Trevor is qualified as both Civil and Mechanical Engineer, with over 22 years of design experience delivering integrated sustainable designs into the built environment. His focus is on regenerative design and engineering on building and district scales.

Brett Sichello of NIDO Design Inc. is a Certified Passive House Designer who has completed a number of Passive Houses to date and is currently involved with a 30 unit multifamily Passive House as well as numerous single family Passive Houses. With a focus on high quality architectural design, building envelope science, optimization and performance, Brett is also an active member and educator at Passive House Canada providing training courses to share his passion and knowledge for designing and building better.

Clayton Bond joined WSP in 2012 and provides design, construction and operations support for sustainable and energy efficient buildings. Clayton has more than 12 years of engineering experience in the design, construction, and commissioning of mechanical systems for buildings and industrial process equipment. His background in building construction allows a practical approach to identifying, understanding and resolving issues. He works on projects across Alberta and leads the Edmonton team in building energy performance, sustainability and commissioning. His professional experience includes sustainability work with some significant projects in the Alberta including the Edmonton International Airport Expansion, the New Edmonton Remand Centre, the Edmonton Federal Building, and Net-Zero Homes. In addition Clayton has contributed to minimizing the environmental impact in several emergency services buildings, healthcare facilities, commercial buildings, residential projects, and more than twenty schools.

Nicole is a member of WSP’s National Building Science group. She is a Project Manager and Technical Lead based in WSP’s Hamilton, Ontario office. She also manages WSP’s National Façade Centre of Excellence. Nicole’s 11 years of consulting experience focus primarily on building enclosures for new and existing buildings in Ontario and Alberta. Her project experience includes health care, post-secondary, high-rise commercial and residential, as well as specialty spaces with stringent interior environmental requirements.

Hamid Vossoughi is driven by delivering unique solutions to complex and challenging problems by exploring innovative ideas with each new project. Based on his diverse experience in structural and restoration engineering combined with his specialty contracting experience, Hamid strives to deliver an optimum solution meeting client’s business and technical needs on every project. Since joining WSP in 2007, Hamid has delivered many iconic projects through technical excellence, innovation, and leadership of internal teams. This includes providing the vision and inspiration necessary to deliver a trend setting service that complies with company standards and is compatible with client needs, while providing training and growth opportunities for team members. Prior to joining WSP, Hamid practiced for 16+ years in one of the top consulting firms in the US and delivered specialty contracting services across the US for over 5 years. The knowledge and level of expertise Hamid gained through the investigation, evaluation, and rehabilitation of tall and significant structures in North America is of considerable benefit when delivering services for both new and existing buildings. Hamid’s primary technical focus at WSP is on building facades.

Alex has a background in biomechanical engineering and is a licensed Professional Engineer. He completed a Master’s degree in biomechanics focusing on carpal tunnel research. Additionally, he holds a Certified Ergonomic Assessment Specialist designation. This passion for ergonomics and well-being led him to conduct human factors research within the military domain for the Department of Defense, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the United States Marine Corps for four years prior to joining Herman Miller. His ergonomic work experience includes projects involving human-technology interaction, protective equipment, seating (helicopter and military transport vehicles), and posture/biomechanical analysis (firearm research, helicopter pilots). As a Human Factors Specialist with Herman Miller, Alex provides designers, business leaders and their companies ergonomic research and solutions to support their greatest asset: People. He uses his knowledge of physical, cognitive, and social ergonomics as components of human-centered design to create a balanced and holistic outcome.

Danny learned two important things as a young age: to work hard and be humble in everything he does. Coming from a modest family, he was forced to create his own success in life. As a Dyslexic student in school, he was treated differently throughout his upbringing and his potential was questioned by everyone around him. As he grew up, these experiences fueled his desire to push boundaries and prove what was possible. From a struggling middle school student, Danny graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA, and then started his own painting business employing 12 full time staff and making enough money to buy his first home. At 20 years old, Danny took a leadership position for a franchise company and grew sales from $400,000 to $1,300,000 in one year. Such rapid growth was only possible through selecting top caliber franchisees and being an open, honest, and flexible coach to them. Growing that business launched Danny’s journey in developing companies, where he spent the next six years scaling businesses. Through these experiences, he decided to commit his life to assisting others to move past adversity and reach their full potential. Danny has since left the franchising world and opened horizons to all trades business owners seeking guidance through their growth stages. Through authentic relationships and always putting his heart into what he does, Danny looks forward to continuing to make a difference in the lives of business owners everywhere.

