Betsy Agar - Director of Pembina Institute's buildings program
Betsy Agar is the director of the Pembina Institute's buildings program. Through engagement, research and knowledge mobilization, she works on systems changes that will accelerate decarbonization of homes and buildings, such as through policy and regulatory reform and market transformation. Betsy’s work spans multiple government levels in Ontario, Alberta and B.C. on topics including deep retrofit market development team best practices, retrofitting for climate resilience, health, safety and affordability, industry readiness, and understanding our building stock.
Betsy’s prior professional experience includes buildings science engineering failure investigation, facility and bridge condition evaluation, design and field inspection; facilitation and convening dialogues as a co-creator of Renewable Cities at SFU Centre for Dialogue; research and teaching at McMaster University, as well as teaching at UBC and SFU. She has authored and participated in dozens of publications, presentations and media appearances.
Betsy holds a Professional Engineers Ontario licence and a Master of Applied Science degree from McMaster University. She is an active member on the BC Hydro Integrated Resource Plan Technical Advisory Committee the Fortis BC Energy Efficiency and Conservation Advisory Group, NRCan Green Construction through Wood Program Advisory Board, and the BC Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation (JERI) Mass Timber Advisory Council; she previously served on the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association Board (2016-2018), Retrofit Canada Board (2019-2022) and ReCover Initiative Advisory Committee (2020-2024).
Daniel Pearl - l’OEUF architects (L'Office de l'Éclectisme Urbain et Fonctionnel)
Daniel Pearl co-founded l’OEUF architects (L'Office de l'Éclectisme Urbain et Fonctionnel) in 1992, in order to concentrate his expertise in sustainable and community design. Daniel’s current partners at L’OEUF are Sudhir Suri and Jennifer Benis.
A half-time Full Professor at the School of Architecture (University of Montréal) since 2001, Daniel’s professional research has involved action-research and the documentation of L’OEUF’s experimental practice, from institutional projects to large-scale community housing, such as “Benny Farm” (rehabilitation and new construction) and ‘COOP COTEAU VERT’ in Rosemont, Montreal. Daniel’s most recent academic research focuses on “how can ’we’ revive the craft of the “re-Making of Cities” via re-investing in Architecture and Landscape Design and the dormant layers of our post-industrialized cultural history through the lens of Circular Economy”.
Deana Grinnell - MCIP, RPP Executive Vice President, Real Estate Canada Lands Company (CLC)
As Executive Vice President, Real Estate, Deana is responsible for an engaged team of real estate and development professionals across Canada who transform former Government of Canada properties and reintegrate them into local communities, while ensuring their longterm sustainability, contributions to affordability and community objectives, and commercial viability. Deana has a key role in fostering CLC’s partnerships with First Nations.
Deana joined CLC in 2015, and draws from her background in award winning private real estate development, public sector policy and planning, and not-for-profit sustainability advocacy. Deana is past president of the LAI Society for Land Economics (Vancouver) and has held Board and committee roles with PIBC, CIP, BC Community Energy Association, UDI Pacific, CHBA-BC, and HAVAN (Home Builders Association of Greater Vancouver).
Johanna Hurme – Architect, co-founder of 5468796 Architecture, FRAIC
Johanna Hurme is an architect and a co-founder of Winnipeg-based 5468796 Architecture. In the past twelve years, the firm has received numerous awards and recognition regionally, nationally and internationally and its work published in over 200 books and publications. In 2012, 5468796 represented Canada at the Venice Biennale in Architecture, and in 2013 was selected as the recipient of the 2013 Prix de Rome Award in Architecture for Canada by the Canada Council for the Arts.
In addition to practice, Johanna is an activist and an advocate, and seeks opportunities to facilitate and lead design-related events and programs that serve to improve the public appreciation of architecture. This includes projects Table for 12 + 1200, Chair Your Idea and Design Quarter Winnipeg, which she chairs. She is also the immediate past Chair of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and a past Council member of the Manitoba Association of Architects. Johanna is a member of the International Council of the Van Alen Institute, has taught design at the University of Manitoba’s FAUM, the University Toronto Daniels Faculty of Architecture, and the University of Montreal, and lectures extensively at universities, forums and festivals across Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. Most recently Johanna was named Visiting Professor-Morgenstern Chair at the College of Architecture, IIT, Chicago.
