Speakers

	Prasoon Adhikari, Supervisor, Environmental Engineering, City of Guelph Prasoon Adhikari is a supervisor of environmental engineering with the City of Guelph and a Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario with over 16 years of experience in civil & environmental engineering. Prasoon has been involved in environmental site assessments; design and management of groundwater, water and wastewater treatment systems; treatment (remediation) alternative studies; construction oversight of environmental projects; designated substance; peer reviews; and management, remediation, and redevelopment of brownfield and historical landfill Sites.
	Krista Barfoot, Ph.D., C.Chem., QPRA, Principal, Environmental Services, Stantec A Brownfield Redevelopment Specialist with Stantec Consulting Limited, Dr. Barfoot has 25 years of industry experience and expertise in strategic site planning, risk assessment, vapour intrusion assessment, and risk management. Dr. Barfoot’s technical expertise additionally extends to excess soil management, emerging contaminants (including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances View Full Bio +/- [PFAS]), non-aqueous phase liquid, risk mitigation measures, and stakeholder communication. Dr. Barfoot is a qualified person for risk assessment (per Ontario Regulation 153/04), co-chair of the Ontario Environmental Industry Association (ONEIA) Brownfields Committee and PFAS Committee, an ONEIA Excess Soils Sub-Committee member, and a member of the board of the Canadian Brownfields Network. She has actively led the development of the strategic approach for revitalizing a number of large, high-profile brownfield sites in Ontario, and is based in Stantec’s Waterloo, Ontario office.
	Stephanie Clarke, B.A., Environmental Consultant, WSP Ms. Stephanie Clarke is an Environmental Consultant with seven years of experience in the environmental service industry. Stephanie specializes in air quality (ambient and indoor), air quality impact assessments, air dispersion modelling for transportation, due diligence and environmental compliance, air quality management, and land use compatibility. View Full Bio +/- Stephanie is knowledgeable in various air quality regulations and guidelines and has completed a broad range of air quality projects in Ontario, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and the United States. Stephanie ensures that quality control and quality assurance processes are implemented during all stages of projects from planning and field work to data analysis and reporting. Stephanie demonstrates proficiency in various emission modelling software including Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES), CAL3HC, and AERMOD, as well as data processing and interpretation. Stephanie provides both technical consulting and project management services to various clients. Stephanie’s environmental consulting portfolio includes both the public and private sectors such as government and institutional properties, transit and transportation, commercial and industrial facilities.
	Pete Craig, Director of Project Innovation, QM Environmental Pete Craig is an environmental remediation veteran with over 20 years of professional experience in both contracting and consulting. He has worked on a diverse array of environmental projects, spanning such disparate areas as used nuclear fuel management, in-situ solidification/stabilization (ISS), bulk fractured rock excavation, reactive barriers, ISCO, ISCR, biopiles, thermal, PFAs sorption, mine closure, oil pipeline ruptures and produced water spills. View Full Bio +/- Pete serves as the National Director of Project Innovation for QM Environmental’s Remediation Division, acting as technical director for contracting programs up to $130 M in value. Pete previously built the Canadian practice of an expanding specialty American ground improvement and remediation contractor, creating a significant market presence. Prior to that, he restructured the environmental remediation practice for a 400 person, 11 location environmental division with one of Canada’s leading engineering consultancies. Pete earned a B.Sc. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley in 1996 and an M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford in 1998, subsequently completing post-graduate business studies at SFU. He maintains registration as a Professional Chemist (PChem) in BC and is a longstanding member of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE). On the side, he continues to work through the platform of GeoEnviroPro (Geoenviro Training Professionals, Inc.) to host and/or deliver talks on a range of currently relevant professional subjects. Contact Pete for specialty environmental and site remediation projects, to form alliances, to interconnect with industry leaders, to commercialize new technologies - or just to brainstorm "best possible" options to seemingly intractable challenges.