Danny lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia with his wife and two beautiful young daughters. When he’s not helping prospective BTA members, you can usually find Danny exploring mountains in his Jeep.

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James Furlong is Managing Principal for MCW in Southern Alberta. He leads a multidisciplinary team of mechanical, electrical, energy and commissioning professionals. James has a background in mechanical technology and building science. James is an active design consultant on several medical marijuana production facilities. He presently serves as a director of the Alberta Energy Efficiency Alliance, is an industry advisor at SAIT and NAIT, and is a member of the CaGBC Faculty.

Michael Kachur and John Povhe, members of the first Lean Greenbelt program offered in Saskatchewan, share the story of how their company made the decision to implement Lean concepts that drove positive change to both the corporate culture and the bottom line.

The story began in 2012 with a decision to enhance a positive culture with a decision to embrace continuous improvement on the shop floor. Positive changes were made and tracked through an easy and engaging concept called the Quick Kaizen. The momentum quickly spread to other areas of the organization and with the involvement of the finance team has been applied in the corporate office and is now moving to the sales and operations teams in the Company.

Michael and John share the fundamental Lean concepts of 5S and Tim Woods waste identification and reduction and show real dollar savings through formal scorecards. Businesses contemplating their own journey as well as seasoned Lean practitioners will find value in the how the concepts were adopted and success measured.

Sunny Ghataurah is President & CEO of AES Engineering, one of the largest electrical engineering firms in Western Canada. Sunny is an electrical engineer and lighting designer, licensed in BC, AB & Washington State, with more than 25 years of experience in the construction industry. His skills in designing electrical and architectural lighting systems have been applied to hundreds of buildings across many sectors, including healthcare, education, hospitality, civic, recreational, retail, corporate office, industrial and residential.

Sunny’s projects have won numerous awards including Awards of Merit from the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies British Columbia (ACEC-BC), and a Special Citation and an Award of Excellence for Interior Lighting Design from the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES). In 2014, Business in Vancouver honoured Sunny with a Top Forty under 40 Award.

A passionate pioneer of sustainable design, Sunny’s portfolio includes 100+ LEED projects, 3 Living Buildings and several renewable energy projects. Recognized as an industry thought leader, Sunny was invited to speak at the Alberta Electrical Inspectors Conference, BUILDEX Calgary, BUILDEX Edmonton, IES Edmonton and the Alberta Safety Codes Council.

Craig Mitchell is an experienced modular building technical sales professional. A graduate of both UBC and BCIT (Hons.), Craig has been in the building industry for over 25 years with the past 20 years been devoted to the modular building industry in BC. Craig is currently Director of Innovative Solutions with Britco Construction, an innovative award winning modular builder. He is also currently the Board Chair of the Manufacturers Association for Relocatable Structures (MARS), and is on the Board of the Modular Building Institute’s (MBI) Canadian Foundation promoting education in the modular building field.

Crystal Sedore is the Housing Manager for Yale First Nation. She has worked for and behalf of Fraser area First Nation communities for almost 20 years in many different capacities from Economic development to career development to housing. She will share Yale First Nation’s journey towards sustainable housing and the innovative Passive Housing project going up on Yale reserve lands.

Kaitlyn Gillis (BEng, EIT, MSc(Arch), MSc(Env Psyc), LEED AP, WELL AP) recently completed her Master’s of Science in Environmental Psychology, where she focused her research on the restorative impacts of Biophilic Design on indoor environments. Originally from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Kaitlyn comes to us from London UK, where she gained experience with BREEAM, LEED, and working with the newly released WELL Building Standard.

Kaitlyn is passionate about health and wellbeing in the built environment and leads Light House’s projects and educational efforts on human-centred design, healthy building materials and the WELL Building Standard.

Kaitlyn has worked with numerous clients on various projects including LEED projects, reviewing design guidelines, developing employee educational materials, and conducting WELL Building Standard Feasibility Studies. She is also an accomplished public speaker and in 2016 presented at various events including: Light House’s first inspiration Session: Nature, People & Design in April; Women in Architecture, Vancouver in March; BuildEx Express in November; and the PHABC Conference in December. Kaitlyn also participated in the Turncoats Vancouver second debate, Green Wash, in September. She is also leading Light House’s Lunch and Learns: Creating Healthy Environment for People.

