Neil Ethier

Pablo's Bio

Pablo Pina | Academic Chair, Sustainability, MacPhail School of Energy, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
Innovation Gallery (Saturday morning)

Trained to understand how the earth works and how it supports life in areas of biological, physical, and earth sciences, Pablo Pina has pursued his passion for water and environmental sustainability through a career that has brought together research, consulting and higher education.

With a bioscience undergraduate degree, a master’s in environmental biology and a doctorate in water and land resources, Pablo has worked as a research associate at the University of Calgary and consulted with clients across the non-profit sector, industry and government. His research and presentations on it have taken him from Canada and the United States to Mexico and Central and South America, along with Switzerland and France.

Pablo joined SAIT in 2017, taking a role as the Academic Chair of Water Sustainability — helping SAIT develop and unveil the groundbreaking Integrated Water Management diploma program in 2019. In 2020, his role evolved as he was named the Academic Chair of Sustainability which has him contributing to the development of the sustainability portfolio through innovation, research integration and talent development. 

MacPhail School of Energy, SAIT

Elyse's Bio

Elyse Dzenick | Research Communications Coordinator, Future Energy Systems, University of Alberta
Innovation Gallery (Saturday 11:15-12:15)

Elyse Dzenick received her bachelors in communications from MacEwan University. She is an experienced communicator, having spent time in the agency and non-profit worlds. Her experience in performing arts, public relations and economic development lend a unique perspective to her communications work and related projects. She joined FES in December 2022. 

Future Energy Systems - University of Alberta
 

Candice's Bio

Candice Paton | Executive Director, Regulatory Affairs & External Relations, Enhance Energy
Energy Futures Panel (Friday 10:30-11:30)

Candice is the Executive Director for Regulatory Affairs & External Relations at Enhance Energy, an Alberta-based carbon utilization and storage company with extensive experience in the planning and implementation of large-scale carbon capture and utilization projects (CCS) that permanently sequester CO2 emissions. She has over 15 years of experience in technology development and innovation in energy systems. 

She holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and a M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering. She is registered as a Professional Engineer with APEGA and is an Ambassador with the Energy Futures Lab. She has been recognized as a leading female innovator as part of the Alberta Chapter of SHEInnovates and as an energy industry influencer in the Young Women in Energy 2020 awards.

Candice is passionate about energy technologies, environmental performance and impact in communities. Her family feels at home in Edmonton and Calgary and spends as much of their free time as possible exploring mountains by foot, by ski or by snowboard.

Enhance Energy

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