UR+ BC 2018 FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

Rebecca (Becky) F. Denlinger
Deputy Minister, Emergency Preparedness, Government of British Columbia

Rebecca (Becky) F. Denlinger was appointed Deputy Minister of Emergency Management within the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure effective July 30, 2015. Becky’s success is reflective of her 37 year career in public service in which she has taken on progressively more senior responsibilities at the local, provincial/state and national levels.

Prior to her most recent appointment, Becky served as Deputy Minister with the Ministry of Community Sport and Cultural Development, effective June 10, 2013, where she brought together key government services and supports, boosting economic growth for BC communities.

Becky also served as Assistant Deputy Minister / Fire and Emergency Management Commissioner responsible for Emergency Management BC, effective September 16, 2009, following her original appointment as Fire Commissioner of BC on February 23, 2008. Becky was a member of the Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management and the Canadian Council of Emergency Management Organizations, and was actively engaged in numerous international, national, provincial and regional emergency management and fire service committees.

Prior to Emergency Management BC, Becky was Fire Chief of the Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services department in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area. Her career with Cobb County began in 1977 when she was hired as a Firefighter, culminating in her appointment as Fire Chief. She held the position of Fire Chief from 1997 until her retirement in January 2008. Denlinger served on numerous committees, boards, and councils during her tenure as chief, including the Georgia Homeland Security Task Force, the Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, the National Infrastructure Advisory Council to which she was appointed by President G.W. Bush, and until just recently, the Board of Directors of the National Fire Protection Association.

In addition to activities as part of the Deputy Minister team in BC, Becky is currently active on the Provincial/Territorial (PT) and Federal/Provincial Territorial (FPT) Committee of Deputy Ministers Responsible for Emergency Management.

Becky attended Manchester College (North Manchester, Indiana), DeKalb College (Decatur, Georgia) and Thomas Edison State College (Trenton, New Jersey). She holds associate and bachelor degrees in Liberal Arts from Thomas Edison.

In 2009 Becky completed the Harvard Senior Executives in State and Local Government Fellowship Program. She also enjoys Chief Fire Officer Designation from the Institute for Public Safety Excellence and is a Member of the Institute of Fire Engineers.

Fiona Dercole
Director, North Shore Emergency Management

For over 10 years, Fiona led the District of North Vancouver’s Natural Hazards Management Program – working with various levels of government, District departments, the public, consultants, scientists and academics to build resiliency by integrating risk assessment, mitigation and community awareness of natural hazards and risk. Previous to that position in the Engineering, Parks and Facilities division at the District of North Vancouver, Fiona worked as an avalanche specialist in Whistler, BC and led river rafting expeditions in remote areas of Northern BC and Yukon. Sbe is now serving as the Director for North Shore Emergency Management, an office that provides integrated emergency management services for the three North Shore municipalities.

Susanna Haas Lyons
Public Engagement Specialist

Susanna is a civic engagement specialist who facilitates complex dialogue, develops strategy and provides training for better public conversations. Bridging online and face- to-face methods, Susanna has worked on some of North America’s largest and most complex citizen engagement projects. Susanna is an Instructor of engagement skills at post-secondary institutions such as Simon Fraser University and the Justice Institute of BC, as well as for provincial governments. She is certified by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) and has an M.A. in sustainability from the University of British Columbia.

Murray Journeay
Research Scientist, Natural Resources Canada

Dr. Murray Journeay was born and raised in the deserts of Arizona. Murray has long been fascinated by the form and evolution of landscapes and the ways in which we make sense of place through science and art. As a geologist with the Earth Science Sector of Natural Resources Canada, he has studied the architecture and evolution of mountain systems in western North America and the ways in which communities interact with this landscape. In addition to earth science studies, Murray is part of regional sustainability initiative in the Georgia Basin region of western Canada, and co-leads an interdisciplinary project (Pathways) within Natural Resources Canada aimed at building a web-based architectural framework to situate and promote the use of integrated earth science information, knowledge and expertise within a broader societal context. Current projects focus on groundwater resource management and natural hazard mitigation in the Georgia Basin and Okanagan Basin regions of western Canada, with an emphasis on the process and tools of collaborative place-based planning, and community design.

Tamsin Lyle
Principal, Ebbwater Consulting

Tamsin Lyle is principal and founding engineer with Ebbwater Consulting, a Vancouver based company that is wholly focussed on flood management. Over her academic and professional careers she has developed in-depth technical knowledge of flood mechanisms along with a broad understanding of flood policy and planning. She works across the country to help communities mitigate their flood risk, and often speaks out on the need to manage floods in a holistic and integrated manner. She is especially interested in understanding how to best make risk-informed decisions in the uncertain environment of climate non-stationarity.

Jessica Shoubridge
Principal, Thrive Consulting, Director, EERI-BC

Jessica is a Planner and graduate of UBCs School of Community and Regional Planning. For the past 9 years, she has been working on projects that build resilience in the Lower Mainland, and more broadly BC. She has worked across all orders of government, academia, non-profits and the private sector to help bridge gaps between science, policy and action for risk reduction and resilience building. She led the development of the City of Vancouver’s Earthquake Preparedness Strategy, has helped develop the Lower Mainland Flood Management Strategy, and has led the organization of and program development for two Understanding Risk (UR+) events. She is generally passionate about developing integrated policy and win-win-win solutions to some of today’s trickiest resilience challenges. Otherwise, she can most often be found riding a bike of some sort, probably in the woods!

Madeline Maley
Executive Director, BC Wildfire Service

Madeline became the Executive Director, BC Wildfire Service with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNR) in January 2016.

Madeline is a Registered Professional Forester in British Columbia and prior to becoming the Executive Director, BC Wildfire Service, was the Executive Director, Regional Operations South Area, with FLNR. Madeline joined the Forest Service in 1995 as an Inventory Forester in the Port Alberni Forest District and worked on the Coast until moving to Kamloops in 2003 as the Operations Manager for Kamloops Forest District. She moved to the Southern Interior Regional Office in Kamloops as the Regional Staff Manager, Stewardship and Compliance and Enforcement in 2007, and Acting Regional Executive Director from 2009 to 2010.

Before coming to British Columbia, Madeline worked with the Ministry of Natural Resources in Sioux Lookout and Kenora, Ontario and at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. She has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and a Masters of Science in Forestry from the Lakehead University.

Aaron Sutherland
Vice President- Pacific, Insurance Bureau of Canada

With experience in government relations, policy development and strategic communications, Aaron has a demonstrated record of building, maintaining and leveraging relationships to achieve mutual goals.

As Vice-President for Insurance Bureau of Canada’s Pacific region, Aaron directs all of its government relations activities in British Columbia. He is responsible for eliciting positive change and sound public policy on key priorities and member companies’ concerns on strategic property and casualty insurance industry objectives.

Prior to joining Insurance Bureau of Canada in 2014, he held senior roles with the Interior Health Authority and British Columbia government.

Aaron holds a bachelor of arts in international relations from the University of British Columbia. An enthusiastic and dedicated community advocate, he is a member of the board for the Pacific Northwest Preparedness Society and the British Columbia Earthquake Alliance. He has been a “Big Brother” with the Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver since 2014.

Tom Barnes
CEO & General Counsel, Municipal Insurance Association of B.C.

Tom Barnes has been the Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel of the Municipal Insurance Association of British Columbia since 2005. The MIABC is a reciprocal insurance exchange licensed to provide liability insurance to B.C. local governments.

Founded in 1987 with 144 subscribers, it now provides coverage to 172 members, representing 90% of B.C.’s local governments. He sits on the Boards of the Association of Governmental Risk Pools and the Canadian Association of Insurance Reciprocals.

Mr. Barnes is a B.C. native, who was educated at the College of New Caledonia in Prince George as well as the University of British Columbia, from where he graduated with a law degree in 1978. He then spent more than ten years at one of British Columbia’s leading insurance law firms. His practice focused on the field of civil litigation concentrating primarily in the defence of municipalities and construction design consultants.

In 1991 he founded Barnes Craig & Associates, a liability adjusting, claims management and litigation management consulting firm. In that role, he provided many local governments with advice on litigation services. In 1997 he sold his interest in the firm to the minority shareholders in its Vancouver and Toronto offices and returned to the practice of law. From that point until his appointment with the MIABC, Mr. Barnes practiced as a partner in the Vancouver firm of Barnes, Twining & Short. The firm’s practice concentrated on the field of insurance litigation. Areas of expertise included construction disputes, municipal liability, professional negligence, environmental law, and insurance coverage advice.