Kaitlyn has recently co-published two articles: Healthy Building Syndrome with Dak Kopec in Canadian Architecture Magazine, August 2016; and Designing Interior Environments that Support Human Health with Michelle Biggar in Sustainable Architecture & Building Magazine, January 2017.

Outside of work, Kaitlyn can be found enjoying nature through various activities with her young son, River, and husband, Tom.

Dedre Toker is a LEED™ Accredited Professional and along with her 20 years of professional experience in both interior design and architecture, she leads Interiors and Workplace Design for Lemay + Toker, a 34 person design firm based in Calgary, Alberta.

Dedre is also the founder of Workscale™, an evaluation program which enables clients to customize, analyze and assess their workplace(s). As a catalyst to transform space, WorkscaleTM seeks to understand employee work-styles and workplace tools while providing leasing cost avoidance measures and strategic space allocation strategies. A Masters of Environmental Design in Industrial Design from the University of Calgary, LEED™ Accreditation, and experience working with a leading furniture manufacturer, support her interest in developing interiors that fit the image of her clients.

Dedre concurrently teaches Business Development at Mount Royal University’s Design Degree Program.

Leading the sustainable building team at Integral, Melanie Ross supports a wide range of projects ranging from LEED, WELL and other third party certifications to energy management and existing building performance, while managing a growing portfolio in sustainability planning and policy development.

Melanie’s ten years of experience with recognized architecture, planning and engineering firms has brought her a deeper understanding of the industry and a respect for various stakeholder viewpoints. Her work as a CaGBC Review Team member and Education Faculty member gives her further insight into the strategic and technical nuances of LEED projects. With applied experience in marketing and communications, Melanie drives her teams to embrace an integrated design process to deliver for the clients’ needs.

Melanie was appointed to the WELL Building Standard teaching faculty and has delivered several workshops and presentations on the topic of health and wellness in buildings. She was also appointed to the CaGBC WELL Taskforce, working to identify the challenges for Canadian market adoption of the standard. Lastly, she serves as the Vice-Chair of the CaGBC Alberta Chapter board.

Matt Williams is a Senior Landscape Architect and Associate at O2 with over 10 years experience managing high profile urban design, mixed use, campus, facility, and large park projects. He is a recognized leader in the design of riverfront parks, plazas, and promenades. Matt’s work emphasizes the development of multi-functional landscapes and public spaces that meet both the cultural and ecological needs of a site. He works collaboratively through a design process of discovery and exploration to deliver award-winning projects that reflect a genuine sense of place.

Matt is the Southern Director of the Association of Landscape Architects (AALA) and represented the AALA on the City of Calgary’s Urban Design Review Panel from 2012 to 2016. He holds a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Guelph Merit and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo in Planning. Matt has been selected to lecture at the World Design Summit 2017 in Montreal on the topic of ecological and cultural transformations along the Bow River in post-flood Calgary.

Christy Nikel is on a mission to help companies engage employees to solve problems. As a Master Lean Black Belt with 14 years of experience teaching and applying the tools, her goal is to present Lean in a practical, effective and energizing way. She has experience across a multitude of industries and recently led the development of the process improvement strategy for a national engineering and procurement firm. Christy’s energy and passion are contagious and she has gained a reputation for generating enthusiasm while obtaining results.

Yichao is a Building energy consultant based in the Calgary office with the Building Specialty Services Group at Morrison Hershfield (MH). Yichao has six years of experience in sustainable building practices, energy modeling for energy code compliance and LEED credits, level 1 &2 ASHRAE energy audits, diagnostic and fault detection in HVAC & lighting systems, measurement& verification of energy retrofits and renewable systems. Yichao has presented at various building conferences and workshops such as BUILDEX Calgary 2016, Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC) annual conference, NECB in Alberta workshops, International Building Physics conference, Building energy simulation conference eSIM, and other national and international venues.

Paul Blinzer is and has been a journeyman insulator for about 40 years where he has gained experience dealing with many types of insulation related challenges. He was an instructor in the insulation trade at NAIT for about 23 years where he met with many people and taught many of the people in the trade today. He retired about 4 years ago and now spends his time promoting the trade and trying to spread the message that Mechanical Insulation will save money and reduce energy consumption.

