Adam is a lecturer in the Strategy and Business Economics department at the Sauder School of Business at UBC.  He is a UBC alumnus having completed his MBA from the Sauder School of Business in 2013. Adam also has a Masters degree in Foreign Language Linguistics from the University of Potsdam in Germany, and a BA in French Linguistics from Simon Fraser University.

Adam is a director at Rokmaster Resources, a junior mining company based in Vancouver. Prior to joining UBC he was the Liberal Party Candidate in the riding of Burnaby South and and worked in commercial banking and cash management with Coast Capital Savings credit union. He has worked for HSBC, Moët & Chandon Champagne in France, Vinus i Brindis in Barcelona and for the FAMILOTEL group of hotels in Germany.

Adam was a member of the SFU Track and Field team reaching the NAIA Championships in 2004. In his free time he enjoys golf, the outdoors and anything  related to wine.

Barinder is an entrepreneur and collaborator with a focus on bioscience businesses. Her successes include clean tech fund React, co-founding HAVN Life, and developing and heading up Grow Tech Labs. Barinder served two terms as an elected Councillor for the City of Surrey and served on the Board of BC’s largest health authority.

Legally-trained advisor with international experience, providing practical strategies and legal advice for addressing issues involving various levels of government in British Columbia and beyond, First Nations and the media.

During his nearly 16 years in elected office as a Member of the BC Legislature (1996-2012), Barry was intimately involved in helping shape environmental, energy and other public policy development in Canada's third largest province. He did this while interacting with media and stakeholders on virtually a daily basis. Since leaving public service, Barry has worked on behalf of natural resource companies, First Nations and government to find solutions to difficult situations.

With his combined knowledge of law, media and government processes, along with his experience with Asia, the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Canada's federal government, Barry is able to provide integrated and effective advice to clients undertaking challenging endeavours.

Bill Tieleman is one of British Columbia’s most seasoned and influential strategists. With decades of experience in political communications, including roles in the B.C. Premier’s Office (for the NDP) and the BC Federation of Labour, Bill has shaped campaigns and conversations across the province. As the founder of West Star Communications, he’s spent 25 years helping labor, business, non-profits, and Indigenous organizations navigate complex political landscapes. From his work overturning the HST to his commentary on today’s pressing political issues, Bill brings a unique perspective on strategy, power, and the challenges shaping our communities.

In March 2010, Brian Lee Crowley founded the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI), a public policy think tank focused on Canadian national issues (e.g. defence, national security, foreign affairs, Canada-US relations, Indigenous affairs, national economic policy, immigration, the rule of law, the judiciary, etc.) in the national capital, Ottawa.

Doomberg is the most widely read financial newsletter on Substack with over 270,000 subscribers. The publication focuses on energy and its connection to the economy-at-large, providing clarity to the complex workings of technology, markets, geopolitics, and policy. With the tagline “Energy is Life,” Doomberg is a fervent believer that the path function matters in the energy transition, and there is no solution without trade-offs.

Emily Huddart (PhD, University of Alberta) is an Associate Head and Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia. Her research explores the motivations behind civic engagement aiming to protect the environment, and how pro-environmental practices reflect and reproduce social differences.

Heather Exner-Pirot is a Senior Fellow and Director of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa, Special Advisor to the Business Council of Canada, Research Advisor to the Indigenous Resource Network, and Global Fellow at the Wilson Centre in Washington D.C.

Isabel is the Vice-president at the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and leads the work in Latin America and the Caribbean focusing on universal energy access, green economies, and energy transition. Previously she was a Director in the Power Initiative of The Rockefeller Foundation working on energy and resilience projects in Latin America. She has more than 15 years of experience in economic development having worked at The World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. She has a Master’s in Economics from the Catholic University in Ecuador and a Master’s in Public Administration from Syracuse University.

Joe Calnan is an Energy Security Analyst and Energy Security Forum Manager at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Prior to joining CGAI, Joe held positions focused on public affairs and energy analysis at Sustainable Development Technology Canada and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Joe graduated from the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy with a Master's Degree in Public Policy in 2020. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Western Society and Culture from Concordia University in Montreal in 2019.

John Ivison is a columnist for the National Post. He has worked at the paper since 1998, prior to which he worked for The Scotsman newspaper in his native Scotland.

G. Kent Fellows is an Assistant Professor of Economics and the Director of Graduate Programs for the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. He is also a Fellow-in-Residence at the C.D. Howe Institute as an academic advisor and contributor to the Institute's Energy Policy program. Kent specializes in competition policy and energy and infrastructure economics. Through his academic and policy publications he has provided advice to provincial, federal and international governments, including the government of Alberta, through the Energy Diversification Advisory Committee (2017) and the Economic Corridors Task Force (2021); the European Union as an expert panel member in their global infrastructure benchmarking assessment (2020-2021) and the Senate of Canada for their report on Economic Trade Corridors (2016). 

