Speakers
		Bonnie Bain, P.Ag., C.G.A. Bonnie graduated from the University of Manitoba with her Bachelors Degree in Agriculture in 1987, and later went on to complete her CGA designation.  She received the Gold Achievement Award in 1995 for outstanding academic performance when completing her management studies program from U of M.  She is currently a Senior Relationship Manager with Farm Credit Canada (FCC) in their Winnipeg office. FCC is Canada’s largest Agricultural term lender.  FCC specializes in providing customized business and financial services and products to not only farming operations, but to those businesses in rural Canada that are related to farming.  Bonnie has been employed with FCC for over 21 years in agriculture lending.  For the past 10 years, she has specialized in the Agribusiness sector assisting businesses throughout the Province of Manitoba. Bonnie has a significant amount of experience in working with rural based businesses.  She brings value to businesses by reviewing business plans and analyzing financing requests.   David G. Barber, PhD, CRC Dr. Barber is a Professor and the Canada Research Chair in Arctic System Science Faculty of Environment at the University of Manitoba. He is currently Director of the Centre for Earth Observation Science (CEOS), and Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Environment, also at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Barber has extensive experience in the examination of the Arctic marine environment as a ‘system’, and the effect climate change has on this system. He leads the largest International Polar Year (IPY) project in the world, known as the Circumpolar Flaw Lead (CFL) system study. Barber has raised over $38M in research funding over the past 5 years. In addition to his university teaching and administrative commitments, Dr Barber has established the Community Based Monitoring Program (CBM) which links several Inuit communities to measurement and monitoring of sea ice and climate change related variables in the Western High Arctic and Hudson Bay. He was also instrumental in establishing the ‘Schools on Board’ program, which outreaches Arctic Marine science to high school students and teachers aboard the Canadian Research Icebreaker Amundsen. Barber has been recognized internationally through scientific leadership in large network programs and has served on national and international committees. He has published over 100 articles in the peer reviewed literature pertaining to sea ice, climate change and physical-biological coupling in the Arctic marine system. In recognition of his commitment to environmental research and education he received the RH award in Physical Sciences from the University of Manitoba and has been nominated for the NSERC Steacie Award. Dr. Barber holds a Bachelors and Masters from the University of Manitoba and a Ph.D. in Arctic Climatology from the University of Waterloo.   Dr. Franco Berruti Prof. Franco Berruti graduated in Chemical Engineering from the Politecnico of Turin in 1982, and achieved a MASc in 1983 and a PhD in 1986 at the University of Waterloo. In 1986 he joined the University of Calgary where he progressed through the academic ranks becoming a full professor in 1992 and Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) in 1994. He served as Dean of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan between 1996 and 2000, and as Dean of Engineering at the University of Western Ontario between 2000 and 2008. He is currently Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Western Ontario, and Director General of the Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR). With areas of expertise in particles technologies, gas-solid fluidization, heavy-oil upgrading technologies, biomass conversion into biofuels, he has contributed over 150 publications in a number of prestigious journals and books, and he holds three patents. Dr. Berruti is the founding Editor of the International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering and one of the technology developers for Agri-Therm, a successful spin-off company developing and marketing an innovative technology for the conversion of agricultural residues into very valuable biofuels, biochemicals and biopharmaceuticals.   Jan Buijk Jan Buijk is the Vice President & General Manager at DDACE Power Systems responsible for the Jenbacher business group that covers Eastern Canada for GE Jenbacher Gas Engine Applications. Jenbacher Gas Engines are utilized for on-site power, CHP, District Energy and renewable energy projects. Prior to joining DDACE Power Systems Jan has held sales management positions at DTE Energy Technologies and GE Distributed Power with Canada wide responsibilities for the sales and marketing of a variety of distributed generation applications. Jan started his career in the power generation business in 1984 at “Spruyt Energy Systems” in the Netherlands where he was responsible for the engineering and project management of gas engine based distributed generation projects. Over the past 19 years Jan has had engineering, project management and direct sales and marketing responsibilities for more than 75 CHP, district energy, renewable energy and other distributed generation projects currently in operation across Canada. Throughout his career in Canada, Jan has had sales and project development responsibilities for the following district energy projects: • Sudbury District Energy • Windsor District Energy • Markham District Energy • OLG Windsor • Durham College in Oshawa Jan received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands, where he also wrote a thesis on the use of landfill gas for power generation applications. Jan holds director positions with the Canadian District Energy Association (CDEA) and the Association of Power Producers of Ontario (APPrO).   