Plugged In

Stephanie has been working at Yukon Energy Corporation for over 8 years and shares her unique insights of what it's like to be a resource planning engineer working for a small, remote, isolated utility with a grid in a geography and climate that are really not for the faint of heart.   

Katherine Sparkes and I talk about a range of topics from the relevancy of distributed energy resources (DERs) in the future of Ontario’s energy mix, the importance of equity and affordability in Ontario’s electricity market and insights on what’s it’s like to be - at times - the only woman in a room in this industry. She highlights the importance of diversity in this sector and emphasizes the value that diverse backgrounds, cultures, genders and professional experiences bring to the table and reflects on strategies to integrate diversity into innovative solutions.

Katherine has devoted her career to developing and implementing pragmatic solutions to the climate change challenge. Katherine has held leadership positions in non-profit, for-profit and public sector organizations and she is she is currently the Director of Innovation, Research & Development at the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) in Ontario.

It was a real pleasure to dive into this discussion with Katherine.

I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful and if you do, please share it with colleagues and friends and let me know what resonated.

On this episode I speak with Fatima Crerar, the Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships at The Atmospheric Fund. Recorded in February of 2020, we chatted about change (maybe ironically – given the deep layers of systematic change that were coming barreling at us unknowingly). We talked about change in the context of climate, carbon and gender, and what is going to be required to make the necessary pivots to a low carbon future and why it is hard for organizations, cities, movements and markets to change. She shared insights on the importance of using our voices as citizens and as women. Needed now more than ever, this conversation provides a healthy dose of inspiration and tact. It was an absolute joy and privilege to bring you this conversation, may it serve you well.

Carmen Henriquez is a filmmaker with real world media and one of the producers and directors of Power to the People - a television documentary series airing on Aboriginal People's Television Network right now through the end of April 2020 that explores the renewable energy revolution empowering indigenous communities across Canada.

The host Melina Laboucan-Massimo – an indigenous climate activist and solar entrepreneur herself - takes viewers on a journey across the country to wind farms, solar power plants, run-of-river hydro electric projects and tidal energy initiatives all - indigenous led, owned and operated.

For me, there were a couple important themes that emerged.

The first was the importance of energy independence, and ownership of these clean energy assets. One of the women interviewed in the series says "clean energy is our way out of this colonial mess". So I ask Carmen about how important clean energy and renewable energy assets and ownership are in the work of reconciliation in Canada.

The other major thing that struck me in the Power to the People series is the number of young, indigenous women that Melina spoke with – young women are leading this work on the ground in indigenous communities – so we explore that.

Please check out the Power to the People series on APTN.

#thefutureisfemale #thefutureisindigenous #thefutureisyoung

On this episode of Plugged In, I speak to Erika Lontoc, a former Bay Street banker, who became a pioneer of low income energy conservation programming in Ontario and is an advocate for doing the hard work of collaboration and partnership building in this sector.

Erika is the manager of Demand Side Management Partnerships at Enbridge Gas.

We talk about why partnerships matter in the work of energy conservation, and particularly low income programming. I ask which strategic partnerships are most important for Enbridge to be building right now and Erika shares what technologies, resources and strategies the company is investigating as we work towards a low carbon future in Canada.

Erika brings a valuable perspective from the natural gas industry and as always, she is a wealth of insights and wisdom.

Raegan Bond is bright, thoughtful and a trusted voice on energy efficiency in Canada.  

She is a principal consultant with Dunsky consulting, a trustee on the board of the Affordability Fund Trust and a board member for the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP).

Raegan is super committed to working on issues that support the clean energy transition – which is essentially how we move to a low carbon energy future through a mix of technology, investment, business strategies and policy that promotes clean, renewable energy sources as well as uptake of energy efficient solutions.  

I sat down with Raegan at the Dunsky offices in Liberty Village in Toronto and we explored within this context of the clean energy transition how the rules, programs and opportunities are changing – how we need to move beyond switching out lightbulbs and look to renewables, energy storage, fuel switching, electric vehicles and demand response to start to move the needle even further. 

 I layer in some questions on equity, diversity, gender and leadership.  

On the personal front I ask Raegan about mentoring, coaching and what keeps her focused and passionate about working on these issues. 

 It was a real pleasure chatting with Raegan and I hope you enjoy it too! 

I sat down with Corey at the Efficiency Canada offices in Toronto in August, and we cover quite a bit of ground.

We talk about gender equality and leadership, what Efficiency Canada is doing to lead on gender equality and ensure equal pay, equal leadership and equal opportunity for women within Efficiency Canada and beyond. You will find out what got Corey hooked on working in the sustainability sector originally and we learn what has surprised him about working in the advocacy industry

He shares insights on the role he sees for financing and partnering with banks and green banks in the future on energy efficiency as well as the opportunity and new role that municipalities are going to have in the future as they take on more climate action work.

Finally, I am always curious what inspires people and also what keeps them grounded and focused – so Corey and I chat about what keeps him rocking.

It's a super fun conversation – I really would expect nothing less from him. I hope you enjoy it!

This podcast interview with my friend, former colleague and mentor Suzanne Karajaberlian is a focused dose of hope, insight and practical steps that we can take as citizens to elevate environmental and climate protection specifically in this upcoming Canadian federal election but also going forward as active citizens for our planet. 

Suzanne is the Managing Director of Environmental Defence – a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.   

 We spoke at her home in the east end of Toronto.   

What I found most interesting about this conversation is how focused and clear Suzanne is about the vision and importance of elevating environmental and climate protection as a non-negotiable Canadian value.   

Which means taking environment beyond an issue that is debated and divides along political lines to a baseline value – similar to how we view universal healthcare in this country.   

To support this vision, Suzanne has some practical and actionable ways for us to engage.  This is hopeful.   

We talk about the one earth one vote campaign – which is a campaign to get out the vote for the environment.  

We talk about the 100 debates for the environment organized by GreenPAC across Canada. 

And we talk about some of the ongoing campaigns that Environmental Defence is leading. 

I hope you are inspired, hopeful and motivated after this chat with Suzanne. 

In this first episode of Plugged In I speak to Ersilia Serafini, CEO and President of Summerhill, about some of the freshest and newest concepts in the energy efficiency industry including a market based system which pays customers for energy they are saving so that energy efficiency itself becomes a resource valued in the market.

We talk about the future of the energy efficiency industry, how the changing market is transforming Summerhill’s business and what keeps Ersilia up at night.

To be honest, my favorite part of the conversation is when we talk about Ersilia's personal journey to becoming a CEO, her views on women, gender and leadership. Her very practical strategies for being a CEO, an active mom and actually having a life too. We talk about courage and speaking our truth and sharing those values with our children.

We laughed and had a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it too.