	Barbara Daly Sr. Project Manager, City of Edmonton Barbara Daly has been a Program Manager with the City of Edmonton since 2006. Some of her projects/initiatives with City of Edmonton include: View Full Bio +/- ICLEI World Congress 2009 Solar PV Grant Pilot Program Zero2014 Conference Edmonton Renewable Energy Task Force Brownfield Redevelopment Grant Program Energy Transition Climate Resilience Advisory Committee to Council (ETCRAC) Clean Energy Improvement Program (aka PACE-property assessed clean energy) 311 Administrative Consolidation Prior to joining City Administration, Barbara provided project management services in the Transportation, Finance, Information Technology, Marketing and Telecommunications industries. She has a Bachelor of Arts, Economics.
	Tim Daniels, Chief Operating Officer, Treaty 1 (Long Plain First Nation) Tim is a proud Anishinabe from the Long Plain First Nation (LPFN), located on Treaty 1 Territory. He is currently Chief Operating Officer with Treaty 1 Development Corporation responsible for the Master Plan and development of the 160 acre former Kapyong Barracks in Winnipeg. View Full Bio +/- Tim has a wealth of experience in property and business development and is devoted to projects that help First Nations strive for economic success and sustainability. His accomplishments include development of Long Plain Urban Reserves in both Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie which have established LPFN as an economic force in Canada. Tim has won many awards including as Economic Developer of the Year, Spirit of Growth and Visionary Indigenous Business Excellence awards to mention just a few.
	Christopher De Sousa, Professor, School of Urban and Regional Planning, Ryerson University Christopher De Sousa, Ph.D., MCIP, RPP, is a Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Ryerson University and previously held the position of School Director from 2011 to 2018. Before joining Ryerson, he was a faculty member and Chair of the Urban Planning program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and also served as a faculty member in the Department of Geography and the Urban Studies program. He received his BA in Environment and Resource Management, his M. Sc. in Planning, View Full Bio +/- and his Ph. D. in Geography, all from the University of Toronto. He is a Registered Professional Planner and a member of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and the Canadian Institute of Planners. Professor De Sousa’s research activities focus on various aspects of brownfield redevelopment, urban environmental management, parks planning, and sustainability reporting in Canada and the United States. He has just completed a multi-year research project examining brownfields redevelopment in Ontario funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and another examining progress made in implementing Canada’s National Brownfield Redevelopment Strategy funded by MITACS and the Canadian Brownfields Network. His earlier research has been funded by the US EPA, USDA Forest Service, National Academies (HUD Urban Scholars Postdoctoral Fellowship), US Trade and Development Agency, Consul General of Canada, SSHRC, as well as by UW-Milwaukee and private foundations. Professor De Sousa’s work has appeared in prominent journals in planning, geography, and urban studies such as Economic Development Quarterly, Landscape and Urban Planning, Environment and Planning B, the Professional Geographer, the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, and Urban Studies. Professor De Sousa has been actively involved with government agencies and nonprofits in Canada and the United States that address urban issues such as brownfield policy, sustainability, comprehensive planning, and city building. He is currently President of the Canadian Brownfields Network, a Steering Committee Member on the US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Brownfields/Land Reuse Health Initiative, and on the Executive Committee for Ryerson’s Center for Urban Research and Land Development. He is the proud recipient of the 2018 Brownfielder of the Year award.
	Sandra Dworatzek, M.Sc. – Principal Scientist, SiREM Ms. Dworatzek is a Principal Scientist at SiREM and has been with the company for nineteen years. Ms. Dworatzek is an environmental microbiologist with advanced technical experience in bioaugmentation cultures and laboratory treatability studies. SiREM maintains state-of-the-art treatability, molecular testing and microbial culture production facilities in Guelph, Ontario, Canada and Knoxville, TN. She currently oversees maintenance and culturing of microbial cultures that have been widely used to improve the rate and extent of bioremediation of chlorinated solvents in groundwater. As well as promoting the development of new bioaugmentation cultures for a wide range of environmental contaminants, including 1,4-dioxane, 1,2,3-trichloropropane, benzene, toluene and xylene. She provides senior technical oversight for laboratory treatability studies for a wide range of environmental contaminants, including halogenated organics (e.g., solvents, pesticides, etc.) and inorganics, both alone and in complex mixtures.
