SPEAKERS

Gilbert Bennett

Senior Advisor | WaterPower Canada (WPC)

Gilbert Bennett is a recognized leader and expert in renewable electricity, energy transition and the broader energy sector, with two decades of sector experience. Having served as a WPC Board Member and Board Chair (2010 through 2022). as well as Interim President, Gilbert continues to support the organization’s goals and objectives, through his leadership and contributions to the technical and industry matters of WPC in the role of Senior Advisor.  

Gilbert worked with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro from 2005 to 2022, and as Vice President of Power Development, was responsible for the development of the Muskrat Falls project. Previously, he served in senior engineering and operations roles in the telecommunications sector. 

He has a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) from Memorial University and is registered as a Professional Engineer in Newfoundland and Labrador. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. This year, Gilbert was named one of the 75 most influential people in hydropower from the International Water Power & Dam Construction magazine.

Jeffrey W. Betker

Vice-President, External & Indigenous Relations, Environment and Communications | Manitoba Hydro

Jeff is responsible for proactively building meaningful relationships with Indigenous peoples, facilitating interactions with government, managing Manitoba Hydro’s brand and reputation through effective communication and community investments, and driving a consistent approach to engaging stakeholders.

Prior to joining Manitoba Hydro, Jeff held leadership positions at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, TC Energy, and the Manitoba Metis Federation. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Manitoba, as well as a Master of Business Administration (awarded with distinction) from the University of Birmingham in England. Additionally, he has certificates in negotiation and conflict resolution from Dalhousie University; fundamentals of Indigenous Peoples and Canadian law from Osgoode Law School, York University; and ESG Strategies for Sustainable Business from the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia.

Beyond his professional achievements, Jeff is dedicated to community service serving on the board of directors for the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre and is a member of the Associates with the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba. He most recently served on the board of directors for Economic Development Winnipeg. Jeff joined Manitoba Hydro in 2018.

Colleen Burliuk

Research Biologist, Fish Tracking | Innovasea

Colleen is a biologist with over 9 years of experience working in fish research and she specializes in the use of telemetry equipment and more recently, Innovasea’s HydroAI fish-counting system. Previously, Colleen led field-intensive studies on the movements and habitats of American eels and lake sturgeon on the upper St. Lawrence River. At Innovasea, Colleen is a Research Biologist that supports the Consulting, Customer Success, and Sales teams. She serves as team lead on consulting projects and provides advice to researchers on range testing, study design, and data analysis. Colleen has a Master of Science in Biology from Queen’s University (Kingston, Canada).

Céline Cusson

Director – Environment | Hydro-Québec

Céline Cusson is the Director – Environment at Hydro-Québec. She holds a bachelor’s degree in law and is a member of the Quebec Bar, as well as a master’s degree in environmental management. With over 22 years at Hydro-Québec, she has led numerous initiatives to improve and evolve the company’s practices in response to emerging environmental requirements and challenges. She currently leads a team of environmental specialists, responsible for providing support and expertise across all company activities and projects. Her team is at the heart of Hydro-Québec Biodiversity Plan.

Dr. Chris Derksen

Acting Director, Climate Research Division | Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Dr. Chris Derksen is the acting Director of the Climate Research Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada. His research focuses on the use of satellite data and climate models to understand climate change impacts on snow and ice. Chris has participated in more than 25 snow and sea ice measurement campaigns across the Arctic. He is the Principal Investigator of the Terrestrial Snow Mass Mission, and a lead author of the first climate science assessment specific to Canada, available here: www.changingclimate.ca/CCCR2019/

Dr. Andre Erler

Senior Climate Scientist | Aquanty Inc.

Dr. Andre Erler is a Senior Climate Scientist at Aquanty Inc. with a background in climate modelling. His main interests are in seasonal hydro-climate forecasting and long-term climate change impacts on water resources, using physics-based numerical and machine learning models. While overseeing weather and climate data processing at Aquanty, he also leads projects focussed on developing new forcasting capabilities within Aquanty, either as internal research projects or in collaboration with academic partners. Examples of current projects include seasonal drought forecasting, streamflow forecasting using machine learning, and modelling regional climate change over Canada (using WRF).

Originally from Germany, Andre completed the equivalent of an MSc in dynamical meteorology in Mainz, before moving to Canada to complete a PhD in regional climate modelling at the Department of Physics in Toronto. In his free time he likes to be active outdoors, be it cycling, running, climbing (out West) or canoeing (in Ontario).

Terence Hubbard

President | Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC)

Terence Hubbard was appointed President of the Impact Assessment Agency (IAAC) on November 28, 2021. In his role, he is responsible for leading all reviews of major projects under the Impact Assessment Act, in cooperation with other Government of Canada regulatory agencies, as well as provinces and territories and Indigenous groups.

