Dale Beugin is the Vice President of Research and Analysis at the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices. An expert in environmental economics, policy and technical communications, he now leads the Institute’s work in developing rigorous analysis and practical climate policy advice for governments across the country. Dale was former Executive Director and Research Director of Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, and has previously worked as an independent consultant. Notably, he worked with the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy as policy advisor and has provided analysis and advice to governments and organizations across Canada and internationally. He holds a Masters Degree in resource and environmental management with a specialization in energy-economy modelling, and an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering.

Ron Clark is a partner at Aird & Berlis LLP law firm based in Toronto, Ontario. Specializing in intersections amongst corporate, commercial, energy and municipal law, he has guided numerous clients through the historical and institutional development of the energy market in Ontario. His corporate and commercial practice includes advising corporations, financial institutions, municipalities and individuals on commercial agreements, asset and share purchase transactions, mergers and acquisitions, private placements and secured lending transactions. The energy side of his practice involves guiding clients through transactions, as well as counselling stakeholder groups, retailers, distributors and generators on legislative and policy matters relating to electricity markets. Ron is deeply interested in the intersection of law and public policy, and enjoys meeting the unique challenges of the evolving energy market.

Ron has a background in public international law and previously served as a diplomat with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa and Brussels. He is listed as a “Leading Lawyer” in Energy: Power by The Legal 500 Canada and in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory in the area of Energy (Electricity). He was also recommended by Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a top practitioner in Energy, Power (Transactional) (Canada), and is recognized by Who’s Who Legal: Government Contracts. He has served as an Instructor of the Professional Master of Laws program in Energy and Infrastructure Law at Osgoode Hall Law School. Ron holds a BA in Political Science from Carleton University, a LL.B. from Osgood Hall Law School and a LL.M. from New York University.

Karen Farbridge is President & Urban Connector of Karen Farbridge & Associates where she works with business, governments and organizations to build healthy and prosperous communities.

She is well-connected in the community energy sector in Canada, and has over 25 years of experience leading community innovation. Karen has a diverse background managing complex multi-stakeholder environments to enable change. Her experience includes 17 years in municipal politics, 11 of which were as the mayor of Guelph, Ontario where she gained a reputation for sustainability leadership. She advises federal, provincial and municipal policy makers and industry leaders on building sustainable and resilient communities, with an emphasis on community energy.

Karen is a thoughtful change agent who effectively challenges status quo thinking to encourage new conversations and inspire innovation. In addition to QUEST, she currently serves as the Chair of the Board for Meridian Credit Union and motusbank as well as on the Board of Silence. She is also a member of the Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) at York University where she is adjunct faculty, and a partner with the Community Energy Knowledge and Action Partnership (CEKAP).

Karen is a respected speaker who has delivered hundreds of talks both locally and internationally on matters of current urban interest, including sustainability, engagement and community energy. She has a doctorate from the University of Guelph and a Chartered Directors designation from McMaster University.

Morgan McDonald works on high performance buildings and process innovation with Ledcor Construction. He leads Ledcor Renew, which supports commercial and institutional building owners in understanding the financial and technical feasibility of high performance projects for both new construction and retrofit. He also heads up Ledcor Construction’s Innovation Lab. Morgan has a background in renewable energy, carbon finance, and sustainability education. In addition to QUEST, he also volunteers with Living Future Vancouver and the Canada Green Building Council. Morgan has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University.

A Professional Engineer with over 45 years of experience as an executive and entrepreneur in the private and public sectors. David Morton combines a strong business, engineering and accounting background with experience in utility regulation and thorough knowledge of energy policy. As Commissioner and later Chair and CEO of the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) for over ten years, he developed expert-level understanding of the intersection of traditional and renewable energy, infrastructure, and public policy.

At the BCUC, David participated in numerous decisions on a wide variety of utility applications. He initiated and led several formal Inquiries into key areas of energy policy, including: the regulation of EV charging infrastructure; the regulation of the emerging hydrogen for fuel industry in BC; the definition of renewable natural gas and how it can be delivered; and, the jurisdiction of municipalities in the regulation of municipal corporations that own and operate energy infrastructure.

Since departing from BCUC in 2023, David remains actively engaged in national and international energy and regulatory associations as the Chair of the International Confederation of Energy Regulators. He is the past Chair of the Canadian Association of Utility Commissioners (CAMPUT) and Co-Chair of its International Affairs Committee, and past Vice Chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners’ (NARUC) Committee on International Relations.

David is a featured speaker, author, and consulting expert to industry and governments around the world. He has presented to agencies in 20 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

David is also an Executive in Residence with the University of Ottawa’s Positive Energy program that brings together academic researchers and senior decision-makers from industry, government, Indigenous communities, local communities and environmental organizations to determine how to strengthen public confidence in energy decision-making.

Prior to joining the BCUC, David owned a software development and IT service company. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Toronto and the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. David has served extensively on not-for-profit boards in the arts in Vancouver.

Dr. Shahrzad Rahbar is President of the Industrial Gas Users Association (IGUA). Dr. Rahbar brings 20 years of progressively senior experience from the gas industry.

Prior to joining IGUA, she served as Senior Vice-President with the Canadian Gas Association for over a decade, and has been an active contributor to the development of energy, technology and regulatory policy in Canada. Dr. Rahbar served on the Executive Committee of the International Gas Union and on the Board of Natural Gas Technology Centre as Vice-Chair. She is also founding director of QUEST and a director on Eastern Breeze, a community-based art initiative.

Dr. Shahrzad Rahbar has a PhD in mechanical engineering from the UK and two patents to her name.

Karen White is the Vice President at NATIONAL Public Relations. She brings a can-do attitude and more than 20 years of communications experience to every project. Her deep understanding of the energy sector and energy efficiency stems from more than a decade in public service, in a range of departments from Conserve Nova Scotia, Environment, to Energy. Since joining the team at NATIONAL, Karen has worked with electric utility and renewable energy companies on a wide range of stakeholder, regulatory, and customer initiatives.

Her collaborative approach to communications has encouraged responsible development of energy initiatives among government departments, industry, advocates, and communities. She led communications to support public consultation regarding demand side management programs and legislative changes to establish EfficiencyOne. Working with energy partners and stakeholders, Karen has provided advice for complex and high profile regulatory, policy, and public affairs files in the energy sector. She encourages energy sector development through effective community and public engagement and communications planning.

Her passion for the energy sector extends outside the office where she is the Past Board Chair of the Maritimes Energy Association, and a Board Director with Net Zero Atlantic. She holds a Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University and a Master of Business Administration from Saint Mary’s University.

Of note, Karen is both public engagement and crisis management certified, leveraging her International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) and Incident Command System (ICS) certifications to provide crisis communications counsel to many organizations.

Geoff Wright is the Vice President of Market Research at Brookfield Renewable where he contributes to global market and commercial strategies for renewable and distributed generation businesses at the utility scale. In this role, Geoff has been actively involved in underwriting multi-billion dollar transactions in numerous countries. Geoff is keenly interested in understanding how local energy systems need to evolve in the face of an increasingly carbon constrained world and finding cost-effective solutions to enable this transition.