Jackie Forrest
Executive Director of ARC Energy Research Institute, Managing Director of ARC Financial Corp., Jackie actively monitors emerging strategic trends related to energy. She is an author and sought after public speaker with over 25 years of experience in the energy industry. She is the co-host of the ARC Energy Ideas podcast, a weekly show that explains the latest trends and news in Canadian energy and beyond.
Jackie is a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA). She is a former board member of Longshore Resources Ltd. and the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC).
Prior to joining ARC, she was the leader of North American crude oil research for IHS CERA (now S&P Global). Jackie has published 20 public papers on energy issues. She has co-hosted over 200 podcasts and written numerous columns in national publications, spanning all energy systems from oil and gas to clean energy, including electric vehicles, renewable power, and biofuels.
Jackie was the recipient of the 2022 Schulich School of Engineering Canadian Engineering Leadership Award. The award recognizes pioneers of progress in engineering for their achievements, leadership, generosity in sharing their experiences & role model qualities. She is currently a member of the Schulich Industry Advisory Council (SIAC), the group provides input to the engineering school to help to ensure that programs and initiatives align with industry needs. She is also a Special Advisor to the Business Council of Alberta.
Jackie attended the University of Calgary where she received an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering. She also has an MBA from Queens University.
Rachelle Himer
Rachelle Himer is a long-time resident of Grande Prairie and recognizes the entrepreneurial spirit of the Peace Region. In her 27 years of providing insurance to the community, she has supported business in the region’s strong economic generators that contribute significantly to Grande Prairie and the Peace Region’s vibrant ‘open-for-business’ economy. Rachelle enjoys working and living in the resource-rich landscape which is Northern Alberta. When not with family or in the outdoors, she can be found in the gym coaching high school and club volleyball.
Waneek Horn-Miller
Waneek Horn-Miller has always lived for what she believes. From fighting for Indigenous rights to her iconic cover in TIME magazine as the first Mohawk woman to compete in the Olympics, she’s persevered through it all with resilience and strength. After a near-fatal stabbing by a Canadian soldier during the Oka Crisis, she almost gave up her dreams in sports. But for Waneek, “being someone’s victim was not an option.” Ten years to the day of the stabbing, she led her team into the Olympics as co-captain. She took control of her story — and now inspires others to do the same. An incredible storyteller, Waneek shares her hopeful insight on reconciliation, community, mental health, and social harmony to spark a drive in every listener.
“You want to know about resilience and strength and never giving up? You just ask Indigenous people. We are tough. I wanted to show the world that. And I think I did at the Olympics.”
Shawn Kanungo
As a globally recognized innovation strategist and bestselling author, Shawn Kanungo works at the intersection of creativity, business, and technology. He spent 12 years at Deloitte working closely with leaders to help them better plan for the opportunities associated with disruptive innovation. In his high energy keynotes, Kanungo draws on his extensive experience to provide audiences with an optimistic roadmap for the future; one that embraces unexpected approaches to innovation to remain competitive and relevant.
Since leaving Deloitte, Kanungo has worked with hundreds of organizations on their journey to digital transformation. He’s led complex projects incorporating artificial intelligence, cloud technologies, behavioural economics, Web3, and more. Today, Kanungo is a Partner with Queen & Rook, where he advises leading organizations and executives on disruptive trends and invests in early-stage ventures.
Kanungo is the first innovation expert to have a streaming special, released on Apple TV and Prime Video in August 2023. It complements and shares the name of his bestselling debut book, The Bold Ones, a playbook for individuals to become bolder and push their careers and organizations forward. It has been touted as one of McKinsey’s top decision-making books for leaders. Kanungo’s work has also been featured in the Globe and Mail, The Guardian, CBC, and CTV.
A prolific content creator, Kanungo’s content on innovation has garnered millions of views across LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. He’s been recognized by Edify magazine as one of their “Top 40 Under 40” and was called the “best virtual keynote speaker I’ve ever seen” by Forbes in 2021.
