Chair
Dr. Lorne Taylor
Medicine Hat, Alberta
Lorne Taylor received his Bachelor of Education and Ph.D from the University of Calgary. He has served as Lecturer with Tenure at the University of New South Wales, as an Associate Professor with Tenure and Acting Director of the Institute for Research in Human Abilities at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and as a Tenured Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan. He is also the Founding Director of World Relief Canada, an international relief and development agency. Dr. Taylor is a partner of his family's cattle ranch and construction business in Medicine Hat, and has served on the Medicine Hat School Board, both as a member and as the chair. He entered provincial politics in 1993 when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the riding of Cypress, Medicine Hat, Alberta. In 1997 he was re-elected and appointed Minister of Science and Technology and in 1997 was appointed the Minister of Innovation and Science. 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. In 2001, Lorne was appointed Minister of the Environment, where he envisioned and led the creation of Alberta's Water for Life Strategy and Alberta's Climate Change Action Plan. Dr. Taylor retired from politics in 2004, and in addition to his current leadership role in the creation and management of the Water Institute, he continues to work as a partner in the family business in Medicine Hat, and as a consultant and advisor on a number of government-related initiatives. Dr. Taylor has published over 30 major papers, and is in demand as a speaker at conferences and workshops provincially, nationally and internationally.
Barry Worbets
Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment & Community Sustainability, Statoil Hydro
Calgary, Alberta
Barry Worbets is a Senior Fellow with the Canada West Foundation, where he leads its Natural Capital Project, which seeks to improve land and water policy in western Canada. Born and raised in rural Alberta, Mr. Worbets graduated from the University of Alberta with a B.Sc. and the University of Calgary with a Masters of Environmental Design. Prior to his work at the Canada West Foundation, he spent nearly three decades in the oil and gas sector working in the area where environmental and business interests intersect. In 2001, the Alberta Emerald Foundation for Environmental Excellence recognized Mr. Worbets for his corporate leadership. He has extensive practical knowledge of key public policy issues facing the resource sector including water, land use and energy policy, regulatory reform, Aboriginal and public consultation, climate change, health, safety and corporate social governance.
Bill Berzins
President, Fossil Water
Calgary, Alberta
Bill Berzins is President of Fossil Water and has more than 25 years experience in leadership of water, wastewater and environmental operations throughout western Canada and the US. He has served as the Chair of the Bow River Basin Council (BRBC) for more than five years -- the BRBC is the official Watershed Planning and Advisory Council for the Basin. Bill has also served on the Executive of the Alberta Water Council and represents watershed planning councils from across Alberta.
Henry Vaux Jr.
Professor Resource Economic Emeritus,
University of California in Berkeley and the University of California in Riverside
Henry Vaux Jr. is Professor Resource Economic Emeritus at the University of California in Berkeley and the University of California in Riverside. He is also Associate Vice President Emeritus for the University of California System. In this latter position he served from 1992 to 2004 as Chief Operating Officer of the U.C. System for all programs in agriculture and natural resources. Dr. Vaux has also served as Director of the University of California Water Resources Center, Chair of the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Research Council, the operating arm of the U.S. National Academies, and as President of the Board of the non-profit Water Education Foundation, a Sacramento-based NGO concerned with educating the public about water education. He is an Associate of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Chair of the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy, a Forum jointly sponsored by the University of California and the Bank of America. Dr. Vaux's academic field is the economics of water resources and he is the author of more than 100 articles and book chapters on various aspects of water resources management and water institutions.
Linda Van Gastel
Member, Alberta Science and Research Authority (ASRA) Board of Management
Member, Board of Directors of the Canadian Water Network and Canadian Council of Professional Engineers
Calgary, Alberta
Linda Van Gastel is a professional engineer and was employed by EnCana Corporation, and its predecessor company PanCanadian Petroleum Limited, for most of her career. She held a variety of leadership roles, including having responsibility for general management of the Corporation's technology research and development program for several years. She is a past president of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA) and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and has served on the boards of C-FER Technologies and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. In addition to her role on the Alberta Science and Research Authority (ASRA) Board of Management, she represents ASRA on the Alberta Water Council, serves on the Alberta Life Sciences Institute, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Water Network and the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers.
Lorne Olsvik
Rural Albertan and Councillor, Lac Ste. Anne County
Onoway, Alberta
A citizen of rural Alberta, Lorne Olsvik has 15 years of elected service in municipal government, currently serving as Lac Ste. Anne County Councillor for Division 1. Mr. Olsvik has also served as the rural Alberta elected member on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and is currently a board member on the Environmental Protection Advisory Board to the Minister of Environment. Past municipal services include Councillor and Mayor of the Village of Onoway, Member and President of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, and a member on the Tire Recycling Management Association of Alberta. Mr. Olsvik’s background includes work in communication data networks, manufacturing oilfield control equipment and control software development.
