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Huntley O’Connor, P.Eng.
President
Huntley O’Connor is a Senior Structural Engineer with over forty years experience in the design of structures. Huntley has a Diploma in Building Construction, and a Diploma in Structural Engineering from the College of Arts, Science and Technology in Kingston, Jamaica, as well as a B.Sc., Civil and postgraduate Diploma in Engineering from the University of Manitoba. He is married with two sons and one grandson. Huntley is currently the Branch Manager of the GENIVAR office in Regina, Saskatchewan. GENIVAR is a multi-disciplinary engineering firm with offices across Canada and Internationally.
Deborah Wolfe, P.Eng.
Vice-President
Deborah is the Managing Director of the National Committee on Accreditation for the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and previously was Director, Education, Outreach and Research with Engineers Canada. She received a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Western Ontario and served in the Canadian Armed Forces as a construction engineer before joining Engineers Canada. Her work there centred on accreditation of Canadian university engineering programs and research into other country’s educational systems.
Suzelle Barrington, Ph.D., ing.
Past-President
Suzelle was born in Winchester, Ontario and raised on a dairy farm in eastern Ontario. She is married with three children — her husband is a dairy and cash crop producer in Eastern Quebec. She is currently an Affifiliated Professor for the Department of Buildings, Civil and Environmental Engineering at Concordia University, besides working full time as a consultant in Environmental Engineering for Consumaj Inc., St Hyacinthe, Quebec. She also holds an International Research Chair with l’Universite europenne de Bretagne (2010-2012) where is has successfully initiated several research projects brigning together 4 research institutions. Suzelle was the first woman in Canada and the fifth in the world to obtain a PhD in agricultural engineering. She is the 2005 recipient of the award for Support of Women in the Engineering Profession.
Ken Che, P.Eng., CMA, CIA
Treasurer
Kenneth (Ken) Che is a professional engineer, an accountant and an internal auditor with over 30 years of experience in the oil, natural gas and nuclear power industry. He graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree and received his Master of Business Administration degree from the Athabasca University. Ken is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA), Certified Management Accountants of Alberta (CMA), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), and Project Management Institute (PMI). From 2001-2006, he was the director and treasurer of the Calgary Youth Orchestra. Ken resides in Toronto, Ontario and currently is the senior specialist in the Internal Audit Department of TransCanada Corporation that he has served in various capacities since 1981.
Meghan Howard
Executive Director and Secretary
Meghan is vice president and director of communications at Megram Consulting Services Ltd., one of the largest association management companies in Canada. She is a professional writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in journalism and public relations. In 2003, she joined CEMF as the assistant executive director. Along with her current position with CEMF, she is also the editor of several newsletters and two national magazines, The Canadian Die Caster and Veritas. She holds a Bachelor of Journalism Honours degree from Carleton University’s School of Journalism where she was the recipient of a four-year Ottawa Citizen Scholarship. She is currently living in Renfrew, Ontario with her husband and two young sons.
Cheryl Sandercock, P.Eng.
Cheryl is a Director of Scotia Waterous, the energy merger and acquisition division of the Bank of Nova Scotia. She holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary, and has over 15 years’ diverse experience in the oil and gas industry. Throughout her career she has been active in the promotion of science-related careers to students and as an advocate for women in these fields.
Christine MacKinnon, P.Eng.
Director-at-Large
Christine is a director with the government of Prince Edward Island, responsible for implementing land use and local governance initiatives. She is a graduate in Agricultural Engineering from McGill and the University of Saskatchewan. A professional engineer, Christine is past president of Engineers PEI and a Fellow of Engineers Canada. Christine is an active partner in a family dairy farm with her husband and two children. Currently the President of the 4H Council for PEI, Christine volunteers with youth, environmental and engineering organizations.
John G. Evans, P.Eng.
Director-at-Large
John graduated from the Nova Scotia Technical College, Halifax, Nova Scotia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. As Chief Engineer with Fortis Properties he is responsible for the growth of Fortis’ small hydro portfolio through acquisition or development. As such, he currently serves as Vice President of Belize Electric Company Limited. In addition, he provides advice on utility related matters. Prior to this, he served as Vice President of one of Fortis’ electric utilities.
John is currently a Director of the Canadian Hydropower Association and is a past President (Chairman) of the Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of Newfoundland and the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers. He is also a member of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers.
