Andre Christensen, Millennium EMS Solutions Ltd
Andre Christensen has nearly 15 years of experience in environmental risk assessment, data modelling, and site assessment, with a focus on environmental data collection, automation and analytics. He is currently the Director of Science & Technology at IntelleKt-EIG, where he is overseeing the development and implementation of web-based applications from backend design to frontend data analytics and visualization outputs.
Anthony Knafla, Equilibrium Environmental Inc.
Mr. Knafla is a senior scientist with 30+ years of experience in the fields of toxicology, risk assessment, fate and transport modelling, analytical techniques, risk management, and remediation innovation. He is a professional biologist in Alberta and a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology with an educational background in biochemistry and medical science. Mr. Knafla founded Equilibrium Environmental in 1999 and has spent his career focused on finding innovative solutions for challenging environmental issues that meet the needs of various stakeholder groups. He has worked with regulatory agencies to develop guidelines in the prairie provinces, Canada, and USA for various inorganic and organic substances of concern.
Amanda Schoonmaker, NAIT
Dr. Amanda Schoonmaker is an NSERC Industrial Research Chair for Colleges in Boreal Reclamation and Reforestation at NAIT’s Centre for Boreal Research. Amanda has a field-based, eco-physiological plant background with more than 15 years of field research experience. Since joining NAIT in 2011, she has been working on applied research projects in forest land reclamation and post-harvest reforestation. Amanda and her team have supervised and mentored 59 student research assistants from colleges and universities across Canada since 2012.
Ashley Morgan, Matrix Solutions Inc.
Ms. Morgan is a hydrogeologist and Professional Geoscientist in Alberta and Saskatchewan with Matrix Solutions, based in Calgary, AB. Ms. Morgan manages and provides technical assistance to complex sites within Western Canada. She has over 12 years of experience with a focus in contaminant hydrogeology. She has extensive field and office based experience, with an emphasis on assessment and remediation of impacted soils and groundwater. Ms. Morgan has provided technical support or managed sites ranging in complexity and size from wellsite with shallow localized impacts to domestic use aquifer impacted sites spanning multiple LSDs. She has managed remediation programs based on Tier 1or 2 guidelines, Subsoil Salinity Tool, and risk-based approaches including site-specific risk assessments within Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Chibuike Chigbo, InnoTech Alberta
Chibuike is a soil scientist with over 10 years of research and development experience in land remediation and reclamation. At InnoTech Alberta, he is responsible for project development, management, and execution within the environmental services division.
Daniel Pollard, Matrix Solutions Inc.
Daniel is a contaminant hydrogeologist with Matrix Solutions Inc. He has around 20 years of technical expertise in site assessment, risk assessment, contaminated sites closure and regulatory compliance. His work in Alberta, British Columbia, and the United Kingdom has included hydrogeological, geochemical, and contamination assessment and has spanned industry sectors.
His primary focus is the use of geological, hydrogeological and geochemical principals to consider chemical fate and transport when developing conceptual site models and risk-based remediation objectives. Daniel has contributed to the development of operational policies for the AER and supported development of regulatory instruments.
Dean Mackenzie, Vertex
Dean is Vice President – Growth and Innovation at Vertex Resource Group Ltd. He has 23 years of land reclamation experience in consulting and research and development, working in Oil and Gas, Oil Sands Mining, in situ Oil Sands, Coal Mines, Peat Harvesting, Pipelines, Spills, and Aggregate operations. Dean has a strong interest in R&D to improve land reclamation policy and practices.
Ian Mitchell, Millennium EMS Solutions Ltd
Ian Mitchell has over 25 years of experience focused on contaminated sites risk assessment and environmental guideline development. He was involved in the development of the Alberta Tier 1 and Tier 2 guidelines, the Canada-Wide Standard for Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Soil, and the CCME protocols for soil, groundwater and soil vapour guidelines. Recently he has been focused on applied research initiatives aimed at modernizing risk-based approaches for contaminated sites and removing barriers to site closure.
Mike Toffan, Project Forest
Mike Toffan’s passion for nature took root early, driving him to create a career deeply connected to the great outdoors. As the Founder and Executive Director of Project Forest, Mike transforms landscapes by securing land, crafting creative planting plans, and leading fundraising for rewilding initiatives. His work is not just about trees but about forging meaningful connections with people and communities, amplifying the profound impact of trees.
Mike finds immense fulfillment in contributing to the well-being of both the environment and the lives of those he touches through Project Forest. Building forests isn’t just a job for Mike; it’s a mission to cultivate a greener, more sustainable future. His enthusiasm for sharing the human stories behind his work fuels his drive to inspire others to discover their own paths to making a positive difference in the world.
Fueled by a profound belief in the power of collective action, Mike Toffan passionately leads Project Forest. He has built a thriving network of companies working together to transform fields into forests.
Paul Fuellbrandt, Statvis
Over the last 20+ years, Paul has cultivated a specialization in developing and executing attainable closure plans for contaminated. The motivation for this work is drawn from a desire to return as much land to productive use as possible. To that end, he co-founded Statvis Analytics Inc. to develop user-friendly software tools to understand and communicate environmental data.
Sheila Luther, Matrix Solutions Inc.
Ms. Luther has over 20 years of experience with environmental assessment and research projects with a focus on soil reclamation, contamination assessment, and remediation. Her work experience includes contaminated soils assessment and remediation, pre-construction and post-reclamation assessments for oil and gas industry sites, environmental monitoring, literature reviews, technology transfer, and research on soil and water contaminant interactions. Her current roles include Technical Lead for Reclamation and project technical accountable for multiple projects, most with a closure objective.