David Huggill

Dr.Valerie's Bio

Valerie Miller | Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, University of Alberta Future Energy Systems
Innovation Gallery (Saturday morning)

Valerie Miller completed her PhD in land reclamation at the University of Alberta in 2019, working at a diamond mine in northern Canada to build soils using mine waste, before joining Future Energy Systems (FES).

As Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, Valerie supports and mobilizes FES personnel seeking to share their research with external audiences through opportunities such as lab tours, talks, classroom programs, videos, and events. She is also the author of The Energy Adventures of Tommy and Remi series. 

Future Energy Systems

Sam's Bio

Sam Effah | Canada Games Gold Medalist, Right to Play Ambassador, Amazing Race Canada Finalist
Keynote Speaker

As a native Albertan, Sam has speed. He represented Canada at 3 World Championships, 3 World University Games, 2 Commonwealth Games and was inducted into the 2021 Canada West Hall of Fame. Most recently, Sam was named co-Chef de Mission for the 2022.

As a volunteer, he’s an athlete ambassador with Right To Play and a past Classroom Champions mentor, where he focuses on using his platform to inspire the next generation of youth around the world.

In 2019 he was cast on The Amazing Race Canada Season 7 and placed second overall. 

Outside of athletics and in-office work, Sam loves to speak. He leads a strong stage presence, developed over the course of a ten-year career as a seminar speaker, workshop facilitator, and motivational presenter.

Learn More About Sam Effah

Vanessa's Bio

Vanessa White | Director, Renewable and Alternative Energy, Alberta Innovates
Energy 101 (Friday morning)

Vanessa is the Director, Renewable and Alternative Energy in the Clean Resources Division at Alberta Innovates, where she contributes to the advancement of grid modernization in Alberta through ecosystem development and supporting technology initiatives in the areas of non-emitting electricity generation, energy storage and enabling technologies.

Prior to joining Alberta Innovates, Vanessa spent more than 20 years in the upstream petroleum industry, where she drove innovation and developed her diverse background in project management, technology development and pilot operation. Vanessa is passionate about energy literacy. In 2016, she founded a company informing elementary and junior high students about the value of diversity in the Canadian energy portfolio.

Vanessa is a Professional Engineer and past member of the Board of Directors for the Society of Petroleum Engineers Canadian Educational Foundation (SPECEF) where she was the founding chair of the organization’s Energy Literacy Committee. Vanessa’s current board positions include the Decentralized Energy Canada’s Board of Directors and Foresight Clean Tech Accelerator’s Alberta Advisory Board.

Alberta Innovates

Lisa's Bio

Lisa Pollio | Program Manager, Careers in Energy (Energy Safety Canada)
Innovation Gallery (Saturday morning)

Lisa joined Energy Safety Canada (ESC) as a Program Manager in 2013, after six years of working in the oil sands region of Fort McMurray. Lisa learned valuable field experience as a Health, Safety and Environment Advisor and then transitioned to a Disability Management role. This hands-on knowledge allowed her to obtain the Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP) designation.

Being part of the Training and Industry Development and Support teams at ESC has enabled Lisa to bring her expertise of our sector to the Careers in Energy group. An adventurer at heart, Lisa loves spending her free time in the mountains or travelling to different parts of the world with her family.

Careers in Energy