Archived events
Disaster Prepared - Are We?
April 30, 2024 @ Vancouver, BC
This month’s event was presented by
Meet the panelists
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As the Director and co-founder of CCEM Strategies, Christine Trefanenko brings a genuine passion for community and organizational resilience, demonstrated through over 17 years of experience in emergency and continuity management.
Christine’s recent focus has centered on emergency planning and preparedness initiatives. Working with diverse clients across North America, she has supported First Nations, government agencies, critical infrastructure, small businesses and communities with initiatives including hazard risk assessments, development and enhancement of emergency and business continuity management programs, as well as the development of response plans and procedures. As a strategic facilitator, Christine actively engages with a diverse array of partners, stakeholders, and rightsholders to produce tailored, tangible solutions that work to increase the capacity of communities and organizations to prepare for, respond to, and recover from impacting events.
Prior to starting CCEM Strategies, Christine spent several years with the largest energy provider in British Columbia as the Manager of Emergency Management and Business Continuity. Additionally, she holds prominent positions within the emergency and business continuity management community as the Chair of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Standard Emergency and Continuity Management Program Technical Committee and the Vice-Chair for the CSA Standard for Emergency Preparedness and Response for Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry Systems Technical Committee.
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As TELUS’ Chief Operations Officer, Tony leads Customer Technology Excellence (CTE), a team dedicated to enriching people’s lives through the power of technology. Together, they manage every aspect of TELUS’ technology and network infrastructure, elevating customer trust through resilient services and seamless experiences. CTE also drives TELUS’ leadership in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and privacy, ensuring a responsible and human-centered approach to innovation that helps make the future friendlier for all.
Tony has held several leadership roles since joining TELUS in 2001. Most recently, he was Executive Vice-President and Chief Customer Officer, responsible for elevating TELUS' Mobility and Home Solutions customer experience. Tony has a wealth of experience in the telecommunications industry, having previously led several teams in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Tony is a graduate of the Cranfield School of Management with a Diploma in Professional Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He holds a Professional Certificate in Business Administration from Open University and received his Professional Qualifications in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering while serving in the Royal Navy. He proudly supports the Vancouver General Hospital and University of British Columbia hospital foundations.
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Ross Siemens was elected Mayor of the City of Abbotsford on October 15, 2022 after serving two terms on Abbotsford City Council as a Councillor from 2014 – 2022. Ross previously served on the District of Abbotsford Council from 1986 to 1990.
Ross was born and raised in Abbotsford and in the 90s. Ross purchased his family's business, Hub Motor Service (Siemens Garage Ltd.), established by his grandfather in 1954 in Downtown Abbotsford. Ross understands the unique role that small businesses play in building a strong and engaged locally based economy and is excited about opportunities to help these businesses continue to thrive. Ross is also passionate about refugee relief work, welcoming refugees into the community, and helping them to succeed.
Ross has been married to his wife Kelly, a teacher, since 1992, and they have two daughters: Ashley and Alexandra.
Ross enjoys hiking, biking, skiing and snowshoeing with his family. He is also an avid runner.
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Leon Gaber is an Executive Director and National Lead for KPMG Canada’s Critical Infrastructure Resilience & Emergency Management practice. He specializes in supporting governments, communities, and critical infrastructure asset owners in emergency planning and response, and in long-term planning to build resilience to climate hazards and reduce disaster risk.
Leon spent 15 years working in the government of British Columbia, focusing on the oversight and implementation of large scale, politically sensitive initiatives across multiple sectors. His experience spans professional governance, emergency management, supply chain management, natural resource management, and environmental spill response. He is also a seasoned facilitator and has significant experience engaging with a wide variety of groups including local government, First Nations, industry, and non-governmental organizations.
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Bowinn Ma is British Columbia’s Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. She is a licensed professional engineer with a degree in civil engineering, a master’s degree from the UBC Sauder School of Business, and a certified project-management professional.
Bowinn previously served as minister of state for Infrastructure, delivering major capital transportation infrastructure projects and supporting highway recovery efforts following the atmospheric river events of November 2021. An advocate for environmentally and socially responsible transportation, Bowinn brought a strong focus on climate resiliency and low-carbon transportation systems to her work as minister of state.
In 2018, Bowinn led the Integrated North Shore Transportation Planning Project, which set the stage for a rapid transit concept for the North Shore and continues to guide regional transportation planning for all levels of government in the area.
She has also served as parliamentary secretary for TransLink and chair of the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations, where she led an all-party committee to develop recommendations for Transportation Network Services in British Columbia.
Before being elected MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale in 2017, Bowinn managed terminal expansion and redevelopment projects at the Vancouver International Airport. She is the Canadian-born daughter of Taiwanese immigrants and lives in North Vancouver with her spouse, daughter and two cats.
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Tim Swanson began his career in technology in 1985, primarily in utilities and large industry. Tim was the Director, Information Systems from 2000 to 2019 for the utility that is now FortisBC. In 2019 Tim took on the role of Director, Corporate Security & Business Continuity at FortisBC. In his current role he is responsible for physical and cybersecurity for IT & OT, CIP Senior Manager, OT support, emergency management, and business continuity for FortisBC gas and electric utilities. FortisBC has over 1,200,000 gas and electric customers and over 2700 employees.
Tim is a member and former chair of the Western Energy Institute CIO/CISO committee, current member of the Canadian Gas Association Security Strategic Steering Committee, current member of the Electricity Canada Security Infrastructure Protection Committee, and a former member and chair of the Electricity Canada Technology Committee. Tim was recently selected to the Reliability Issues Steering Committee reporting to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Board of Trustees.