About PDAC

Alex Christopher
President

BSc (Hons), PGeo (BC)

Mr. Christopher, a professional geologist, has almost 40 years of experience in mineral exploration and the mining industry.  He is a member of the Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia and possesses an Honours B.Sc. in Geology from McMaster University and an Environmental Biology Technology diploma from Canadore College.  He was appointed Senior Vice President, Projects & Technical Services for Teck Resources Limited, a major Canadian diversified mining company, in July 2016. He has been with Teck since the mid 1980’s holding a number of management, commercial and technical positions in the company in both Teck’s Exploration and Corporate Development Groups prior to his current position.  He spent much of his time over a 20 years period focusing on the junior mining sector, partnerships and property transaction and for the past 5 years has focused the majority of his time overseeing project studies and construction activities.  Prior to moving into a more business oriented role at Teck, he spent over a decade in the field on early to advanced stage exploration projects.

Raymond Goldie
First Vice President

Raymond was born and raised in New Zealand. His PhD from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, comprised a thesis on the geology of the Noranda area, Quebec.

After a few years as a field geologist in Canada, he worked for investment dealers in Toronto as financial analyst and mineral economist. Since December 2015, he has been a consultant in mining finance. In this regard, from 2015 to 2018, he acted as Expert Witness in the Voisey’s Bay lawsuit. He has also been and continues to be a Director of junior mineral exploration companies.

His mineral economics research resulted, in 2000, in trademarking the term "pinch-point"^TM . In 2005, Flanker Press of St. John's, NL, published his book Inco comes to Labrador.

He currently serves as First Vice President of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

Karen Rees
Second Vice President

B.Sc., P.Geo.

Karen Rees has a B.Sc. Honours Geology degree from the University of Saskatchewan (1984), is a member of Professional Geoscientists Ontario (2002), and has enjoyed a geoscience career spanning more than 30 years in the mineral exploration industry in Canada.  She has held roles as Project Geologist, Exploration Manager, Vice-President of Exploration, and Corporate Secretary.  Currently, Karen is a consultant to the industry and serves on the boards of three junior exploration companies with mineral properties in Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba.  As an enthusiastic volunteer in the industry, Karen is on the Board of Directors of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), is a member of PDAC committees including Executive, Governance and Nominating, Human Resource Development, and is involved with the PDAC Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop.

Lisa McDonald
Executive Director

Lisa McDonald is the Executive Director of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). Lisa has played a vital role in PDAC’s success for more than 20 years. Prior to being the Executive Director, Lisa served as the association’s Chief Operations Officer (COO) for 10 years where she delivered the strategic goals of the association and oversaw all aspects of operational performance. Lisa is considered one of the key drivers behind the expansion of the annual PDAC Convention in Toronto. As the Convention Director from 2001 to 2008, Lisa was an integral part of growing the event into what is now considered the world’s premier mineral exploration and mining convention, drawing upwards of 30,000 attendees from 135 countries. Lisa is a Past President of the Canadian Association of Exposition Management (the national association for professionals involved in the production, management, and planning of trade and consumer shows, and events), and is a member of the Canadian Society of Association Executives.

Maria Milanova
Secretary

James Lusby
Treasurer

James is an Assurance Partner in the Mining practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Toronto. He started in the mining team in March 2006 and has worked primarily with mining companies since then, joining the partnership in 2011.

His client work includes audits of a number of Canadian and US public mining companies, which include both large multinational mining companies, where he works with PwC’s global network of mining teams, as well as small junior mining sector companies. James has worked with subsidiary audit teams throughout the world and has visited many of his clients’ global operations.

James joined PwC in 1997 in Birmingham, England, and moved to Toronto in 2000. He holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Economics) from The University of Birmingham, England and is a Chartered Professional Accountant in both England (ICAEW, 2000) and Ontario (CPA CA, 2004).

James became Treasurer of PDAC in January 2018 and has been a member of the Convention Planning Committee since 2016.

