Billy-Joe Lafortune

Neil's Bio

With over 19 years of experience in Alberta’s electricity sector, Neil brings a passion to developing innovative solutions in support of connecting customers to clean, reliable and affordable electricity. He has extensive experience in distribution system planning, interconnections, and renewable energy development.

As a member of ENMAX’s Grid Innovation team, Neil is focused on leading the company’s efforts to support electrification, grid modernization technologies, and new customer programs. Neil holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Calgary and is a certified Project Management Professional.

ENMAX Power Corporation

Michael's Bio

SPE Calgary Section Young Professionals is a vibrant group of Young Professionals that seek to engage junior members, foster growth in the society and develop future leaders in the petroleum industry through continuing education, professional development and by offering opportunities to expand industry networks.

Society of Petroleum Engineers

Janelle's Bio

Janelle Watson has over 15 years of experience from the energy sector across various locations in Alberta, and with exposure to international operations in California, Texas, Colorado, Oman and Holland.

She received an Associate SME designation in Thermal Recovery while at Royal Dutch Shell. Ms. Watson is an entrepreneurial minded leader that is passionate about new business ideas and uses a collaborative, inquisitive approach to solving problems. She spent the past six years launching two startup organisations as Business Development Lead and VP Operations. Notably, she won the Energy New Ventures pitch competition in 2019 worth $125,000 and audience choice award.

Ms. Watson has extensive experience in technical and business operational roles while in energy, tech and the insurance sectors. She has also pursued certifications in data science and analytics, machine learning, and cybersecurity to bolster her knowledge in leading edge technologies to enAlbertale efficient business operations. While new to the renewable energy sector, she has worked with LV and MV power systems, electrical and instrumentation specialists for wellsite and facilities requirements throughout her career and is a strong advocate for sustainability practices.

BBA Engineering

Natalie's Bio

Natalie Darrah is a project assistant in the Climate Change and Global Health research group in the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health. In this role, she facilitates events, community outreach, and advocacy for climate-health action.

She also works to expand the Climate Change and Health Hub, newly launched at the University of Alberta to advance research to address the health challenges of climate change. With a bachelors degree in environmental studies, she has an interdisciplinary background in ecology, economics, and public policy.

She is concurrently an academic visitor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning’s Climate Adaptation and Resilience Lab, where she supports research on localized climate change adaptation in British Columbia.

Climate Change & Global Health Research Group