Stephanie Gnissios graduated from UBC with a BASc Mechanical Engineering in 2010. She is currently a Project Engineer for Eldorado Gold Corporation, a Canadian low-cost gold producer with assets in Europe, China, and Brazil. She is responsible for managing and coordinating studies and project development for gold projects across the globe.

In 2012, Stephanie received the Minerva Foundation’s inaugural ‘SAP Emerging Leader’ award, acknowledging her mentorship activities and emphasis on leadership development. In 2014, she received the UBC Engineering Alumni’s ‘Outstanding Young Alumnus’ award, recognizing her accomplishments and leadership contributions. She is passionate about mining, engineering, mentorship, and life-long learning!

Alma Barranco-Mendoza, Ph.D.

An innovative teacher, entrepreneur and executive, CIO of the Canada Space Society and Co-Founder of Infogenetica Natural Products Ltd., Alma has made sustained and significant contributions to technology development, implementation and research. She has consistently envisioned the applications of technology well ahead of her peers and has developed three first-in-class commercial software systems. Her research on diabetes assessment systems and assistive learning technology for Autism won several grants and awards, and attracted international media attention. She has held top information technology positions at TWU, NerdForce, and the Canadian Space Society, where she was recently awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2015 CIO Impact Award and is currently nominated for the 2015 YWCA Women of Distinction Award in Technology, Science and Research. She is a sought-after speaker and she teaches and mentors youth and future technology professionals at UFV and TWU and through volunteer programs such as The Hour of Code and Canadian Women in Technology.  She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Langley Hospice Society.

Alma holds a Ph.D. in Computing Science, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence, from Simon Fraser University and M.Sc. and B.Sc. Hons. in Computer Science and Mathematics from Trent University. She is married with a pair of twin sons. She and her family enjoy the outdoors, playing music, and travelling. 

Dr. Andrea Pomeroy is an environmental consultant with Stantec with over ten years of experience as a consulting biologist and project manager. She joined Stantec as a post-doctorate fellow to conduct research on effects of wind energy developments on birds and bats. Over the past eight years at Stantec she has transitioned from working primarily as a wildlife biologist to an environmental assessment manager in a variety of sectors, including residential development, oil and gas, ports, and wind energy. She has provided environmental services for projects in all phases of development including planning, permitting, construction, and operations. Andrea is currently involved in the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, the Business Council of BC NEXT Leaders Council, and is the co-chair for the 2015 Clean Energy BC “Generate” conference. She received her PhD from the department of biology at SFU and in her spare time she enjoys spending time outdoors, birding, and travel. 

Roz Seyednejad, P.Eng., M.Eng., MBA, is Founder of Stratesol Consulting Inc., a strategy consulting firm specializing in the SR&ED (Scientific Research and Experimental Development) tax credit program. Over the past 12 years, Roz has provided annual support to her clients and claimed over $10 million on their behalf. Her clients range from engineering consulting firms to construction, health science, energy and IT businesses.

Previously, Roz worked in project management, planning and coordination on a number of large infrastructure projects in BC, and has held business development, project management and strategy management positions at international engineering firms. 

Roz currently serves on the Industry Advisory Council for the Department of Civil Engineering at UBC, on the Board of Directors of a large sports and recreation facility, and as President of the BC Construction Roundtable.

Roz is married with two young daughters, and she and her family enjoy getting outdoors for skiing, hiking, biking, tennis and golf.

Chadwick Walker is an Investment Advisor with Odlum Brown Limited. He works closely with Odlum Brown’s equity and fixed income research team and the firm’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Odlum Brown Financial Services Limited, to develop a comprehensive wealth strategy for his clients’ investments.

Before joining Odlum Brown, Chadwick was a successful Business Development Executive at Xerox, where he provided solution services to Fortune 500 organizations to increase their revenues through improved productivity and business process re-design. Chadwick was a professional educator in school districts across the Lower Mainland and has also been a guest lecturer at the University of British Columbia. In addition to his investment industry accreditations, such as the Canadian Securities Course, Chadwick holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics from Simon Fraser University, and a Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia.

Within the community, he is involved with a number of charitable organizations and initiatives including the United Way, Free the Children and We Day. Chadwick currently resides in Vancouver and enjoys racquet sports, soccer, international travel, and playing the guitar in his spare time.