Billy-Joe Lafortune

David's Bio

We are thrilled to introduce David as the President & Chair of the Inside Education Board of Directors. People still talk about the presentations David gives for our Teacher Professional Development programs! Once, after noticing a bit of an energy lag prior to another indoor presentation on a sunny day, David gathered all the teachers and challenged them to look at multiple perspectives by changing their perspective with “let’s go outside!” We first met David through his work in wind energy, and his current role with AltaLink continues to provide us insight into an important Inside Education topic area of electricity.

Billy-Joe's Bio

Billy-Joe has over 20 years of IT experience in the energy, municipal government, and retail industries. Currently as Manager of Digital Technologies, Billy-Joe is accountable for all Digital and IT services for ConocoPhillips Canada. With her passion for technology, she is also passionate about education and STEM. The opportunity to work with Inside Education to bring tangible experiences to the students aligns with her goals. She leads a volunteer-based organization called Girls Talk Tech, which aims to educate and empower young women to embrace technology for the future.

When she isn’t behind a computer, you can find her climbing mountains and cycling open roads.

Laura's Bio

Laura has 23 years of experience in engineering and team leadership in the oil and gas, durables and non-durable manufacturing. Laura has been a senior executive nearly 15 years, including in her current role as President of CanGas Propane. For six years, she held a Board member position on a not-for-profit organization, Women Building Futures, which prepares women for economically prosperous careers in industries where women have historically been under-represented. Laura believes in the power of higher education and supporting learning and development to help enhance people’s careers, their lives and open up possibilities for new lines of thinking.

Michael's Bio

Mike has been involved with Inside Education since 2016 when he first participated in a provincial youth summit.  He enjoyed participation in subsequent water and energy youth summits put on by Inside Education that he was thrilled at the initiation to join the Board of Directors in May 2019.  Mike has a passion for sustainable industrial development and natural resources, and helping youth, including his four children, understand tradeoffs around energy, water, and food from a sustainability perspective. Mike provides great insight to our agriculture education programs in his role as Senior Advisor – Agriculture and Environmental at Nutrien.