Marc Riopelle

Kristjana Kellgren

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Kristjana Kellgren

Kristjana Kellgren is an experienced regulatory lawyer and leader in the utilities sector. She is currently the Executive Director of the Rates division at the Alberta Utilities Commission, where she leads a division of multi-disciplinary professionals who support the Commission’s determination of rate and tariff-related matters. Prior to joining the AUC, Kristjana worked as a lawyer in private practice with a particular focus on municipal, regulatory and administrative law matters.

Kristjana is passionate about creating an environment that provides opportunities for everyone to excel. She joined the Board in 2023 with the goal of contributing to Women + Power’s continued momentum and success, including by assisting with the planning and executing of W+P’s networking and educational events. 

Katrina Edgerton-McGhan

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Katrina Edgerton-McGhan

Counsel
DLA Piper (Canada) LLP

“Please do more to hire, support, and encourage talented women who want to work. Women don’t look or talk like Perry Mason, and you don’t want us to. We often are more creative, smarter, more persistent, and harder-working than men, and we actually win cases. So call me a Lady Lawyer. Just don’t underestimate me in Court.”

Lisa Blatt

Katrina is a litigation lawyer who supports clients in the power industry. As part of her role, she learns in an in-depth way about her clients’ business and goals to help them through challenging times and achieve their desired outcomes. Katrina is an extremely committed pro bono diversity advocate, particularly in the areas of equity and diversity in traditionally male-dominated industries. She feels privileged to be involved in such an important initiative in the power industry.

It’s about time!

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Sharleen Gatcha
Founder, Women+Power

June 1, 2020

We waste time. We kill time. We save time. Time can be on our side or we can have bad timing. We rob and get robbed of time, and we lose time. Time can be our enemy or our friend. We are told to manage our time wisely. Time flies. Sometimes, it may seem as though time stands still and yet other times, we have all the time in the world. But no one of us is powerful enough to stop the march of time or slow it down: time waits for no (wo)man.

And so, it seems this is where we stand; in week ten of the COVID-19 pandemic and still uncertainty remains over how much longer we will have to maintain continued restrictions on social distancing and remote working conditions. We are encouraged to wait and see what time will tell. Does time heal everything? I am sure many of you have experienced days when time seemed to pass so slowly and yet it is hard to believe that we have been in this situation for more than 2 months.

It was the result of unfortunate circumstances that the networking event planned for Women+Power at the IPPSA Conference in Banff on March 16 had to be cancelled just days before it was scheduled to take place when the Government of Alberta announced restrictions on the number of individuals allowed in gatherings and soon after COVID-19 was deemed a global pandemic. One could say time was not on our side and, in our case, time changes everything!

Given how quickly the pandemic escalated, Women+Power decided to put our plans to launch our website on hold and determine when it would be appropriate to proceed. We wanted to recognize and respect that the environment for many of us had fundamentally changed and that it would take time for everyone to adjust and adapt to a ‘new normal’ (as we have heard so many times over the past several weeks). We hope that everyone has had the opportunity to do just that and you are staying safe and healthy.

We are very excited to share our vision for Women+Power and start communicating our plans, and we feel that now is the time. To this end, we are launching our new brand and website. For now, you can find us on LinkedIn and at www.womenpower.ca. Soon we hope to add other social media channels.

At this time would like to invite women and men working in and with the power industry in Alberta to join our community and become a member by visiting the ‘Join Us!’ page on our website and completing the registration form. In addition, we would appreciate your help spreading the word by sharing our news about Women+Power with your network.

Me and the dedicated Board at Women+Power are hopeful this will kickstart the beginning of transformational change in the electricity industry, and for that we say ‘It’s about time!’

Women+Power provides new forum for industry professionals

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Women+Power is pleased to have been featured in the May newsletter provided to members of the Industrial Power Producers Society of Alberta (IPPSA). We have received special permission from IPPSA to share this article and would like to express our gratitude to IPPSA for providing this opportunity to Women+Power.

IPPSA provides a forum for dialogue among Alberta’s power producers and seeks to ensure members have the opportunity to earn a fair return on their investments. IPPSA is an association representing all of Alberta’s major power producers. To learn more about IPPSA and the services they offer, please visit their website: http://www.ippsa.com/

Yining Yuan

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Yining Yuan

Yining Yuan has developed multi-disciplinary skill sets in the energy sector over the past decade, from an engineer to a Finance professional. She is currently an Associate at Macquarie, where she develops and capitalizes on insights across power and carbon markets. 