	Peter Ellis, Principal Planner, Region of Waterloo Principal Planner and Brownfield Coordinator with the Region of Waterloo since 2015, Peter has worked with the Region in both the Community Planning and Public Health departments since 2007. As a result of his varied experiences working with contaminated sites in Waterloo Region, he brings a unique Municipal understanding to overcoming the necessary challenges to remediate and redevelop brownfields.
	James R. Evans, M.Eng., P.Geo, Senior Manager, Environmental Risk, RBC JAMES (Jamie) EVANS is a Senior Manager in the Environmental Risk group of RBC in Toronto. A geologist by training, Jamie has a B.Sc in Earth Science from the University of Waterloo and an M.Eng. in Engineering from the University of Western Ontario (now Western University). Mr. Evans is responsible for environmental risk issues enterprise-wide with an emphasis on the effect of environmental issues on credit. View Full Bio +/- He is responsible for everything from evaluating the risk of unexploded ordinance at logistic properties in Germany to assessing the environmental impacts of a liquefied natural gas facility in Qatar. He has been with RBC for over 21 years and reviews over 2000 transactions per year worth approximately $15 billion in Canada, the US and Europe. Prior to working at the bank he spent 13 years as an environmental consultant with several international consulting firms and has worked on projects in Canada, the US, China and Barbados. He has spoken on contaminated land remediation, the Equator Principles and Brownfield redevelopment for RBC on a number of occasions in Canada and the US. Jamie is regularly consulted by the legal profession, academics, regulators, environmental consultants and potential clients in Canada and the US.
	John Georgakopoulos B.Sc. (Hons.), M.Sc., LL.B., Partner, Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP John Georgakopoulos B.Sc. (Hons.), M.Sc., LL.B., is a Partner at Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP and is a Certified Specialist in Environmental Law by the Law Society of Ontario. John resolves complex environmental legal issues for clients, uniquely drawing on his technical knowledge as a former senior environmental scientist with Ontario’s environmental regulator. View Full Bio +/- John has particular expertise advising property developers, REITs, industrial manufacturers, and municipalities about managing environmental risks and liabilities associated with brownfields and contaminated sites. John provides strategic advice to help protect clients against corporate and personal environmental liabilities including civil claims, regulatory orders, prosecutions and fines. John is called to the Bar in Ontario and Alberta.
	Albert Ho, Senior Director of Environmental Programs, First Capital REIT Albert provides direction and leadership to manage environmental compliance and risk nationally at First Capital REIT. He has over 20 years of experience in the field of environmental risk management, investigation, and remediation. His experience includes both working as an environmental consultant and working in industry including real estate and manufacturing. He is a Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor and Master of Engineering (Environmental) from the University of Guelph, MBA from Queen’s View Full Bio +/- University, and Certified Risk Manager (CRM). Albert enjoys learning and is very open to new ideas. He is also a Sessional Lecturer for the Graduate Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences at University of Toronto Scarborough teaching Contaminated Sites Remediation to students of the Master of Environmental Science Program.
	David Hofbauer, Team Lead for Air Quality, WSP Mr. David Hofbauer is the Team Lead for Air Quality within the Ontario Earth and Environment Group at WSP. David has over 18 years’ experience in nuisance assessments (odour, noise, and dust), air sampling (source, indoor, and ambient), soils investigations, transportation related air quality impacts assessments, and ventilation design to mitigate soil gas vapour concerns. View Full Bio +/- David has presented on natural organic matter destruction to the International Water Association in Adelaide, Australia, as well as at the Ontario Water Works Association/Ontario Municipal Waterworks Joint Annual Conference and Tradeshow. He has presented on odour sampling and analysis to the American Waste Management Association and at the Odour Management Conference and Tradeshow. David currently serves as the Vice-Chair for the Odour Technical Committee for the American Waste Management Association. His environmental consulting portfolio includes both the public and private sectors encompassing a wide variety of client facilities throughout Canada and the United States including government and institutional properties, commercial, and industrial facilities. When not discussing odour, David can be found as far away from a cell phone tower as he can get with his family in a canoe moving to the next camp site.