Mark Parsons
Mark Parsons is the Vice President and Chief Economist at ATB Financial, where he leads a dynamic team in providing insightful commentary and strategic economic outlooks, primarily focused on Alberta. With over two decades of experience in senior economic positions, including notable roles at Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, PwC, and the Department of Finance Canada, Mark has established himself as a trusted authority in the field. He is a regular speaker at industry conferences and a frequent contributor to media discussions on economic trends. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Alberta.
Keren Perla
Keren Perla is President of Perla Inc. and strategic advisor and innovation architect with the Energy Futures Lab leading net-zero research initiatives and innovation challenges that bring together government, investors, industry, entrepreneurs, Right and Title Holder and communities to collaborate on energy transitions. Keren’s career spans over two decades focused on public sector innovation working in multiple policy domains, from energy development to circular economies to health innovation and everything in between. She is Co-founder of the Alberta CoLab – the first public sector Social Innovation Lab to launch at a provincial level – where she led and oversaw over 150 projects (in Alberta, Canada and with the UNDP) to successfully introduce new strategies and approaches to solve messy challenges through the use of disciplines such as systemic design, foresight, and design facilitation.
Edward Olson
Edward Olson is Leader of MNP’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practice and Leader of the Firm’s Enterprise Risk Services (ERS) practice for the BC Okanagan region. With more than two decades of Canadian and international experience in both public practice and industry, Edward delivers practical and meaningful business advice to clients in both the private and public sectors.
Edward helps his clients with ESG sustainability awareness and adoption, including identification, measurement, management and reporting of financially material issues. He also provides enterprise risk management, internal audit, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, process efficiency, performance improvement and value for money audits.
Edward works directly with executive leadership teams, boards, internal audit and compliance departments, as well as with industry regulators. He has deep industry experience in utilities, financial services, educational services, the public sector and government and government agencies.
Edward earned a Bachelor of Commerce (BComm Co-op) in accounting from the University of Alberta in 1998. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), qualifying as a Chartered Accountant (CA) in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan. Edward is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE). He holds a Global ESG Competent Boards Designation (GCB.D) from Global Competent Boards.
Megan Stone
Megan Stone, currently serving as the Dean of Health at Northwestern Polytechnic, is a lifelong resident of northern Alberta. Her deep-rooted connection to the region, combined with her experience as a Registered Nurse and educator, provides her with a unique opportunity to understand and contribute to addressing the complexities of rural healthcare. After graduating from the University of Alberta in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Megan continued her academic journey, earning a Master of Nursing degree from Athabasca University in 2018. Having worked as a nurse and an instructor in Northwestern Polytechnic’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, she is passionate about advancing health education to meet the needs of northern communities and is committed to strengthening healthcare delivery and community resilience.
David Usher
When innovative companies like Google, 3M, Cisco, Pepsi, Rogers, and SAP want to spark creativity in their employees and executives, they bring in David Usher. He doesn’t just talk creativity and artificial intelligence (AI) — he lives it. Usher draws from his unique experience as the lead singer of Moist; a multi-platinum, four-time Juno award-winning musician; a bestselling author; and as the founder of the artificial intelligence creative studio, Reimagine AI, to help organizations reboot their creativity in this brave new world of disruptive change.
At Reimagine AI, Usher and his team build virtual beings and virtual being technology. He is also the co-creator of the Climate Clock, which tracks global warming in real time and the author of Let the Elephants Run: Unlock Your Creativity and Change Everything. Usher draws from his experience at the forefront of the AI revolution to reveal why now more than ever, creativity and innovation are the only way forward and an organization’s last, best competitive advantage.
In his dynamic, interactive presentations, Usher combines live music, video, improvisation, technology, and humour to electrify audiences and demonstrate that creativity and creative success is a learnable skill that anyone can master, and helps audiences jumpstart their creative process both at home and work.