Board of Directors

Gary has over 30 years of experience in the energy industry, holding executive positions at Journey Energy, Outrider Energy, Deer Creek Energy, and Rio Alto Exploration and has served as a director of public and private corporations. His past volunteer activities include serving on the board of the Friends of the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Society, Coordinator; Team Services for the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship; and as a coach and volunteer for minor hockey. Mr. Purcell has an MBA from Stanford University, a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta, and is a father of a Calgary Academy Alumnus.

Dave is an exploration geologist who began his career working for Canadian Hunter Exploration. He co-founded Temple Exploration and Temple Energy and subsequently served as VP and Chief Geologist for Cequence Energy following a merger.  He currently serves as Vice President Alpha Helium, a junior helium exploration company.

Dave is a member of the Canadian Energy Geoscience Association, The American Association of Petroleum Geologists and The Association of Professional Engineers Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta. He has volunteered with Junior Achievement, amongst other community initiatives and nonprofits supporting young learners. He also serves as Past Chairman of the Connect Charter School Society Board where he has volunteered for 15 years.

Jim is an exploration geologist who co-founded Canadian Hunter Exploration in 1973. As a Founder and former Chairman of Calgary Academy, Mr. Gray is also Honourary Chair of the Canada West Foundation and Honorary Life Director of the Calgary YMCA. He was awarded an Honourary Doctor of Laws degree in 1991 by the University of Calgary. In 2001, he received the Energy Person of the Year Award from the Energy Council of Canada.

Among his many awards, he has been inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence, the Order of Canada, the Calgary Business Hall of Fame, and the Canadian Business Hall of Fame for his outstanding commitments to community and business in Alberta.

Marion Burnyeat has over 20 years of experience in the Canadian Energy industry. She is currently a member of the board of Surge Energy Inc. Her most recent position was with Spectra Energy as Vice President Field Services and Strategic Development.

Marion is a graduate of the Faculty of Business at the University of Alberta and she holds an MBA from Edinburgh University in Scotland. Marion has volunteered in the community with the Earl Grey Golf Club board of directors and has been involved with the Panorama Mountain Freeride Club, Loran Scholars, mentorship program with the MBA program at the University of Alberta and Brown Bagging for Kids.

Dr. Friesen is a longtime professor at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary as well as President of the Galileo Educational Network. Prior to joining the University of Calgary, Sharon was an educator in the K-12 system teaching at all levels. She is passionate about reinventing teaching and learning for our modern times.

Mr. Graham is Executive Vice President with Kingsdale Advisors.  Previously he held senior positions with the Alberta Securities Commission and Toronto Stock Exchange and is an experienced community board member.

Lawrence is a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Business Valuator. He has previously served as Director, CFO, and corporate secretary for Lateral Capital and Elevation Capital.

Mr. Lee started his career as a Senior Manager at Ernst and Young LLP, before serving as CFO at Novatel Wireless. In 2009, he moved on to Poynt Corporation, where he was the CFO for three years. He currently provides financial consulting services to both public and private companies.

Mr. Plewes is President of Peters & Co. Limited, an independent investment dealer specializing in the Canadian energy sector, and which was founded in Calgary in 1971. He has a passion for innovation and excellence, including and particularly in education. He holds CPA, CBV and CFA designations, and received a B.Comm from the University of Calgary.

Michelle first and foremost is a proud mother to her son Joey. On top of this important role, she is also a devoted wife, daughter, and volunteer. In her spare time, she has enjoyed a 35-year career with Suncor Energy. After graduating with a chemical engineering degree in the late 80s and beginning her career in Suncor’s Sarnia refinery, she soon appreciated that a technical profession may not be her end goal, so she returned to school part time and obtained a commerce degree.

This decision enabled Michelle to continuously build her very diverse and broad resume within the company. She has held leadership roles in the upstream, downstream, finance, supply chain, IT, HR, marketing, projects, strategy, and planning. If not at work or home, you will find her on a football field, a hockey rink, or the Humane Society.

Doug Schweitzer is a Senior Advisor at Deloitte and a former Cabinet Minister in the Government of Alberta. He provides strategic leadership on projects related to Deloitte’s Technology, Media, and Telecommunications industry group, which is one of the world’s largest pools of deep industry experts, supporting companies of all shapes and sizes as they scale, modernize, and thrive in a digital world.

During his time in office, he led the development of Alberta’s successful economic Recovery Plan to build on Alberta’s strengths and diversify its economy. In addition to coordinating industry strategies across government, Schweitzer was directly responsible for developing provincial strategies for: technology and innovation, aerospace and logistics, manufacturing, film and television, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, and tourism. He represented the constituency of Calgary-Elbow and served as the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, as well as Minister of Jobs, Economy, and Innovation.

Prior to becoming an elected official, Schweitzer was a partner at a leading law firm. He lives in Calgary and is active in his community having been involved with numerous charities.