RCA Presents: Explore Circularity Day 2025 – Waste-to-Energy

Jeannie Bertrand, President, RCA

Jeannie has been working as a consultant in the solid waste management industry since 2008. She has been active on the Board of Directors for the RCA since 2019, and is passionate about supporting Albertans in continuing to build circularity into our cities and our businesses. Her professional experience has allowed her to work with all levels of government, as well as with Indigenous communities, across Canada. She has had the opportunity to see first-hand what challenges remote and northern communities are faced with in accessing waste and recycling services, and is familiar with the differing approaches to EPR being introduced across Provinces.

Jeannie is a registered professional Geologist in Alberta, and holds a degree in Earth Sciences and Business from the University of Alberta. She is currently the Solid Waste Management Lead for Dillon Consulting, and is working and living in Edmonton.

Scott Sinclair, MLA for Lesser-Slave Lake, and Parliamentary Secretary for Indigenous Policing

Prior to serving as an elected official, Mr. Sinclair was a small business owner, a fifth-generation Indigenous entrepreneur, owning and operating 2 small businesses.

Mr. Sinclair is focused on keeping Alberta’s economy strong and being a role model for the next generation of Indigenous leaders. He was first elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lesser Slave Lake on May 29, 2023 and was appointed the Parliamentary Secretary for Indigenous Policing on July 13, 2023.

Mr. Sinclair will be providing remarks on behalf of Minister Schulz.

Amarjeet Sohi, Mayor of Edmonton

Amarjeet Sohi PC (born March 8, 1964) is a Canadian politician serving as the 36th and current mayor of Edmonton since October 26, 2021. Sohi previously sat as a Liberal member of Parliament (MP) and served in the federal Cabinet from 2015 to 2018 as the minister of infrastructure and communities, and from 2018 to 2019 as the minister of natural resources.

Katrina Hillyer, Earth Warrior Lifestyle

Founder and CEO of Earth Warrior, specializing in the recycling of textiles to craft high-quality everyday lifestyle goods, aimed at mitigating single-use waste. With a dedicated focus on environmental stewardship, Katrina exemplifies a commitment to the principles of sustainability, full-circle economy, and community engagement.

Jennifer Koole, Executive Director, RCA

Jennifer is currently the Executive Director of the Recycling Council of Alberta. She has extensive experience in managing waste diversion and environmental programs at the municipal level in Alberta and Ontario. In her brief stint as a zero-waste consultant she worked abroad, in the middle east, on the Masdar project building the world’s most sustainable city from the ground up. During this 2-year project she was exposed to many emerging thermal treatment technologies.

Moderator: Shawn Samborsky, RCA Vice-President

As the President of CORE Environmental and Recycling I lead an organization that delivers environmental solutions for various clients and sectors. With 29 years of experience in the environmental industry, I have developed a deep expertise in recycling industrial materials and waste management. I bring a focus on the manufacturing, energy, petrochemical industries. Our company develops valorization and recycling pathways that are are sound, responsible and beneficial.

My mission is to perform high-quality, cost-effective, and sustainable environmental work that meets the needs and expectations of stakeholders. I am also passionate about mentoring and empowering our team of professionals and fostering a culture of innovation and excellence. I am a dad, a musician, and a travel enthusiast.

Helga Vanthournout

Blair Shoniker, GHD

Blair Shoniker is a Senior Waste & Environmental Planner at GHD, with extensive experience in waste system planning and environmental approvals. Blair specializes in developing waste management master plans, system plans, and diversion studies, focusing on strategic planning and approval processes and is well-versed in legislation and policy governing waste systems and environmental approvals, at both the provincial and federal levels. Blair is skilled in waste system planning within environmental assessments for new or expanding facilities (including landfills, Energy-From-Waste facilities, organics processing) and project management experience with the implementation and operations models for waste management.

Jennifer Koole, Executive Director, RCA

Jennifer is currently the Executive Director of the Recycling Council of Alberta. She has extensive experience in managing waste diversion and environmental programs at the municipal level in Alberta and Ontario. In her brief stint as a zero-waste consultant she worked abroad, in the middle east, on the Masdar project building the world’s most sustainable city from the ground up. During this 2-year project she was exposed to many emerging thermal treatment technologies.

Kate Rich, Assistant Deputy Minister of Water and Circular Economy in Alberta Environment and Protected Areas

Kathleen (Kate) Rich, M.Sc. and P.Geo., has led various strategies for the public and private sectors related to energy, climate change, water and land management – all with a focus on sustainable development. She has lived and worked in several cities across Canada and internationally. Her current role is the Assistant Deputy Minister of Water and Circular Economy in Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.

Wayne Carey, Varme

Wayne Carey has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, excelling in designing, constructing, and commissioning large-scale industrial assets. He has led diverse teams in project and operational environments, driving continuous improvement and operational excellence. Recently, Wayne served as Chair of the Northeast Capital Industrial Association and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Medal for his work with Women Building Futures, where he developed a power engineering program for women.

Jule Asterisk, REAC

Growing up on several continents left Jule with the persistent question: where are we going? Jule has been a REAC Director since 1997, the year her daughter was born in Faust, a small hamlet in Northern Alberta. Now project manager for REAC’s Plastic Remanufacture project, she continues searching for the regenerative ways we can create a safe future for rural, remote, and Indigenous communities for generations to come.

