Master of Ceremonies
Catherine Clark, President, Catherine Clark Communications Inc.
Catherine Clark is a nationally respected broadcaster, emcee, and co-founder of The Honest Talk, an online media platform for women which includes a leading podcast featuring conversations with some of Canada’s most remarkable female leaders. Catherine is also the President of Catherine Clark Communications and Special Advisor to Syntax Strategic, providing communications counsel to individuals and corporations.
Keynote Speakers
Douglas Porter, CFA, Chief Economist and Managing Director, BMO Financial Group
Douglas Porter has over 30 years of experience analyzing global economies and financial markets. As Chief Economist at BMO Financial Group and author of the popular Talking Points, he oversees the macroeconomic and financial market forecasts and co-writes the firm’s weekly flagship publication, Focus. Mr. Porter manages the team that has won numerous forecasting awards. Most recently, Douglas led the team to a #1 ranking for Top U.S. Forecaster among 60 global firms in the 2023 Focus Economics Survey, and #1 for Top Canadian Inflation Forecaster among 28 firms. Also, his team took the #1 spot in the StarMine Awards for Most Accurate Forecasters for Canada in 2022.
His Excellency the Honourable Bob Rae, Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations
Bob Rae is the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York. Mr. Rae served as Premier of Ontario from 1990-1995, and interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2011-2013. He was elected to federal and provincial parliaments 11 times between 1978 and 2013.
Mr. Rae received his Honours B.A. in Modern History from the University of Toronto, an M.Phil in Politics as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1977. He was named a Queen’s Counsel in 1984.
Martin Imbleau, President and CEO, VIA High Frequency Rail
Martin Imbleau brings a wealth of experience in developing and implementing major infrastructure projects. Prior to joining VIA HFR – VIA TGF Inc., Martin was President and CEO of the Montreal Port Authority.
Previously, he was Vice-President of Corporate Strategies and Business Development at Hydro-Québec. He has also held senior vice-president positions at Énergir, where he was responsible for business development, renewable energy, community relations, corporate strategy and operations.
Joseph Barr, Director of Network Development East, Amtrak
Joseph Barr is the Director of Network Development-East for Amtrak, where he is responsible for coordinating and advancing network and service expansion projects throughout the eastern United States from Quebec to Florida. He is also leading Amtrak’s efforts to improve the immigration and customs inspection process for passenger trains crossing the USA-Canada border, as part of Amtrak’s overall program to improve and expand cross-border passenger rail services.
Dinner Reception Speakers
Lisa Frizzell, Vice-President of Communications, Nuclear Waste Management Organization
Lisa Frizzell is a Vice-President of Communications at Nuclear Waste Management Organization. Before joining the organization in 2012, Ms. Frizzell worked in communications for a number of corporate, academic and government organizations in Canada and the United States. Her focus is in strategic communications and she brings extensive experience as a communications leader, primarily in the energy sector.
Plenary Panel Speakers
Eric Dixon, Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Solutions, WM
As the largest environmental solutions company in North America, WM helps businesses waste less and operate more sustainably. Eric Dixon, Vice President of Sustainability and Environmental Solutions at WM, leads a team that strategizes with businesses and organizations across industries to identify, measure, address, manage and minimize the short- and long-term environmental impacts of their operations.
Adam Tindall-Schlicht, Administrator, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
Adam Tindall-Schlicht serves as the eleventh Administrator of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS), an operating administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Appointed by President Joe Biden on November 6, 2022, Administrator Tindall-Schlicht oversees the federal corporation responsible for the operation and maintenance of the U.S. portion of the St. Lawrence Seaway between Montréal and Lake Erie.
Sandy Skees, Executive Vice President, Global Purpose and Impact, Porter Novelli
For over 30 years, she has worked with global brands including Visa, State Farm, General Mills, Abercrombie & Fitch, eBay, and Panasonic, start-ups, and scale-up companies to align their purpose, sustainability (ESG), and diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) with compelling communications.
Her work has focused on operationalizing purpose and sustainability to deliver growth and business imperatives progress across a wide range of departments, divisions and regions. She also specializes in understanding the changing drivers and behaviors of consumers at the intersection of brands and sustainable living.