Michael Carus Michael Carus is the Managing Director of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) and has a long and varied career in the industry. Mr. Carus is one of the founding members of Cluser Industrial Biotechnology (CLIB) in NRW, is a member of the FAO hard fibre group, the Steering Committee of the International Year of the Natural Fibre (IYNF) 2009, a member of the working group and steering committee reinforcing polymers sub-group “Natural Fibre Reinforced Polymers” and Chief Editor of the news portal www.renewable-resources.de. He was Founding as well as Managing Partner of the nova-Institute for Ecology and Innovation where he managed the department’s renewable resources, market research and economy division. Past positions have included Staff Scientist at KATALYSTE Environmental Institute (Cologne), a public relations position at Flachglas Solartehnik (Cologne) specializing in solar thermal power plants and a University teacher at Universitat Tubingen. Carus has a Degree in Physics from the University of Cologne with a specialization in Nuclear Physics and the Theory of Relativity.   Carl Chaboyer Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Carl Chaboyer traces his roots to the north-western Ontario region of the Anishinabek Nation, on his Father’s side, as well as England and Cree Territory, on his Mother’s side. Carl studied undergraduate Mechanical Engineering through the N.A.P.E. at Lakehead University for three years before going to work for NRCan's Community Energy Systems Group, with whom he had already worked three summer terms.  He spent most of his time with NRCan working in small communities throughout Canada while calling Ottawa home. After leaving the Federal government in 2000, he worked with Grassy Narrows First Nation as a Technical Advisor and then as the General Manager of their renewable energy utility.  During his time in Grassy Narrows, Carl had the privilege to teach at the school as well as to work on their IT infrastructure.  Through his involvement with the youth, he became a part of the struggle for justice that manifested itself as the Grassy Narrows Blockade; which continues to this day. After spending more than a year as the Business Manager for Torrington, Alberta’s Braymo Energy Corporation, Carl has returned to his work in community energy with the Ouje-Bougoumou Cree Nation in northern Quebec.   Dr. Christiane Deslauriers Christiane Deslauriers studied agronomy and plant breeding at McGill University, and plant biotechnology at the University of Guelph.   She joined Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 1989, working on regulations surrounding the testing of plants with novel traits. She later joined the Department’s Research Branch as a Tree Fruit Breeder in Kentville, NS.  She was appointed Director of the Crops and Livestock Research Centre in Charlottetown, PE, and later became Science Director for Biodiversity.  In her substantive position, Dr Deslauriers is responsible for the Charlottetown and Saskatoon Research Centres and is also the Science Director for Bioproduct Platforms. In that capacity, she provides leadership and direction of research to discover and develop new industrial, pharmaceutical and nutritional products from agriculture.  However, she is currently Acting Director General, Science Policy and Planning in Ottawa.   Wayne Digby, P.Ag., BSA, MAED Wayne Digby holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Degree in addition to a Masters in Adult Education.  For 17 years prior to taking early retirement from Manitoba Agriculture and Food in 2001, Wayne worked as the Regional Director, Southwest Region with Manitoba Agriculture and Food.  Previous to that he was Agricultural Representative in the Killarney area, Senior Livestock Officer in Botswana, Africa with CUSO, as well as Rural Development Counselor in the Swan River and Russell areas.  Recent extension work includes 3 ½ years as Extension Project Manager with the Canada Ukraine FARM Program establishing agricultural extension services in Ukraine. At present he works with a western Manitoba firm Prairie Practitioners Group Ltd. in providing renewable energy consulting services to Manitoba and Saskatchewan communities.   Wayne has a strong background and familiarity with the marketing of biomass products on the prairies including a recently completed Biomass Pellet Products, Market and Logistics Study for the Saskatchewan Forest Centre and a Straw Procurement Business Case Study for Manitoba.  In April he took on the position of Executive Director of the Manitoba Forage Council.   Daryl Domitruk Daryl is the Director of the Agri-Food Innovation and Adaptation Knowledge Centre for Manitoba Agriculture, Food & Rural Initiatives. He is based in Morden, Manitoba where he directs province-wide activities in science and innovation. His group includes the Agri-Energy Office, the Canada-Manitoba Crop Diversification Centres and industry development programs in functional foods, bioproducts and biotechnology. Daryl is a graduate of the University of Manitoba Faculty of Agriculture and holds a Ph.D. in Crop Science from the University of Saskatchewan. He has worked in the crop protection industry and for the zero-tillage farmer association prior to joining government.   