Climate Solutions Council members

Colleen Giroux-Schmidt brings over two decades of experience in resource development with an extensive knowledge of the renewable energy sector.  As vice president – Corporate Relations for Innergex Renewable Energy Inc., Colleen leads the engagement and relationship activities with all levels of government, Indigenous communities, local communities, strategic partners and other stakeholders. Her team leads the policy research and advocacy portfolio with the goal of increasing renewable energy opportunities to help the jurisdictions meet their climate change goals. Colleen has a strong background in government relations, relationship building, regulatory and policy development as well as project management.  She has been involved in different phases of numerous clean energy projects, in multiple technologies and in multiple jurisdictions, which has afforded her a broad perspective on developing clean energy projects from conception to operation. 

Nancy Olewiler is an economist and professor emerita in the School of Public Policy, Simon Fraser University (SFU). Prior to coming to the economics department at SFU in 1990, she was a professor in the economics department at Queen’s University. Her PhD is in economics from the University of British Columbia. Nancy's areas of research include natural resource and environmental economics and public policy. She has published widely on a range of environmental and natural resource issues, including studies on energy and climate policy, natural capital and ecosystem services, managing catastrophic risk, and federal tax policy. She has served on federal and provincial government advisory committees and is currently chair of the Macroeconomics Accounts Advisory Committee for Statistics Canada, and a member of the Mitigation and Adaptation Expert Committees of the Canadian Climate Institute. She has been a board member of TransLink, BC Hydro, Technical Safety BC, and the Pembina Institute, and is currently on the boards of the Institute for Research on Public Policy and Genome BC.

Denni Clement is from ʔaq̓am, a Ktunaxa Nation community located in the Kootenay region of B.C. She is a community engagement, climate resilience and sustainability specialist. Denni led the creation of ʔaq̓am’s comprehensive community plan from 2009 to 2011 and is currently supporting the plan renewal. She is a lead author for the B.C. chapter of the national assessment on climate change titled “Canada in a Changing Climate” and is co-chair of B.C.’s Indigenous Climate Adaptation Working Group. Denni is a member of the Pinna Sustainability team and has supported several initiatives engaging Indigenous communities across B.C. on climate change. This includes leading Indigenous engagement for the University of Victoria’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan. Currently, as the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative’s Indigenous climate action network lead, she supports communities to advance their climate action needs. Denni holds a Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of Victoria.

Linda Coady is president and CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI), an industry trade association that represents forest companies in B.C. that produce wood for construction, pulp and paper, and bioenergy. Prior to joining COFI, Linda was the executive director of the Alberta-based Pembina Institute, a Canadian non-profit environmental think tank on climate and energy issues. Her previous roles have also included chief sustainability officer for Enbridge Inc., vice-president of sustainability for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, vice-president of the Pacific Region of World Wildlife Fund Canada, and vice-president of environmental affairs for the B.C. Coastal Group of Weyerhaeuser Canada and MacMillan Bloedel Ltd. Linda has been a member of the Climate Advisory Body to the Government of Alberta, and a member of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body, which provides independent advice to the federal government on meeting requirements under Canada’s Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act.

Ashley Duncan is the president of the BC Insulators Local 118, and the membership development coordinator for the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators & Allied Workers, which represents over 6,000 members across Canada and 25,000 members across North America. BC Insulators have worked tirelessly to promote the reality that they’re the original “green trade” and have utilized energy audits to work toward retrofitting mechanical systems in buildings across Canada with the goal of lowering costs and reducing the environmental footprint. Ashley previously worked as the vice president and sustainability coordinator for the BC Insulators, and now works with International helping with energy audits across North America.

Mahmudur Fatmi is an assistant professor at UBC Okanagan, where his research area is in sustainable transportation modelling – specifically, developing innovative models and simulation tools to assist in transportation and land use planning and infrastructure investment decision making. His research results provide insights and input towards making low-cost and sustainable travel options available in an equitable way and decarbonizing the transportation sector. He is associate editor of Journal of Transport and Land Use, paper review co-ordinator of Transportation Research Board’s standing committee on the Effects of Information and Communication Technologies on Travel Choices, and vice president of Canadian Transportation Research Forum. He received his BSc in civil engineering from BUET, Bangladesh, and a doctoral degree in civil engineering from Dalhousie University, Canada. 

