Dr. Myrle Ballard is the Director of the Indigenous Science Division at Environment and Climate Change Canada and an Assistant Professor and Indigenous Scholar in the Dept. of Chemistry at the University of Manitoba.  Anishinaabe from Lake St. Martin First Nation, Dr. Ballard’s latest research explores how her fluency in Anishinaabe mowin can transform approaches to water resource management using baseline monitors.  Dr. Ballard also serves on a number of committees and currently holds prestigious NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) and CIHR (Canadian Institutes for Health Research) grants. Her other research interests include; but are not limited to, climate, species at risk, sustainability and the politics of flooding/displacement.

Executive Director of Ouranos since 2013, Alain Bourque joined the organization at its inception in 2001 to set up the program on vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptations, which has enabled the completion of more than 200 research projects, all applied to the risks and opportunities related to climate change in Quebec. He holds a master’s degree in Atmospheric Science from UQÀM and was a meteorologist/climatologist at Environment Canada from 1989 to 2001, where he notably worked on subjects such as the 1996 Saguenay flood, the 1998 ice storm and the impact of climate change. Regularly called upon by the media and decision-makers, he was the co-organizer of the 2016 Adaptation Canada conference and is the organizer of the international conference Adaptation Futures 2023 which will take place in Montreal. He also sits on the Advisory Committee on Climate Change, on the federal government’s National Adaptation Platform, and on several expert committees advising public policy. He is also a member of the boards of directors of Génome Québec, Calcul Québec, the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, ClimAtlantic and START International.

Stewart J. Cohen is an author and educator on climate change. He recently retired from a 35-year career as Senior Researcher on climate change impacts and adaptation at Environment and Climate Change Canada. He contributed to national reports in Canada and the United States, and international assessments published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is currently teaching climate change adaptation at Royal Roads University, and writes posts on his blog, www.doctorclimatechange.com.

Beth Gooding worked in the federal public service for twenty years in the fields of emergency management and national security, before joining the City of Ottawa in 2021. She has been deployed to a wide range of emergencies both in Canada and abroad, and has had the opportunity to work directly on Disaster Risk Reduction.

As the Director of the Public Safety Service within the City of Ottawa, Beth is responsible for the Office of Emergency Management, the Corporate Security Program, and the Corporate Radio System. She is also the City’s 9-1-1 Authority.

Ted Lyberogiannis is a Professional Engineer currently in his 20th year working at Hydro One Networks.  He is a lifelong learner with four university degrees: an undergraduate degree in Applied Science & Engineering from the University of Toronto, a Master’s degree in Electrical Power Systems from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Laws Degree in Energy and Infrastructure from Osgoode Hall Law School, and most recently an Executive MBA from the University of Toronto.

Through his 20-year career at Hydro One, he has had the opportunity to lead teams in Asset Management, Project Management and most recently Emergency Management.  He is very passionate about the future of energy and believes that access to reliable electricity will be critical in the coming decades.

Since March 2021, Jeff MacDonald is the Director General, Climate Change Adaptation at Environment and Climate Change Canada. His team developed Canada’s first National Adaptation Strategy, the Government of Canada Adaptation Action Plan and operates the Canadian Centre for Climate Services.

Jeff has held several executive positions for over 20 years at four federal departments and agencies. He is a skilled negotiator with international, intergovernmental and indigenous experience. Among his notable work experiences the organization of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (CoP11): Montreal 2005, the renegotiation of the Convention on Cooperation in Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (NAFO), amendments to the Fisheries Act and the Oceans Act, and the successful achievement Canada’s marine conservation target of protecting 10% of Canada’s oceans by 2020.

Jeff has a Master of Science degree (Rural Planning and Development) from the University of Guelph and a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from St. Francis Xavier University. He lives in Chelsea, Quebec.

Phil Moore has been with TELUS for 25 years and has held a variety of senior positions. Since 2018 he has been the Chair of TELUS Emergency Management Operating Committee. He has led the organization through preparation and response for impacts from floods, wildfires, atmospheric rivers, derechos and the COVID-19 pandemic. His team takes each response as an opportunity to learn and direct further investment into climate risk mitigation and response. TELUS response goes beyond infrastructure protection, service continuity and safety and has evolved into a more impactful humanitarian response both domestically and internationally.

Phil has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Calgary, a post-diploma from the British Columbia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario. Phil lives in Toronto, Ontario with his wife and two teenage children.

Ryan Smith is a climatologist and climate service specialist with the Canadian Centre for climate services, a division of environment and climate change Canada. Ryan works in the outreach and engagement team and contributes to the development of the CCCS’ online data services, including ClimateData.ca which we’ll be hearing a bit more about today. Ryan’s been working in the climate services space for the past 15 years and joins us today from his home office in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Chris Snider has worked in the insurance risk control/engineering industry for over 24 years with two global insurers. In 2008 Chris pivoted his career to becoming a business resilience expert within the insurance engineering space, conducting supply chain and business resilience risk assessments, analysis, planning and modeling. In 2011 Chris earned his AMBCI and worked to be one of a few global technical leaders in business resilience for Zurich Insurance Canada. Today Chris is an independent consultant, providing these same resilience consulting services to insurers, brokers and customers alike. Chris’ focus is on upstream and downstream components of supply resilience, business interruption and interdependencies, present and future.

Scott Vaughan is a senior fellow with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).  He chaired the Council of Canadian Academies expert group that prepared the 2022 report Building a Resilient Canada.  Among his previous positions, Scott is the former President and CEO of IISD and Chair of IISD Experimental Lakes Area, and former federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development.

Ann Wyganowski, MBCP, CCRP, CBRM, Vice President HZX Business Continuity Planning

Ann’s global business continuity, emergency management, and pandemic planning experience with people, culture, environments and risks includes working with teams in numerous countries across Europe and Asia, Canada, USA, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and The Bahamas. Ann worked as the pandemic planning consultant to numerous critical infrastructure providers, all levels of government and type of industry and managed actual incidents through SARS, H1N1, and COVID19 internationally supporting numerous clients.

Ann was a member of the Disaster Recovery Institute Canada’s Board for 6 years, was a President and past President of the Toronto Disaster Recovery Information Exchange for many years and was a member of the Advisory Board to the World Conference on Disaster Management. Ann chaired the Emergency Management and Public Safety Institute at Centennial College (guiding them through the development of a degree program in Emergency Management and Business Continuity) and the Great Toronto Incident Management Exercise (GTIME). Ann also assisted George Brown College in the development of their IT Network and Systems Security Program.

Ann works with large global corporations, all levels of government, small businesses, critical infrastructure, numerous business sectors, and charitable organizations on business continuity, emergency planning, and IT DR plans. She recently retired as a member of George Brown College’s Faculty teaching IT Disaster Recovery Planning.

Ann Wyganowski is an instructor for DRI Canada teaching the industry certification course and numerous other industry topics.

In 2019 DRI Canada presented Ann with an award to recognize significant commitment to the Board of Directors; The DRI CANADA Builder award was presented to Ann for her significant contribution to the development and growth of DRI CANADA in 2020; The Disaster Recovery Information Exchange Professional Association presented Ann’s company with an award recognizing ongoing sponsorship at their 30th anniversary.

You can find out more about Ann and her team at bcphelp.com