Anders Evald "Wood and straw for energy has been Anders Evald's professional focus for more than 20 years, and he has been strongly involved in the development of the market for biomass energy in Denmark. As a mechanical engineer, his focus is mostly on technical issues such as combustion technology, fuel and ash assessments etc., but he also has a good overview of the important framework conditions such as economics, tax and support schemes, environmental considerations, resource base assessment and market development. Anders is employed as a senior project manager in FORCE Technology, Denmark, www.forcetechnology.com, where he is involved in research, development and commercial projects on the utilization of wood, straw and waste resources for energy purposes in system ranging from small scale individual pellets or wood stoves up to power plants. For plant owners, investors, and authorities, FORCE offers a range of expert advisory services, that assists in the important early decision making process, where the wide range of technologies and fuels needs to be thoroughly assessed. Anders' limited leisure time is mostly spent on his other great life passion: the hunting down of the greatest beers on the planet. He is author of 4 books on beer (in Danish), and actively promotes responsible interest in specialty beers through numerous beer presentation sessions held in Denmark and elsewhere."   Randal Goodfellow Senior Vice President, Corporate Relations Mr. Goodfellow joined Ensyn on January1st, 2008, but is no stranger to the company, as Ensyn had been a long standing client of the consulting firm that ran until the end of 2007. In his current capacity he oversees the public affairs, government relations, and communications activities of the company. In 17 years as a consultant he advised senior executives from the private, public, and academic sectors on policy and communications issues related to the bio-based energy, chemicals and materials that can be generated from renewable natural resources.  Randal was the founding President of BioProducts Canada and currently sits as the Chair of BioteCanada’s Industrial and Environmental Committee as well he is the of OCRI’s CleanTech Initiative.  Ensyn’s patented Rapid Thermal Process RTP™ technology has commercially produced bio-oil in facilities in Wisconsin since 1989 and it remains the world’s only, fast pyrolysis technology that has proven to operated on a sustained commercial basis. Fast Pyrolysis converts, in less than 2 seconds, residual biomass from the forestry and agricultural sectors, to liquid bio-oil, for the production of bio-energy and renewable transport fuel, and for the subsequent extraction of natural chemicals. Ensyn has designed, built, and commissioned seven RTP™ commercial plants in the United States and Canada; the largest, its’ own, is located in Renfrew, Ontario, Canada processes 100 bone dry metric tonnes of residual wood per day. Projects are underway to build plants that are approximately 5-10 times the size of the Renfrew plant. Ensyn’s corporate strategy is to jointly build facilities with secure feedstock suppliers and/or users of the products that are produced from pyrolysis of biomass; these would include forest products companies, agricultural materials processing companies, as well as energy and fuel production companies looking to green their market offerings.   Jean-Marc Jossart Mr. Jean-Marc Jossart, an agronomist (university UCL, Belgium, 1989) has 15 years of experience in the field of bioenergy, first as research assistant at the university and currently as Secretary General of the European Biomass Association - AEBIOM. AEBIOM has 33 full members (national bioenergy associations) and more than 60 associated members (companies). Activities include lobbying, networking, information dissemination and focused projects for bioenergy development.  Jean-Marc has participated in more than 20 European or national projects in the field of biomass, and several of them as coordinator.  His special expertise is:  bioenergy from agriculture, transportation biofuels, energy crops, environmental impact of bioenergy, European Legislation, policies to develop bioenergy/biofuels.   Manfred Kircher Cluster industrielle Biotechnologie Manfred Kircher is president of CLIB2021 (www.clib2021.com), an initiative of  companies, academic institutes and investors fostering industrial biotechnology in Germany. The consortium’s more than 50 members include well-known industries like Bayer TS, Evonik Industries, Lanxess, Henkel and Cognis, SMEs like Artes, bitop and Protagen and the universities Bielefeld, Dortmund and Düsseldorf.  Dr. Kircher is deputed by Evonik Industries where he is in charge of  business venture biotechnology – developing strategic options for Evonik’s's Science to Business Center Biotechnology. Before he managed in 2001 - 2004 Degussa’s investment in  Burrill & Company  - a San Francisco based life sciences venture capital bank. Dr. Kircher brings along more than 20 years of experience in the field of investments, biotechnology R&D, production and project development. He received his Ph.D at the Institute of Microbiology at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-University in Frankfurt/Germany in the area of molecular yeast genetics and joined Degussa in 1981. After organizing a biotechnological  r&d  department  in Degussa’s feed additive business unit he was in charge of microbial strain development since 1984. Later he was co-building Fermas, an international joint venture for amino acid production in Slovakia. Since 1996, Dr. Kircher was director of biotechnology project development in Degussa’s R&D center Hanau/Germany.    