Rosario Astuvilca-Rojas
Inclusive Mining

Rosario Astuvilca-Rojas is an experienced talent management consultant with over 15 years of experience in the mining and metals sector. She is a third-generation mining professional who started her career in 1996 at Centromin (Empresa Minera del Centro del Perú) in Perú and years later moved to Canada and joined Falconbridge Ltd (Glencore). Since 2007, she has worked for leading global executive search firms and in her most recent executive role, as Partner, Head – Global Mining & Metals practice. Rosario has partnered with numerous Canadian and international major, mid-tier and junior companies, helping them attract and recruit executives and board directors globally. Rosario is a lawyer from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, with a masters in Human Resources Management from York University and executive education from the Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto), the Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University), and a postgraduate certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from Cornell University. She is also a member of several governance associations, including the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and has completed a corporate governance program at The Wharton School of Management (University of Pennsylvania). Rosario is a proud immigrant with Indigenous roots, and she brings more than 10 years advocating and actively supporting initiatives to advance the inclusion of marginalized groups in all sectors of the economy. 

Charles Beaudry
QC Copper and Gold Inc.

Charles Beaudry is a seasoned mining executive with over 40 years of experience in project generation, business development, and international project management.  He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from University of Ottawa (1979) and a Masters degree from McGill University (1983).  Charles is a Professional Geoscientist and permitted to work in Ontario (PGeo) and Quebec (géo).  He has been involved in a number of deposit discoveries during his carreer and worked with Noranda/Falconbridge (now Glencore) from 1989 to 2006 and worked overseas in Brazil (country manager 1996-2001) and Papua New Guinea (2004-05).  In 2008-2009 he was General Manager for Iamgold Inc. and from 2010 to 2013 he was founding President of Xmet Inc., outlining a 850,000 ounce gold deposit in the Abitibi greenstone belt.  Charles is currently VP Exploration for QC Copper and Gold Inc. and just published a 100MT copper-gold open pit deposit in Chapais, Quebec.

Bob Bosshard
Retired Partner, PwC LLP

I currently serve as Chair of the Canadian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board – Canada’s national independent organization body that serves the Canadian public interest by establishing standards for assurance and related services engagements.

A strategic leader and director with strong expertise in Financial Literacy, Risk Management, Capital Markets, and Environmental, Social, and Governance Reporting, I have worked extensively in the exploration and mining industry.

I have served as a director on a range of diverse boards, including PDAC – Audit Committee Chair, Joseph Brant Hospital, and Halton District School Board.

A retired Partner from PwC LLP, I bring significant experience working with Canadian and U.S. public companies, and a deep understanding of global business practices, IFRS® Standards, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requirements.

Well-versed in the latest geopolitical issues, I am a member of CPA/PDAC Mining Industry Task Force on IFRS. I hold accounting designations in Canada and the U.K.

Robert Boyd
Endurance Gold Corporation

Robert Boyd is a mining executive with 45 years experience in exploration, executive-level management, corporate finance and corporate governance. Mr. Boyd is a long-serving Director of the PDAC and currently serves on the Governance, Awards, and Convention Committees.  Robert is currently President CEO and Director of Endurance Gold Corporation and also currently serves on the Board of Condor Resources.  He was formerly Lead Independent Director for Peregrine Diamonds Ltd until acquired by De Beers 2018. He formerly served as President, CEO and Director of Athabasca Potash (acquired by BHP in 2010) and was the President, CEO and Director of Ashton Mining of Canada Inc, (acquired by Stornoway Diamonds in 2007). He has served as non-executive director on several other exploration company boards since 1988.  For seven years Robert was a founding principal and major shareholder of a financial and strategic advisory firm, and formerly VP Exploration for Homestake Canada Limited for 10 years. Robert is a professional geologist and gemmologist. He is a member of the APEG BC, the Society of Economic Geology and a fellow of the Gemmological Associations of Great Britain and Canada.

 

Alex Christopher
Teck Resources

BSc (Hons), PGeo (BC)

Mr. Christopher, a professional geologist, has almost 40 years of experience in mineral exploration and the mining industry.  He is a member of the Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia and possesses an Honours B.Sc. in Geology from McMaster University and an Environmental Biology Technology diploma from Canadore College.  He was appointed Senior Vice President, Projects & Technical Services for Teck Resources Limited, a major Canadian diversified mining company, in July 2016. He has been with Teck since the mid 1980’s holding a number of management, commercial and technical positions in the company in both Teck’s Exploration and Corporate Development Groups prior to his current position.  He spent much of his time over a 20 years period focusing on the junior mining sector, partnerships and property transaction and for the past 5 years has focused the majority of his time overseeing project studies and construction activities.  Prior to moving into a more business oriented role at Teck, he spent over a decade in the field on early to advanced stage exploration projects.

