Meet the board

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Trevor has over ten years of stakeholder engagement experience and is excited to be supporting the Wild Rose Chapter. Trevor joined Maskwa Environmental Consulting Ltd. from Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he led numerous large-scale engagement processes for Manitoba Hydro and sat as President of IAP2 Canada’s Prairies chapter where he had been an executive member for five years. 

Over his career, he has focused on developing processes that integrate feedback from thousands of landowners for major electrical transmission development. Trevor strives to develop strategies that reflect the values of communities and stakeholders and ensuring that clear processes are in place for efficiently capturing valuable community input and bringing it forward to decision makers.

Connect with Trevor on LinkedIn. 

Candace Denison joined the Rocky View County team as Communications & Marketing Manager in November 2021. Ms. Denison began her 20+ years in the charitable sector, supporting the Royal Canadian Air Cadet program and the Duke of Edinburgh in Canada prior to moving to public education and municipal government.

She is frequently called upon to share her toolkit and is widely known as a specialist in reputation, issues, and crisis management. Candace has been responsible for communications during many incidents; from natural disasters, terrorist attacks, fatalities, antitrust charges, threats of violence, kidnappings, world pandemics, and more…

Candace began her public participation experience with Foothills School Division in 2016 when the province of Alberta implemented new legislation mandating P2 in public education. As a firm believer in the practice, Ms. Denison became an early adopter within the sector and implemented new technology and strategies, leading effective communication & engagement campaigns in response to ever-evolving stakeholder expectations.

As a member of the IAP2 Wild Rose Board, Candace hopes her background and expertise in communication, event planning, and member services will benefit the membership by continuing to build upon past successes and supporting new initiatives.

Andrea has over 15 years of professional experience with a strong communications, customer service, project management and client relations background, including over ten years of community and stakeholder engagement practice.

She is proud to have been part of an award-winning, creative and innovative team that earned multiple awards and achievements for being leaders in Communications, Community Relations and Public Engagement. Her team earned multiple awards and industry-wide recognition from the International Association of Public Participation and the International Association of Business Communicators.

Andrea has been an active member of IAP2 Canada for over 5 years and have travelled across Alberta engaging stakeholders and the public in meaningful, accessible and creative ways. She strives to design safe and welcoming spaces for people to connect in meaningful ways to their communities and help citizens to make informed contributions to the changes happening in the communities they live, play and work in.

This past year has challenged our practice to become more inclusive and accessible and to really think outside the box. Andrea is excited for the opportunity to be an active participant of the IAP2 Wild Rose Chapter and to continue to be a part of the shift in how we practice our craft.

Andrea recently made the leap into being self-employed and am contributing to the practice on a contract basis following a temporary 14-month relocation to Austin, TX with her family. She has also volunteered with IAP2 Canada on the Social Media Task Force, working together with members across Canada to make recommendations on the Social Media Policy, Strategy and Implementation Plan. 

Germaine Conacher is a Consulting Partner at MNP, based in Calgary, specializing in the duty to consult/Indigenous consultation and land use studies. Drawing on fifteen years of experience, Germaine helps First Nations, Métis governments, natural resource development companies and provincial, territorial and federal governments with all aspects of Indigenous consultation. She has conducted more than a dozen land use studies with Indigenous groups in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and the Yukon and has coordinated the consultation processes for oil and gas, pipeline and transmission companies.

In 2002, Germaine earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, with distinction, from the University of Alberta. She obtained her Master of Museum Studies at the University of Toronto in 2005. Prior to starting her consulting career Germaine worked in the cultural sector, engaging Indigenous peoples in museums. She has completed the IAP2 Foundations training and is excited to contribute to the profession and P2 community as a Wild Rose board member.

With over 17 years of experience, Shawn's approach is through meaningful public engagement design and implementation, strategic communication, expert facilitation, and sound advice. Throughout his career, Shawn has been privileged to work with exceptional P2 professionals and contribute to meaningful engagement outcomes for effective decision making across Alberta.

From Regional Planning to neighbourhood street design and from explosive open houses with over 1,500 “passionate” attendees to strategic interviews, Shawn loves to help the public, Indigenous communities and stakeholder groups face challenges, overcome obstacles, and ultimately grow!

Shawn is trained as a Certified Engineering Technologist (CET), a Registered Professional Planner (RPP, MCIP) and is grateful to be one of Canada’s trendsetting Certified Public Participation Professionals and is proud to hold the CP3 designation.

Shawn looks forward to contributing to the membership of the Wild Rose Chapter as we continue to grow our organization to even better and stronger heights.

Connect with Shawn on LinkedIn. 

As a public engagement practitioner, Sarah helps individuals, groups, organizations and decision makers with different interests to talk, listen, learn, think and work toward solutions to address tricky and sometimes controversial issues. Sarah has worked for Strathcona County for over twenty years, focused mainly on public engagement for the last 10+ years. Advising many different municipal departments means learning a lot about many different issues, and it keeps things interesting. Additionally, Sarah consults with the team at Transitional Solutions to help provide other municipalities with solid engagement strategies. 

Sarah holds a BPE degree, as well as an MBA from the University of Alberta. Her IAP2 journey started back in 2011, and she is a regular participant in ongoing training through IAP2. Having served on several non-profit boards, Sarah is excited to contribute to IAP2 Wild Rose for the first time on the board of a professional organization. 