Jorge Garza - Associate Director, Communities Building Belonging
At the Tamarack Institute, Jorge is leading a pan-Canadian, asset-based movement that supports municipalities, institutions, and individuals to increase the collective sense of belonging. Previously, he worked at the Metcalf Foundation, where he supported the development of its poverty reduction program. He also spent five years at the McConnell Foundation, where he contributed to the development of its place-based work and explored the role of philanthropy in cultivating a more equitable society.
Jorge is a realistic optimist. He believes in everyone’s potential to build just futures. Jorge brings a diverse background of experience in strategy development, program design, and urban policy. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Fondation Béati.
Patrick Crabbe - Director of Mass Timber at Bird Construction
Patrick Crabbe is the Director of Mass Timber at Bird Construction, a publicly traded commercial, residential and industrial conglomerate, recognized as one of the top 3 General Contractors in Canada. With a dedicated career in developing markets for high-value structural wood products and collaborating with industry stakeholders, Patrick possesses a comprehensive understanding of construction contract methods and supply chain solutions for successfully executing large and complex mass timber building programs.
In addition to his role at Bird Construction, Patrick is also the leader of a $215 million Mass Timber Manufacturing start-up, known as the Mass Timber Company (MTC). Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, MTC will be one of the worlds most advanced, sawmill-integrated, glulam and CLT manufacturers with an annual capacity of 50,000m3 of production per year ~ 2.5 million ft2 of incremental construction capacity annually.
Simoogit Saa Bax Patrick R. Stewart - PhD, Architect AIBC, NCARB, FRAIC
Patrick Stewart is a member of the Killerwhale House of Daaxan of the Nisga’a Nation. He has operated his firm, Patrick R. Stewart Architect, for 26 years. Patrick was the first architect of First Nations ancestry in B.C. to own and operate an architectural firm in B.C. (1995) and the first person of First Nations ancestry elected as President of the Architectural Institute of British Columbia (2005-2007). He has chaired the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Indigenous Task Force since 2015 and has co-chaired the RAIC Truth and Reconciliation Task Force since 2019. Patrick has also chaired the Provincial Aboriginal Homelessness Committee in B.C. since 2005.
He is an alumnus of Simon Fraser University (BA), Dalhousie University (BEDS, BArch), McGill University (MArch) and University of British Columbia (PhD). Patrick is also an Adjunct Professor at the McEwen School of Architecture at Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ont. He has had the privilege to be a co-editor of Our Voices: Indigeneity and Architecture (2018) and Our Voices II: the decolonial project (2021), both published by ORO Editions. Currently, he is the lead editor for the forthcoming book, Our Voices III: catalysts for change (2022) to also be published by ORO Editions.
It is important to Patrick to always give back to community, whether it is within his Nation, the architectural profession or those less fortunate. Having been born homeless and growing up in care, Patrick has never taken anything for granted. He continues to push the boundaries and look to the future.
Host
Mona Lemoine - Architect AIBC | MRAIC | LEED AP BD+C, LFA | Regenerative Practitioner | RELi AP
Mona is a Registered Architect and Sustainability Consultant with twenty-five years of experience focused on practice, advocacy and education in the built environment. She is an Associate, Senior Sustainability Consultant and chair of DIALOG’s practice-wide Green Practice Roundtable. She brings both big picture thinking and attention to detail to her collaborations with clients and project teams to develop goals and strategies that achieve the best outcomes for projects within budgets and timelines, and that address systems thinking and the urgency of climate change. She is committed to weaving resilience, equity, health, and biodiversity considerations into projects, while remaining focused on lowering carbon emissions through material performance, circular economy, and regenerative design and development.
Mona is Co-Chair, RAIC Committee on Regenerative Environments (CORE), and Co-Chair of the RAIC’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) Steering Committee. Mona has also worked at other major design firms and as a leader with the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) where she oversaw the Institute’s education and training needs as well as Cascadia, their bioregional non-profit. She has served a leadership role on a number of professional committees with the RAIC, CAGBC, USGBC, CMHC, and City of Vancouver as well as a number of community leadership roles. She has lived, worked and studied abroad. She is fluent in French, English and Spanish. Her influence has created a ripple effect through culture and practice, design approach and delivery, and performance on projects locally, regionally and internationally.
