as a Partner, growing offices, mentoring teams, and advancing innovative approaches to waste resource management.
When he’s not digging into the operations of an anaerobic digester or composting operation, Brent is grateful to spend time with his wife and two sons which typically consists of quality time spent in a variety of hockey arenas.
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Tracey Boutilier
Tracey Boutilier was born and raised in a small fishing village in Cape Breton, NS. Cape Breton was also where she began her Waste Management career working in a MRF. She was quickly inflicted with the Waste Management bug and moved to central Newfoundland where she managed the first Engineered Landfill and implemented the first curbside recycling program. Like many living in Newfoundland, Tracey also migrated to Alberta, and worked in the Oil industry for a while before taking a position with the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo at the Fort McMurray Landfill where she remained for 12 years. Tracey holds the position of Alberta Director on the SWANA-NLC Board, and is a reliable member of their faculty. She is the owner of Executive Waste Solutions and currently works fulltime for Department of National Defence at the 4 Wing Cold Lake Air Base as an Environmental Specialist on the Future Fighter Capability Project. When Tracey is not working she can be found travelling and cruising the world with her husband of 19 years Dale Davies or hanging out with their two English Bulldogs, Poppy and Otis.
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Carmen Anseeuw
Carmen Anseeuw has over 17 years of experience in environmental consulting. Her project experience spans Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Ontario, the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Her waste management experience includes feasibility studies, closure plans, waste management options analyses, as well as project management and contract administration of landfill cell and transfer station design and construction projects. Her specialties include regulatory permitting and compliance. Carmen routinely works with rural, urban and remote northern communities to implement waste management solutions.
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Sonya Adams
Sonya Adams is an Environmental Engineering Technologist focused on municipal services. She has managed contracts and municipal services in three provinces and loves solid waste management! Sonya thrives on change and forward thinking instead of doing things “because that is how we have always done it”. Knowing the history and reason is important to do better. When not working to improve operations at the landfill, Sonya is involved in the SWANA NLC and Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group (APRG) Boards, enjoying the outdoors with her horses, husband and watching her kids grow.
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Kelly Kuryk
Kelly Kuryk serves as a Senior Manager with Manitoba Environment and Climate Change, with responsibility for waste diversion and extended producer responsibility programming in Manitoba.
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Kevin Keenan
Mr. Keenan is a geologist with >35 years’ experience conducting soil and groundwater assessment and remediation design/implementation projects in the United States and Canada. Mr. Keenan is a Registered Geologist and Certified Hydrogeologist in California and is a registered Professional Geologist in Canada (Alberta). Mr. Keenan currently acts as team lead and manages several projects involving the design and installation/operation of automated leachate recovery systems at operating landfills in western Canada.
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Spencer Smith
Spencer Smith is a Project Engineer with Tetra Tech and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. Mr. Smith has over 17 years’ experience in solid waste engineering and design including landfill siting, detailed landfill design, procurement and construction management, quality assurance, site development, and annual reporting.
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Michel Lefebvre
Michel Lefebvre is the long-gone Past President of the SWANA Northern Lights Chapter, a SWANA faculty member, and Manager and Senior Engineer with Tetra Tech’s Solid Waste Management Practice. Michel has worked in the solid waste field for over 25 years and in that time he has worked on hundreds of projects with a focus on managing and improving landfills and solid waste infrastructure.
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Iris Monner
Iris Monner is the Manager, Standards Strategic Development at Canadian Standards Association (CSA Group) and has a background in Mechanical Engineering. She has over 15 years of experience developing and applying national and international standards.
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Richard Anweiler
Richard is the Leader of Landfill Operations with the City of Calgary’s Waste & Recycling Services Department, and he brings 36 years of hands‑on experience to this topic. What really sets Richard apart is that he’s worked his way through just about every role you can imagine — starting as a residential garbage collector and moving through positions on the landfill as a labourer, scale operator, traffic controller, and industrial waste escort.
Over the years, Richard progressed into leadership roles as a Landfill Foreman and Superintendent, and for the past eight years he’s been in the role of leader of landfill operations for the City of Calgary. Along the way, he’s supported law enforcement with evidence searches at active landfills, always balancing investigative needs with safety, environmental protection, and operational realities.
Richard is a certified landfill and compost operator in Alberta and a former Board member with SWANA Northern Lights, so it’s fair to say he knows this space extremely well.
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Monika Mojelski
Monika Mojelski is a Waste Diversion Specialist for The City of Calgary. She has led and supported the implementation of strategy actions focused on improving waste diversion, including residential spot checks, community cleanups, and waste composition studies.
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Kentson Yan
Kentson Yan is a Project Engineer at Tetra Tech. He has developed specialized expertise in data collection and analysis in the waste management sector. He has designed and implemented multiple waste monitoring programs across Canada.