2023 College Conference & AGM
The College’s 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Conference will be held on April 13-14, 2023 at the Hotel Eldorado in Kelowna, BC on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the syilx/Okanagan people.
The theme of the College of Applied Biology’s 2023 Conference is “20 Years Strong: Ready to Lead Change!” Registration is NOW OPEN. Read on for more information about the speakers and panels.
Registrants will have the opportunity to participate in both the AGM and Conference through a live web broadcast. Details on registration for the virtual broadcast is below. Registrants who attend the AGM will be eligible to claim up to 1 Continuing Professional Development point and participation in the Conference will be valued at 14 points. More information about CPD can be found here. Conference registration is non-refundable and non-transferable after April 10, 2023.
Learn more about the 2023 Conference:
- Registration
- Annual General Meeting
- Keynote Speakers
- Agenda
- Speakers
- Receptions
- Tradeshow
- Sponsors
- Accommodation & Venue
Registration
Registering for the College’s 2023 AGM & Conference is easy. Simply navigate to the College’s portal, log-in, and select the 2023 Conference from the Events section.
You’ll be able to select your ticket, choose add-ons for additional opportunities to participate, and checkout — all within the portal! If you don’t have a profile on the College’s portal, that’s ok. You can quickly sign up with just your name and email and then access the event registration as normal.
Registration for the AGM and Conference is open. Registration for the AGM — both in-person and virtual — is free of charge. If you want to participate in the 2023 AGM online, you will sign up separately through GoToWebinar. Click the button below to register. Please note that you must register for the AGM in order to receive the link to join the session. Please contact the College office if you have any questions about accessing the broadcasts.
Pricing Information
| Pass | Regular Price | Total Price (GST incl.) |
| Online pass | $165.00 | $173.50 |
| Welcome reception ticket (Wed. April 12) | $25.00 | $26.50 |
| 20th Anniversary celebration ticket (Thu. April 13) | $50.00 | $52.50 |
Please note Conference registration is non-refundable and non-transferable after April 10, 2023.
2023 Annual General Meeting
The 2023 Annual General Meeting will occur on April 13, 2022 at 4pm. The AGM will be in-person at the Eldorado Hotel in Kelowna, BC in the Waterfront Ballroom. To register for a free, online broadcast of the AGM, follow this link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7509519710583361888. To register to attend the AGM in person, use the College registrant portal.
The 2022 AGM minutes, Annual Report, Audited Financial Statements and other materials will be reviewed during the meeting.
AGM Materials
- AGM materials will be posted as they become available
Keynote Speakers:
New for 2023, the College is very pleased to present two keynote addresses as part of the 2023 conference program. Our keynotes will be delivered by accomplished media and professional figures who will provide their unique perspectives on the environment and well-being.
Day 1 Keynote Speaker — Art Napoleon
The keynote speaker on Thursday, Day 1 of the Conference will be Art Napoleon, host and co-producer of APTN’s popular show Moosemeat & Marmalade, an international food series that showcases Indigenous foods, Traditional Knowledge and outdoor cooking techniques.
Art Napoleon, a former Chief of the Saulteau First Nation in Treaty 8 BC, is a conservationist, faith-keeper and educator who interprets life through the holistic lens of Cree worldview. Walking in “two worlds” Art is as comfortable on a big city stage or boardroom as he is skinning a moose in a hailstorm with a pocketknife. Ancestral knowledge and the desire to create sustainable and ethical alternatives are the foundations that guide him in the many projects he is involved with. Art is also a budding TV personality with a growing resume in the Film industry and is known as an on-stage humorist with an uncanny ability to improvise and engage audiences of all ages. Art remains connected to his home territory and his Cree and Dane Zaa roots. He tours regularly as a performer and speaker and also serves as a juror on many organizations across Canada.
