Meet the ACEE Board

Brad Clute is the Chair of ACEE.  He believes that business, when done ethically, can be a powerful tool for positive change in the community - and he’s dedicated to proving it.  Brad is Mountain Equipment Co-op’s Regional Sustainability and Community Investment Coordinator for Western Canada, and under his leadership MEC sustainability programs have won numerous awards including a provincial Emerald Award and a Calgary Award, as well as a Better Business Bureau Business Ethics Award. MEC's sustainability and community investment programs are an example of how businesses can both prosper and have a positive impact on the community and the planet. Brad was president of the Calgary Area Outdoor Council, and recently completed a term on the steering committee for Calgary’s Community Economic Development Network.  

Jeff Reading is CEO, Actions Matter Inc, an environmental consultancy that focuses on environmental issues, energy innovation and climate change action. Jeff has an environmental and outdoor education career that spans more than thirty years, working as a teacher, consultant, and specialist with the North York Board of Education and the Calgary Board of Education.  He currently works with Actions Matter and in the Graduate School (Education) at the University of Calgary. Jeff is also on the Board of Directors with the Green Learning Canada Fountain, Carbon Talks Canada, Alberta CleanTech Innovation Alliance (ACTia) and the Alberta EcoTrust Foundation’s grant review committee.  He has served on numerous Boards including the Global, Environmental and Outdoor Education Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association, the Association for Experiential Education, and Outward Bound Canada. His wife, Shelagh, and their children, David and Meghan, share a love of international travel and exploring natural environments together.

Jenn Hoffman has more than twenty-five years of experience in education, communications, fund development, and non-profit leadership.  She founded the Sierra Club BC’s Education Program in 1998 and served as its Director for 10 years, before moving on to a career helping not-for-profit organizations, social-value driven businesses, and government agencies engage their members, clients, and constituents in their efforts to create positive change in the world. Together with her husband Stephen, Jenn runs Highwatermark Strategy and Communications.  When not working to make the world a better place, Jenn loves to explore it.  A world traveler, she spends time in South and Central America, Africa, and India, and every chance she gets, in the backcountry of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Jenn lives in Canmore with Stephen and their two children, Rio and Silas.

Deb Rougeau-Bell has spent the last thirty-four years in education as an elementary school teacher, consultant, assistant principal and principal. She spent ten years as principal of Cochrane’s Glenbow School, where she and her passionate staff infused environmental education throughout the curriculum with the goal of developing active, responsible, ethical, and empowered citizens. Deb works as a consultant to Rocky View Schools and ACEE, supporting teacher professional learning, organizational transformation, and a leadership mentor and coach for new administrators. Deb lives in Cochrane with her husband Randy where she enjoys golfing, biking and nature in her backyard. She is extremely proud of her two adult children, both of whom work in the healthcare system.

Sterling Rempel is the Founder and Principal Advisor at Future Values Estate & Financial Planning, a financial services firm in Calgary, AB.  He began his financial services career in 1985, and founded Future Values in 1999.  Sterling has a special interest in Responsible Investments and in Charitable Planned Giving.  He has served on the Boards of numerous not-for-profit organizations.  He prefers outdoor activities beginning with the letter ‘S’: sailing, scuba diving, snowboarding and sports cars.  Sterling and his wife are proud parents of four children, ranging from teenagers to young adults.

Andrée Iffrig has been educating hands, hearts and minds for two decades, and currently works as a sustainability strategist with architecture and engineering firm DIALOG. A graduate architect with a passion for sustainability, she uses her background in design to explore and raise awareness about solutions for the built environment that tread more lightly on the earth. Her diverse experience includes teaching art in the public school system in Calgary and working in community development in Indonesia. She is a biomimicry specialist and a co-founder of the Biomimicry Alberta Network. As a green building professional, she chairs the Advisory Committee for the Green Building Technology Centre at SAIT. Andrée is a co-founder and co-chair for the Alberta chapter of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals.

Alexandra O’Rourke has been an Environmental Educator developing nature based and energy and water literacy curriculum for nearly a decade. She has traveled to K-12 classrooms and schoolyards across western Canada and loves exploring the Alberta foothills, wetlands and urban and provincial parks with K-12 students. Alex’s current passion and work has a focus on building a connection to the natural world for children in the early years with an emphasis on family based nature experiences. Motivated in her new role as a parent, she developed a simple curriculum to engage Calgary families in the urban wild throughout the seasons. Through this experience she founded Urban Wild Family Nature Club. For her graduate work at Royal Roads University in the Environmental Education and Communication she is currently exploring the parent-child-nature relationship. For Alex; “Going out into a natural setting with a child as my companion demanded me to slow down, follow another's lead, and experience the curiosities of the natural world through a child.” You can find her musings on her experience in the natural world with her son on her website; www.urbanwildparent.com.

Tanya Doran served on the Alberta Premier's Panel on Energy Efficiency in 2016, and is Sustainability lead for Stantec in Alberta.  She has spent her career championing sustainable building design and seeking synergies between 'green buildings' and occupant behaviour.  From  her first role at an electric utility provider to her recent senior roles consulting for large national organizations and the electric transmission council in Edmonton, Tanya has seen the evolution of sustainable design practice across Western Canada.  Her multifaceted career spans from promoting sustainability through stakeholder engagement, workshops, speeches, and presentations, to developing and implementing strategic plans and advocating for practical sustainable practices within Alberta. Tanya is inspired by connecting the natural world to the built environment, helping people reduce their environmental footprint, and creating energy conscious and efficient buildings that reflect Albertans' values.