Archives: Speakers

Ann Burton leads on International Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) projects at Drax Group. As part of the Innovation team, she’s responsible for the identification and development of new sites for BECCS plants, with a specific focus on North America, as Drax looks to export its UK experience of sustainable bioenergy generation to new geographies. Ann has a MSc Business Strategy & the Environment, and a BEng Civil Engineering; and previously experience includes international business development within the energy sector and global project management for KPMG and EY.

Monique Frison is a Director General in the Canadian Forest Service at Natural Resources Canada, the national and international voice for Canada’s forest sector. The Canadian Forest Service collaborates closely with Canada’s provinces and territories to ensure our forests are sustainable and healthy for our country and the world to enjoy. Monique’s career spans two decades with the Canadian federal government.  She has held various high-profile positions across the Federal Public Service, including at Health Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Infrastructure Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Global Affairs Canada. Internationally, Monique has also held positions with the International Organization on Migration, as well as with Global Affairs Canada in Washington DC, where she worked on the 2006 Canada-U.S. Softwood Lumber Agreement. Monique hails from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, but currently lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

Gregg Koehler, Sales Manager, Sinclar Group Forest Products Ltd. and Sales Director, Premium Pellet Ltd. Gregg is the Sales Manager for Sinclar and has held this position since January 2011. In January 2017 Gregg was appointed Sales Manager for Winton Homes Ltd. and in July 2017 he was appointed Sales Director of Premium Pellet Ltd. Gregg has held several progressive positions within the Sinclar Group since joining the company in 2002 as a sales assistant with an affiliated business, The Pas Lumber Company Ltd. Gregg has been a member of the Canada Wood SPF Marketing Steering Committee since 2015 and is a graduate of the University of Victoria where he achieved his bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science.

Philippe Theriault, RPF, has more than 25 years’ experience in British Columbia’s forest sector.

He is the General Manager of Tsi Del Del Enterprises Limited and of the Tsideldel Development Corporation. He is also a team member of Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation and the Eniyud Community Forest. As an entrepreneur committed to First Nations involvement and economic development, he likes to challenge the status quo and find creative ways to maintain employment and generate revenue for the Tsideldel First Nation.

Philippe and his team have been involved with the biomass industry since 2009, specializing in large scale biomass recovery from waste in traditional logging operations. To date, the team as recovered over one million cubic metres of wood in the Cariboo Region that would otherwise been burnt at roadside.

Julie MacDougall, RPF, started her career in the 90’s as a practicing field forester in Burns Lake and then as a resource manager in Vanderhoof before relocating to work as a District Manager with Alberta Parks for 10 years. Now back home in BC, the province is benefiting from her diverse background as she leads the Innovative Bioeconomy and Indigenous Opportunities, the Forest Carbon and Climate Services Branches and the Old Growth Strategic Review in her role as the Executive Director Strategic Initiatives, in the Office of the Chief Forester, Ministry of Forests.  As an avid backcountry mountain biker and backpacker, her love of spending time outdoors with friends and family only strengthens her resolve to see BC’s forests continue to thrive in a changing climate. Julie’s breadth of multi-sector natural resource planning and management experience in both British Columbia and Alberta offers insightful, first-hand knowledge of sustainable forest management and forest landscape planning.

Steve has a strong track record in forest industry operations, forest policy and management for large and small companies, and for government. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Forestry degree in 1994 and has held key positions with an integrated forest products manufacturer, the Council of Forest Industries, a pulp company, BC Timber Sales and the BC Ministry of Forests. He is currently the Executive Director of the Forest Enhancement Society of BC.

Paula Cook leads the energy program for the Nova Scotia Department of Public Works, who own and manage 2400 buildings valued at over $2.5 Billion. She has over 15 years of construction industry experience, including several years as a project manager in mechanical contracting, a supervisor in utility operations, and more recently working in owner’s project management roles which led to her passion in energy program management. Her mission is to support commercial building owners in developing and executing strategies to thrive toward Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 targets. Paula is a professional engineer (P.Eng) with a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering from Dalhousie University. She is also a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) with the Association of Energy Engineers. Paula looks forward to sharing how wood heat can play a role in Nova Scotia’s building emissions reductions targets.

Mike works as an Occupational Safety Officer and Supervisor with WorkSafeBC. Mike has been an Officer of the Board for over 23 years.

Prior to joining WorkSafeBC, Mike spent many years working in a wide range of industry positions, including supervision and safety management. In 2004, he achieved national accreditation as a “Canadian Registered Safety Professional”.

In 2016, Mike was recognized by the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering with the Outstanding Achievement Award for his role in developing the “Supervising for Safety” educational program. This program is a free instructional website assisting supervisors in understanding their roles and responsibilities and has been completed by over 18,000 supervisors.

Mike is a member of WorkSafeBC’s Process Safety team and has worked extensively with the wood pellet industry since 2012. Mike sits on several provincial project teams related to manufacturing sectors, including the safeguarding regulation development committee and the combustible dust working group.

Jonathan graduated from NBCC in Business Technology. He has been with Groupe Savoie since 1999, holding various positions and responsibilities in the fields of shipping, sales and plant management. Since 2011, he is the Vice-President of Sales and Development. Jonathan is a member of Forest Nova Scotia, Wood Pellet Association of Canada and also a director of the Atlantic Council for Bioenergy Co-operative.

Gary Bull is a Professor and Head of the Forest Resources Management Department at the University of British Columbia in Canada. He teaches courses in the emerging bio-economy and resource economics.

Gary has worked with First Nations in Canada for nearly 20 years bridging the gaps between changing technologies, natural resource management and First Nations’ culture and values. He is also a resource economics specialist working with global forest products companies, the bioenergy sector, UN FAO, several eNGOs, indigenous organizations and all levels of government.

He has worked and undertaken applied research in countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as Europe and North America.  He has prepared over 200 scientific publications and technical reports for international organizations.

Gary is familiar with the work of SBP, serving as a member of the independent Advisory Board to SBP from 2015 to 2018.