Scott Ledebuhr Scott Ledebuhr is currently the Vice President of Sales Engineering for Composite Products Inc. (CPI) in Winona, Minnesota, the company he began his career at over fifteen years ago. His areas of expertise include finding new molding programs while actively participating on the Management Team and supporting the Operations Department on all engineering issues. Mr. Ledebuhr past experience at CPI included Engineering Manager, National Accounts Manager, and Systems Engineer. As part of an equipment sale from CPI, he spent a year working for the Volvo Car Corporation in Sweden. He has also worked as a Production Engineer for Polymer Composites. Ledebuhr graduated from Winona State University with a Bachelor of Engineering Degree for Composite Materials Engineering – Mechanical.   Sebnem Madrali Sebnem Madrali is currently with the Bioenergy Development Group at CANMET Energy Technology Centre of NR Can. The Bioenergy Development Group provides assistance to Canadian industry in the research and development (R&D) and commercialization of bioenergy technologies that can serve as reliable, cost-effective and environmentally responsible alternatives to conventional energy production. Her role within the group as a project engineer is focused on research, development and demonstration projects on the utilization of biomass residues for heat and power generation purposes from small scale residential appliances to larger industrial and utility scale systems. She received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University, Turkey, and her PhD from Imperial College of University of London, UK.   Rodney C. McDonald Rodney McDonald is committed to sustainability in all that he does. As HOK’s Manager of Sustainable Strategy and Policy, he helps clients assess, implement and manage their sustainability initiatives, while supporting HOK’s internal initiatives to further green their practice. For the past ten years, Rodney has worked with or advised senior officials in federal, provincial, and municipal governments, First Nations, and corporations, as well as non-governmental organizations, on sustainability, green building, and energy efficiency in policy, programs and practice. He has held positions within government, a large electric and gas utility, and national non-profit organizations in Canada. Rodney is a member of the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes’ Standing Committee on Energy Efficiency in Buildings and the founding Chair of the Manitoba Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council. Rodney holds a Master of Arts in Environment and Management from Royal Roads University in British Columbia, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Manitoba. He also holds a Certificate in Public Participation from the International Association for Public Participation, and is a LEED® Accredited Professional. Rodney has received awards from Natural Resources Canada and the Canada Green Building Council, and speaks on advancing sustainability regularly.   Sean McKay, B.Sc., P. Eng. Executive Director Composites Innovation Centre Sean McKay graduated with a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Salford, UK.  He has held the position of Executive Director of the Composites Innovation Centre since its inception in 2003.  This not for profit corporation supports and stimulates economic growth through innovative research, development and application of composite materials and technologies for manufacturing industries.  He has a wealth of knowledge and experience in developing and implementing composite materials related technologies with over 29 years in the industry.  He has been a main proponent and organizer for Canada’s National Biofibres Initiative and has been instrumental in assembling research and commercialization partnerships that are developing the knowledge and technologies necessary to have natural fibres successfully adopted as economic and capable reinforcements for composite products.   Ian McPherson, BA, MSc Ian McPherson is President of Criterion Investments, a Toronto-based mutual fund company devoted to providing innovative solutions for Canadians. He has led the charge at Criterion to build a comprehensive family of unique funds that combine top managers and strategies often found only in institutional portfolios, including Canada’s first global clean energy fund. In February 2007, Ian drove the debut of Criterion Water Infrastructure Fund – the only solution of its kind in Canada, poised to benefit from the $1 trillion worldwide spend desperately needed to deliver water everywhere. The Fund’s launch made a big splash culminating in an exclusive event with former US Vice President Al Gore, based on the 2007 Academy award winner, ‘An Inconvenient Truth.’ With more than 17 years of key financial industry experience, Ian’s past roles include senior positions at National Bank Financial and RBC Dominion Securities in Toronto and London, U.K. Ian has a BA (Hons) in Business Administration from Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario and a M.Sc. (Finance and Accounting) from the London School of Economics.   