MaryAnn Crichton
Senior Advisor, Hatch Ltd.

B.Sc.(Chemical engineering), MBA, P.Eng.

MaryAnn has over thirty years of international experience in the mining, exploration, infrastructure and energy industries.  Her experience in ESG, capital markets, finance, and project development provides a broad base of skills to support the PDAC and its members.  MaryAnn has an excellent technical and business background to address complex exploration, development and mining industry challenges and opportunities, specifically:

• Comprehensive understanding of all aspects of project development including: strategy, financability assessments, valuations, ESG, reviews of capital projects and major investments for companies, financial institutions, private equity, pension funds and investors.
• Broad based ESG expertise, developed from strong technical base and range of industry viewpoints, currently including as Director and Chair of ESG Committee for an exploration and development junior company.
• Successfully worked with a broad range of mining, metals and exploration executives to support operations improvement, climate change resiliency, M&A and investment and business decisions.

 

Conrad Dix
Agnico Eagle Mines

Conrad Dix is a graduate of the University of Windsor (B.Sc. Geology, 1997) and is a practicing member of Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (PGO) and Northwest Territories Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists (NAPEG).

Conrad works for Agnico Eagle Mines Limited as Exploration Geology Superintendent at their Hope Bay Project, in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut.  Conrad’s focus has been to safely manage the Hope Bay exploration team to explore for new mineral resources and assist in the expansion of current resources.

Conrad began his career conducting and managing geophysical surveys on various projects globally.  He then focused his career back to geology where he managed projects for major mining and junior exploration companies on various advanced, transitional and early-stage projects.

Conrad's career has been complemented by active participation in the PDAC's Health and Safety and Human Resources Development Committees and a member of the Board of Directors.

Lana Eagle
Lana Eagle Consulting

Lana Eagle is an Indigenous relations strategist advising companies on how to better engage and work with Indigenous communities and to find a pathway forward through a Reconciliation framework. In 2017 she was elected to the Board of the Association for Mineral Exploration (AME) BC, where she is the founder and co-chair of AME’s Gathering Place. She is a Program Advisory Committee Member for Mining and Mineral Exploration at the BC Insititue of Technology. She is a Director on the Board of Geoscience BC and recently has been elected to the board of PDAC. .Most recently Lana was appointed to the Board of Kodiak Copper. Lana is a sought-out speaker and lecturer on the topic of “Indigenous Engagement and Reconcilation in Canada”, as well as “Diversity and Inclusion.” Lana is a member of the Whitecap Dakota First Nation in Saskatchewan.

Raymond Goldie
Independent Analyst and Director

Raymond was born and raised in New Zealand. His PhD from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, comprised a thesis on the geology of the Noranda area, Quebec.

After a few years as a field geologist in Canada, he worked for investment dealers in Toronto as financial analyst and mineral economist. Since December 2015, he has been a consultant in mining finance. In this regard, from 2015 to 2018, he acted as Expert Witness in the Voisey’s Bay lawsuit. He has also been and continues to be a Director of junior mineral exploration companies.

His mineral economics research resulted, in 2000, in trademarking the term "pinch-point"^TM . In 2005, Flanker Press of St. John's, NL, published his book Inco comes to Labrador.

