Jay Nagendran, President & CEO, M.Sc., P.Eng.

The Board of Directors appointed Jay Nagendran to the position of President and CEO for the Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency (AEMERA) on October 1, 2014.

Prior to joining AEMERA, Jay served as a Board Member with the Natural Resources Conservation Board for three years, and on the Surface Rights and the Land Compensation Boards for one year.

A well-known and respected leader in the environmental community, Jay served as Assistant Deputy Minister for six years at Alberta Environment, and Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation. During his long career in the province, he also worked as Manager of Environment and Engineering at the Alberta Special Waste Management Corporation, served as a Canadian advisor on environmental standards to the Indonesian government as part of a Canadian International Development Agency project, and was a member of several World Bank teams on environmental issues.

Jay was a member of the University of Alberta Senate for six years, and served on the Board of Governors for three years. He is currently a Board Trustee and Chair of the Admissions Committee for the Institute of Professional Environmental Practice.

Jay has a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from the University of California, and a master’s in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Alberta. He is also a Board Certified Environmental Engineer with the American Academy of Environmental Engineers, and a Qualified Environmental Professional with the Institute of Professional Environmental Practice. He has won many awards, including two international awards for his work in the environmental field.

Dr. Fred Wrona, Vice President & Chief Scientist, Ph.D.

Dr. Wrona joined the AEMERA executive team as Vice President and Chief Scientist in April of 2015.

Prior to joining AEMERA, Dr. Wrona was the Senior Science Strategist and Advisor with Environment Canada. Dr. Wrona was based out of the University of Victoria, where he was a Professor in the Department of Geography and the Water and Climate Impacts Research Centre (W-CIRC).

He currently serves as science advisor to the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, and is Canada’s Head Delegate for the UNESCO-International Hydrology Program (IHP). Dr. Wrona also recently completed his tenure as the Invited Chair of the External Scientific Advisory Committee for the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) at the University of Aveiro in Portugal.

Well acquainted with the province of Alberta, Dr. Wrona served as the Scientific Director of the Northern River Basins Study (1992-96), and as a member of the International Science Advisory Committee of the Alberta Water Research Institute, which is now part of Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions. Over the past year, he has also been the co-chair of the Component Advisory Committee (CAC) for Water with the Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) program.

Dr. Wrona is renewing his academic ties with the University of Calgary, where he earned his Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology (1982), and a B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences (1977), and where he was a member
of the faculty from 1982 to 2004.

William F. (Bill) Donahue, Ph.D., LLB, Vice President & Chief Monitoring Officer

In May of 2015, Bill joined the AEMERA executive team as Vice President and Chief Monitoring Officer. Prior to joining the AEMERA team, Bill consulted as an environmental researcher and strategic advisor for government, industry, community, aboriginal, and university clients.

After completing undergraduate degrees in physics and zoology, including interludes working with industry, and as an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, in 2000 Bill earned his Ph.D. in limnology and biogeochemistry at the University of Alberta. Since then, he has studied contaminant dynamics in Alberta as an NSERC Post-Doctoral Fellow with Alberta Environment, and completed a law degree at the University of Alberta, becoming a member of the Alberta Bar in 2009.

Over the past dozen years, as both a private consultant and as a leader at an Alberta-based environmental NGO, Bill has focused on developing practical environmental science and policy advice and solutions to large-scale environmental problems associated with cumulative industrial effects, climate change, drought, and impairment of freshwater ecosystems.

Bill’s research interests include the interactions between climate change, human disturbance, ecosystem function, and carbon and contaminant dynamics. His work on diminishing surface water supplies and climate change in the western prairies has gained significant international scientific, public and political attention.

Some of Bill’s recent projects include assessing efficacy of aquatic monitoring methods and data interpretation in Alberta, including for Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, and as a member of the Joint Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring Water Component Advisory Committee. Through his work, Bill has also developed approaches to assessing the importance of non-point source pollution in Alberta watersheds, and investigating long-term cumulative effects and aquatic ecosystem change.

Sharilee Fossum, B.Com., MBA, CMA, ICD.D, Vice President of Corporate Services & Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Sharilee joined the AEMERA executive team in April of 2015 as the Vice President of Corporate Services & Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

With over 30 years of experience, Sharilee is a versatile executive whose experience includes leadership of financial and corporate services in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations including AIMCo, Government of Alberta, Farm Credit Canada, and the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority. Most recently Sharilee was CFO and Acting CEO for Edmonton Northlands until 2014. She also has experience in post-secondary education, family retail businesses, and a mixed farm operation.

A passionate life-long learner, Sharilee has a Business Diploma from Red Deer College, Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta, Masters of Business Administration from University of Regina, is a designated Certified Management Accountant, and holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Sharilee is a member of Financial Executives International, WXN Women's Network, and the Institute of Corporate Directors. Currently Sharilee sits as a board member of Edmonton Economic Development Committee, Telus World of Science Edmonton, and the Red Deer College Foundation.

Val Mellesmoen, Vice President of Strategy & External Relations

After working with AEMERA for a year and a half as the lead communications consultant, Val joined the AEMERA executive team in April of 2015.

Val has been working as a strategy and communications consultant for the past 10 years. Her diverse consulting experience includes a one-year contract to establish the Tour of Alberta Pro Cycling Event, where she promoted both the event, and the province of Alberta, around the world.

Val served as a senior communications director in three different ministries for the Government of Alberta; Environment, Innovation and Science, and Economic Development.

Prior to her work with the Alberta government, she was the head of communications and press secretary to the Premier of the Northwest Territories (NWT) in Yellowknife. While working for the NWT government, Val was actively involved in the creation of the territory of Nunavut, and the approvals and introduction of Canada’s first diamond mines.

Before she worked in government, Val led the development of an employee communications program at PanCanadian Petroleum (now EnCana). She also served for over four years as the Director of Communications at Keyano College in Fort McMurray. Val’s initial journalism career included newspaper editor and reporter positions at the Fort McMurray Today, the Grande Prairie Herald-Tribune and the Peace River Record-Gazette.

Val continues to be an active member and supporter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), involved at the regional, national and international levels.

Val holds a degree from the University of Alberta, where she focused on military history, and a certificate in Journalism from Vancouver Community College (now Langara) in Vancouver.