Isadora van Riemsdijk, P.Eng
Isadora has a B. Eng. in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science from McGill University. With over 15 years of experience in the production of steel and materials, she is a Senior Research Associate in developing ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s Automotive products in Hamilton. Previously, she was a Process Engineer and Supervisor of Quality Assurance at Ivaco Rolling Mills in l’Orignal, Ontario and an engineer at Superior Technical Ceramics in St Albans, Vermont. Isadora shares her passion for her field by teaching continuing education courses in metallurgy at the University of McMaster — she shares her love of the outdoors as a active Girl Guide Leader committed to encouraging confidence and leadership in girls and women.
Kenneth C. McMartin M.Eng.,P.Eng.
Ken is the Director of International and Professional Affairs for Engineers Canada. He previously served as the Manager, Civil and Environmental Engineering Laboratories with Carleton University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is responsible for the operation of all laboratories within the Department. Ken has also worked with Morrison Hershfield Burgess and Huggins Ltd., Consulting Engineers in Toronto, employed as Project and Design Engineer with the Timber Engineering and Wood Technology Division of the firm. He is a graduate of Carleton University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and then continued to earn a master’s degree in Civil Engineering. Ken has been very involved with Professional Engineers Ontario and Engineers Canada spending over twenty years as a volunteer, working on various committees, councils and boards. Ken is a past President of both PEO and Engineers Canada.
Claude Laguë, P.Eng., ing., Ph.D
Claude is a registered professional engineer having more than 25 years of experience in the areas of agricultural mechanization and environmental impacts of agricultural activities. Since 2006, he has been serving as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Ottawa after having held a similar position at the College of Engineering of the University of Saskatchewan between 2002 and 2006. In 2008, Claude was appointed Chair of the National Council of Deans of Engineering and Applied Science (NCDEAS) for a two-year term. Dr. Laguë holds degrees in agricultural engineering from Université Laval and the University of California – Davis. Claude and his wife, who is also an engineer, are the proud parents of two sons.
Julie Lassonde
Ms. Lassonde has over 14 years of experience in various financial and engineering fields including work as a civil engineer with SNC-Lavalin and investment banking experience with Macquarie Bank Ltd in Australia and the U.S. Ms. Lassonde holds a degree in civil engineering from Queen’s University. She is currently a director of Halo Resources Inc., past president and CEO of Garson Gold Corp. and past director of Takara Resources Inc. and St. Eugene Mining. Along with being a director on of the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation board, she also sits on the board of the fundraising committee for Queen’s University Engineering Campaign and is a member of the Advisory Board for Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto.
Catherine Karakatsanis, P.Eng., M.E.Sc., FEC
Executive Vice President
Morrison Hershfield Group Inc.
Catherine Karakatsanis is Executive Vice President of the Building, Technology and Energy global business unit and a board member at Morrison Hershfield Group Inc. Catherine has been with Morrison Hershfield since 1989 where she has had a diversified career with extensive engineering and management experience. Catherine has also been an active volunteer in the engineering community for over almost two decades. She was President of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) in 2009/2010 and is now Past President of PEO. Catherine also served on the board of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE) for five years and as OSPE President and Chair. Catherine is currently the president of Engineers Canada and chairs the University of Western Ontario’s Faculty of Engineering Advisory Council.
Dr. Kimberly A. Woodhouse, PhD, P.Eng.
Kimberly graduated in Chemical Engineering at McGill University and received her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from McMaster University in 1993. She is an expert in the design of novel materials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. Kimberly is the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and a Professor of Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University. She was the Associate Director of the Advanced Regenerative Tissue Engineering Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a multi-institutional centre to bring basic scientists, engineers and clinicians together to develop novel materials for soft tissue engineering. Kimberly is a Fellow of the Society of Biomaterials and of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. In addition to her academic background she has almost ten years experience in private sector manufacturing with Procter and Gamble Inc. and a privately owned company, holding increased management responsibilities in their manufacturing facilities. Kimberly holds several patents and has co-founded a biotechnology company.
Dr. Monica Danon-Schaffer, P.Eng.
With 23 years of consulting engineering experience, Monica specializes in environmental assessments internationally (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Peru, Venezuela), including due diligence, compliance and waste audits, impact assessments, site remediation; environmental forensic investigations; and project management on local and international projects. Monica has also worked extensively in the North since 2004 in support of her PhD research on the fate and transport of a group of common flame retardant chemicals in the Canadian Arctic.
After practising engineering for many years, Monica returned to university to work on an interdisciplinary PhD. During 7 years of her research, she developed a comprehensive mechanistic mole balance model to assist in predicting the concentration of brominated flame retardants (PBDEs) in and near landfills.
Monica earned her PhD in Chemical & Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC) (2010), M.Eng. in Civil/Environmental Engineering (1993) at UBC and her B.Sc. Chemical Engineering (1988) at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.