He currently serves as First Vice President of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

Doris Hiam-Galvez
Hatch

PhD in Metallurgy with broad senior level experience in the mining and metals industry. She is currently Senior Advisor to Hatch. She ran Hatch Peru until 2012 and Hatch Europe until 2017, and over 15 years created new and innovative opportunities that expanded the business in new regions (Australia, South America, Europe & North America). Before joining Hatch, she was the CTO for Novelis, where she was a key member of a corporate leadership team participating in all aspects of the business including financial performance, operations, capital investment, mergers/ acquisitions, organizational development and social responsibility. She was a Board Director of the Canada UK Chamber of Commerce in London and she is Chair for the 2022 CIM Annual Convention. In her current role, she is working closely with investors to make projects more financeable using a multidisciplinary engineering approach to de-risk the projects and to reduce the time to positive cash flow. She developed a concept called “Designing Sustainable Prosperity (DSP)”; a topic that is attracting interest from mining companies and investors. This approach represents a new way of doing business which leaves behind a positive sustainable economy with an improved environment and quality of life in mining regions.

Mary Louise Hill
Lakehead University

Mary Louise Hill, Ph.D., P.Geo., is a Professor of Geology at Lakehead University. Her research program on structural control of orogenic gold deposits includes collaborative work with prospectors, junior exploration companies and producing mines in Canada. Through teaching, mentoring and research supervision she has helped many students launch their careers as geologists in the mineral exploration and mining sector. As former Vice-President of Lakehead University, Mary Louise is experienced in executive management, government relations, and not-for-profit governance. She has served on many not-for-profit boards and councils over the past 20 years, and she is a founding director of the Northwestern Ontario chapter of Women in Mining - Canada. At PDAC Mary Louise serves on the Executive and Human Resource Development committees, chairs the Membership Committee, and co-chairs the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group.

Jessie Liu-Ernsting
Keystone Resource Solutions Corp.

Jessie is a finance executive and professional engineer with over 15 years’ experience in the natural resources and related industries spanning capital projects engineering, capital markets, private equity, corporate strategy, and finance. Jessie began her career conducting engineering design on mine, mill and backfill projects. In her career with CIBC’s mining corporate credit group and Resource Capital Funds, Jessie developed tailored financing solutions for resource companies, totaling over $4 B, spanning 23 commodities and 6 continents. Subsequently, Jessie guided a public company to achieve settlement on a disputed proxy. As a junior exploration company’s inaugural VP Corporate Development and Investor Relations, Jessie formulated and implemented the company’s IR strategy to achieve 14x share price accretion and raise $33M over the company’s first 12 months, during the COVID-19 crisis. Jessie received the 2021 CIM Bedford Canadian Mining Young Leaders award and is a Corporate Director of mining companies.

Gordon Maxwell
Geologist

Graduated with an Honours BSc degree in Geology from the University of Manitoba.  Basically, worked for one company, Noranda, Falconbridge, Xstrata and Glencore. Started with Noranda Exploration, Winnipeg in 1979.  Thunder Bay ON, Prince George BC, back to Winnipeg, back to Thunder Bay, Toronto, Navan, Ireland, Laval QC, Timmins and back to Toronto.  I started my career as a geologist and finished as Exploration and Business Development Manager.  I was awarded two major industry awards; David Barr (AMEBC) for Health and Safety and the Skookum Jim (PDAC) for Industry Service as an Aboriginal.   My service has taken me all over the world (35-50 countries) to work on all kinds of deposits and their financial significance. My career has spanned new technology to health and safety, I currently sit on the board of the PDAC and the board of CESME.  Member of the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario.

Ellie Owens
E2Gold

With over seven years of technical and corporate experience, I have held roles at Golder Associates, Agnico Eagle’s Meadowbank Mine, Diavik Diamond Mine, Atomic Energy of Canada and at Groia & Co (securities litigation). Ms. Owens holds a J.D. and M.Sc. (Geology) from Western University and a B.Sc. (Geology) from the University of Waterloo.  She currently sits on the PDAC Technical Planning Committee.

Scott R.G. Parsons
Alamos Gold Inc.

