Our Board and Staff

Board of Directors

Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Connie Carlson
Photograph of WaterPortal Board member Graeme Bate
Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Greta Raymond
Connie Carlson
Board Chair

Details to follow.

Coming soon
Graeme Bate, P.Eng., ICD.D
Board Treasurer

Graeme has broad experience in the petroleum industry, both domestic and international, and from both the government policy development and industry operations perspectives.

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Greta Raymond, MPH, ICD.D
Board Secretary

Greta is a seasoned executive and advisor with expertise in board and management governance in the areas of environment, health, safety, corporate responsibility, and human resources.

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Photograph of WaterPortal Board member Terry Mah
Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Brian Mergelas
Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Ross Douglas
Terry Mah, PhD
Board Member

Terry has been involved in the environmental sector for more than 20 years, focused on delivering technology, innovation, services and practices to support sustainability, resilience, and circular economics around water, energy and resources.

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Brian Mergelas, PhD, ICD.D
Board Member

Brian is a seasoned Cleantech entrepreneur with a proven history of successfully bringing complex water technologies to the market. With over 25 years of experience, he has led various organizations to achieve significant milestones in the industry.

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Ross Douglas
Board Member

Ross has extensive executive experience in Operations, Governance, Information Technology and Strategy at the board and senior management level including Mancal Corporation, Mancal Energy, Highridge Exploration and Atlantis Resources. 

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Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Robert Kulhawy
Robert Kulhawy
Board Member

Robert has been supporting the WaterPortal since 2021. Robert currently serves as CEO of a telecom services firm and chair and board member to several organizations. He has served on national roundtables, committees, and advisory boards. Robert is a featured speaker on numerous global business topics.

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Staff

Photograph of WaterPortal Executive Director Andrew Wilson
Photograph of WaterPortal Staff Alixx Hattinga
Andrew Wilson
Executive Director

Andrew’s background in Disaster and Emergency Management and his past decade working on flood mitigation and transboundary waters at the provincial government level has left him with a deep interest in, and concern about, water management and encouraging wise decision making.

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Shannon Smithwick
Program Manager

Shannon’s degree in Global Development and Environmental Studies has driven her to pursue opportunities focused on social and environmental justice. Primarily interested in water scarcity and surrounding inequalities, Shannon applies her passion for education through her work as the Program Manager.

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Alixx Hettinga
Communications Coordinator

Bio coming soon.

Coming Soon

We provide Canadian educational resources on water practices to promote conservation and sustainability. Our team crafts current and relevant content, while encouraging feedback and engagement.

The Canada WaterPortal is a registered charity, #807121876RR0001

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We recognize and respect the sovereignty of the Indigenous Peoples and communities on whose land our work takes place.

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Graeme Bate, P.Eng., ICD.D

Board Treasurer

Graeme Bate was formerly a partner in the Calgary energy industry consulting practices of Accenture, of IBM and, prior to that, of PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has broad experience in the petroleum industry, both domestic and international, and from both the government policy development and industry operations perspectives. He is currently acting as VP, Corporate Development of a junior international petroleum exploration company operating in the Middle East. He serves on the Boards of private Canadian technology and energy companies and has served in the past on the Boards of TSX- and ASE-listed entities. 

While at IBM, he oversaw IBM’s initial contribution to the development of the Canada Water Portal and has been a Society Board member since its creation. He is a graduate of Queen’s University in Engineering Physics (B.Sc. and M.Sc.) and of the London School of Economics in International Relations. 

Photograph of Board Member Greta Raymond

Greta Raymond

Board Secretary

Greta is an experienced environment, health and safety and human resources professional with many years in the oil and gas industry, most recently as Vice President Environment, Safety and Social Responsibility with Petro-Canada. She has held global responsibility for environment, health, employee assistance programs, safety, aboriginal affairs, security, stakeholder relations, emergency response and crisis management as well as corporate responsibility. She has seven years of experience in Human Resources including five years as Vice President responsible for HR service delivery globally. In addition to the Canada WaterPortal Society, Greta is currently on the board of The Calgary Opera Association, Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure, and Tidewater Renewables.. 

Greta is a seasoned executive and advisor with special expertise in board and management governance in the areas of environment, health, safety, corporate responsibility, and human resources. 

Terry Mah

Board Member

Terry has been involved in the environmental sector for more than 20 years, focused on delivering technology, innovation, services and practices to support sustainability, resilience, and circular economics around water, energy and resources. He has held a number of interesting and executive positions in biotech, technology, and environmental services organizations. More recently, Terry’s positions include Chief Operating Officer of Veolia’s water technology division and acting as the CEO and President of Veolia’s North American water, energy and waste business.  

His leadership experience provides effective management of groups through complex change projects, when evolution in thinking and behavior is essential. Born in Calgary, Terry holds a University of British Columbia B.SC and M.Sc. in Microbiology and a Ph.D. in Engineering. 

Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Brian Mergelas

Brian Mergelas, PhD, ICD.D

Board Member

Brian is a seasoned Cleantech entrepreneur with a proven history of successfully bringing complex water technologies to the market.   With over 25 years of experience, he has led various organizations to achieve significant milestones in the industry. 

Having started as the founding CEO of the Pressure Pipe Inspection Company (PPIC) and later taking the helm at the Water Technology Acceleration Project (WaterTAP), Brian’s entrepreneurial spirit has been instrumental in driving innovation and growth within the sector. 

He is an active investor in the cleantech sector and has served on many boards including the Ontario Clean Water Agency. 

Actively engaged in industry associations like AWWA, WEF, IWA, and ASCE, Brian enjoys collaborating with fellow professionals to promote advancements in the field. 

Brian holds an undergraduate degree and a PhD in Physics from Queen’s University, which has provided him with a solid technical foundation.   As a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, he brings valuable insights to corporate governance. 

Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Ross Douglas

Ross Douglas

Board Member

Ross has extensive executive experience in Operations, Governance, Information Technology and Strategy at the board and senior management level including Mancal Corporation, Mancal Energy, Highridge Exploration and Atlantis Resources. He has worked in Oil and Gas, Coal, Commercial Real Estate, Portfolio Management, Recreation, Retail and Water and Wastewater Treatment. His experience is also geographically diverse having overseen operations in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Additionally, he has been on the board of companies with operations in Argentina, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Kazakhstan, and Russia. He has served on numerous Public, Private and Not for Profit Boards across a number of industries.

Ross has been active on several industry Boards and committees including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and The Schulich School of Engineering Industry Advisory Council at the Schulich School of Engineering.

Photograph of WaterPortal Board Member Robert Kulhawy

Robert Kulhawy

Board Member

Robert is a successful Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist, environmentalist, catalyst for social change, and has been the recipient of numerous personal and corporate awards.

He is the founder, Former CEO and former Executive Chair of Newterra, the largest manufacturer of groundwater remediation equipment in North America and a global leader in wastewater treatment.

Robert is also the founder, President and CEO of Commerx Corporation. Commerx is a leader in the I.T. and Digital Solutions, Telecom services, Online Reputation management and Network Transformation within the telecommunications industry with staff located across the globe. He was also the founder, CEO and President of the largest wood flooring distribution company in Canada. This company was sold in 2001.

In 1991 Robert founded the Calgary Chapter of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization and went on to become the Structural Architect and President of YEO International (now EO). Robert is a long-term member of Young President’s Organization (YPO) where he was the Chair of the Alberta chapter, member of the International board of Directors and the Chair of numerous committee, events and conferences.

Robert was the founder and Executive Chair of CleanTech Utilities.  He was the Chair of the Transformation Committee, member of the HR and Comp committee and a long time Board member of Burnco Rock Products Ltd. 

Robert was appointed a member of Canada’s National Round table on the Environment and the Economy.  He was member of the Global Advisory board of the Thomas and Charles Edison Foundations. 

Robert is the co-author of the Canadian Creed. 

He is proud to be a member of the board of Directors of the Canada Water Portal.

Photograph of WaterPortal Executive Director Andrew Wilson

Andrew Wilson

Executive Director

Andrew’s background is in corporate and community Disaster and Emergency Management and he has spent his past decade working on flood mitigation and transboundary waters and worrying about how to encourage greater resilience and adaptation to water-related issues.

Andrew was formerly the Director, Watershed Resilience and Transboundary Waters at the Government of Alberta where he promoted community resilience against flooding and worked with other jurisdictions on the sharing of waters which cross Alberta’s borders and became fascinated by the social and community complexities of water.

With his background in corporate disaster and emergency management and information technology, he’s now happily drawing on his early-career IT roots and his more recent deep experience in government flood mitigation and community flood resilience projects and policy.

He’s currently living and exploring in his third Canadian province (Ontario) with his wife and a dog whose life goal is to meet a rabbit.

Shannon Smithwick

Program Manager

Shannon joined the team in 2023, as the Program Manager. Her degree in Global Development and Environmental Studies has driven her to pursue opportunities focused on social and environmental justice. Primarily interested in water scarcity and surrounding inequalities, Shannon applies her passion for education through her work as the Program Manager.

Before the Canada WaterPortal,  Shannon was the director of a medium-sized non-profit focused on international development efforts. Leading education and fundraising campaigns, she discovered a passion for community development projects. Dedication to community projects earned Shannon the Lieutenant Governor’s Community Volunteer Award for Students. Simultaneously, she had been practicing her website management skills creating websites for small businesses and a charity. Using the combination of her passion, and skills, that Shannon contributes to our team, promoting accessible water education.