MODERATOR:
Sheri Praski, Executive Director, SWANA NLC

Sheri Praski is a Civil Engineer with over 25 years experience. She currently works as an independent environmental consultant on projects related to waste, recycling and environment. Sheri is the Executive Director of the SWANA North America Northern Lights Chapter and oversees education delivery, certification and program creation for the waste and recycling industry.

Ms. Praski recently served on the North American Board of the Solid Waste Association of North America (1 of 2 Canadian representatives), is a board liason with the Recycling Council of Alberta, past chair of the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council and volunteers for various other professional and environmental boards and committees.

Denis Jubinville, Branch Manager, Waste Services, City of Edmonton

The City of Edmonton has been supportive of Waste to Energy since 2009 when it entered into a waste to biofuels agreement. Today, the City of Edmonton supports Waste to Energy in the region to help achieve the goal of 90% diversion set by the City’s 25-year Waste Strategy. By working with residents and organizations to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste, the City is working to establish a waste system that benefits residents, industries, and the environment.

Ian Oostindie, Councillor for the Town of Sylvan Lake

Previously an educator in the public school system across Canada. In July 2022, I retired from my 35-year career with the intent to reinvent my work life.

As an educator, I was involved in and led diverse projects including managing trust funds, classroom teaching, ethics code writing, curriculum writing, negotiations, and taking vice principal and other leadership roles. My career spanned BC, Yukon, and Central Alberta. I have had a rich career and continue a rich volunteer life.

Al Chorney, Senior Vice President Projects and Business Development – Waste Energy Solutions Inc (Peace River)

PRWMC has partnered with Waste Energy Solutions (WES) for the Waste to Energy Project.

WES uses proven technology to reduce municipal and biomass waste, avoid methane production from landfills, offset emissions from fossil fuels, generate heat and electricity, recover metals for recycling, and create employment while meeting all regulatory and environmental requirements.

Sue Maxwell, Board Chair, Zero Waste BC

Sue Maxwell is the Board Chair of Zero Waste BC, which is a non-profit organization working to advance waste prevention in BC. She has a Masters degree in Environment and Management, has been a consultant for over fifteen years working on solid waste plans and EPR programs, and was on her local council for a term.

Christina Seidel, President, sonnevera international corp.

Christina holds a PhD in Engineering Management and has an extensive background in Circular Economy and waste reduction. She operates sonnevera international corp., a waste reduction consulting firm, and was the Executive Director of the Recycling Council of Alberta for over 30 years, where she was very involved in the waste management policy development arena and led Circular Economy and EPR advocacy efforts. She chaired the Canadian Standards Association Plastics Recycling: Definitions, Reporting and Measuring technical committee and is also an adjunct professor in the Engineering Faculty at the University of Alberta.

Sean Collins, CEO, Varme Energy AS

Sean Collins has a global track record of experience in energy transition and renewable energy project development. Over the course of more than 15 years, Sean has worked on clean energy projects worldwide and spoken at the United Nations on energy transition issues. He has led complex regulatory engagements, including securing Alberta’s first geothermal resource rights, and holds expertise in strategy, governance, capital raising, off-take agreements, and Indigenous relations.

Ray Juska, Chair, Southern Alberta Energy from Waste Association (SAEWA)

Ray Juska is a strong advocate for waste-to-energy, understanding its potential to close the gap in the recycling/circular economy continuum. For this reason he has long supported SAEWA in its mission to develop a viable end of life solution for non-recyclable waste as an alternative to landfilling.

With over 40 years background knowledge and experience in environmental consulting, waste management and recycling Ray continues to demonstrate his longstanding commitment towards education, advocacy and stewardship in the management and oversight of the waste lifecycle. As well as having managed a landfill Authority and landfill operations and serving as a Course Instructor for SWANA, he is currently a Certified Compost Operator, a Director for Alberta CARE (Coordinated Action for Recycling Enterprise), a Director for Newell Recycling Association, and is a Charter Member and current Chair of SAEWA. Ray is also a first term Councillor for the City of Brooks with his Committees including EcoBrooks.

In his leisure time Ray enjoys fishing, snorkelling, scuba diving and woodworking.

Mehr Nikoo, Program Director for Bioindustrial and Circular Innovation, InnoTech Alberta

Mehr Nikoo is a seasoned professional engineer with dual master’s degrees and over two decades of experience in process and research engineering, as well as project management. Her career includes roles at EPCs, InnoTech Alberta, and various start-up companies. Since June 2018, Mehr has been with Alberta Innovates, where she manages projects focused on utilizing agricultural and forestry residues, diverting plastics and municipal solid waste from landfills, and advancing clean technologies.

In her current role as Program Director for Bioindustrial and Circular Innovation, Mehr leverages her expertise to drive impactful initiatives that promote sustainability and innovation.

Katrina Hillyer, Earth Warrior Lifestyle

Founder and CEO of Earth Warrior, specializing in the recycling of textiles to craft high-quality everyday lifestyle goods, aimed at mitigating single-use waste. With a dedicated focus on environmental stewardship, Katrina exemplifies a commitment to the principles of sustainability, full-circle economy, and community engagement.