Scott Parsons has more than 15 years of experience in progressively senior exploration roles. Mr. Parsons joined Alamos in 2018 and was appointed Vice President, Exploration in 2020. Prior to joining Alamos, he was Manager of Regional Exploration and Geoscience at TMAC Resources where he was responsible for resource expansion and regional exploration of the Hope Bay Project in Nunavut. Previously, Mr. Parsons served as Vice President, Corporate Development at Northern Superior Resources Inc., and as Exploration Geologist and later Project Geologist, Resource Development & Long-Range Planning at BHP Billiton. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology and a Master of Science in Geology from the University of Western Ontario, and a Master of Business Administration from Athabasca University. Mr. Parsons is a registered Professional Geoscientist in Ontario and Manitoba, and as a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Valerie Pascale

Valerie has been working in CSR, Community Engagement, and Diversity and Inclusion in the Exploration, Mining and Mineral Development sectors for 14+ years. She has a passion for holistic global development, making the world a more beneficial place for all, and leveraging partnerships and areas of mutual benefit for the greater good. Valerie has developed strategies, policies and guidelines for mining and mineral exploration companies to help them carry out activities and operations responsibly and sustainably in the areas where they operate. She also focuses on building trusting partnerships with local community and stakeholder groups to maximize the local benefits of mining and to achieve effective, sustainable community development. Valerie was the Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at Goldcorp (Newmont) for over 10 years. She has worked closely with the PDAC for 12 years, both on the CSR Committee and as the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion working group. Before working with the private sector, she worked with NGOs, governments, First Nations communities, and other interest groups. Valerie's expertise includes human rights, stakeholder/community engagement, community investment & development programs, supply chain, grievance mechanisms, diversity and influx management. She studied International Development, specializing in Latin America. She speaks Spanish.

Karen Rees
Consultant

B.Sc., P.Geo.

Karen Rees has a B.Sc. Honours Geology degree from the University of Saskatchewan (1984), is a member of Professional Geoscientists Ontario (2002), and has enjoyed a geoscience career spanning more than 30 years in the mineral exploration industry in Canada.  She has held roles as Project Geologist, Exploration Manager, Vice-President of Exploration, and Corporate Secretary.  Currently, Karen is a consultant to the industry and serves on the boards of three junior exploration companies with mineral properties in Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba.  As an enthusiastic volunteer in the industry, Karen is on the Board of Directors of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), is a member of PDAC committees including Executive, Governance and Nominating, Human Resource Development, and is involved with the PDAC Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop.

Keith Spence
Global Mining Capital

Mr. Spence is CEO of Global Mining Capital, which is involved in Private Equity and M&A. He held positions in investment banking and capital markets, at RBC and BMO. He was CEO of Alliance Pacific Resources, exploring in western China. As field geologist, he has experience in Canada and internationally. He is Co-Chair of the Canadian Mining Valuation Standards and Guidelines.

Keith has been on the Boards of Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Place Corporation and CIM. He is a member of Dean’s Advisory Council, Western University and was Chair of Toronto Board of Trade, Gardiner Awards. He is Chair of PDAC’s International Affairs Committee.

He received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal, for contributions to Canada. A Commonwealth Scholar; he is a graduate of the Global Management program from Harvard University, has an Honors B.Sc. Geology and MBA from Western University. He is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), where he was a Valedictorian.

Rob Stevens
Pakawau Geomanagement Inc.

Dr. Rob Stevens is a professional geologist and a technical director, facilitator and policy advisor. He is the author of the best-selling book ‘Mineral Exploration and Mining Essentials’ and an engaging and skilled trainer who works with governments, industry and communities. Rob has been a professor and Associate Dean at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, a director of international programs at the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute at UBC and the Vice-President of technical and regulatory policy at the Association for Mineral Exploration.

Rob supports the work of the PDAC through his Canadian and international experience in mining policy including geoscience, land use, taxation, permitting and environmental management. He is an advocate for education and communication and works to improve the understanding and appreciation of mineral exploration and mining by Indigenous people, government, and the public. Rob has two decades of Board-level experience with industry associations, geoscience agencies, Indigenous training organizations and post-secondary education.

Rob is passionate about the mineral exploration and mining industry and enjoys the mix of science, engineering, business, community, discovery and entrepreneurialism that are integral to the industry. 

Jeff Swinoga
Exploits Discovery Corp.