Des Jones, Chief Strategy Officer, TBWA\ Group Canada
For the last 22 years, Des has been leading brand strategy in the UK, South Africa and now Canada, and has been a global strategic partner to the TBWA\Worldwide network, most notably in Asia, UAE, Africa, and Europe. He has extensive experience working across multiple business sectors including technology, CPG, retail, NGOs, finance, and telecommunications.
Des’ unusual career path has armed him with a truly unique skill set. With a background in aeronautical engineering, education, strategic consulting and now, advertising, his strategic acumen is in high demand across the world.
Michelle Salim, Advanced Recycling Program Manager, ExxonMobil
Michelle joined ExxonMobil as a Chemical Engineer and has held a variety of technical and business roles over the last 25 years. Today, she leads external collaborations with municipalities, environmental organizations and industry partners to pilot models of plastic waste collection and sorting, including the Houston Recycling Collaboration.
Breakout Session Speakers
Alan Martinez, Senior Manager, Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, Cornell University
Alan Martinez leads sustainable finance partnerships at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, where he brings his 20 years of global experience working in partnerships with financial institutions, investors, and philanthropy. His previous work includes leadership roles in fintech, financial services, impact investing, and consulting. Across more than forty countries, Alan has been at the forefront of pioneering financial products and programs that foster sustainability and bolster economic development.
Natalie Kinloch, Chief Executive Officer, Federal Bridge Corporation Limited
Ms. Natalie Kinloch is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FBCL, a Canadian federal parent Crown corporation managing and overseeing four international bridge locations in Ontario (Sault Ste. Marie, Point Edward, Lansdowne and Cornwall). Combined this international bridge portfolio enables in excess of 9 million transits and $200B in trade annually. Ms. Kinloch was first appointed in 2019 to the role by Governor in Council on recommendation of the Minister of Transport and has in 2024 been renewed for a further five-year term.
Claude Griffin, Executive Director, United States Business Council for Sustainable Development
Claude Griffin is the Executive Director of the US Business Council for Sustainable Development (US BCSD), a globally recognized leader in sustainable development solutions, collaboration, and innovation. Current platforms focus on decarbonization, equity, water/ecosystem synergies, and material reuse in support of a circular economy. Among his goals as executive director, Claude is expanding upon the US BCSD’s strong social equity foundation.
Leigh Fox, National Carbon Lead, Ducks Unlimited Canada
Leigh Fox engages at the intersection of carbon finance and natural climate solutions in the continental scale work that the Ducks Unlimited Canada undertakes. Leigh has worked on the silviculture side of the forest sector in British Columbia for the past 25 years. He also brings an entrepreneurial background, having spent the last 20 years as an impact investor in East Africa, financing and delivering forestry, agriculture, carbon, micro-finance, and community development projects.
Noelle Brigham, Director of ESG, A.O. Smith
Noelle is a licensed Professional Engineer with over 25 years of experience in Sustainability and Environmental Engineering in consumer products, manufacturing, and consulting industries. She is currently the Director of ESG for the A. O. Smith Corporation where she is leading all aspects of ESG across the company, including global strategy development and implementation. In her sustainability role at S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Noelle created global strategies and led international implementation plans for research, development and engineering for consumer product formulation and packaging.
Brian Bruce, President, Veolia North America, Municipal Water – Central Region
Brian Bruce is President for Veolia’s municipal projects and operations in the Central region of the U.S. He is responsible for managing and supporting operations, maintenance, and management (O&M) contracts for municipal water and wastewater systems.
Brian has more than three decades of industry experience, joining Veolia’s North American operations group in 2020. Prior to his current role, he was the Veolia General Manager for wastewater operations at the City of Richmond, California. He then served as Vice President for Veolia’s water and wastewater operations projects in the Gulf Coast region.
Anthony Eallonardo, Senior Technical Manager, Biodiversity and Ecology, Ramboll
Dr. Eallonardo is an ecologist leading multi-disciplinary projects addressing areas of ecological restoration, water quality and climate resilience. He has led ecological restoration, research and planning projects at Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, Niagara River, Lake Ontario, St. Lawrence River and the Hudson River. He led the development of New York State’s Comprehensive Invasive Species Management Plan and the development of New York’s first 12 Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Action plans which have set forth a range of prevention and control strategies for invasive species and HABs, respectively.