Claude Ouiment Senior Vice President and General Manager InterfaceFLOR Canada and Latin America Claude Ouimet is the Senior Vice President and General Manager for InterfaceFLOR, in Canada and Latin America. InterfaceFLOR is the world’s leading manufacturer of modular carpet. Claude’s guidance in Canada and Latin America provides the strategic focus needed to continue to maximize every opportunity and help InterfaceFLOR meet the challenges for growth in these important markets. Claude’s 18-year career with the company includes roles in both manufacturing and sales. InterfaceFLOR is deeply immersed in a mission to become a sustainable corporation by leading a worldwide effort to design sustainable manufacturing and development processes by the year 2020. Claude’s mix of manufacturing, sales and marketing knowledge gives him a unique perspective for integrating sustainability throughout the InterfaceFLOR corporate culture. He brings his passion for environmentally-sound practices not only to manufacturing technology and practices, but also to sales strategies and marketing concepts that reflect the company’s eco mission. In April of 2007, Claude became certified as a ‘Climate Project’ presenter, which entitles him to share Mr. Al Gore’s powerful and inspirational message.   Axel Phillips Biography coming soon.   Fernando Preto Fernando Preto received his B.A.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. from Queen's University at Kingston. His graduate studies focused on mathematical modelling of fluidized bed combustion. Following graduation, he joined the Canadian Combustion Research Laboratory to pursue research on energy efficiency. He followed this up with research projects on reducing emissions from combustion systems, fluidized bed combustion of biomass and waste fuels, small scale power generation from difficult fuels and environmental and economic evaluation of bioenergy and biofuels feasibility. He is currently Group Leader for Biomass Conversion in  Natural Resources Canada's CANMET Energy Technology Centre laboratories in Ottawa.   Don roberts Don Roberts is a Managing Director with CIBC World Markets In. leading the Paper and Forest Products Research Team with additional responsibilities for the bio-fuels sector. His team team instructs financial institutions on their investments in the global paper and forest products industry. Roberts specializes in international commodity markets and has over 30 years of experience in the paper and forest products industry. In his current role he is consistently ranked by institutional investor surveys as one of the top equity research analysts covering the forest products industry. Prior to joining the investment business, he was Chief Economist with the Canadian Forest Service. Roberts is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Forest Resource Management at the University of British Columbia, a Guest Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, a Fellow, Rights and Resources Initiative, on the Board of Executives of the Sloan Center for Paper Business and Industry Studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and serves in an advisory capacity for a range of government, industry, and NGO groups. His education includes Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of British Columbia, a Master’s degree in Forestry Economics from the University of California at Berkeley, and both an MBA and doctoral studies in International Finance and Economics from the University of Chicago.   Thomas Schmidmeier Biography coming soon.   Jonathan Westeinde Founder and CEO, Windmill Development Group, Ltd. Jonathan is responsible for overall corporate strategy for the Windmill Development Group. Windmill is dedicated to designing, developing and building only the best green urban environments and resorts. Designing, owning and operating distributed sustainable utilities is also a core focus. Windmill recently received a LEED Platinum certification on the Vento in Calgary, a first for a multi-unit residential building in North America. Other projects include Dockside Green in Victoria BC in partnership with VanCity. Dockside is a $500M Brownfield redevelopment and currently is North America’s first LEED Platinum planned urban community. Windmill also operates a sustainable development consulting company, Buildgreen Consulting that is currently consulting on a diversity of projects across North America including venues for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, 2014 Halifax Commonwealth Games Bid and a complete sustainable resort village in Loreto Bay, Mexico. Jonathan was recently recognized as one of the Top 40 under 40 in his home town of Ottawa, Canada. MBA, Dublin University, 1998 BA Economics, University of Western Ontario, 1990 Chairman, Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America’s Green Building Advisory Council (a NAFTA initiative) Treasurer and Executive Committee, Canadian Green Building Council   Will Wiebe Business Development Manager, Composites Innovation Centre Will Wiebe has been with the Composites Innovation Centre Manitoba Inc. since February 2007.  He began his career as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer – Structural Applications, with Advanced Composite Structures Inc,. This aerospace stepping stone led him into the management of quality, procurement, operations, and eventually the senior management of Acetek Composites Inc.. His experience pertains to developing business systems, strategies and marketing plans supporting Manitoba based companies reach business goals and identifying feasible opportunities. He is a CMA (Certified Management Accountant) Candidate.