Kathryn Harrison is a professor of political science at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Western University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and master’s and doctoral degrees in political science from MIT and UBC. Before entering academia, Harrison worked as a chemical engineer in the oil industry, and as a policy analyst for the United States Congress and Environment Canada. Professor Harrison has served in leadership positions at UBC as associate dean and acting dean in the Faculty of Arts. Her scholarship on Canadian and US environmental and climate policy has received awards including Fulbright and Killam Fellowships.

Matt Horne is the climate manager at the City of Vancouver. He is responsible for the city's Climate Emergency Action Plan, including the target of cutting carbon pollution in half by 2030. He has worked on climate change issues for over 20 years with the city, the Climate Action Secretariat, and the Pembina Institute. He's had the opportunity to be an advisor on B.C.'s climate and clean energy plans over the past decade and is also an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University.

Eden Luymes is a youth climate activist passionate about environmental policy and climate justice. She was born and raised in the Fraser Valley and is currently working as a youth engagement coordinator with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society of BC.

Eden holds a master's in political science from the University of British Columbia (UBC), and undergraduate degrees from UBC, with an honours in political science with international relations, and from the Paris Institute of Political Studies. Her academic research focuses on climate justice and global climate governance. Eden has worked for a variety of environmental non-governmental organizations and government organizations including BC Parks, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Stanley Park Ecology Society and the Thetis Island Nature Conservancy. She was also a youth delegate with the British Columbia Council for International Cooperation to the 2021 COP26 in Glasgow. Eden sees addressing climate change as an unprecedented opportunity to heal our relationships with the Earth and with each other and is excited to represent the interests of youth on the Climate Solutions Council.

Scott Maloney is vice president, environment with Teck Resources, and is responsible for overseeing environment and climate change strategy and performance across Teck Resources' global portfolio of projects, operations and legacy properties. Scott’s team enables delivery of Teck Resources' climate change strategy and goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. He has worked in sustainability leadership for 25 years, first as a regulator and then with the mining industry across Australia, Asia, Africa, South America and now Canada. He has experience in the petroleum, waste management and mining industries, along with the development of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and is chair of the Climate Change Working Group for the International Council on Mining and Metals. Scott holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Hons) from Monash University, and a Master of Business Administration from Curtin University.

Skye McConnell leads Shell Canada's public affairs department overseeing the company's policy and advocacy and government relations across the country. She has worked with Shell in numerous capacities and leadership positions for over 25 years in Canada and internationally, including time as a senior advisor on integration in the Netherlands. Sky has worked extensively in project development, policy and advocacy, environment and regulatory, and risk management. She has a passion for collaboration and teamwork. B.C. has been an anchor point in Skye's life having grown up on Vancouver Island, graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Commerce in entrepreneurship and is currently raising her family with her husband in Victoria.

Madeleine McPherson is an assistant professor in the department of Civil Engineering and the associate director of the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems at the University of Victoria. As the principal investigator of the Sustainable Energy Systems Integration & Transitions Group, Madeleine and her team develop models to explore electrification and energy systems integration and apply those models with stakeholders to co-create decarbonization pathways. McPherson is a co-founder and an executive member of the Energy Modelling Hub, which is convening a national dialogue between modelers and stakeholders around decarbonizing Canada’s energy system.

Nangkilslas, Trent Moraes, is a Haida from Skidegate, Haida Gwaii. He is an elected member of the Skidegate Band Council and is the Deputy Chief Councillor. He spent a decade in administration as the director of Housing, Lands & Energy for the Skidegate Band Council. Trent helped create and maintain an energy portfolio in Skidegate and for Haida Gwaii.

He is also a member of several groups, including the First Nations Home Energy Save Advisory, Indigenous Clean Energy Opportunity Electricity Table Advisory Group, First Nations Remote Community Energy Strategy Working Group, and is chair of the Aboriginal Capital Committee, Indigenous Climate Adaptation Working Group, and Indigenous Coastal Climate Coalition.

Trent helped the Skidegate Band Council study the needs of the community and islands, educated the public on the emerging technologies and energy efficiency strategies available, and invested in solar hot water and solar photovoltaics for community and residential buildings.

Freya Phillips is the senior energy specialist at the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB), leading the district's transition to a net-zero emissions future. She has created policies and programs, such as the climate action plan, with a focus on community engagement and bringing together climate mitigation and resilience. Freya has led projects like the low-carbon fleet initiative and RDKB HomeSmart retrofit program, showcasing rural government's sustainable innovation.

She has over 30 years of global experience in climate change and energy management, policy development, project management, and engineering. Her extensive career encompasses diverse industry sectors and consultancy roles, providing her with a comprehensive understanding of environmental and climate challenges.

