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Our xChange 2026 Speakers

Keynote Speakers

Conference Day 1 Speakers

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Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at the Arctic Economic Development Corporation

Bud Sambasivam

Bud Sambasivam works at the intersection of engineering, public policy, and business, bringing a systems-level view to how change happens — and the role engineers play in shaping it. He is Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at the Arctic Economic Development Corporation, leading infrastructure and logistics initiatives in one of the world’s most challenging regions. Previously, he served in the Office of the Minister of Finance, helping deliver four federal budgets, and also worked in the Prime Minister’s Office. A longtime EWB leader, he helped launch the University of Saskatchewan Chapter. Bud is a licensed Professional Engineer with graduate degrees from Harvard and Cambridge.

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Founder, Managing Director, Mining Shared Value programme of EWB Canada   

Jeff Geipel

Jeff Geipel founded Mining Shared Value in 2012 and continues to serve as its Managing Director. The program strengthens the development impacts of mining by systemically increasing local procurement of goods and services in resource-rich countries. Before launching Mining Shared Value, Jeff founded and served as the first executive director of Fair Trade Vancouver, which became a model for municipal fair-trade organizations across Canada. Originally from Vancouver, he holds a master’s degree in international development from the London School of Economics. Jeff’s work and commentary have been featured by The Guardian, the World Economic Forum, the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Mining Weekly, and Hill Times Magazine.

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Founder & CEO of Valence

Parker Mitchell 

Parker Mitchell is an entrepreneurial systems leader focused on building organizations that combine purpose, impact, and innovation. He co-founded Engineers Without Borders Canada, helping mobilize a generation of engineers to tackle global challenges. Today, Parker is Founder and CEO of Valence, an AI-powered coaching platform supporting teams and organizations worldwide. Through Valence, he drives enterprise-scale transformation by equipping leaders with tools to strengthen collaboration, culture, and performance. With a background spanning engineering, strategy, and early-stage ventures, Parker brings a rare systems-change perspective—rooted in EWB—that emphasizes cross-disciplinary work, rapid iteration, and people-centred design to turn ideas into lasting impact.

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Director of African Programs and Partnership at EWB Canada

Herbert Kisara

Herbert Kisara is the Director of African Programs and Partnerships at Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Canada, leading a portfolio that advances sustainable development and systems change across sub-Saharan Africa and Canada. With over a decade of experience in international development and volunteer management, he oversees initiatives in renewable energy, youth leadership, and inclusive economic growth, ensuring engineering and technology drive equitable impact. A strong advocate for collaboration and localization, Herbert strengthens EWB partnerships in Zambia, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, and Sierra Leone. He has helped shape flagship programs like Engineering Brighter Tomorrows and innovation projects supporting the next generation of STEM leaders.

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Co-Founder and Head of Solutions, Valence 

Levi Goertz

Levi Goertz is a purpose-driven leader dedicated to advancing human potential through technology, coaching, and culture transformation. As Head of Client Solutions at Valence, he partners with global organizations to design scalable, human-centered development programs that strengthen leadership, trust, and inclusion. With experience spanning entrepreneurship, consulting, and global operations, Levi has led initiatives that bridge innovation and social impact, empowering teams to grow and thrive.

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Founder and CEO of Localize

Meghan Dear, P. Biol, ICD.D

Meghan Dear is a systems-change leader and entrepreneur who builds companies that put sustainability, technology, and impact at their core. Recognized with honours such as Top 40 Under 40, NACO’s Startup of the Year, Woman of Impact in Geospatial, and multiple B Corp Best for the World awards, she is defined by her commitment to solving meaningful problems. Meghan is the Founder and CEO of Localize, a mission-driven tech company that helps organizations act on sustainability, equity, and impact data. Her career spans space and geospatial innovation, AI, big data, and digital marketplaces. Meghan’s early work with EWB in Ghana shaped her belief in collaborative, tech-enabled systems change.

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Senior Manager, Sustainability Strategy & Business Development, Schneider Electric Canada

Swati Vora-Patel 

Swati Vora-Patel is a sustainability leader and strategic business development professional with over 20 years of experience across the energy and sustainability sector. As Senior Manager, Sustainability Strategy & Business Development at Schneider Electric Canada, she leads initiatives to accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient and resilient solutions, aligning go-to-market strategies with a global low-carbon vision. She also champions community impact and corporate social responsibility through the Schneider Electric Foundation. Previously, Swati led strategic content marketing for Schneider Electric’s Advisory Services, shaping global thought leadership on climate action and the energy transition. Before joining Schneider Electric, she spent over 15 years at Electro-Federation Canada advancing sustainability, safety, and industry collaboration.

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Software Engineer at Trail

Joanna Roy

Joanna Roy is a software engineer at Trail, an AI governance startup in Munich, where she helps make AI policies—such as the EU AI Act—practically implementable. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 2024 with an Engineering Science (ECE) degree, completing a thesis on social media content moderation. During her studies, Joanna served as co-president of the UofT EWB Chapter (2021–22) and co-founded its virtual food bank to support students during the pandemic. She also contributed to mental health advocacy through the Engineering Society and the Inlight Student Mental Health Research Initiative.

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Digital Transformation Director, Schneider Electric

Bershu Nkwawir, M.Sc. P. Eng

Bershu Nkwawir is a business leader and Professional Engineer with over 30 years of experience in consulting, automation, and digital transformation. As Digital Transformation Director at Schneider Electric, he helps manufacturers achieve operational goals through accelerated, agnostic, data-driven automation strategies. Previously, Bershu guided organizations through advanced manufacturing and digitalization at Honeywell Connected Enterprise and as Founder and President of P3 Inc., and held leadership roles at Siemens across diverse industrial sectors. He holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Munich and is passionate about advancing productivity and living standards through technology. Bershu serves on program advisory councils at Sheridan College and Niagara College.

