Stephanie Ortynsky is an Associate Researcher with the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina, where she also completed her PhD in Public Policy (University of Saskatchewan). She previously was the Richard M. Bird Post‑Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Municipal Finance and Governance …

Passionate about empowering rural communities, organizations, and companies to transform their visionary ideas into tangible outcomes. With a background in strategic marketing and community economic development, I specialize in creating tailored growth strategies that drive results and foster sustainable development. Over the years, I have successfully collaborated with diverse organizations, helping them navigate the complexities of market dynamics while effectively …

Alan Nixon is the owner, operator, and managing designer of Revelation Engineering. He has been working to bring his vision of locally based Engineering Service to SE Sask for 13 years. Utilizing his knowledge of settling theory acquired through his work in the oil field, he developed the operational theory behind the Legacy Clarification Reactor (LCR); an innovative approach to …

Dr. Farhad Moghimehfar is the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development at Vancouver Island University. His work focuses on advancing rural innovation through data-driven research, tourism development, and economic diversification strategies. He holds a PhD in nature-based tourism from the University of Alberta and brings extensive expertise in research design, data analytics, and community-based planning. His …

Alastair MacFadden, M.A., B.Sc. – Assistant Deputy Minister, Saskatchewan Region, Prairies Economic Development Canada Alastair MacFadden is an Assistant Deputy Minister at Prairies Economic Development Canada, the federal agency that ensures businesses and workers are equipped for a durable inclusive and diversified economy. Previously, he was Director of Executive Education, interim Director of the University of Saskatchewan campus, and Executive-in-Residence …

Councillor – City of Humboldt Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Sarah pursued a career in neuroscience before discovering her passion for higher education. She worked at the University of Winnipeg and later at the University of Prince Edward Island, where she co-founded Young Voters, a non-partisan organization dedicated to increasing political literacy and youth engagement. In her time on Prince …

Verona Thibault is the Chief Executive Officer of the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance (SEDA), where she leads provincial efforts to strengthen community and regional economic resilience across Saskatchewan. In her role, she oversees strategic initiatives that support municipalities, Indigenous communities, regional alliances, and economic development practitioners through capacity building, investment readiness, and systems‑level collaboration. With deep experience in community economic …

Les Perreaux is the editor-in-chief of Policy Options, the commentary site of the Institute for Research on Public Policy. Policy Options is a non-partisan, digital publication based in Montreal that brings together leading voices from academia, government, journalism, civil society and industry to analyze pressing public policy issues in Canada. It publishes timely, accessible commentary that connects research to real-world …

Dr. Merelda Fiddler-Potter is a Cree and Métis scholar, journalist, and Associate Professor at the First Nations University of Canada. She teaches in Indigenous Journalism & Communication Arts and Indigenous Business & Public Administration. With nearly 20 years in media, including a career with CBC as a reporter, producer, and documentary filmmaker, she brings strong real-world storytelling into her academic …

As Senior Vice President, Policy, Theo leads the Council’s policy team and provides analysis and insights on a wide range of issues related to the economy and public policy. Theo has studied and written on global economic and political affairs for three decades. His journalism career began in the mid-1990s, where he reported on the developing economies of Eastern Europe …