CEP Calgary | Meet our Board

Meet CEP Calgary's Board

Nisha

Nisha Saini | Chair

Nisha is a project manager and water resource planner with a wide variety of skillsets and expertise. She received her B.Sc. in Biology from Queen’s University in 2013 and her M.Sc. in Integrated Water Resource Management from McGill University in 2019. Nisha has eight years of experience within environmental consulting, municipal government, academia, and the charitable sector. After her masters, she worked for various global water organizations including Global Water Partnership and UN Environment on SDG 6 monitoring and reporting. Most recently, Nisha has been working at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) to help develop a brand-new Integrated Water Management diploma where she is currently one of the core instructors. During her time at SAIT, she has also worked with the City of Calgary to conduct research on water conservation and watershed health monitoring.

Nisha is an active member of her community of Bankview and Calgary, and also sits on the Young Professionals Committee of the Bow River Basin Council. She is keen to get out to the mountains whenever she can, and loves to ski, play tennis, and bike.

Marnie

Nauman

Scott Wegener | Secretary

Scott is a Marketing Manager with Foothills Creamery, a butter and ice cream producer based in Calgary. He received his B.App.Sc. in Environmental Science from Mount Royal University in 2010 and his MBA from Arizona State University in 2018. Scott spent six years in environmental consulting, focusing on surface water chemistry, fish and fish habitat, regulatory approvals, and project management. After completing his MBA, Scott moved into marketing and has experience in both consumer and business-to-business marketing. He has experience marketing a variety of products and services, from retail hair styling products to environmental analytics software to ice cream.

In his spare time, Scott enjoys golfing, hiking, traveling, cooking, and writing comedy with some friends from business school.

Maya Douglas | Director

Maya is a sustainability professional committed to enhancing organizational culture, performance, and purpose – with a focus on ESGI and ethics. With Rise Consulting, she supports organizations responding to the call to action and supporting the rising presence of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

After gaining her Master of Laws in International Environmental Law, focusing on Climate Change Law from Edinburgh Law School in Scotland, UK, she moved to Calgary in 2010 and established her career as a sustainability advisor. Shortly after joining Deloitte's Sustainability & Climate Change practice in 2014, she became involved with CEP in Calgary. Through CEP Maya created a strong network of friends and trusted advisors who also supported her in taking on the role of Program Director for the 2016 Leading Change Conference in association with the GLOBE Conference in Vancouver.

The magnificent mountains and energy of the people who live here are what keep Maya in Calgary. When she's not playing ultimate frisbee, she can be found on rock, snow, or ice.

Kate Koplovich | Director/CEP Canada Liaison

Born and raised in Cowtown, Kate's purpose and passion is Calgary. As an Economist with Calgary Economic Development, Kate works on Calgary's economic strategy, Calgary in the New Economy, to make Calgary the city of choice for the world's best entrepreneurs embracing technology to solve the world's greatest challenges. She is most passionate about her placemaking portfolio and its intersectionality with sustainability, innovation, and diversification of YYC's economy.

Before making the leap to Calgary Economic Development in the middle of the global pandemic, Kate worked in Deloitte's Sustainability and Climate Change team for six years supporting Canadian companies to take meaningful action on climate change and sustainability management. With Deloitte, she is most proud of her work with two household-name companies to commit to and set Science-Based Targets, and adopt supporting strategic initiatives.

Kate has an MSc in Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment from University College London, specializing in renewable energy systems and energy economics and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Business Sustainability Management and Economics.

Outside of work Kate is an avid outdoors(wo)man and is looking forward to (and a bit daunted by) her first Half Iron (wo)Man in September 2021. Kate is also passionate about music in all its forms: choir, instruments, and musical theatre, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Choir Alberta as the Vice President, Development.

Miriam Clark | Director

Miriam is a professional engineer with over 14 years of experience in the Energy and Mining industries. With a background in both engineering and business, she specializes in translating between multidiscipline technical and commercial teams. Miriam sits on the core management team of Okane Consultants, a company that works to integrate responsible and sustainable mine closure practices into mine plans to achieve positive environmental and social outcomes.

On weekends, you will find Miriam hiking in the mountains or buried in a book. She loves learning about new ideas and listening to people’s stories.

Maya

Eric Westrum | Director

After completing his undergraduate degree in Biology, followed by stints of extended travel to South Korea and Australia, Eric Westrum migrated north from the U.S. to pursue an MSc at the University of Calgary in Sustainable Energy Development. Calgary’s proximity to world-class natural parks and outdoor spaces proved more than enough to keep him from leaving. Currently, he is a Senior Sustainability Advisor at Suncor helping to integrate sustainability concepts and thought leadership into project development, risk management, corporate strategy and climate disclosure. This work contributes to broader strategic external engagement and advocacy on environmental, social and governance topics.

In addition to his board position with Connecting Environmental Professionals, he's also a Board Co-Chair at Alberta Ecotrust, and continuously tries to pursue other impactful and solutions-oriented volunteering opportunities. Biking and other outdoor pursuits on the weekends or during his free time also help him to re-focus and balance priorities.

Jayrin Yue | Treasurer

Jayrin is an environmental advisor and project manager in Asset Retirement at Cenovus Energy. She has a wide range of experience in the environmental field, including in Air Emissions Management, Field Environmental Management, and in academics. While working in Air Emissions Management, Jayrin was instrumental in developing and implementing an improved process for data collection, accuracy, and analysis for federally reported air emissions for Husky Energy. Her field environmental role allowed her to gain experience in a wide range of environmental topics including in waste management, spill remediation and reclamation, and biodiversity management. In 2012, Jayrin had the opportunity to go to Melville Island, Nunavut in Canada’s high arctic for eight weeks to conduct climate change research with Queen’s University.

Jayrin has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from Queen’s University and has just completed her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in Global Energy Management and Sustainability at the University of Calgary.

Jayrin is an active member of her community and volunteers with the women’s leadership network and the cultural transformation committee at Cenovus as well as in various roles at her church. Jayrin loves the outdoors and enjoys hiking, camping, skiing, and playing soccer. In the summer, on most weekends, you can find her climbing a mountain with her dog Lake!

Sarah Favel | Director

Sarah Favel is a sustainability and public affairs practitioner with a demonstrated history of working in the energy industry, public sector and for non-profit organizations. Sarah helps bridge the gap between integrating sustainability into business decisions while understanding the political and policy landscape. At Gibson, Sarah is responsible for the Company's annual ESG disclosure documents including the publication of its Sustainability Report and TCFD Report. Sarah manages Gibson’s annual submission to CDP and other external third-party disclosures. Prior to joining Gibson as their Sustainability and Government Relations Lead, Sarah spent time in the not-for-profit space, in government and with a large pipeline company.

Amit Sharma | Director

Amit has 15 years of industry experience as a hydrogeologist and is the Mining Sector Lead with Matrix Solutions Inc. He is committed to supporting the mining sector with sustainable practices, proper stakeholder engagement, and environmental stewardship.

His professional career started as an Electronics Engineering Technologist and was employed with a small Calgary business working on high end audio equipment. He quickly realized that geology was where his true passion lay after working at Teck Resources as a summer student. Amit went back to school and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of Saskatchewan.

In his spare time Amit is actively supporting the growth of an Aircraft Maintenance Operation based at the Calgary Airport, where he provides strategic growth planning and operational support. When he is not looking at rocks or in the hangar he enjoys spending time with his wife, two daughters and being active in recreational sports.