Susan Ancel
Director of One Water Planning
EPCOR Water Services
Susan Ancel is the director of One Water Planning for EPCOR Water Services in Edmonton, Alberta. She is responsible for the development of strategic plans for the utility across the entire water cycle. In 2021 she was recognized with a Clean 50 award for her development of the Integrated Resource Plan for flood mitigation for Edmonton that considered capital and operational risk mitigation planning, as well as the interrelationships between utilities, insurance, disaster response agencies and the public. Susan is a mechanical engineer with over 35 years of experience in the municipal utility sector. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Canadian Water Network, the Climate Reality Project-Canada and numerous industry association committees with a primary focus on management and financial topics supporting effective utility governance.
Bruce Ander
President & CEO
Markham District Energy Inc.
Yena Bassone-Quashie
PhD candidate
Toronto Metropolitan University
Craig Bonneville
Director, Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant
EPCOR
Maya Buchanan
Assistant Vice President, Climate Scientist, and Adaptation Expert
WSP
Jeff Carmichael
Division Manager of Business Development
MetroVancouver
Dr. Deb Chachra
Professor of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering
Deb Chachra, PhD, is the author of How Infrastructure Works: Inside the Systems That Shape Our World (2023). The book was recognized by Publishers Weekly as a ‘Best Book of 2023.’ Deb is also a professor of engineering at Olin College of Engineering near Boston, Massachusetts, where she was one of the earliest faculty members. She works primarily at the intersection of technology and culture.
Dale Cimolai
My name is Dale Reeves Cimolai
Anishinaabekwe with some English, Scot heritage as well. My heart, body and spirit have been connected to water all my life. From childhood I was raised, taught, supported and comforted by the waters of Lake Nipissing and Park’s Creek in North Bay, Ontario… my beloved home.
James Cooper
Global Director
Arcadis
Lynnell Crone
Vice President, Alternative Contracts & Light Industrial
Bird Construction
Lou Di Gironimo
General Manager, Toronto Water
City of Toronto
Ian Dyck
Senior Vice President, Canada Water
AECOM
Tom Edge
Member, Health Professionals Advisory Board, International Joint Commission
McMaster University
Blair Feltmate
Head, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
University of Waterloo
Marco Fontana-Giusti
VP, Municipal Services
Veolia
Michele Grenier
Executive Director
OWWA
Kavita Heyn
Manager, Adaptive planning, demand management and climate division
Portland Water Bureau
Bu Lam
Director, Sanitary & Stormwater Utilities
City of Kitchener
Kelly Lendsay
President & CEO
Indigenous Works
Kelly Lendsay, MBA, CAFM, is a Cree-Métis leader and social entrepreneur. He is internationally recognized as one of Canada’s foremost innovators and organizational development experts in Indigenous engagement and workplace inclusion systems, models and corporate/Indigenous partnerships.
Nancy Mackay
Director of Water Services
City of Calgary
With 23 years of water utility management experience, Nancy is passionate about connecting people and science to protect public health and the environment. She is focused on maintaining the highly regulated and valued essential drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services that one-third of Albertans count on at the City of Calgary.
Eleanor McAteer
Director, Water Infrastructure Management
Toronto Water
Laura Mirabella
Finance Commissioner
York Region
Cheryl Nelms
General Manager, Project Delivery
MetroVancouver
Nicole Newton
Manager, Climate and Environment
City of Calgary
Gen Nielsen
Director of Water Facilities & Treatment Services
City of Ottawa
Elvis Oliveira
Director, Water/Wastewater, IPPC, Public Works
Peel Region
Anthony Parente
General Manager, Water and Wastewater
Region of Peel
Kate Polkovsky
CEO
Arrow Utilities
David Ponder
Director, Climate Action
US Water Alliance
Tim Reeder
Climate Change Consultant
Climate Sense
Tim Shanks
Water and Wastewater Director
City of Winnipeg
Alex Shannon
Senior VP, West Region Water Business Line Leader
WSP
Emma Shen
Global Principal – Wastewater Energy Optimization and Sector Decarbonization
Jacobs
Dr. Ruqiao (Emma) Shen is an expert in wastewater treatment plant performance assessments and process upgrades evaluation, process modelling and energy optimization. She leads a Jacobs team at the forefront of the global conversation about the paradigm shift toward a low-carbon, low-energy and climate-resilient water sector.
Matti Siemiatycki
Professor of Geography and Planning
University of Toronto
Matti Siemiatycki is director of the Infrastructure Institute and professor of geography and planning at the University of Toronto. His work focuses on delivering large-scale infrastructure projects, evidence–based infrastructure investment decisions, and the effective integration of infrastructure into the fabric of cities. Matti’s recent studies explore transit policy decisions, the value for money of public-private partnerships, the development of innovative mixed-use buildings as a form of place based infrastructure policy, and the diversity gap in the infrastructure industry workforce. Matti consults widely on infrastructure policy and is a frequent media commentator on infrastructure and city planning.
Emily Stahl
Manager, Technical Services Water
City of Guelph
Dave Szeptycki
Director, Sustainability, Communications and Innovation
York Region
Jessica Thornton
Co-President
Creative Futures Studio Inc.
Using applied strategic foresight, Jessica helps organizations make informed decisions about their future. Jessica is a futurist, researcher, strategist, social innovator and designer with experience in the public and non-profit sectors.
Carl Yates
President
Yates Water Management Inc.
Carl Yates, MASc, P.Eng., has over 35 years of experience in the water utility profession and served as project engineer, chief engineer and general manager of Halifax Water. In 1996, Carl oversaw the expansion of services to a regional utility, concurrent with metro Halifax municipal amalgamation. In 2008, he oversaw the formation of the first regulated water, wastewater and stormwater utility in Canada. In 2020, Carl was appointed interim CEO of the Atlantic First Nations Water Authority, the first water utility in Canada owned and operated by First Nations, to serve First Nations.