Jeff is a senior mining executive with 25 years experience in the mining sector. He is a recognized thought leader with an extensive network and brings a strategic perspective focused on business objectives, ESG, diversity, M&A, and raising capital.  Currently he is the CEO of Exploits Discovery and prior to this was the Canadian Mining & Metals co Leader & Partner at EY. He has served on Boards of many publicly traded companies (Chair of Imperial Mining, Audit Chair of Excellon Resources, Radisson Resources, First Cobalt and Tonbridge Power). He was CFO of numerous public companies (Torex Gold, HudBay Minerals, Golden Star Resources and North American Palladium) and CEO of First Mining Gold as well as an Officer, Director, Finance of Barrick Gold for seven years. He has led numerous project financings totalling over $2 billion and raised over $400 million in equity.

CPA, MBA & Honours Economics degrees.

 

Ciara Talbot
Lundin Mining Corporation

Ms. Talbot is the Vice President, Exploration at Lundin Mining Corporation where she draws on her 25+ years of International mineral exploration experience to set global exploration strategies and develop new discovery opportunities at existing operations.  Previously the company’s Director, Exploration & New Business Development, Ciara joined Lundin in 2005 as a Senior Exploration Geologist working in Ireland and gained experience as a director on the board of six former Lundin companies before moving to Canada in 2012.  Ciara is a founding member of Lundin’s Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Committee, as well as an advisory group member of the company’s Sustainability Committee.

Outside of work, Ciara volunteers with the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) by being a member of its Geoscience and Innovation Committee, and also contributes to the Industry Advisory Committee for the Irish Center for Research in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG).  She also serves as a Director and Audit Committee member of Hannah Metals, a Canadian base metal exploration company.

Before joining Lundin Mining, Ciara held several technical roles with Boliden Limited, BHP Limited and Teck Resources Limited.  Ciara holds a BSc. (Honours) in Applied Geology from Staffordshire University in England.

Kerem Usenmez
Atom Bits

Kerem is a Geological Engineer and is a Mining entrepreneur with more than 20 years of industry experience, from all stages of exploration and mine development. He worked in various technical and management roles in Turkey, Canada, South America, Middle East and Europe. Kerem worked in various types of deposits, discoveries to mine building, green and brownfield  exploration projects, worked on projects fro, scoping studies to mine closure, PEA and Feasibility Report writing, Rock Mechanics, ground control, ground stability analyses, and trained geologists, mine engineers and miners on ground control, geomechanical logging.  He is the current CEO and President of Metallum Resources (TSXV:MZN), and co-owns and manages Atom Bits. He is a licensed engineer in the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, Canada. Kerem currently sits on the board of the PDAC and is the Co-Chair of the Public Affairs Committee and Chair of the Securities Committee of the PDAC.

Mary-Carmen Vera
Cree Mineral Exploration Board

Born and raised in Peru, I live in Canada since 2001. I’m a geologist by trade. In my early years, I worked in field exploration in Peru, Chile and Australia. Upon my arrival in Canada in 2001 which actually was the first year I attended PDAC, in 2002, I joined Wemindji Exploration Inc. as the company’s CEO. In 2010, I started my consultant practice in Community Relations and Social Responsibility for First Nation Communities and the Mineral sector. Since 2011 to present, I served at the Facilitator for the Cree Mineral Exploration Board, conducting Community awareness sessions and Mining 101 workshops delivered to all Cree Nation and to the industry on how to optimize their relations with the communities.  The 20 years I have worked and lived in an Aboriginal community has taught me about their way of life and how important it is to inform them in an adequate format about the mineral exploration activities. I’m currently a board member of the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association and executive board member of CIM – Val d’Or.

Raziel Zisman
Whittle Consulting

Raziel Zisman is a Partner at Whittle Consulting and leads its Sustainable Governance Initiative. Following a B.A. (Hons) in Economics & Development Studies from Sussex University, he earned his master’s degrees in Economics and Environmental Studies from York University in Canada, as well as a J.D. (Juris Doctor) and an LL.M. (Securities Law) from Osgoode Hall Law School. After clerking at the Supreme Court of Canada, he practised corporate & securities law with a leading American law firm and major Canadian law firms, primarily on cross border financings and M & A in the mining and resources sectors. He is a director of the Canadian Council for the Americas (CCA) and the PDAC, where he also serves in the International Affairs Committee. He is a member of the Ontario and New York bars. He is a retired infantry Captain and a recipient of the Canadian Forces Decoration (CD).