Freya holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) from Monash University and is an accredited Change Management Practitioner.

Danielle (DJ) Pohl is president of the Fraser Valley Labour Council and chair of the BC Federation of Labour Climate Change Committee. DJ is a paralegal with the BC Prosecution Service in Chilliwack and is a member of the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU). Within the BCGEU she is an elected local officer and is appointed to the Provincial Executive Environment Committee where she helps set policy and direction for environmental issues. DJ is also passionate about water rights and is engaged in organizing around environmental and social justice issues in the community. She has a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice from the University of the Fraser Valley and has spent most of her life in the Fraser Valley where she lives today.  

Merran Smith is president of New Economy Canada, bringing decades of leadership uniting industry, government, and civil society partners. Merran has been at the forefront of public policy discourse and solution building for Canada’s energy transition since she founded the think tank Clean Energy Canada in 2010. Her leadership in the Great Bear Rainforest agreement led to the protection of B.C.’s coastal rainforest ecosystems and set a new standard for collaboration between Indigenous and Crown governments, and across sectors.

Merran has served as co-chair of Natural Resources Canada’s Generation Energy Council. She represents Canada on the C3E International Ambassador Corps and is a fellow at Simon Fraser University (SFU).

Her leadership has been formally recognized through Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50, SFU’s President’s Social Media Newsmaker award, Clean Energy BC's Lifetime Achievement award, Vancouver Board of Trade's Wendy McDonald Community Catalyst award, and the Clean 16 award for leadership in clean capitalism.

Michelle Staples has a background in environmental activism reaching back to her early teens. Those early experiences led her into farming, permaculture and eventually sharing her years of experience through education. She has worked for over 10 years as a facilitator engaging youth in climate action, hope and learning. She has worked with an Elders team from Cowichan delivering presentations on topics related to the impacts of climate on culture, climate grief, protection and ecosystem restoration. She became the City of Duncan’s first female mayor in 2018, and is currently serving her second term in that position. She serves as one of the founders and co-chairs of the Vancouver Island and Coastal Climate Committee and recently has been appointed through her regional district role to the Cowichan Watershed Board. She is committed to completing her Master of Integrated Studies and has an educational background in business administration and applied communication.

Jill Tipping is a passionate advocate for B.C. and its tech-enabled future. Having spent her career working in the tech sector, including a decade in the solar industry, she’s no stranger to the opportunities technology provides. As BC Tech Association’s chief executive officer, she is determined to make the province a place where tech companies are supported not only to startup but to grow, export and scaleup; and where B.C. technology is deployed to build resiliency and growth in every industry sector. Jill’s focus is strengthening connections through collaboration and partnership, she is dedicated to building a strong home team of B.C. anchor companies and is unapologetically ambitious for B.C. and Canada.

Kevin Jardine was appointed deputy minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy on April 23, 2020. Most recently, he was associate deputy minister of the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) for five years, where he led the development and implementation of B.C.’s new Environmental Assessment Act (2018). Prior to joining the EAO, Kevin spent more than three years as the assistant deputy minister of Court Services Branch in the Ministry of Justice.

Kevin joined the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in late 2000 as a land and resource analyst, subsequently taking on the same role in the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management (MSRM). In 2003, he moved to Nelson to take on a role as regional manager for MSRM and, shortly thereafter, joined the newly-formed Deputy Ministers’ Policy Secretariat to explore issues surrounding the management of species at risk in B.C. From there, Kevin was appointed the provincial species at risk coordinator and, in 2005, took on a leadership role in the newly-formed Integrated Land Management Bureau as assistant deputy minister, establishing GeoBC in the process.

In 2008, Kevin was appointed the deputy cabinet secretary of Cabinet Operations and, in 2010, was appointed assistant deputy minister for Open Government in the Ministry of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government where he had accountability for public service revitalization initiatives and citizen-centered service transformation, including transparency initiatives such as DataBC and a services-focused redesign of government’s main website.

Jeremy Hewitt is assistant deputy minister for Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. In this role he works with an incredible team of professionals at the Climate Action Secretariat who are responsible for delivering B.C.’s climate action agenda. This includes reducing carbon pollution and preparing for the impacts of a changing climate in partnership with Indigenous Peoples, local governments, business and non-governmental organizations. Jeremy first worked at the Climate Action Secretariat between 2007-2011 and has held positions with the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology and the Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat.