Concurrent Session 1A – Public Participation | Salon 8

• Moderator: John Parkins, Professor, University of Alberta
• Speaker 1: Brenda Wallace, RPP MCIP CP3, PhD Candidate, University of Saskatchewan
  Topic: Public Participation at a Crossroads Panel -Examining ‘Regenerative Organizing’ As A Way To Engage Diverse Actors
• Speaker 2: Kennedy Mitchell, University of Alberta, Sîkîp Sâkahikan Waterhen Lake First Nation, Graduate Student
  Topic: Protecting Indigenous Knowledge and Treaty Rights in Forestry: Indigenous Methodology from Sîkîp Sâkahikan (Waterhen Lake)
• Speaker 3: John Parkins, Professor, University of Alberta     
  Topic: Public Participation at a Crossroads: A Reflection on 30 Years of Research  

Concurrent Session 1B – Forestry Accreditation | Salon 9

• Moderator: Carla Rhyant, MAL, Executive Director and Registrar, AAFMP
• Speaker 1: Maureen Kershaw RPF, Ph.D, Executive Director, Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board & Peter Marshall, RPF, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia
  Topic: National Standards & Accreditation
• Speaker 2: Louise Simpson, CAE & Brittany Tartaglia, Registration Manager, Ontario Professional Foresters Association (OPFA)
  Topic: A Practical Guide to Credential Portfolios and Paths into the Professions
• Speaker 3: Carla Rhyant, MAL, Executive Director and Registrar, Alberta Forest Management Professionals (AAFMP)   
  Topic: Practical Ideas for Leveraging Professional Standards to Enhance Hiring & Monitoring of Early-Career Employees         

Concurrent Session 1C – Operational Fire Management | Salon 10 

• Moderator: Nicole Galambos, Director, Forest Ecology, Alberta Forest Products Association
• Speaker 1: Jen Beverly, Associate Professor, University of Alberta
  Topic: Wildfire Exposure in Canada’s Forested and Human-Occupied Lands
• Speaker 2: Neal McLoughlin, Superintendent of Predictive Services, BC Wildfire Service
  Topic: Forestry After Fire
• Speaker 3: Landon Shepherd, MSc., Fire and Vegetation Specialist, Parks Canada, Jasper National Park 
  Topic: The 2024 Jasper Wildfire Complex; Understanding the Important Differences Between Fuel Versus Timber to Reduce Wildfire Risk in Canada

Concurrent Session 1D – Wildlife and Forestry | Salon 11

• Moderator: Margaret Symon, RPF, PCP, Strathcona Forestry Consulting & CIF-IFC Past President
• Speaker 1: Diana Stralberg, Ph.D, Research Scientist, Canadian Forest Service
  Topic: Tracking Forest Change Through Birds: Modelling Biodiversity Responses to Changing Forest Conditions Across Canada
• Speaker 2: Howie Harshaw, PhD, University of Alberta
  Topic: Canadians’ Preferences For Bird and Habitat Conservation
• Speaker 3: Dr Laura Finnegan, fRI Research
  Topic: Caribou, Forestry, and Wildlife: Navigating a Changing Boreal Landscape

More speaker information coming soon!

Concurrent Session 2A – Applied Forest Ecology | Salon 8

• Moderator: Brad Pinno, Associate Professor, Silviculture, University of Alberta
• Speaker 1: Charles Nock, Associate Professor, Renewable Resources, University of Alberta
  Topic: Stand Composition & Neighbourhood Competition Shape Drought Resilience in Aspen–Spruce Mixedwoods
• Speaker 2: Bryan Mood, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan
  Topic: Trees Outside Forests, What Can They Tell Us?
• Speaker 3: Eric Cudjoe, Ph.D, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta
  Topic: Managing Mixed Forests in a Changing Climate: From Tree Competition in Europe to Understory Microclimate in Alberta

Concurrent Session 2B – Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management | Salon 9 

• Moderator: Nicolas Mansuy, PhD, Canadian Forest Service
• Speaker 1: Frederik Strabo, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta
  Topic: Prioritizing Wildfire Mitigation: The Economics of Fuel Treatments and Defensible Space
• Speaker 2: Dr. Carly Sponarski, Ph.D, Human Dimensions of Wildlife. Social Science Researcher, Canadian Forest Service & Janelle Goodine, MSc, Outdoor Recreation. Social Science Research Associate, Canadian Forest Service
  Topic: The POV of Professionals in Alberta’s Caribou Social Network: Implications for Decision-making and Management
• Speaker 3: Nicolas Mansuy, PhD, Canadian Forest Service
  Topic: The Bioenergy–Wildfire Mitigation Nexus