Stephen Stanley
Senior Vice President, EPCOR Water Services
Edmonton, Alberta
Stephen Stanley is the Senior Vice President for EPCOR Water Services where he is responsible for the operations, maintenance, engineering and planning of the water treatment facilities and distribution system. Mr. Stanley holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, an MSc in Water Resources Engineering and a Ph.D in Environmental Engineering from the University of Alberta. Prior to joining EPCOR, Dr. Stanley was a professor at the University of Alberta in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is the author of two books and numerous journal articles, conference papers and technical reports. He is the principle investigator on two AWWA Research Foundation projects related to the automation of water treatment plant operations.
Allen Benson
Chief Executive Officer
Native Counselling Services of Alberta
Allen Benson is a member of the Beaver Lake First Nation. His life experience has fostered the development of strong family and community values: sharing, generosity and compassion for others which he has transformed into innovative service delivery, community-based action and a strong vision for the future of Aboriginal people. Mr. Benson has dedicated his life to advocating for the poor and disenfranchised and the actualization of healthy Aboriginal individuals, families and communities, both in Canada and internationally. As the Chief Executive officer of Native Counselling Services of Alberta (NCSA), an agency that he has worked with for almost 30 years, he has led NCSA in the development of many cutting edge programs for Aboriginal people, particularly in the areas of restorative and social justice, health, housing and homelessness. He has also advanced the cause of Aboriginal control of community-based research and applied Aboriginal knowledge to current issues facing Aboriginal people. Internationally he works to achieve community-capacity building processes and structures to help Indigenous peoples to articulate and advance their visions for the future. While much of his work has focused on Aboriginal people, he also works tirelessly to use his experience and knowledge to develop the complementary partnerships that will create substantive change in both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community. His accomplishments have been marked in such past rewards as the Alberta Centennial Medal, the Paul Harris Fellowship, the Edmonton and International Rotary Integrity Award, the Alberta Aboriginal Role Model Award in Justice and an Honorary Doctorate Doctorate from the University of Alberta.
David Pryce
Vice President, Western Operations
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
Calgary, Alberta
David is Vice President, of Western Operations for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producer. He obtained a degree in physical geography from York University, which led to a career in environmental and operations management in both Oil and Gas. Mr. Pryce has over 20 years experience in the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry having worked for a major oil company, as a private consultant, and as a regulator with the National Energy Board before joining the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers ten years ago. His key areas of responsibility include or have included: Industry water use; Resource access issues; Air quality related issues, including sour gas and flaring; Managing and working to improve industry - landowner relations; Land liability management; Development of CAPP's Environment, Health and Safety Stewardship program, and various regulatory issues.
Dennis Fitzpatrick
Vice-President of Research
University of Lethbridge
Lethbridge, Alberta
Dennis Fitzpatrick is the Vice-President of Research at the University of Lethbridge. He previously held positions at the University of Manitoba where he was head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition for ten years and at Agriculture Canada where he worked as a research scientist in the Animal Feed Safety and Nutrition Program on the Central Experimental Farm research complex in Ottawa. Dr. Fitzpatrick has served on the executive of a number of scientific societies including President of the Canadian Federation of Biological Societies and the Canadian Society for Nutritional Sciences. He has also served as Chair of the Council of Congress for the International Union of Nutritional Sciences 16th International Congress held in Montreal. Currently, he holds positions on several national boards including the Biotechnology Human Resources Council and the National Research Council Committee on International Science, Engineering and Technology as well as a number of regional initiatives.
Bob Barraclough
Director, Water Policy Branch
Alberta Environment
Edmonton, Alberta
Bob Barraclough is the Director of the Water Policy Branch for Alberta Environment in Edmonton, Alberta. Prior to moving to his current position in 2008, Mr. Barraclough served for four years as the Director of the Office for Disability Issues and the Premier’s Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Working with the Government of Alberta since 1999, he has also served as Director of Sustainable Resource and Environmental Management Office with the Ministries of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, and as Director of Strategic Planning and Policy, Community Supports Systems Divisions with the Ministry of Community Development. His experience also includes two years as a Senior Program/Planning Consultant, Addictions Services with the Vancouver/Richmond Health Board, various project positions with the Government of B.C.’s Ministry for Children and Families, and eight years as an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces. Mr. Barraclough holds Masters and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. He is a member of numerous government and public administration organizations, and in 2005, he was awarded the Queens Jubilee Medal.