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Danny learned two important things as a young age: to work hard and be humble in everything he does. Coming from a modest family, he was forced to create his own success in life. As a Dyslexic student in school, he was treated differently throughout his upbringing and his potential was questioned by everyone around him. As he grew up, these experiences fueled his desire to push boundaries and prove what was possible. From a struggling middle school student, Danny graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA, and then started his own painting business employing 12 full time staff and making enough money to buy his first home. At 20 years old, Danny took a leadership position for a franchise company and grew sales from $400,000 to $1,300,000 in one year. Such rapid growth was only possible through selecting top caliber franchisees and being an open, honest, and flexible coach to them. Growing that business launched Danny’s journey in developing companies, where he spent the next six years scaling businesses. Through these experiences, he decided to commit his life to assisting others to move past adversity and reach their full potential. Danny has since left the franchising world and opened horizons to all trades business owners seeking guidance through their growth stages. Through authentic relationships and always putting his heart into what he does, Danny looks forward to continuing to make a difference in the lives of business owners everywhere.

Danny lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia with his wife and two beautiful young daughters. When he’s not helping prospective BTA members, you can usually find Danny exploring mountains in his Jeep.

Bill Woodhead is a senior associate in Borden Ladner Gervais LLP’s Corporate Commercial Group. Bill practice in corporate/commercial, construction and energy law, with an emphasis on infrastructure, construction and public-private partnerships contracts (negotiation, drafting and review). He has experience with drafting and reviewing procurement documents and project agreements for a variety of construction and engineering projects, internal corporate reorganizations, asset purchase and sale transactions, and mergers and acquisitions.

David Kelly, CEO, founder and partner at SkyFire Energy Inc has been in the solar industry since 2001. David received a Bachelor of Applied Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo. He is registered with APEGGA NAPEG and APEGBC. David is serving his fourth term on the CanSIA (Canadian Solar Industries Association) board, is currently Chair and serves on the board of SESA (Solar Energy Society of Alberta). David regularly lectures at SAIT, University of Calgary and at Engineering and Architecture firms throughout Alberta and BC. He has presented at conferences around the country and is passionate advocated for solar energy in Canada.

Married and a father of two, his home is partially powered by a 2kW grid-tied solar system and it uses solar thermal water heating. SkyFire Energy provides engineering and installation services throughout Western and Northern Canada.

Internationally recognized for her award-winning lighting design, Associate Ellie Niakan brings over 17 years of experience to Integral Group, where she leads the Vancouver Integral Light Studio. Through her passion and creativity, Ellie harnesses the power of light to create expressive designs that blend aesthetics and function.

Ellie is the first in Canada to have earned the International Lighting Designer Certification, and is among a select few worldwide that have achieved the distinction of Certified Lighting Designer (CLD). Ellie has led and worked collaboratively on a variety of projects, including cultural, recreational, residential, commercial, healthcare, transportation exterior and urban lighting design. Having worked closely with international architects and designers across the globe, her expansive portfolio includes work from Germany, England, USA and Canada.

With a focus on the human experience, Ellie considers health, wellness, and sustainability as intrinsic elements in developing a harmonious atmosphere expressed through the built environment. She is a sought-after speaker and has served on various lighting design panels throughout her career. Ellie is currently teaching Lighting Design at LaSalle College in Vancouver. A few of her notable projects prior to joining Integral Group include the Creekside Paddling Centre, the New Campus for Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Centre Culturel et Touristique Trifolion (Luxembourg), Betriebs Restaurant in the Boehringer Pharma KG (Germany), and the Northern Rockies Regional Recreational Centre.

Colin van Besouw is an Electrical Engineer at Integral Group, where he leads the Calgary Electrical design team. Colin is passionate about designing sustainable, energy efficient projects and embracing new technology. He sees innovative engineering as playing a critical role in designing electrical systems that focus on the total life cycle cost rather than initial or maintenance costs alone.

Colin is committed to providing clients with innovative solutions through his experience in institutional, airport, commercial, residential, healthcare and hospitality sectors. Colin is able to collaborate and coalesce effectively with designing teams to produce sustainable design solutions that meet and exceed the client’s bottom line.

Joe Magas is an application specialist and enthusiastic instructor. With over 20 years’ experience supporting CAD, BIM, PDF and ECM software he brings a wide range of knowledge to each new challenge.