Prior to joining IAAC in 2018, Terence was Director General of the Petroleum Resources Branch with Natural Resources Canada. In this role, he had responsibility for Canada’s oil and gas policy, including overseeing the development and implementation of Canada’s pipeline safety and offshore oil and gas regulatory regimes as well as serving as Canada’s representative on the Governing Board of the International Energy Agency. He is a graduate of the University of Saskatchewan where he obtained both his Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in economics and now lives in Ottawa

Jill Hudkins

Chief Executive | AECOM’s Water + Environment Advisory global business line

Jill Hudkins is the Chief Executive of AECOM’s Water + Environment Advisory global business line. With 31 years of experience, Jill is an experienced senior executive with more than thirty years of progressive management experience in the engineering consulting industry. Jill has served as a Technical Advisor on a variety of infrastructure programs for federal, state and local clients. Her project experience includes intelligent master planning, integrated water management, regulatory compliance, energy management, and data driven decision making to support the implementation of resilient and sustainable infrastructure. Jill frequently leads large discussion forums and workshops that involve multiple agencies, stakeholders, regulatory agencies, and the public. She is well versed with best practices being implemented globally for climate resiliency, digital transformation, environmental equity, and social justice.

Kurt Kornelsen

Director of Environment and Climate Change | Ontario Power Generation (OPG)

Kurt C. Kornelsen is the Director of Environment and Climate Change at Ontario Power Generation. His work focuses on merging science, policy and practice to integrate climate change into core decision making at the utility. He holds a doctoral degree in Water Resources from McMaster University where he is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Earth, Environment and Society.

Mark Locke

Senior Technical Director – Hydropower | GHD

Mark is GHD’s Senior Technical Director – Hydropower. With 30 years of experience encompassing hydropower, dams and geotechnical engineering, Mark leads GHD’s pumped hydropower team in Australia. He has designed large hydropower in Asia and run of river developments in British Columbia where he was involved with projects from concept through to EPC delivery. He has recently directed several pumped hydropower projects in Australia from site selection studies through pre-feasibility and feasibility designs. Mark will share insights of how pumped hydro is being developed in Australia through government and private sector involvement.

Emmanuel Ngue

CEO and Principal Engineer | EN Solutions Hydro

Emmanuel Ngue is a licensed engineer in Quebec with a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering applied to Hydropower from École Polytechnique Montréal and a Maintenance Management Professional certificate from PEMAC. With over a decade in the energy industry, including roles at Andritz Hydro and GE Vernova, he has led major refurbishment and installation projects in Canada and the U.S. He is the founder of EN Solutions Hydro, a Canadian firm pioneering AI-powered maintenance solutions for the hydroelectric sector.

Joanna Osawe

President & CEO | Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE)

Joanna Osawe is the President & CEO of WiRE – Women in Renewable Energy. Joanna attended Western University studying Languages, graduating with an Honours BA. Joanna works at Burns & McDonnell in the position of Senior Business Development. Joanna has used her language skills in a focused, 15+ year management career at leading renewable and energy sector companies in Canada and the United States. By carrying complex projects through many stages she has seen firsthand the vital role renewable energy and emerging technologies serve in moving the Canadian, American and global energy mix forward.

Joanna has been appointed to the Federal Sustainable Development Advisory Council, led by Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault. She looks forward to continuing to engage and contribute to the Council’s success. The Council is made up of the Canadian public that represent the views of different provinces and territories, Indigenous peoples, as well as environmental non-governmental organizations and business and labour organizations.

Lorena Patterson

President & CEO | WaterPower Canada

Lorena holds an MBA from the University of Texas in Austin and a Bachelor’s Degree in International Development from Dalhousie University. Lorena moved to Ottawa in 2018 as Director of Public Affairs for TC Energy, after heading Corporate Affairs and Stakeholder Relations for the firm for nearly 15 years in Mexico City. She was President of the Mexican Natural Gas Association from 2016 to 2018, a Board Member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, and represented the Mexican Natural Gas Industry during CUSMA negotiations and in bilateral conversations between Mexico and the United States on the US – Mexico Energy Business Council. A native Albertan, Lorena was the first representative of the Alberta Government to be posted at the Embassy of Canada in Mexico City, in 2002. Most recently, Lorena was the Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Policy for the Association of Canadian Distillers (Spirits Canada).

In 2008, Michaelle Jean awarded Lorena with the Governor General’s Award for her work in strengthening the bilateral relationship between Canada and Mexico. She is a founding member of Voz Experta, an organization that works to increase the visibility of women in the Mexican energy sector, is a proud member of the Ottawa chapter of the International Women’s Forum. Lorena speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Eddie Rich

Chief Executive Officer | International Hydropower Association (IHA)

Eddie Rich has worked on the role of corporates in international development for over 20 years. He was appointed CEO of IHA in 2019. Since then, IHA has repositioned itself as a values-based organisation summed up in the San José Declaration on Sustainable Hydropower statement that “Going forward the only acceptable hydropower is sustainable hydropower.” And the no-go commitment for hydropower in World Heritage Sites. He was instrumental in the launch of the Hydropower Sustainability Standard in 2021 and the establishment of the influential International Forum on Pumped Storage Hydropower. In 2022, IHA was awarded International Association of the Year.