Kurt Kornelsen, Director of Environment and Climate Change, Ontario Power Generation
Kurt C. Kornelsen is the Director of Environment and Climate Change at Ontario Power Generation. He has worked in and with the hydropower industry for almost a decade. Throughout this time Kurt has contributed to advancing practices in water resources, climate change, policy, planning, business development and research and development aligned with the organizational goals.
In his current role, he is responsible for OPG integrated Climate Change Plan, the Environmental Management Systems, the interactions and the interaction of these programs with OPG’s broader Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) framework.
Shoshannah Lenski, Associate Director of the Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability
Shoshannah Lenski is the Associate Director of the Center for Sustainable Systems (CSS) at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). For more than 30 years, CSS has pioneered systems science to accelerate real-world solutions to sustainability challenges across energy, transportation, the built environment, and food and water systems. CSS prides itself on collaborative work with stakeholders including industry, community groups, policymakers, and more. Shoshannah leads the Center’s engagement and outreach as well as Center operations.
Charl van Niekerk, CEO, Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority
Charl has a passion for leading teams and building communities through the delivery of infrastructure projects. Originally from South Africa with a background in engineering and business administration, he moved to Canada in 2014 to join Infrastructure Ontario. His first project was the delivery of the Rt Hon. Herb Gray parkway in Windsor, and since then he has been involved in 42 projects worth over $60 billion.
Elizabeth Sheppard, CPA, Manager ISC and Agriculture Strategy, McCain Foods
Elizabeth Sheppard is an accomplished finance professional with experience in regenerative agriculture financing, internal audit, financial planning and analysis, and treasury. She has led the development of a first-of-its-kind financing partnership between McCain Foods and Farm Credit Canada and drove the execution of the McCain: McDonald’s Future of Potato Farming Fund.
Laura Devoni, Director of Strategy, Corporate Affairs, and Sustainability, Algoma Steel Inc.
Laura has been with Algoma Steel Inc. for 19 years. She began her management career in Marketing then moving to Trade and Economics, then Government Affairs and Environment, which lead to her current position as Director of Strategy, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability.
James Nowlan, Executive Director, Environment and Climate, City of Toronto
James Nowlan is the Executive Director of Environment and Climate at the City of Toronto, where he oversees the team responsible for the development of corporate environment and climate policies, such as TransformTO, the City’s strategy to be net-zero by 2040, the Net-Zero Existing Buildings Strategy and the Electric Vehicle Strategy, working with many City of Divisions, agencies and external partners in the community.
Moderators
Roy Brouwer, Professor of Economics and Executive Director of the University of Waterloo’s Water Institute
Roy Brouwer joined the University of Waterloo in 2016. His research focuses on sustainable water management and circular economy of water. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Water Resources and Economics and member of the International Scientific Advisory Committee of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences and the Socio-Economic Analysis Committee of the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki.
Ryan Jeffrey, Senior Managing Director, Sustainability, gener8tor
Ryan Jeffery is an experienced entrepreneur, investor and advisor who helps leaders and organizations do their best work. With over 15 years of experience founding and building high-growth organizations, Ryan is now focused on supporting early-stage companies at the forefront of our climate and environmental crisis as the Senior Managing Director of Sustainability at gener8tor.
David Ceolin, Corporate Director and Partner, Innovation Grade Ventures
David founded Innovation Grade Ventures, a seed stage investment fund, focused on early stage companies. Previously, David was the founder of Digital Cement, a digital CRM company that was successfully acquired by a Fortune 500 company. David is also the author of a best-selling book about entrepreneurship and growth (The Idea Guide: the step-by-step guide for planning and running your own business).
Ilse Treurnicht, Managing Partner, TwinRiver Capital
Ilse Treurnicht’s career spans science, health and cleantech firms, innovation ecosystems, venture capital and public policy. She is an impact investor (TwinRiver Capital and North South Ventures), chair of the Public Policy Forum and a director of the Equality Fund and Zentek. Ilse served as CEO of MaRS Discovery District, and is an advisor to technology firms, governments, non-profits and international organizations.
