Keynote Presenters

Friday Sept, 11
Official Conference Welcome

Diana McQueen, MLA

Government of Alberta

Diana McQueen is a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Drayton Valley-Calmar and on March 12, 2008, she was appointed Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Environment. Currently, Mrs. McQueen sits on several committees: the Standing Committees on Resources and the Environment and Private Bills; the Cabinet Policy Committee on Resources and the Environment, and the Forest Industry Sustainability Committee. Mrs. McQueen is a Co-Chair for Climate Change Central, a non-profit organization that encourages Albertans to take action on climate change through consumer rebate programs, demonstration projects and educational outreach.
Mrs. McQueen is also leading the way on all provincial air quality programs for the ministry and is also responsible for the implementation of the “Too Good to Waste” strategy, in order to improve Alberta’s resource conservation and waste management system.
Mrs. McQueen is active in her community and has served as a School board Chair and trustee, and as the Mayor of Drayton Valley.

Friday Sept. 11
Keynote Panelist

Beverly Yee

Alberta Environment

Beverly Yee is the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of Environmental Stewardship. Prior to joining Alberta Environment Bev worked with the Calgary Board of Education teaching high school science and as an Administrator of the Continuing Education Program. Since joining Alberta Environment in 1994 she has held a number of senior management positions and was previously ADM for Environmental Assurance from May 2006 to January 2007. Bev’s areas of responsibility include:

Environmental Relations
Conservation and Education
Environmental Strategies
Transboundary Water Policy

Friday Sept. 11
Keynote Panelist

Kevin Stashin

Devon Canada

Kevin Stashin is Vice President, Exploitation of Devon Canada Corporation, with responsibility for exploitation, reservoir engineering, drilling, completions, and joint ventures. Kevin is involved in various industry associations such as the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and is currently the CAPP Alberta Executive Policy Group’s champion on water issues and represents the upstream industry as a member of the Alberta Water Council.

Friday Sept. 11
Keynote Panelist
&
Concurrent Session Presenter

Dr. Hans Schreier

University of British Columbia

Hans Schreier is a professor at the University of British Columbia. His research focuses on watershed management, land-water interactions, soil and water pollution and GIS. He has worked extensively in watershed studies in 14 countries in the Himalayan and Andean regions, and in Canada. in 1999 he was recognized by the international Development Research Centre (IDRC) for his contribution to international development. He was a Co-Leader for the Watershed Program of the Canadian Water Network NCE 2004-2008, and he is a member of the Water Advisory Panel for the Columbia Basin Trust. Since 1995 he also teaches 4 WEB-based graduate courses on watershed management
In 2004 he received the “Science in Action” Award from The United Nations International Year of Fresh Water, for outstanding work in making watershed management knowledge and innovative, cost-effective applications possible, and in 2008 he received the King Albert International Mountain Award for scientific accomplishment of lasing values to the world’s mountains, in Switzerland. For more details see: http://research.ires.ubc.ca/schreier/

Friday, Sept, 12. Evening Keynote Presenter

Geoff Green

Adventurer and Environmental Educator

Geoff Green is the founder of Students on Ice, an award-winning educational program that has taken over 1,000 students, teachers and scientists from around the world on expeditions to both the Arctic and the Antarctic, since 1999. Voted one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40; he has also received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the U.S. Congress for his work with youth and the environment; The Michael Smith Award for Science Promotion in Canada; and The Explorers Club Citation of Merit for outstanding feats of exploration and service.

For more information about Geoff, please visit www.geoffgreen.ca.

Saturday Sept. 12

Keynote Presenter

Dr. Lorne Taylor

Alberta Water Research Institute

Dr. Taylor is the current Chair of the Alberta Water Research Institute. As the Member for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Cypress-Medicine Hat from 1993 to 2004, he served as Alberta's Minister of Science, Research and Information Technology (1997-1999), Minister of Innovation and Science (1999-2001), and Minister of the Environment (2001-2004). While in government, Dr. Taylor was instrumental in the creation of the Alberta Ingenuity Fund, and Alberta SuperNet, a multi-million dollar high-speed, broadband network to every community in Alberta. He also envisioned and led the creation of Alberta's Water for Life Strategy and Climate Change Action Plan.

Sunday, Sept. 13 Closing Keynote Presenter

Paul Bohnert, M.Ed

Passionate about the environment, education and the future of his children, Paul has been working locally to educate people across southern Alberta, while presenting across North America about a loss of vision that focuses on generations in the future. Paul recently was the lead ‘economic in the environment’ presenter at the 2009 World Congress for Environmental Education. Paul has been a community educator for more than twenty years. He believes that change is driven by having an educated responsible citizenship and works to share with and serve his community.

Paul is the executive director of the Southern Alberta Community of Environmental Educators (SACEE) and the Southern Alberta Youth for Environmental Education (SAYEE). Paul has presented and shared with thousands over the past three years. His post graduate work focused on the education and engagement of the general public to make a difference in their own community.

Conference 2009