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Senior Director, Portfolio Management, Grand Challenges Canada

Adetunji Eleso

Adetunji is Senior Director, Portfolio Management at Grand Challenges Canada, where he leads the strategic design and performance of a global innovation portfolio spanning seed to transition-to-scale investments. He works closely with executive leadership, funders, and partners to drive impact, learning, and long-term sustainability across health and development contexts.

With over 20 years of cross-sector experience, Adetunji brings deep expertise in impact investing, public-private partnerships, and implementation across Sub-Saharan Africa and globally. He is known for a systems-level, evidence-informed approach to strengthening scale readiness, managing portfolio risk, and translating promising innovations into sustainable, integrated impact.

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Conference Day 2 Speakers

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Vice President of Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric Canada

Hugo Lafontaine

Hugo Lafontaine is a senior leader with over 20 years of experience in commercial and industrial automation. As Vice President of Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric Canada, he oversees national operations across industrial products, software, and both continuous and discrete business lines. Hugo began his career in controls consulting and building automation, later holding progressive roles in sales, marketing, and management. Before joining Schneider Electric, he spent 11 years at Regulvar and later served as General Manager for Canada and the Northeast U.S. at Daikin Applied. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, an Executive Master’s from Telfer, and completed leadership programs at INSEAD.

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Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker and Coach

Lisa Tong, MBA, PCC

Lisa Tong is an ex-consultant, corporate strategist, and engineer turned entrepreneur, researcher, author, and professionally trained and certified coach and facilitator. She founded This Project Called Me and The Leader As a Coach, projects that use data to think about your thinking and systemically train the power of words in conversation. When Lisa is not writing or experimenting with words, you will likely find her cycling or making soups for her other fun persona, The Chinese Soup Lady.

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CEO of e-Zinc

James Larsen, P.Eng., MBA

James Larsen is a cleantech and energy leader with over 20 years of experience spanning strategy, operations, finance, and engineering. He is the CEO of e-Zinc, a Toronto-based energy storage company commercializing proprietary long-duration technology to enable 100% renewable energy systems, and has raised more than $100 million to advance the company’s growth. Previously, James led business development at MaRS’ Advanced Energy Centre and worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company. His engineering background includes renewable energy technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells, micro-hydro, and geothermal systems. James holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University, an MBA from Ivey, and is a Professional Engineer with an ICD.D designation.

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Co-CEO and Managing Partner of CPCS

Marc-André Roy, MBA

Marc-André Roy co-leads CPCS's global operations. He has led over 250 transportation-sector management consulting assignments for public and private sector clients in North America, Asia, South America, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Africa. He has an international MBA from the Schulich School of Business (top graduate) and holds the ICD.D designation. He is fluent in English and French and is based in Ottawa, Canada.

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CEO and Founder of Green Salvaged Materials 

Carly Connor, P.Eng. 

Carly Connor is a professional engineer and national leader in circularity and existing buildings. Her work spans heritage restoration, building science, and systems design, and she now leads Green Salvaged Materials, advancing material reuse, adaptive reuse, and portfolio-scale circularity across Canada’s built environment.

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Assistant Professor of Teaching at UBC in Civil Engineering

Pamela Wolf, P.Eng.

Pamela Wolf is currently an Assistant Professor of Teaching at UBC in Civil Engineering. Her work is at the intersection of communication and design, with a focus on communication for collaboration, the community consultation process, storytelling, and decolonization. She is also author of the book Decolonizing the Engineering Curriculum and enabling system change in engineering curriculum. Pamela serves as a Board Member for EWB Canada and was a professional fellow with EWB’s ‘amplify governance’ team in Ghana. 

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UManitoba Finance Undergrad Student 

Muhammad Isfandyar 

Muhammad Isfandyar is a third-year Finance student at the University of Manitoba with a background in engineering and a strong interest in how funding, partnerships, and leadership enable sustainable impact. As President of Engineers Without Borders uManitoba (2024–2025), he focused on growing the chapter and expanding opportunities for student engagement. He led fundraising and partnerships supporting projects in clean water, food security, and renewable energy, including work in Puerto Rico and rural Pakistan. Through EWB, Muhammad developed a passion for using finance and leadership to advance community-driven development and sustainable energy initiatives.

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UWaterloo Master of Applied Science Student

Laurel Pierroz-Wong

Laurel Pierroz-Wong is a recent Environmental Engineering graduate from the University of Waterloo and served as Waterloo EWB President in 2024–2025, with involvement since 2021 .At the end of her final year, Laurel founded Pyroneers, an initiative that converts invasive buckthorn into biochar to support soil regeneration, urban green space restoration, and student education. Laurel is beginning an MASc in Waterloo’s Collaborative Water Program, focusing on climate change adaptation, engineering education, and curriculum reform. She plans to remain active with EWB as a national office volunteer and Waterloo Chapter member.

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UManitoba Computer Engineering Undergrad Graduate

Jaskaran Sarkaria

Jaskaran Sarkaria is a Computer Engineering graduate from the University of Manitoba’s Price Faculty of Engineering, completing his degree in December 2025. He served as Director of Operations for Engineers Without Borders uManitoba (2024–2025), focusing on building teams and systems that turn ideas into action. Jaskaran coordinated local and international initiatives in partnership with community organizations, including projects on clean water and food security in Puerto Rico and solar energy in rural Pakistan. Through EWB, he developed a strong interest in using engineering and technology to enable long-term, community-driven impact.

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Interested in supporting xChange and joining a national movement?

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