Sarah can be reached at sarah.geisler@strathcona.ca

Lindsay Humber is a community engagement consultant with a passion for participatory decision-making. She helps organizations learn from those in their communities to build relationships and make decisions. 

People are at the heart of Lindsay’s work. Whether communicating about projects, planning for participation or facilitating group processes – it’s the individual stories we each bring to the table that motivate her and give her purpose. Lindsay creates space for conversations that matter by designing and executing thoughtful, purposeful engagement programs that lead to stronger decisions and meaningful change.

Lindsay brings an academic background focused on understanding people and how we shape our environments to her work. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Environmental Studies as well as a Master’s degree in Environmental Design with a specialization in Environmental Science. 

Based out of Edmonton, Lindsay is grateful to live, work and raise her family on Indigenous land in Treaty Six territory. 

Connect with Lindsay on LinkedIn.

 Throughout her career Gay has been drawn to working with clients who realize the benefits of involving stakeholders in decision-making. Based in Alberta, Gay is an independent consultant, with over 30 years of experience in public consultation, community relations, and communications.

After a successful career in government, not-for-profit, education and the private sector she began consulting. Gay has provided strategic council and designed and implemented engagement programs for a wide range of clients including municipal governments, regulators, corporations, and industry associations. A number of her projects have been cited as “raising the bar” for engagement practices.

Gay is an active member of IAP2 – as a licensed trainer for IAP2 programs since 2005, and in various leadership roles.  In addition to serving on the Executive of the IAP2 Wild Rose (Alberta) Chapter, she has served on the IAP2 Canada Board and as an assessor for the IAP2 Canada Certification program.  

You can reach Gay at 403.281.8849 or gerobinson@shaw.ca 

Noreen is very passionate about public engagement! She was previously on the IAP2 Canada Board as the International Rep, and on the IAP2 International Board as Secretary, Vice-President, then President for two years. She thoroughly enjoyed the connection with like-minded public engagement professionals and setting the stage and standard for public engagement around the world!

Noreen retired in 2017 from a career that spanned over 37 years at The City of Calgary, with the last 15 years focused on communications, customer service, and public engagement. She led the team who developed The City’s Engage Resource Unit (ERU) and helped instill public engagement as a core requirement (and benefit) of municipal project delivery.

She was the lead of a group of six Canadian municipalities to garner CRTC approval for the use of the phone number “311” in Canada, as well as project partner that successfully led The City of Calgary to be the first activation of 311 in Canada!  Noreen also just completed an 18-month term CAO position with the Town of Oyen, leading their municipal government activities. 

Noreen has been part of several volunteer organizations, one of note that resulted in the north regional recreation centre originally known as Cardel Place, now known as Vivo.  This project spanned five years from concept to construction and was a wonderful example of extensive public engagement that led to a facility that truly reflected the community’s desired components.  Other volunteer opportunities included the board of the Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta, as well as the Foothills Hospital NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).

Noreen looks forward to getting back involved the IAP2, as she truly believes public engagement is a required component of any public-serving business, and she looks forward to connecting with like-minded professionals, and sharing training, knowledge, and expertise.

Jana has been an active contributor to the field of public participation for over 20 years. Much of her experience has been in Alberta’s public sector, managing engagement and communications for major transportation infrastructure projects. She has also provided consultation services on transportation and transit planning, land use planning, and community development projects.

Jana's educational background includes a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Calgary and a Certificate in Public Participation from IAP2.

As an IAP2 board member in 2010/2011, Jana helped establish IAP2 Canada as a new organization. Her role was the lead of the Finance Committee and in this role, she helped establish the financial framework and bylaws that are place today. She was also involved in the planning of the 2013 and 2015 Signature Events for the Wild Rose Chapter of IAP2, and looks forward to further supporting the Wild Rose Chapter and promoting and strengthening Alberta’s role in the greater P2 community.

Connect with Jana on LinkedIn. 

Lara is passionate about all things P2. She is a licensed IAP2 Foundations Trainer and a freelance consultant. She has been working in the field for 14 years with over 10 of those years being in a municipal setting.  

Her experience ranges from tactical and practical to high level strategic planning for corporate wide public and multi-stakeholder P2 processes.  She has worked in many lines of business including parks, land use planning, transportation, law and bylaw, transmission lines, public art, fire, police, community development and affordable housing. 

Her favourite thing about P2 is the people.   Lara has a degree in Psychology and a certificate in Positive Psychology. She is fascinated by human dynamics and does what she can to turn controversy into productive conversation. She also loves professional development events and would be happy to chat about any ideas you have for the chapter.  

You can reach her at lara@onpointconsultation.com  

Angela is an experienced research sociologist and engagement specialist.  Across her career, she has engaged diverse populations on health, social, and environmental issues via various roles with government, university, and industry. 

Angela presently works as an Education & Community Engagement Director for Greenplanet Energy Analytics.  She provides a senior leadership role in program development and delivery of community engagement and green energy education projects, working closely in partnership with educators and students in K-12 schools, Indigenous communities, and a variety of business clients. 

Angela holds a BSc in Environmental Conservation Sciences and an MSc in Natural Resource Sociology from the University of Alberta, and is based in Cochrane, Alberta.  

She is honoured to reside within the breathtaking landscape of Treaty 7 Territory, the traditional and ancestral territory of the Blood Tribe-Kainai Nation, Piikani Nation, Siksika Nation, Stoney Nakoda Nation, and Tsuut’ina Nation. 

Connect with Angela on LinkedIn.