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 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 wide 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 Expert Committee of the Canadian Climate Institute. She has been a board member of TransLink, BC Hydro, and the Pembina Institute, and is currently on the boards of the Institute for Research on Public Policy, Technical Safety BC, and Genome BC.

George P.R. Benson is a climate leader and urban planner based in Vancouver. He currently serves as managing director of the Climate Displacement Planning Initiative (CDPI), one of the first organizations in the world to focus solely on human displacement due to climate change. George also works as senior manager of economic transformation for the Vancouver Economic Commission where he focuses on building more just, decarbonized, and democratic economies. He is active in various global, national and local initiatives related to youth empowerment and climate action, previously serving as the Global Climate Lead for North America in the Global Shapers Community. He’s also served on numerous youth climate networks, such as the Canadian Youth Climate Collaborative, and has been involved in the national leadership of the Canadian and American urban planning associations.

He is a member of the Global Commission on BiodiverCities by 2030 through the World Economic Forum, the BC Energy Step Code Council Capacity-building Sub-Committee, the Building to Electrification Technical Sub-Committee, and the C40 Cities Finance Advisory Committee. In 2017, he was awarded the City of Vancouver’s Award of Excellence for his work in all of these areas.

David Black is a union leader in British Columbia with over 20 years of experience in negotiating, group facilitating, organizational leadership, and political action. Prior to his retirement, David was the former president of MoveUp, a Burnaby-based union that represents over 12,000 workers in both the public and private sector in British Columbia. He was first appointed to MoveUP’s executive board in 2001 and served as MoveUP’s vice president for the ICBC group starting in 2005. In addition to his leadership with MoveUP, David is known for his work on numerous committees, including the BC Federation of Labour Political Action Committee, the Canadian Labour Congress’s Executive Committee and the Advisory Committee of the Sustainable Communities Initiative. He was also the former delegate to the Vancouver and District Labour Council, and was a former member of the board of directors for the United Way of the Lower Mainland.

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.

Eden Luymes is a political science student passionate about environmental policy and climate justice. She was born and raised in the Fraser Valley, and is currently pursuing a master in political science at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. 

Eden holds undergraduate degrees from the University of British Columbia, with an honours in political science with international relations, and from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (SciencesPo). Her research focuses on climate justice and global climate governance. In the past she has worked at Environment and Climate Change Canada, the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Stanley Park Ecology Society. She was also a youth delegate with the British Columbia Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC) to COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. 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.

Patrick Michell is a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation, former chief of the Kanaka Bar Indian Band, dedicated community leader, and a lifetime resident of Fraser Canyon in B.C. Since 1978, he's worked with his community to design and complete projects that re-establish foundational sustainable stability in air, water, food, and shelter with supporting resilient systems like storage, energy, communications, transportation and waste; for the environment and economy of today and more importantly – for tomorrow.

In 2018, Patrick was honored with a Clean Energy BC lifetime achievement award for his work in renewable energy project design, permitting, development and operations, and in 2021 was honored with a Clean50 Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on climate change awareness and action. Kanaka’s 2021 Community Resilience Plan was also recognized as the Clean50 2022 Top Project.

Kurt Niquidet joined the Council of Forest Industries (COFI) as vice president and chief economist in May 2019. He is also currently an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Kurt was born in Williams Lake, British Columbia. He holds a bachelor's degree in forestry from UBC, a master’s degree in economics from the University of Victoria and a Ph.D. in resource economics from the University of Groningen. Prior to COFI, Kurt was at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa, where he was a director within the international economic analysis department responsible for global commodities and emerging markets. He also spent several years as part of the Canadian Forest Service, leading a team of research economists, and lectured in forest economics at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Kurt has published economic papers on several topics ranging from bio-energy, forest tenure reform, timber auctions and international trade.

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 B.C. 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 the founder and former chief innovation officer for Clean Energy Canada —a leading think tank advancing clean energy and climate solutions. She is also a fellow at the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, senior advisor to the Ivey Foundation, a member of the independent Task Force for a Resilient Recovery, and a Canadian representative of the C3E International Ambassador Corps. Her 2018 work as co-chair of Natural Resources Canada’s Generation Energy Council helped ideas from a diverse group of stakeholders coalesce into recommendations that will shape Canada's energy future. 

For most of her career, Merran has worked to unite industry, government, and civil society organizations to solve pressing social and ecological challenges. Her leadership in the landmark Great Bear Rainforest conservation agreement helped ensure the protection of thousands of kilometres of coastal ecosystem. Merran has received numerous leadership distinctions, including being named to Vancouver Magazine's 2020 Power 50 List, winning the 2019 SFU President’s Social Media Newsmaker Award, Clean Energy BC's 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award, the Vancouver Board of Trade's 2016 Wendy McDonald Community Catalyst Award, and the Clean 16 Award in 2014 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.

Karen is a seasoned advocate for climate and clean energy policies and nature conservation. A bridge builder, Karen has worked with stakeholders from industry, business, government, communities and civil society to build a more resilient planet with a diversified economy and safe climate. 

Karen was the Pembina Institute’s regional director in B.C and is currently serving as a board member of the Metro Vancouver Zero Emissions Innovation Centre. 

In 2021, Karen was named one of Business in Vancouver’s most influential business leaders in B.C. She has also been recently awarded the Foresight Industry Impact Award and named a Georgia Straight Trailblazer.  

Jill Tipping is a passionate advocate for B.C. and it’s 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).

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. 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.

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.