Art holds an MA degree from the University of Victoria in Indigenous Language Revitalization, where one of his goals is to help communities revitalize endangered languages and in the wisdom imbedded in these ancient languages. He has spent much of his life learning to interpret traditional Indigenous tribal principles and philosophies and translate these holistic worldviews and paradigms for practical applications to modern realities. In doing so, he shares the podium with some high profile public figures. Unlike motivational speakers who advise people to follow their dreams and work harder, Napoleon uses his wry, self-deprecating wit and folksy wisdom to invite people to find their individual callings, work smarter, and tap into holistic worldviews to face the realities of a rapidly changing world.
Day 2 Keynote Speaker — Melissa Lem
The keynote speaker on Friday, Day 2 of the Conference will be Dr. Melissa Lem, MD, CCFP, FCFP, PaRx Director at the BC Parks Foundation.
Dr. Melissa Lem is a Vancouver family physician who also works in rural and northern communities within Canada. President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and Director of PaRx, Canada’s national nature prescription program powered by the BC Parks Foundation, she is an internationally recognized leader in the field of nature and health. She has also engaged in advocacy and policy work on a broad range of other issues, from climate change and hydraulic fracturing to sustainable health care and low-carbon transportation.
A widely published writer, her work has appeared in media including the CBC, Vancouver Sun, Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, The Narwhal and National Observer. As a regular climate change panellist on CBC Radio’s Early Edition and in-house medical columnist for CBC TV Vancouver, one of her major priorities is knowledge translation.
Dr. Lem was the inaugural winner of University College’s Young Alumni of Influence Award at the University of Toronto and the 2022 Adult Nature Inspiration Award from the Canadian Museum of Nature, a 2021 World Parks Week Ambassador, sits on the Advisory Committee of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Health and Well-being Specialist Group, and is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia.
2023 AGM & Conference Agenda
*Conference program subject to change closer to event dates
APRIL 12TH, 2023
Welcome Reception
- 7-9pm: Welcome Reception — Sponsored by DWB Consulting
APRIL 13TH, 2023
Conference Day 1
- 8:00am-9:30am: Continental Breakfast and Opening Remarks
- 9:30-10:45am: Session A — How professionals stay out of trouble
- Networking Break (15 min.)
- 11:00am-1pm: Keynote and Lunch speaker
- 11-12pm: Day 1 Keynote Address: Art Napoleon, Host and Co-Producer, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
- 12-1pm: Linda Michaluk Scholarship Fund Presentation by 2022 Recipient Jenelle McCuaig sponsored by BC Forest Practices Board
- Conference Lunch sponsored by BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Environmental Protection Division
- 1-2:15pm: Session B — Environmental assessments in BC and the work of professional applied biologists
- Networking Break (30 min.) — Sponsored by WSP
- 2:45-4pm: Session C — Demystifying the Riparian Areas Protection Regulation
Annual General Meeting
- 4-5pm: The College of Applied Biology’s 20th Annual General Meeting
20th Anniversary Celebration
- 7-9pm: 20th Anniversary Celebration (SPECIAL RECEPTION) — Co-sponsored by Dynamic Ocean Consulting Ltd. and Associated Environmental Consultants Inc.
- A gathering to celebrate the 20th year of applied biology as a regulated profession
APRIL 14TH, 2023
Conference Day 2
- 8:00am: Breakfast
- 8:30-9:15am: Opening Remarks
- 9:30-10:45am: Session 1 — Building climate resiliency in aquatic ecosystems
- Networking Break (45 min.) — Sponsored by Ecoscape Environmental Consultants Ltd.
- 11:30am-12:45pm: Lunch
- Day 2 Keynote Address: Dr. Melissa Lem, PaRx Director, BC Parks Foundation
- Conference Lunch sponsored by BC Ministry of Water, Lands and Natural Resource Stewardship, Land Use Policy, Planning and Ecosystems Division
- Day 2 Keynote Address: Dr. Melissa Lem, PaRx Director, BC Parks Foundation
- 12:45-2:00pm: Session 2 — Diversity, equity and inclusion in the natural resource sector
- Networking Break (45 min.)
- 2:45-4pm: Session 3 — Two Years of the Professional Governance Act: What we have learned so far?