	Michael Jacobs, CEO, Cambium Indigenous Professional Services (CIPS) Inc. Michael is a member of the Curve Lake First Nation and brings a unique leadership profile to the CIPS team. Michael’s speciality is management consulting and community engagement for First Nation communities and projects. Michael has worked on First Nation projects in energy, health, economic development, infrastructure development, governance, housing and environmental View Full Bio +/- stewardship. Michael is a confident project manager and works seamlessly with First Nation leadership, staff and community members. Michael’s current role focuses on First Nation and Traditional lands related projects. His ability to navigate traditional thought, western science and contemporary commerce provides a unique lens on Brownfield development and First Nation communities in the future. Michael is proud to be an Executive Board Member for the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and is the Chairperson of the Aboriginal Programs Committee.
	Meggan Janes, Principal, Geosyntec Meggen Janes is a Principal at Geosyntec and a former Director at Waterfront Toronto. She has over 25 years of experience in brownfield redevelopment, risk based environmental strategies and remediation projects. She has specialized in unique strategies for public realm site redevelopment where use of soil and site management measures have been critical to the success. Meggen taught a graduate course in Soil Remediation for Ryerson University’s Environmental Science and Management program and been View Full Bio +/- a guest lecturer for many college and university programs. She has presented papers and co-authored papers and posters at multiple conferences and won a professional experience award from the Canadian Brownfield Network. She is currently a Vice President of the Canadian Brownfield Network.
	Tammy Lomas-Jylha, Executive Director, Canadian Brownfields Network; President, Lomas-Jylha Consulting Tammy has over 25 years of experience in brownfields and contaminated sites and is recognized as a dynamic and adaptable leader with the ability to coordinate complex multi-partner initiatives and interact effectively with private and public stakeholders. As an executive-level consultant, her work focuses on co-creating visions, strategies, implementation plans, performance View Full Bio +/- measurement tools, and knowledge mobilization approaches to guide decision-making and actions of government and the private sector. Some highlights: Tammy sat on the Green Municipal Fund Council (The Federation of Canadian Municipalities) from 2005 - 2011 where she represented the brownfield and contaminated site sector providing strategic direction for the $550 Million fund and encouraged municipalities to initiate sustainable projects with significant environmental benefits; She is the recipient of the 2009 Canadian Urban Institute’s Brownie Award for Individual Achievement and 2019 HUB (Heroes Underpinning Brownfields) Award from the CBN; and Tammy is one of the founding members of the Canadian Brownfields Network and has been involved in the organization in various ways since its inception. Tammy is very excited to be taking on the role of Executive Director for the CBN and is looking forward to working with the Board, Committees, members, and stakeholder partners.
	Laura Kinsman, Professional, Savron Laura Kinsman, M.E.Sc., is a Professional at Savron. She completed her M.E.Sc. studies at the University of Western Ontario under the direction of Dr. Jason Gerhard and Dr. Jose Torero – co-inventors of the STAR technology. Ms. Kinsman joined Savron in 2014 and has been actively involved in system design, field operations, and project management at sites across North America and Asia, including pilot testing and full-scale applications of both in situ and ex situ smoldering remediation.