Joe started his career in Architectural drafting but his passion for helping people and implementing solutions drew him into teaching and consulting. As CEO of Fusiontek, he assists organizations with smart technology solutions for Building Design, Construction and Facility Management.

Joe is a Bluebeam Certified Instructor, teaches Revit part-time at NAIT’s Computer Training Center and is Western Canada’s Authorized ArchiCAD Reseller.

Graham Corsar is focused on helping Canadian constructors find the people and technology they need to get the job done. He is an active volunteer minister and compulsive developer of people and opportunities.

For the past 7 years Graham has been helping engineers, owner/operators and now constructors use technology to increase value and quality — serving as a global strategic account manager for Bentley Systems and now the sales manager for BuildingPoint Canada — bringing Trimble technology to the verical and industrial segments in Canada.

Prior to this, Graham spent 15 years in Alberta’s Oil and Gas industry caring for information management on awesome projects like Millennium and Edmonton Refinery Conversion.

Graham got his start in the family business as a piping designer, and grew to become an entrepreneur, consultant and leader.

Justin James has lectured on three continents and has been in our industry for over 25 years. Having climbed the ranks after his apprenticeship in the UK from BSE engineer, to lead coordinator and then to project management, he took his skills from the UK to Australia in the late 90’s, he then moved to Canada in 2009 running & co-writing the 1st BIM (Building Information Modelling) 101 sessions. After establishing a reputation in the industry, REACH was founded in 2013 providing virtual collaboration education as part of the shift in industry process. Now REACH has broadened its services to encompass all virtual fields, business development and process change. Justin’s passion is in education, providing a new generation of engineers to enhance the industries future, making them the new leaders in infrastructure design through new collaborative and technological methods. His vision: To make a difference. His belief: To not evolve education is not evolving us!

Kevin Kretschmer is an Associate and Information Systems Manager at Marshall Tittemore Architects and has been working with Virtual Buildings and BIM since graduating from the University of Manitoba Environmental Design program in 1995. With 22 years of experience in the Architecture industry, staff trust and rely heavily on his knowledge of Design, Building Information Modeling (BIM), and Information Systems (IS). His expertise in BIM/CAD, graphics, and productivity software, provides an industry specific, in-depth level of application support to the firm.

As Information Systems Manager, Kevin is the administrator of all servers, networking, software, and hardware. “Efficient use of technology is essential for an architectural firm and enables innovative design. I am passionate about adding value to the design process by leading the implementation and utilization of BIM and technology and within the team.”

Steve Rollo has an extensive background in Building Information Modeling (BIM) with over 10 years experience during all phases from design through construction. He also has spent a significant amount of time working as a BIM Implementation Specialist for an Autodesk Reseller in Calgary. Within the role, Steve was responsible for assisting firms in their transition to BIM Workflows and technologies. As such, he provided training and standard creation and implementation. Passionate about BIM, the development of effective workflows, and its applications towards project collaboration and success, Steve is continually developing and growing within the industry.

Currently Steve is a BIM Lead at Graham construction and is playing an integral role in project planning, design, development and execution. He is primarily responsible for BIM deliverables on projects and coordination with the design teams as well as major subcontractors as well as the development and execution of BIM Standards within the company.TBA

Erika Carrasco is a Partner with Field Law practicing litigation and dispute resolution in the insurance, construction, energy and business industries. She has a wealth of experience providing advice and solutions to her clients relating to contractual disputes, builders’ liens, and property, commercial general liability, product liability, wrap up, builders’ risk and motor vehicle claims. Erika has achieved success for her clients at all levels of Court in Alberta.

Erika is piloting Field Law’s (UAV)/Drone practice by applying her business, insurance, and litigation knowledge to help her clients navigate this new technical landscape to their benefit. Erika is one of few lawyers in Canada with litigation expertise in Drone Law. In 2017, she was counsel involved in one of the first convictions and appeals in Canada under the Canadian Aviation Regulations.

A seasoned speaker for both insurance and construction industry events, she has been asked to present on the subject on panels provincially, nationally and in the U.S. including the 2016 National RIMS Canada and for the Seminar Group in Las Vegas as part of the 2016 InterDrone Conference, speaking to UAV Regulations and the Legal Implications of UAV use.