To inspire students to dream more,
learn more,
and be more.
We are on a mission.
To engage, inspire and educate Alberta's youth to embrace innovation and learn about technology, artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, digital transformation, and sustainability as it relates to energy, our environment and climate - and help them see themselves in Alberta’s future.
We are a group of entrepreneurs, innovators, change-makers, conversationalists, educators, and big thinkers.
Help us make a difference.
Here’s our story.
It’s time to change the conversation, discuss innovation, technology, opportunities and challenges in the energy evolution — and it starts in our schools. Our future leaders, these young people will be the driving force behind the diversification of the Alberta energy system to a new energy mix — one with low carbon, low emission oil and gas, renewables and other diverse clean energy sources – as they balance the imperatives of energy, environment, and climate.
Energy, the environment and our climate — they are all connected and we have an opportunity to help our young people and educators understand what’s happening. From collaborations with Indigenous peoples to new technology and more, there is a transformation taking place as companies work to reduce their carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions, conserve energy and form partnerships for a sustainable and prosperous future.
At Ten Peaks Innovation Alliance, we want to share the stories of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology, and facilitate dynamic, engaging conversations so we can learn and grow together with a fresh perspective on what’s happening in our community.
This isn’t about choosing between the energy industry or the environment. It’s about empowering and inspiring our future leaders to learn how companies, academia, researchers, government and non-government organizations are working together to create a sustainable world for both their generation and the ones who follow.
Meet the team.
Our team shares a passion for supporting our youth and changing the conversation about energy, environment, and climate. We are committed to education as a strategic tool to help Alberta move towards a sustainable future.
We know students and teachers want truthful and fresh perspectives. We will meet this need with our diverse range of professional experiences, informed and passionate personalities, and commitment to building much-needed resources.
Dagmar H. Knutson, CPA, CA
Executive Director
Dagmar Knutson, CPA, CA, is the Executive Director of Ten Peaks Innovation Alliance Inc. and CFO at Fusion Production Systems Inc., an oil and gas manufacturing company, with more than 25 years’ experience working in the energy industry in Alberta. But it was when her son came home from Grade 9 without a keen understanding of current innovation in the oil and gas industry that she decided there was an opportunity to do more. She was inspired to organize a student conference after emailing her son's teachers with industry innovation and technology insights when he was in grade 9 and 10.
Dagmar immigrated with her parents as a toddler to Alberta, growing up in Drayton Valley on a sawmill. It’s where her love of trees began and still to this day, the forest and mountains is where Dagmar finds peace and clarity from the busy world of oil and gas.
She earned a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary - the first to graduate from university in her family - and obtained her CPA, Chartered Accountant designation in Calgary in 1995. Dagmar has worked in several accounting roles within the oil and gas, IT, and entrepreneurial companies prior to founding Ten Peaks in 2021. She is currently on the board for the Clean Resource Innovation Network (CRIN).
Her focus with Ten Peaks is to engage, educate and inspire thousands of Alberta students and teachers with high-quality learning opportunities, elevating their insights and perspectives on the cross-collaboration between energy, environment and climate.
Dagmar lives in Red Deer, Alberta with her husband Darryl and their sweet and feisty labradoodle hound dog, Cyder.
Gideon Choi
Lead Curriculum Developer
Gideon Choi has over 15 years of experience as a professional educator, curriculum developer, and sustainability education. He is a certified teacher, holds a BSc. in Biochemistry and an MSc. SEDV (Sustainable Energy Development). His sustainability work has been featured by the University of Calgary Campus as a Learning Lab, BudFunding, Nature's Ride educational programming, and GeoConvention 2021. Gideon applies his skills to creating visually engaging and informative grade school programming promoting the adoption of pro-environmental behaviours.
Gideon lives in Calgary with his wife and two children, age 9 and 11. He is an avid jazz pianist, and enjoys experimenting with new recipes, exploring park trails with his family, and improving his block design skills on Tetris-99.
Wendy Ell
Community Investment Partner
Wendy Ell is a well-connected innovation ecosystem navigator who is part storyteller, fundraiser, change agent, and systems thinker. She has three decades of marketing, government, and industry experience successfully fundraising for individuals and organizations in prized business sectors by leading and launching hundreds of consumer, B2B and cause marketing programs. Her work in agriculture and energy has impacted special interest groups regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Wendy, the President of Industries in Transition consultancy, works with a group of independent consultants in ag, agri-food, and energy to help businesses navigate change due to technology, sustainability and supply chain optimization. Their focus is on developing strong sector relationships and recognizing preconceived beliefs that may misguide decision-making.
She connects innovators with researchers, students with scientists, educators with industries and special interest groups. Her work in issues management delves deep into the complexities of transitioning to a more reliable, sustainable, secure, robust, and prosperous society while remaining culturally aware and respectful to the competitive nature of business.