Concurrent Session 2C – Operational Silviculture | Salon 10

• Moderator and Speaker 1: Amanda Schoonmaker, Ph.D, Research chair Boreal Reclamation and Reforestation, NAIT 
  Topic: Kick Starting Forest Development in Legacy Well Sites
• Speaker 2: Domenico Iannidinardo, MBA, RPF, RPBio, PEng, CEO at Strategic Natural Resource Group 
  Topic: A Helping Hand of Fertilizer in a Rugged BC Stand
• Speaker 3: Kate Levesque, Silviculture Manager, MSc, MF, Carson Integrated 
  Topic: Operational Silviculture from a Consulting Perspective

Concurrent Session 2D – Industry Innovation #1 | Salon 11

• Moderator: Shane Neigel, Director of Tenure Trade and Economics, Government of Alberta
• Speaker 1: Cal Dakin, RPF, Managing Director, Mercer International
  Topic: Industry Innovation
• Speaker 2: Dr. Jamie Stephen, TorchLight Bioresources
  Topic: BECCS Carbon Utilities for Climate-Smart Forest Management and Wildfire Risk Reduction
• Speaker 3: Gordon Giles, RPF, AlPac  
  Topic: Practical Innovation in the Forest Products’ Sector: Creating More Value from What We Already Have

More speaker information coming soon!

Concurrent Session 3A – Fire Across the Landscape | Salon 8

• Moderator: Dr. Carly Sponarski, Ph.D, Human Dimensions of Wildlife. Social Science Researcher, Canadian Forest Service
• Speaker 1: Chris Stockdale, PhD, Senior Science Advisor, Canadian Forest Service
  Topic: The Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) Wildland Fire Risk Assessment Framework
• Speaker 2: Matthew Kristoff, RPF – Boreal West Coordinator, Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada
  Topic: Shaping Canada’s Wildfire Future — Together 
• Speaker 3: Christine Kuntzemann, MSc, Canadian Forest Service 
  Topic: Mapping Potential Fire Refugia to Guide Forest Planning and Wildfire Mitigation

Concurrent Session 3B – Industry Innovation #2 | Salon 9

• Moderator: Eric Cudjoe, PhD – Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta
• Speaker 1: Christoph Schilling, BEng, MSc, Ph.D, FPInnovations
  Topic: How Automation and the Internet of Things are Transforming Canada’s Forest Sector
• Speaker 2: Rick Blackwood, B Sc. Forestry (retired RPF, Alberta), President, fRI Research
  Topic: fRI Research and its Efforts to Help Advance Forest Management
• Speaker 3: Lyle Boychuk, Manager of GIS and Inventory Programs, Ducks Unlimited Canada
  Topic: From Research to Operations: Machine Learning for Prairie Wetland Inventory Development

Concurrent Session 3C – Forest Reclamation | Salon 10

• Moderator: Tomas Sokolon, MSc, P. Biol, Program Director, Agroforestry & Woodlot Extension Society
• Speaker 1: Nolan Duguid, RPF, Manager, Habitat Restoration, Silvacom
  Topic: Advancing Linear Restoration in Canada’s Boreal Forest: Lessons from Legacy Seismic Line Recovery
• Speaker 2: Eckehart Marenholtz, MSc, RPF, Chickadee Reclamation Services
  Topic: Planting Trees in a Forest of Weeds – Trials and Successes at Genesee Mine
• Speaker 3: Geraint Richards, OBE MVO FICFor, Head Forester to His Majesty The King & Professor Jo Bradwell MBChB, DSc, FRCPath, FRCP, FICFor (Hon), Norbury Park
  Topic: Future Species Choice When the Future is Uncertain A Hot Topic in the U.K.

Concurrent Session 3D – Managing for Forest Resilience | Salon 11

• Moderator: Dr. Dani Degenhardt, Research Scientist, Canadian Forest Service
• Speaker 1: Che Elkin, Professor, University of Northern British Columbia
  Topic: Advancing Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change in Western Canada
• Speaker 2: Dr. Dani Degenhardt, Research Scientist, Canadian Forest Service
  Topic: Silviculture Approaches to Enhance Fire Resilience in Boreal Forests
• Speaker 3: Douglas (Doug) E.B. Reid, Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research, Government of Ontario 
  Topic: My Perspective on Resilience – Wildfire Resilience / The Importance of Positive Energy, Inclusivity and Fun Events for Attracting and Retaining Members 

More speaker information coming soon!