Katie McPherson
Chief Resilience Officer, City of Vancouver

Katie serves as Vancouver’s first Chief Resilience Officer. Her expertise in resilience has grown through leadership positions in the public, private and non-profit sectors spanning the fields of Emergency Management, Resource Management, Climate Adaptation, and Disaster Recovery. She is passionate about connecting citizens to big ideas, and empowering communities to take action on global and local issues. She holds a Master’s Degree in Disaster and Emergency Management from York University, and a BA in International Development and History from Dalhousie University.

Glenn McGillivray
Managing Director, Institute for Catastrophic Loss reduction

Glenn McGillivray is Managing Director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction. Prior to joining ICLR, he served as Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communications for Swiss Reinsurance Company Canada and was Corporate Secretary for three Swiss Re operations in the country.

He began his insurance career at The Personal Insurance Company of Canada in Toronto and went on to work for a major Canadian corporate law firm before joining Swiss Re in 1994 and the ICLR in November, 2005.

As an insurance writer and commentator, his work has been widely disseminated across Canada. Glenn has written more than 220 magazine and journal articles, publications and blogposts on a range of issues for Canadian Underwriter, Canadian Insurance, Municipal World, Disaster Management Canada, Canadian Consulting Engineer, The Lawyers Weekly and The Globe and Mail, as well as for the International Journal of Insurance Law. Additionally, he speaks and lectures regularly on subjects related to the area of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and natural hazards.

He holds a B.A. in political science from Wilfrid Laurier University, a M.A. in political science from McMaster University, and a graduate diploma in corporate communication from Seneca College. He recently earned his Certificate in Risk Management from University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Education.

Chris Atchison
President, BC Construction Association

Chris has many years of expertise working collaboratively across the province, ensuring optimal program results for employers, participants, communities, and funders. Chris brings to BCCA a wealth of experience, including 9 years as Chief Operating Officer at ASPECT and more than 15 years as a workforce development strategist for organizations and communities throughout BC.

In addition to his work credentials, Chris holds an International Relations Degree from UBC and a Shipping and Marine Operations Diploma from BCIT, is Past President of the Victoria Minor Hockey Association and Past Chairman of the Sandra Schmirler Foundation. Plus in his “spare time”, he also manages to be Head Coach of the South Island Royals (Bantam “AA” Female).

Chris has big-picture growth in mind as he continues to build strong external relationships and modernize operational thinking and processes.

Sue Olsen
Regional Manager, Public Safety Canada – Pacific Region

Sue Olsen has been a federal public servant for 16 years, nine of those with Public Safety Canada as the Regional Director of Crime Prevention, and currently as the manager for Public Safety Canada’s Pacific Region. Sue’s federal public service career also includes work on the Urban Aboriginal Strategy at Western Economic Diversification, and as the Regional Coordinator for Emergency Preparedness and Response at the Public Health Agency of Canada. Sue served with the Edmonton Police Service for 14 years, she was also an elected member of the Alberta Legislature and worked for her community at the Metis Nation of Alberta. She has a background in Criminal Justice Administration, Crime Prevention Theory Management and Practice, and Leadership.

Kate Moran
President and Chief Executive Officer, Ocean Networks Canada

Dr. Kathryn (Kate) Moran joined the University of Victoria in September 2011 as a Professor in the Faculty of Earth and Ocean Sciences and as Director of NEPTUNE Canada. In July, 2012, she was promoted to the position of President & CEO, Ocean Networks Canada. Her previous appointment was Professor at the University of Rhode Island with a joint appointment in the Graduate School of Oceanography and the Department of Ocean Engineering. She also served as the Graduate School of Oceanography’s Associate Dean, Research and Administration. From 2009 to 2011, Moran was seconded to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she served as an Assistant Director and focused on Arctic, polar, ocean, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and climate policy issues. Moran holds degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Rhode Island and Dalhousie University. Her research focuses on marine geotechnics and its application to the study of paleoceanography, tectonics and seafloor stability. She has authored more than 45 publications.

Andrew Pape-Salmon
Executive Director, Building and Safety Standards Branch, Office of Housing and Construction Standards

(Coming soon)

Trevor Murdock
Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium

(Coming soon)

Tamsin Mills
City of Vancouver

(Coming soon)