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Management Advisory Board

Twelve well-respected leaders from academia, business and government with expertise in environmental stewardship, water quality and policy development form the Management Advisory Board for the Alberta Water Research Institute.

Lorne Taylor, Chair
Lorne Taylor received his Bachelor of Education and a Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Calgary. He has served as Lecturer with Tenure at the University of New South Wales, Associate Professor with Tenure and Acting Director of the Institute for Research in Human Abilities at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Tenured Associate Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, and Founding Director of World Relief Canada, an international relief and development agency. Lorne has also been 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. Lorne entered 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. Under his Ministry, Alberta Ingenuity and SuperNet was established. SuperNet provides high speed wide bandwidth to all parts of Alberta. In 2001, Lorne was again re-elected and appointed Minister of the Environment. Alberta's Water for Life Strategy and Alberta's Climate Change Action Plan were established under this ministry. Lorne published more than 30 papers and had numerous conference presentations.

Bill Berzins
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 for more than five years - the BRBC is the official Watershed Planning and Advisory Council for the Basin. Bill is also on the Executive of the Alberta Water Council and represents watershed planning councils from across Alberta.

Dennis Fitzpatrick
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. 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.

Peter Hackett
Peter Hackett is President and CEO of Alberta Ingenuity. He is the former Vice-President, Research at the National Research Council of Canada where he directed the corporate strategies for emerging technologies, entrepreneurship and technology clusters. His key portfolios included biotechnologies, information and telecommunications, manufacturing and molecular sciences, as well as leading the development of national measurement standards. During his time with the NRC, Dr. Hackett also led the creation and design of the National Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta. He has also been active in promoting developing technologies for global human development and in championing Canada's growing role.

Steve Hrudey
Steve Hrudey is Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Associate Dean of the University of Alberta's School of Public Health. Hrudey received his PhD in Public Health Engineering and his DSc (Engineering) in Environmental Health Sciences and Technology from the University of London. He has served as a member of the Research Advisory Panel to the Walkerton Inquiry, an architect of the 2004 Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, the Leader of the Protecting Public Health theme for the Canadian Water Network, and Visiting Professor in Environment at the University of Waterloo. Hrudey has also served on the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) strategic grants panel on environmental quality, and the NATO Priority Panel on Environmental Security in Brussels, and he chaired the Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel to review social economic models for Canada-wide air quality standards. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Academy of Sciences in 2006 and he was the 2006 Distinguished Visiting Speaker at the National Water Research Institute. He has received numerous awards, including the Killam Annual Professorship for overall academic contributions (Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry) and an Emerald Award for Environmental Research in Alberta. He has authored and/or coauthored over 150 scientific publications.

Lorne Olsvik 
A citizen of rural Alberta, Lorne Olsvik has 15 years of elected service in municipal government, currently serving as Lac Ste. Anne County Councilor for Division 1. Lorne 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 Councilor and Mayor of the Village of Onoway, Member and President of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association, and member on the Tire Recycling Management Association of Alberta. Lorne's background includes work in communication data networks, manufacturing oilfield control equipment and control software development.

David Pryce
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 & Gas. David 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.

Bob Sandford
Bob Sandford is Chair of the UN Water for Life, an initiative that aims to advance long-term water quality and availability issues in response to climate change in this country and abroad, and Director of the Western Watersheds Climate Research Collaborative, a research and public policy arm of the University of Lethbridge that promotes understanding of climate impacts on river systems originating in the Rocky Mountains. Bob began his work with UN-linked initiatives as Chair of the United Nations International Year of Mountains in 2002. Bob was also Chair of the United Nations International Year of Fresh Water and Wonder of Water Initiative in Canada in 2003 - 2004. These celebrations focused on the growing importance of water to ecological and cultural heritage in Canada. He is the author or editor of some twenty books on the history and heritage of the Canadian West.

Stephen Stanley
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.  Stanley holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, a MSc in Water Resources Engineering and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Alberta. Prior to joining EPCOR, 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.

Linda Van Gastel
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.

Henry Vaux Jr.
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. He 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. 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.

Barry Worbets
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, Barry 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 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.

Beverly Yee
Beverly Yee is the Assistant Deputy Minister of Environmental Stewardship for the Government of Alberta.  She has been with Alberta Environment since 1994 in a number of senior management positions.  She was previously the ADM for Environmental Assurance. Areas under her responsibility include: external relations; conservation, education and outreach; and environmental Strategies. Yee holds Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Education degrees from the University of Calgary. She has found a way to keep her passion for science and teaching alive through her work and commitment to the environmental endeavors that ensure all Albertans will continue to enjoy the quality of life and healthy environment they share today.