	Jean Paré, P. Eng., Vice-President – Sales & Marketing, Chemco inc. Jean Pare, P.Eng., has a degree in Chemical Engineering from Laval University. He has been involved for the last 25 years in the evaluation, development, design, and promotion of both conventional and innovative environmental technologies. As Vice President with Chemco Inc., his responsibilities include the remediation design, technico-economical analysis and technology supply for chemical oxidation and reduction, soil washing, and enhanced bioremediation. Last year, he worked with over 400 sites View Full Bio +/- applying his expertise to various types of organic and inorganic contaminants in soil and groundwater. He is also involved with many environmental organizations such as CLRA, CBN, ESAA, BCEIA and Reseau-Environnement where he is an active technical committee member and regular technical speaker.
	Joanna Pesta, Manager, Programming & Events, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation Joanna joined the CMLC team in March 2016 as the Manager of Programming & Events and since that time has led the creative strategy and execution of CMLC’s robust community placemaking programs. Joanna’s passion for placemaking is evident in her leadership of installations like EV’s first container park, East Village Junction, and popular urban interventions like The Bounce View Full Bio +/- basketball court. She is supported by a BA in Sociology from the University of Calgary, an Event Management Certificate from MRU and more recently, trained through the Project for Public Spaces Placemaking Program in New York City. Previous to CMLC, she spent seven years of creating enriching campus life experiences for the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University where she sat on the Canadian Organization of Campus Activities (COCA) Board of Directors for 2 years. Her community-minded approach also extends into her current role on the Executive Committee for Chinook Blast – Calgary’s emerging winter festival and her past volunteer work with groups like TEDxYYC and the Swing Dance Calgary Board of Directors.
	Shannon Richardson, Principal, GHD Shannon Richardson is a Principal with GHD and a Professional Engineer in the Provinces of Ontario and Alberta. Shannon’s engineering career spans more than 20 years with a focus on contaminated site assessment, remediation and redevelopment across Canada and the United States for public and private sector clients. Since 2016, Shannon has led GHD’s team in siting and designing municipal snow disposal facilities based on industry best practice, regulatory guidance, and lessons learned. Shannon is a member of GHD’s Contamination Assessment and Remediation Leadership Team and Women in GHD Resource Group.
	Roger Santiago, Head, Sediment Remediation Unit, Environment and Climate Change Canada Head of the Sediment Remediation Unit at Environment and Climate Change Canada. Roger joined the department thirty-one years ago when he was hired as a co-op student. He has represented Canada at the NATO Science Team Meeting in Slovenia on Management of Contaminated Sediment Sites and for the past twenty years has participated as a guest lecturer on the Canadian experience in managing contaminated sediment at the Dredge Engineering Short Course at Texas A & M University. Today, he leads one of Canada’s largest multi million dollar sediment remediation projects in the Great Lakes Basin at Randle Reef in Hamilton, Ontario.
	Josh Sartorelli, PMP, Project Manager, Calgary Municipal Land Corporation Josh joined the CMLC team in 2013 with a Diploma in Architectural Technologies from SAIT. Prior to his work at CMLC, Josh was an Architectural Technologist for Sahuri and Partners Architecture and worked on projects such as the Bella Conservatory Theater (Mount Royal), the Medicine Hat Tigers Arena/Events Centre (Bid), and the West Jet regional hub. View Full Bio +/- In his 5+ years at CMLC, Josh has contributed to major projects like the St. Louis Hotel renovation, the Simmons Building renovation, the Elbow River Traverse, several phases of East Village road infrastructure, the East Village maintenance program, and post-flood clean-up and repair of East Village and RiverWalk. Josh is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science (Management) through the University of Athabasca. Outside of his schooling and his role at CMLC, he devotes time to curriculum development for the Revit Architecture Program at SAIT. Josh is also a Guinness World Record Holder for the ‘longest indoor lacrosse game’ and has been a member of the Calgary Stampede Parade Committee since 2014.