She believes that addressing psychological beliefs, diversity, equity, inclusion, and responsible use of technology is crucial for sustainable societal advancement.
Board of Directors
Steven Schultz
Mr. Schultz has been teaching high school science, chemistry, forensics, electronics, and most recently agriculture at Lacombe Composite High School since 1997. Steve is recognized for his ability to differentiate his teaching and his willingness to provide extracurricular opportunities for students. His extracurricular opportunities involve coaching soccer, facilitating an award-winning robotics club. He has taken the robotics club to nationals three times.
He also advises an environmental club called EcoVision. EcoVision is a student run club who goal is to build ecological leaders through projects that enhance education, help the environment, and encourage community collaboration. The latest project is a net-zero geodesic community greenhouse that will be surrounded by an edible forest, gardens, and outdoor classroom. The dome was completed in September 2012 and is supplemented with composting and an indoor hydroponics herb grow op. The whole project will become the platform for a new agricultural course, provide our school and community with local, healthy, environmentally sustainable food and bring our community together.
Steven Schultz was recognized with the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2019 for his out of the classroom educational opportunities. He has also been awarded the Ag for Life Agriculture Teacher Award.
Steven founded the United Robotics Lacombe (URL) Club in 2004 and continues to this day to inspire students with this program offering. In 2006, Steven’s environmental club EcoVision won numerous awards such as Emerald, Ron Shulack, Greenest School in Canada, and Watershed and A+ for Energy Award. More information about the projects and awards can be located at www.lchsecovision.weebly.com
Dr. Irene M. Herremans
Dr. Irene M. Herremans is a professor and CPA Managerial Accounting Fellow at the Haskayne School of Business. For Haskayne, she teaches a course for MBA students titled Evaluating Environmental Performance. She also teaches in the Sustainable Energy Development (SEDV) Master of Science inter-disciplinary program at University of Calgary. In the SEDV program, she facilitates connections between businesses and students for capstone research projects that analyse energy, the environment, and one other dimension of sustainability. Her research interests focus on many contemporary issues including management and environmental control systems, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, corporate governance for sustainability, experiential learning, education for sustainability, and performance valuation and has published her work in leading journals. She has taught sustainability courses in many countries, such as China, Ecuador, Peru, the United States, and the Slovak Republic. She has received many awards both for her teaching and her research and was recently named a Peak Scholar for her work to develop internships for students to work on applied research projects in several locations in Ecuador. She is a frequent recipient of awards for her leadership in sustainability and excellence in graduate supervision. As Executive Director of Nature’s Ride, a non-profit organization, she works with children and young adults to deliver environmental messages through a fun and innovative platform. Irene has just published a book titled Sustainability Performance and Reporting and is working on learning modules for Re-thinking the Role of Business. She is currently supporting various sustainability projects in Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, and India. In In her spare time she enjoys mountaineering, canoeing, hiking, backcountry and x-country skiing.
Bill Whitelaw, Managing Director, Strategy and Sustainability at geoLOGIC systems ltd.
Bill Whitelaw is Managing Director of Strategy and Sustainability at geoLOGIC systems, a Calgary-based global energy intelligence firm. He is currently chair of the Canadian Society for Evolving Energy and an advisor to the Energy Futures Lab. He is also a director on the board of Agriculture for Life and chair of the journalism and digital media advisory board at Mount Royal University. He speaks and writes frequently on the issues of sustainability, innovation, energy transition and supply chain value creation.
Grace Meikle, Director for Technology Impact, Emissions Reduction Alberta
Grace Meikle is the Director for Technology Impact at Emissions Reduction Alberta, where she works with innovators to accelerate novel emissions reduction technologies towards full commercialization. She has over 10 years’ experience in clean energy technology scale-up, business development and project management. Previously, Grace worked in the US and Canadian nuclear industries, supporting deployment of CANDU and small modular reactors, as well as treating nuclear waste. She has also worked in oil and gas field operations in Alberta. She is also an author of short stories and a member of the Writer’s Guild of Alberta. Growing up, she lived in the US, Japan, and Taiwan. She has a B.Sc. in Physics and Mandarin from the University of Notre Dame.
Here’s how we make a change!
A conference for students
You have an opportunity to choose what kind of impact you want to have on the future of our environment, climate and our world’s relationship with energy. You are innovators, entrepreneurs and big thinkers. We want to support you through your career development. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion about natural resource development and the transition to a more inclusive, sustainable future for industry.
Resources for teachers
Through an upcoming series of webinars, lesson plan development and our learning library, we are here to help you add high-quality energy, environmental and climate education programs to your curriculum to enrich your knowledge and give you the tools to confidently discuss Alberta resource topics with your students.