Malcolm Macpherson is the National Chair of the Indigenous Practice at Whitelaw Twining.  As an integral part of the leadership team at the firm, Malcolm procures reputationally and socially impactful legal work in the Indigenous marketplace and marries it up with first class teams of lawyers within the firm and across Canada whom he mentors and collaborates with.

Malcolm has over 20 years of varied legal and negotiation experience since he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto, and has since this time built up one of Canada’s leading practices in the Indigenous space.  He is often contacted by the media to comment on new developments in the Indigenous legal space, and has become an integral and trusted advisor to many Indigenous nations throughout Canada who rely on his counsel on a near daily basis.

Margareta Dovgal is the Managing Director of Resource Works and a leader in the energy and resource sector. She’s an advocate for pragmatic natural resource policy with a passion for tech, innovation, and Indigenous economic development. 

As the event lead for the Indigenous Partnerships Success Showcase in 2022, 2023, and 2024, Margareta fostered meaningful partnerships between Indigenous communities and corporate Canada, working to create true economic reconciliation.

Margareta holds a Master of Public Administration in Energy, Technology, and Climate Policy from University College London, where she led an international post-graduate consulting project for the Prime Minister's Office of the United Arab Emirates, offering insights on financial regulation, consumer debt, and digital government. 

Margareta is a housing advocate, and a member of the Renters Advisory Committee for the City of Vancouver. 

Robert (“RJ”) Johnston is Senior Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. RJ was previously the founder and Managing Director of the Eurasia Group’s Energy, Climate, and Resources practice, and served as the firm’s CEO from 2013 to 2018.

Recent notable achievements include serving as Project Director for the Aspen Institute Task Force on US Critical Minerals Policy. He has been a featured speaker at industry and expert gatherings including the International Gas Union, the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum Abu Dhabi, the Canadian Public Policy Forum, the CD Howe Institute Energy Dialogue, the World Petroleum Congress, and the First Nations Major Projects Coalition.

RJ is a member of the Trilateral Commission and is a member of the steering committee for the Open Minds Next Generation initiative on the dual energy/climate policy challenge. He was a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center from 2017 to 2021.

Robert Bryce is a Texas-based reporter, author, and documentary filmmaker. With over 30 years of experience in the energy sector, Robert has written six books, including the best-seller Power Hungry, and co-produced two documentaries, including his latest, Juice: Power, Politics & The Grid. His work has appeared in numerous media outlets, and he has delivered more than 500 keynote or invited lectures on everything from the energy transition and nuclear energy to natural gas and global mining capacity. Today, Robert writes on Substack, where you can find him at robertbryce.substack.com.

Currently serving as Chair of Energy for a Secure Future, Ms. Joseph spent close to 10 years in progressively senior roles at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, including as Senior Manager of Research and Development with its Green Municipal Fund and as the founding Director of the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program, a $75 million capacity building and granting program focused on climate change mitigation and adaption at the community level. Most recently, Ms. Joseph served as Vice-President, Government Relations and Indigenous Affairs for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). She led work related to federal policies affecting Canada’s upstream oil and natural gas industry, including the Impact Assessment Act (Bill C-69), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People’s Act and various climate change focused policies. An important part of this work... HERE.

Valentina Riggins is a visionary leader in the digital energy space and the Senior Vice President of Consulting Digital at Worley. With a career spanning continents, from Europe to Canada to the Middle East, Valentina has transformed digital divisions into profit powerhouses, spearheaded innovative partnerships, and driven AI-forward solutions for sustainable energy.  Whether it’s the energy trilemma, the potential of AI, or the challenges of making renewable assets truly sustainable, Valentina is here to talk about the energy future she’s helping to create.

Woochong Um is the Chief Executive Officer of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), a multi-sector coalition established in 2021 to address one of the most pressing challenges of our era: eradicating energy poverty and combating the climate crisis through an equitable transition to renewable energy.

As CEO, Woochong is committed to advancing GEAPP's mission to unlock sustainable, green energy solutions across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean—fostering economic progress, resilience, and inclusive prosperity

for all. His leadership brings new momentum to accelerating the clean energy transition in emerging and developing economies, providing millions of people and businesses with better and safer access to power.

Before GEAPP, Woochong's extensive career in international development, spanning over three decades, includes a distinguished tenure at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as Managing Director General.