Previously, he was deputy head of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) since the international secretariat was established in 2007, including a period as its executive director. His prior experience included working as the UK Government Department for International Development (DFID)’s representative to Angola and deputy head in Kenya, and as head of DFID’s corporate social responsibility team.

Together with the EITI’s former executive director Jonas Moberg, Eddie developed an approach to multi-stakeholder governance that challenges conventional developmental wisdom. It is summarized in their book, ‘Beyond Governments: Making Collective Governance Work – Lessons from the EITI’. He has degrees from the University of Oxford and the University of Westminster.

Diego Rueda

Business Analyst & IoT Integration Specialist | EN Solutions Hydro

Diego Rueda is a certified Canadian Business Analyst with a background in electronic engineering from Universidad de los Andes (Colombia). With over six years of experience in industrial automation, condition monitoring, and IoT integration, he has played a key role in the development of predictive maintenance solutions and the expansion of EN Solutions Hydro across Latin America. His work bridges technology and operations, helping the hydroelectric sector improve efficiency and reliability with tangible business and societal benefits.

Emilie Sénéchal

Manager of First Nations and Inuit Relations | Hydro-Québec

Emilie Sénéchal joined Hydro-Québec in 2015 and held several key project management positions before going on to oversee Indigenous relations for the team collaborating with nations and communities in northern and western Québec. She has over 20 years’ experience in project and team management.

Her career path has led her to develop and demonstrate her expertise and skills through the management of complex and large-scale engineering, construction and energy projects, as well as strategic organizational change initiatives. Ms. Sénéchal holds a Bachelor of Science in project management from HEC Montréal and a Master’s degree in environmental studies with a specialization in sustainable development and governance from the Université de Sherbrooke. She also earned Project Management Professional (PMP) certification since 2013 and holds a training certification from the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés (CAS) in the governance of non-profit organizations.

Pascal Seret

Tractebel

Mr. Pascal Seret has 39 years of professional experience in Hydropower projects, working in Asia (China, South Korea, India, Thailand), Central Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe. He has been involved in the design and commissioning of electromechanical and electrical equipment for more than 40 hydropower projects, including numerous hydropower plants and pumped-storage power plants  of up to 2,000 MW.

He has developed extensive expertise in pumped-storage projects, with experience in commissioning seven PSPs totaling around 3,500 MW in South Korea, Thailand, China, Morocco, and France, both while working for a major equipment supplier and during design phases at Tractebel. His career includes the condition assessment and refurbishment of the Dinorwig and Ffestiniog PSPs in the United Kingdom, Owner’s Engineer services for the construction of the 4 × 250 MW Tehri PSP in India, the design and preparation of contract documents for the 300 MW Kokhav Hayarden PSP in Israel and the 300 MW Frasin PSP in Romania. From 2019 to 2024, he served as interface manager for the Snowy 2.0 project in Australia.

Heather Shilton

Director | Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation

Heather is the Director for Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (“NNC”) which is Nunavut’s first 100% Inuit-owned renewable energy developer, based in Iqaluit, NU. Since 2019, Heather has led the NNC team to ensure successful delivery of renewable energy initiatives through sound project development and collaboration with Rightsholding Organizations and stakeholders across the Territory.

Heather has a background in renewable energy development, having previously worked on community-owned wind and solar projects in Southern Canada and the Northeastern United States. She is a Certified Energy Manager with the Association of Energy Engineers, is a selected Member of Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Sustainable Development Advisory Committee, and serves on the Board of the Arctic Renewables Society. She was named one of Canada’s Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders with Corporate Knights in 2021, and was the recipient of the Clean50 Award in Renewable Energy in 2025.

She is currently pursuing an LLM in Energy and Infrastructure Law at Osgoode Hall Law School from her home in Iqaluit where she lives with her partner, David, and their dog, Scout.

William Twardek

Fisheries Scientist | Ecofish Research Ltd.

William Twardek is a Fisheries Scientist with Ecofish Research, A Trinity Consultants Canada Team, with 10 years of experience conducting fisheries research. He supports effective and efficient evidence-based decision-making, bringing together critical information from field studies, experiments, modelling, and literature reviews. Will has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles with authors from around the world, and has led many technical reports for government, industry, and NGO partners. Will’s PhD focused on evaluating interactions between salmon and hydropower infrastructure in the Yukon, working closely with local First Nations, Yukon Energy, and the Canadian Wildlife Federation. He continues to work across organizations to identify wholistic approaches to developing hydropower while supporting salmon populations.