measure. assess. inform.
president and chief executive officer
Jay Nagendran
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 the 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's degree in chemical engineering from the University of California and a masters’ degree 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.
Jay is very proud of his wife, Shyamala, their two sons and their families.
vice president and chief scientist
Dr. Wrona is currently the Senior Science Strategist and Advisor with Environment Canada, based out of the University of Victoria, where he is a Professor in the Department of Geography and the Water and Climate Impacts Research Centre (W-CIRC). He also currently serves as the science advisor to the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, is Canada’s Head Delegate for the UNESCO-International Hydrology Program (IHP), and 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 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.
To support his new role as Chief Scientist at AEMERA, Dr. Wrona will be seeking to renew 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.
Vice-President and Chief Monitoring Officer
Bill is an environmental researcher and strategic advisor for government, industry, community, aboriginal, and university clients.
After completing undergraduate degrees in physics and zoology, with stops working in 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 studied contaminant dynamics in Alberta as an NSERC Post-Doctoral Fellow with Alberta Environment, and completed a law degree at the University of Alberta and became a member of the Alberta Bar in 2009.
Over the past dozen years, as a private consultant or as a leader at an Alberta-based environmental NGO, he 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 his 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 JOSM Water Component Advisory Committee, developing approaches to assessing the importance of non-point source pollution in Alberta watersheds, and investigating long-term cumulative effects and aquatic ecosystem change.
The combination of Bill’s scientific and academic credentials and his industry and NGO experience, make him an excellent addition to the AEMERA team.
Vice-President of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
A versatile executive with over 30 years’ experience, we are extremely fortunate to welcome someone with Sharilee’s caliber to join the team to help us build AEMERA.
Sharilee’s experience includes leadership of financial and corporate services in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations including AIMCo, the Government of Alberta, Farm Credit Canada, and the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority. Most recently Sharilee was CFO and Acting CEO for Edmonton Northlands. She also has experience in post-secondary education, family retail businesses, and a mixed farm operation.
Sharilee has earned a Business Diploma from Red Deer College, Bachelor of Commerce from University of Alberta, Masters of Business Administration from University of Regina, and is a designated Certified Management Accountant. She is a member of Financial Executives International, WXN Women's Network, and the Institute of Corporate Directors. Currently Sharilee is a board member of Edmonton Economic Development Committee, Telus World of Science Edmonton, and the Red Deer College Foundation.
She is an organization builder, change agent, and passionate life-long learner.
Vice-President of Strategy and External Relations
Val has been working with her own company as a strategy and communications consultant for the past 10 years, which included a one-year contract to establish the Tour of Alberta Pro Cycling Event where she promoted both the event and the province around the world. Before becoming a consultant, she served as a senior communications director in three different ministries for the Government of Alberta – Environment, Innovation and Science, and Economic Development – and prior to that, she was the head of communications and press secretary to the Premier of the Northwest Territories 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.
In addition to working in government, Val lead the development of an employee communications program at PanCanadian Petroleum (now EnCana), served for over four years as the Director of Communications at Keyano College in Fort McMurray, all following her initial career in journalism as a newspaper editor and reporter at the Fort McMurray Today, the Grande Prairie Herald-Tribune and the Peace River Record-Gazette. She 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.
Finally, Val has also been actively involved in a number of community projects and events, and very active in the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) at the regional, national and international level – all of which has helped her develop a broad range of contacts and experience that are a benefit to her position in leading our strategy and external relations team and efforts.