	Alex Speigel, Partner, Windmill Development Group / Sr. Consultant, Urban Equation Alex is a partner with the Windmill Development Group and a Senior Consultant with Urban Equation. An a (retired) architect with over 40 years of experience in design and development, he is strongly committed to a high standard of design and sustainability. View Full Bio +/- Recent Toronto projects include The Plant, a 100,000 sf mixed-use project in Queen West that embeds urban agriculture into the design and programming of the building and Arch Lofts, an adaptive re-use of a heritage church into 40 residential units. Current work includes several neighbourhood infill projects in Toronto, a community scale project -- Baker District in Guelph, recently endorsed as a One Planet Living Community -- as well as two projects in Ottawa. Previously, as Director of Development with Context Development, he directed a number of innovative residential and mixed-use projects in Toronto: Kensington Market Lofts, District Lofts, Ideal Condominiums, Mozo, Home, Radio City, Spire, Tip Top Lofts and The Loretto. He serves on the ULI Mentorship program and is a past member of the Annex Residents Association and the Friends of the Greenline Advisory Panel.
	Carl Spensieri, Environmental Underwriter, Berkley Canada Carl Spensieri is an Environmental Underwriter at Berkley Canada, a niche specialty insurance carrier. Carl focuses on delivering better outcomes for clients by using his expertise to underwrite complex environmental risk and deliver creative risk transfer solutions. Prior to turning his attention to underwriting, Carl worked as an environmental engineer at a Toronto based environmental consulting company. He then joined a Canadian law firm, working within their environmental law group. Carl’s View Full Bio +/- areas of experience include merger & acquisition due diligence; professional liability; environmental liability assessment and risk transfer; property transactions; and complex infrastructure projects. Carl holds both a Masters of Applied Sciences and Engineering (Chemical and Environmental Engineering) from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London (UK). He is also a Professional Engineer (Ontario).
	Whelan Sutherland, Chief Executive Officer, Treaty 1 (Peguis First Nation) Whelan is a proud member of Peguis First Nation; who has played a lead role in a wide variety of Indigenous business ventures over the past 15 years, as a CEO, manager and entrepreneur. Since leaving the Chief Peguis Investment Corporation in 2012, he’s been involved in the business end of the Treaty 1 organization and management. He is a graduate of the Asper School of Business in Winnipeg. “I look forward to working with our communities, our leaders and our partners towards a brighter future for our Nation.”
	Jim Tischler, Development Director, State of Michigan Land Bank Authority Jim Tischler serves as Development Director for the State of Michigan Land Bank Authority. In this role, he leads the agency’s land/project development and redevelopment operations and staff, coordinates State-sponsored development/redevelopment projects and consults regional/local development and land bank entities in their projects. View Full Bio +/- In addition, he is a Visiting Fellow at the University of Windsor Law Centre for Cities, working with students on planning law topics and faculty with applied research and local community projects. He has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of urban planning, real estate, community/economic development, and redevelopment, working for public organizations and consulting with private sector firms. Mr. Tischler holds a Master of Urban Planning degree from Wayne State University and a Graduate Certificate from the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute. His major certifications include Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners, Michigan Professional Community Planner, and International-Status member in the Canadian Institute of Planners.
	Bruce Tunnicliffe, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., Vertex Environmental Mr. Tunnicliffe is President of Vertex Environmental Inc., is an Environmental Engineer, and has years of experience designing and implementing remediation of chlorinated solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons. Mr. Tunnicliffe founded and runs the SMART Remediation Seminar series. He holds a Master’s degree from the University of Waterloo where he studied in-situ remediation of fractured bedrock.
	Melissa Walker, Development Director, Kilmer Brownfield Management Limited Melissa Walker is the Development Director, responsible for providing strategic direction throughout the redevelopment cycle of the Fund’s real estate portfolio. Her responsibilities include investment analysis and acquisition due diligence, project design, negotiating municipal approvals and agreements, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to joining Kilmer, Ms. Walker provided planning and development consulting services for a broad range of commercial, residential and industrial clients across Ontario. View Full Bio +/- Ms. Walker holds a Master of Planning from the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Queen’s University and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Geography from the University of Toronto. She is a Registered Professional Planner and a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners.