THECIS Board – Bio’s

Ronald J. Dyck, PhD has over 37 years of executive and senior management experience in the public, academic and not-for-profit sectors, Ron has provided leadership to governments, academia, agencies, communities and companies in accelerating the identification, development, implementation and evaluation/reviews of needs-based, sustainable solutions through realizing and applying the benefits of science, technology and innovation.

Peter Josty, PhD has been Executive Director of THECIS since 2001. THECIS is a not for profit research company that specializes in innovation research.

Before this he had a diversified career in the chemical industry in Canada, holding positions as research chemist, market development specialist, technical manager, new products application manager, business development manager and head of strategy and planning. In these roles he was a practitioner of innovation and led numerous new product introductions to North American markets.

Peter has a PhD in chemistry from the University of London and an MBA from IMI [now IMD] in Geneva Switzerland.

Dr. Saunders is an Associate Professor in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation area at the Haskayne School of Business and holds adjunct appointments with the Department of Community Health Sciences and the Department of Medicine at the Cumming School of Medicine. Chad received a BSc in Applied Mathematics, and an MBA from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a PhD from the Haskayne School of Business. Chad has published in leading journals including Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Journal of Business Venturing, Research Policy, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, and the Ivey Business Journal. Chad completed the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D designation as part of his commitment to effective governance and recently finished his term as Chair of the Board at the Business Link.

Mark Fedorak P.Eng, PMP has over 20 years of technical, business, and project management expertise and his current primary position is as CEO of Xanantec Technologies Inc. an Edmonton based Electrical Engineering consulting firm. Mark has worked on over 300 projects, and has been in the role of CEO, CTO, or Chief Engineer in a number of different medical and high tech startups. Mark has served on a number of not for profit boards and provides THECIS with an SME perspective.

Blake is a CPA (Charted Professional Accountant) and MBA (Master of Business Administration). He has 20 years of public sector experience including financial leadership roles in the areas of health, advanced education, innovation and technology. He is currently the Director of Forecasting and Financial Analytics for Alberta Health Services.

Daphne worked in government and government agencies for 35 years. She started her career at the Alberta Research Council conducting applied environmental research – in the areas of landscape dynamics, resource management decision support systems, and corporate environmental risk management. After 18 years of “doing science”, she moved to the Alberta Science and Research Authority to work in the area of science and innovation policy. Since then, her work in government has spanned many domains – from health to oil sands, and a number of different ministry portfolios – such as, science, resource management and economic development. Throughout, her career has focused on systems, strategy, policy and performance. She’s recognized as a collaborative, systems thinker, with a proven track record in government systems and management. After retiring from government service, Daphne has incorporated a small consulting company: dbkc3 Solutions Inc., offering research, systems, performance and management consulting.

Daphne has a master’s degree in environmental science (University of Alberta) and a bachelor of science (honours) in chemistry (Trent University).

Anita is currently Director with Portfire Associates, a consulting company to the Energy and Petrochemical industrial sectors. Previously, she worked as Program Director with CMC Research Institutes (Carbon Management Canada) and as the Executive Director Research for the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary.

She has held numerous industry positions spanning a 25-year period including Technology Business Development Manager at NOVA Chemicals Corporation, Research Scientist at Canadian Fracmaster and Development Specialist at Union Carbide Canada. As a result of her experiences in the corporate, academic and not-for-profit sectors, she is well-versed in research promotion and facilitation and all aspects of technology commercialization.

She received a B.Sc. (Honours Chemistry) from the University of British Columbia and a PhD (Inorganic Chemistry) from the University of Alberta.

Jim Saunderson retired after 36 years of experience in the federal public service including senior leadership roles as Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer with Western Economic Diversification Canada. He has wide ranging experience including economic development, program delivery, inter-departmental and inter-governmental collaboration as well as financial and human resource management. Jim holds a BA (Honours) in political science from Carleton University and completed the Canada School of Public Service Advanced Leadership Program.

Karen Sharp (PhD) has mostly retired after 4 decades in the energy industry, with some time in the education and non-profits sectors. She has an B.A and M.A. in economics and mathematics and used that background as an energy economist with a small Calgary consulting firm. Later she shifted to long term planning roles, and obtained her doctorate in Management (Finance) while consulting on strategy and regulation, including cost of capital. Karen was in a senior technical role at the National Energy Board and in management at Nova Gas Transmission Limited and the City of Calgary. Karen is a published author in Financial and Energy Journals. Also Karen has consulted to non-profit organizations on governance, and served on the Boards of non-profit organizations.

Lori is a researcher and a lawyer. Called to the British Columbia Bar in 2001, Lori then pursed her Masters of Law focusing on the regulation of emerging technologies. She has held positions in academia at the University of Alberta, the National Research Council (at the then National Institute for Nanotechnology) and the government of Alberta through Alberta Ingenuity Fund, now Alberta Innovates.

In addition to administrative roles at the interface of science, business and government, Lori has a substantive research background focusing on law, policy and ethics relating to nanotechnology, the life sciences, clinical trials and the societal implications of artificial intelligence. Lori has served on Health Canada’s Science Advisory Board and various expert panels. The Council of Canadian Academies expert panel on nanotechnology published “Small is Different: A Science Perspective on the Regulatory Challenges of the Nanoscale” in July 2008. The panel was tasked with evaluating the current state of knowledge of nanomaterials, their health and environmental impacts that could underpin regulatory perspectives on the need for research, risk assessment and surveillance. Much of Lori’s academic work has focused on the commercialization of research, the translation of research findings to society and the role of intellectual property in this process. Lori remains active in areas of clinical ethics, the regulation of professionals, and the law, policy and regulatory challenges surrounding privacy and access that are raised by our increasingly connected and analyzed world.

Martha has been the Executive Secretary of THECIS since its beginning in 2001. During this time, she also worked for TWM, and was the Administrator for Strategic Leadership Forum – Calgary Chapter for 10 years. She has held many positions in different organizations and companies over the years. A graduate of Mount Royal University, she has a diverse background in leadership, leisure leadership and coaching, event co-ordination and planning, healthcare, and pastoral care.