As the Treasurer and a Board member of Women + Power, Yining is committed to bringing together female talents and their allies within the Alberta power industry. She contributes her industry knowledge and finance experience to advance Women + Power’s mission.

Shanelle Sinclair

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Shanelle Sinclair

Manager, Regulatory
Heartland Generation Ltd.

“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.”

Anne Sweeney

Shanelle is responsible for implementing Heartland’s strategic vision for the Alberta wholesale electricity market and managing the company’s portfolio of regulatory applications. She has considerable experience in competition law relating to electricity markets, compliance, and the regulatory aspects of project development. Shanelle finds it energizing to collaborate with likeminded women through Women+Power.

ENMAX and Women+Power

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ENMAX is a diverse electricity and energy services company involved across all areas of the electricity value chain. ENMAX Power Corporation owns and operates transmission and distribution infrastructure in Calgary, and ENMAX Energy Corporation owns various generation facilities throughout Alberta. Through our subsidiaries, we offer a range of innovative energy solutions to more than 674,800 customers across the province including electricity, gas, renewable energy and other services.

Diversity in our workplace is equally as important. To us, it’s about removing barriers and building an environment of inclusion, where everyone belongs and is celebrated for who they are. ENMAX is proud of our commitment to promoting diversity in all forms, and in 2017, we signed up to the Leadership Accord on Gender Diversity, a public commitment by Canadian employers, educators, unions and governments to promote gender diversity within their organizations.We’re proud to be a founding sponsor of Women+Power. Together, we can remove barriers and advance inclusivity and diversity in our sector by empowering women and creating opportunities for support, connection and representation. 

Learn more about ENMAX>>

Georgina Newell

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Georgina Newell

Georgina Newell has over 25 years of experience in the energy and electricity sectors in North America. She has extensive knowledge in transmission, generation, distribution, compliance and regulatory environments. She is currently an Associate Director at Guidehouse.

As the Vice Chair of Women+Power and founding member, Georgina is committed to advocating for the development and advancement of women in the power industry. In addition, she contributes her expertise and experience to make a positive impact on the future of women in utilities.

Georgina has been recognized by the industry as an influential leader and has made significant contributions through her involvement in various industry groups including the Idaho National Laboratory. In her free time, she mentors young professionals and coaches aspiring female athletes.

Johanne Picard-Thompson

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Johanne Picard-Thompson

Executive Vice President, Customer and Corporate Services
AltaLink

Johanne is a graduate from the University of Toronto’s Engineering Science Program and Queen’s University Master of Business Administration program. Prior to joining AltaLink, Johanne held senior executive roles in the oil and gas and manufacturing sectors. At Shell Canada she was the General Manager, Oil Sands Growth Operations, and oversaw operations, commissioning, and startup planning for expansion projects. At Celestica she was the Senior Vice President of Canadian Operations, responsible for multiple production facilities and more than 40 production lines.

Other notable career highlights include serving on the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology’s (NAIT) Advisory Board for the Shell Manufacturing Centre and receiving the Globe and Mail’s recognition as one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 for her leadership in growing Celestica’s Canadian Operations. Johanne also received the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Engineering 2T5 Mid-Career Achievement Award recognizing alumni who have earned respect within the profession and within the broader Canadian community.

Leah Iszakovits

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Leah Iszakovits

Leah is a dynamic executive leader with extensive experience in non-profit management, regulatory governance, and business strategy. She is currently the Executive Director of Women+Power, where she fosters collaboration and drives initiatives to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in Alberta’s power and energy sectors.

Previously, Leah led a Professional Regulatory Organization, overseeing governance, compliance, and strategic operations. With a background spanning non-profits, business, government, and immigration consulting, she brings a multidisciplinary approach to leadership, change management, and stakeholder engagement.

Leah is a designated Project Management Professional, Change Management Practitioner, and Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant. She actively collaborates with industry professionals, provides strategic consulting services, and volunteers with Canadians for a Civil Society, supporting initiatives that empower communities and future leaders.