Committed Speakers:
- Corinna Hoodicoff, M.Sc., RPBio, Manager, BC / Northern Division, Associated Environmental Consultants Inc.
- Lisa Poier, Acting Regional Director, Pacific and Yukon Regional Office, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
- Angela Cameron, RPBio, Riparian Management Coordinator, BC Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship
- Kate Haines, Superintendent, Office of the Superintendent of Professional Governance, BC Ministry of Post-Secondary Education & Future Skills
- Stefan Gronsdahl, M.Sc., P.Geo., Hydrologist, Palmer Environmental Consulting Group
- Jennifer Anthony, Executive Lead, Permitting, BC Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship
- Heather Taylor, P.Ag., RPBio, Specialist, Regulatory Advisor, Associated Environmental Consultants Inc.
- Julianna Alexander, Splatsin
- Robyn Laubman, RPBio, Territorial Water Manager, Splatsin
- Mel Kotyk, RPBio, Chair, Investigations Committee, College of Applied Biologists
- Craig Nichol, Ph.D, P.Geo., Associate Head, Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences, University of British Columbia Okanagan
- Ailene Lim, Associate Director of Programs and Professional Development, Engineers and Geoscientists BC
- Mike Engelsjord, Director of Practice, College of Applied Biologists
- Lyle Thompson, Senior Manager, Environmental Impact Assessment & Associate Partner, Hatfield Group
- Bethany Thiessen, Senior Policy Analyst, BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
- Thomas Lutes, General Counsel, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Architectural Institute of British Columbia
- Dave Gill, RPF, General Manager of Forestry, Ntityix Resources LP
- Jing Niu, Environmental Planner, Regional District of Central Okanagan
Read more about all our conference panelists on the Speakers page.
Tradeshow
Returning in 2023 is the College of Applied Biologists’ Conference Tradeshow. Within the foyer of the Hotel Eldorado you will find a number of exhibitors with useful information, products and services. Stay tuned as more vendors are added. If you would like to be an exhibitor, contact Tory Davis, Communications Officer to see the 2023 sponsorship catalogue, or call the College Office at 1-250-383-3306.
Confirmed Vendors:
- Forest Practices Board — Board staff will be available to discuss its mandate to conduct audits and investigations and issue public reports on how well industry and government are meeting the intent of British Columbia’s forest and range practices legislation.
- DWB Consulting Services — DWB Consulting Services Ltd (DWB) is a dynamic, multidisciplinary consulting firm that specializes in offering a full suite of value-added environmental, engineering and forestry services to our clients in Western Canada. Since 1990, DWB has grown from a small family run business to a multi-faceted company with over 200 experienced staff in offices throughout British Columbia, including several key Indigenous led partnerships.
- Ecoscape Environmental Consultants Ltd — Ecoscape Environmental Consultants Ltd. is a full-service environmental consulting company with an extensive background in natural resource management, data analyses, interpretation, and production of high quality deliverables. Drop by their booth to hear more about their offered services, including plants and ecosystems, fisheries and aquatic sciences, wildlife, geomatics and more.
Sponsors
The College is grateful for the support of its event sponsors. Are you interested in sponsoring the 2023 Conference or participating in the tradeshow? Contact Tory Davis, Communications Officer to see the 2023 sponsorship catalogue, or call the College Office at 1-250-383-3306. Please also take a minute to review the products and services of our generous 2022 conference partners.
PREMIER SPONSORS:
Friendship SPONSORS:
Accommodation & Venue
The Hotel Eldorado is the event venue and offers a variety of accommodation options (including pet-friendly options), available through the College’s group rate. The group rate is now active and can be used for accommodations between April 11-April 16, 2023 for those that wish to extend their trip. The College’s group rate is based on availability and expires on March 13, 2023 so book early for best price.
To make reservations guests can book online, via phone or email and request the College of Applied Biologists AGM rate.
Phone: Toll free – 1-877-734-3184
Local – 250-860-1031
Email: refresh@eldoradoresort.ca
