Ingenium 2025 - Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba

KeynoteStretching Beyond Survival: Leading, Thriving, and Building Together in STEMJuanita DeSouza Huletey, PMP

In a world marked by constant change — from AI transformations to evolving workplace dynamics, STEM professionals must stretch beyond simply surviving. This keynote explores how engineers and geoscientists at all career stages can develop resilience, adaptability, and inclusive leadership to thrive amid uncertainty.

Drawing on real-world challenges, the session highlights practical strategies to lead through uncertainty, foster innovation, and build inclusive, high-performing teams. While relevant for all professionals, these strategies hold particular meaning for internationally trained professionals, women, and other underrepresented groups navigating additional barriers.

Attendees will leave inspired and equipped with practical tools to navigate complexity, strengthen team resilience, to lead and innovate in today’s changing workplace and rapidly evolving STEM landscape.

Juanita DeSouza Huletey, PMP

Juanita DeSouza Huletey is a visionary industry and community leader, international bestselling author, keynote speaker, and passionate educator committed to empowering, uplifting, and transforming lives. With over 25 years of experience, she has held several senior leadership roles, most notably serving as Head of IT for the Winnipeg Police Service, where she drove innovation and digital transformation within the public sector.

Juanita is the Founder and CEO of Dynamic Solutions International Inc. (DSI) and the visionary behind the Canadian Immigrant Professional Alliance (CIPA), dedicated to advancing equitable integration for immigrant professionals. She serves on the University of Manitoba’s Board of Governors, contributes in advisory capacities at Red River College Polytechnic, and is a founding member and Board Advisor for Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) Western Canada. A Patron of Mission Queens Girls Up (UN Foundation) and an active volunteer

Juanita’s thought leadership blends inclusivity, resilience, and innovation, inspiring professionals to lead and thrive in a rapidly evolving STEM landscape.

Career Checkups: Why Your Future Deserves an Annual AppointmentKate Swallow Yee

We schedule yearly checkups for our health, teeth, and finances—yet most of us rarely pause to check in on our career’s well-being. This session flips that script. You’ll learn how to take a proactive, big-picture look at your professional journey, clarify where you want to go, and turn that reflection into a focused, constructive conversation with your leader

Leaders, you’ll also discover how to uncover and support the career aspirations of your team—often the key to retention, engagement, and growth Expect practical strategies, conversation starters, and preparation tools that make career discussions productive for both sides of the desk

Kate Swallow Yee

Kate Swallow Yee has spent many years helping clients of all ages explore career possibilities and imagine their preferred futures. She finds deep satisfaction in engaging people in their own career development, guiding them to discover opportunities they may not have considered. While she doesn’t claim to have every answer, she brings genuine curiosity, openness, and a collaborative spirit to every interaction.

An energetic and engaging presenter, Kate has spoken at regional and national conferences and has worked in both the U.S. and Canada. Her sessions invite audiences to think differently, embrace curiosity, and see new potential in their own careers.

Making Aerospace Technology Accessible in the ArcticDr. Philip Ferguson, P.Eng.

Aerospace technology is cool. Most of us are fascinated by drones, rockets, and satellites, but the benefits of these systems have typically been reserved for wealthy companies (or tourists), large governments, or influential research organizations.

Remote Arctic communities today, experiencing climate change at a rate four times faster than the rest of the planet and the frontline of recent geopolitical conflicts, need access to technology more than ever. They require remote sensing to determine safe transport over ice. They need tracking information for marine ships in their waterways. And they need equitable access to broadband internet, like most Canadians already enjoy.

This session will discuss some of the co-development projects the Space Technology and Advanced Research Laboratory (STARLab) is working on with Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut.

Dr. Philip Ferguson, P.Eng.

Dr. Philip Ferguson is a space systems engineer and Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Manitoba. He is the Director of the Space Technology and Advanced Research Lab (STARLab) in the Price Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba. His research focuses on new drone and spacecraft guidance, navigation, control, and manufacturing technologies that can improve system reliability while reducing cost and schedule.

His ultimate goal is to make aerospace technology more accessible to people in Canada, such as Indigenous communities in the Arctic, empowering them with remote sensing tools that keep them safe and informed as climate change alters their traditional way of life

Exploring the Common Stages of a Professional's Financial JourneyEliott Einarson CIM, CFP

Learn about the three stages of a typical financial journey. This overview outlines common phases in many professionals' financial lives, along with strategies that can be applied at each stage. Each stage of the presentation will address typical challenges and considerations based on observations from financial planning practices.

This presentation will outline practical solutions, frequently overlooked strategies, and common pitfalls for the group’s benefitThis approach will provide actionable insights and recommendations specifically tailored to the audience’s needs, while also allocating sufficient time for questions.

Eliott Einarson CIM, CFP

Eliott is a Certified Financial Planner with particular expertise in retirement income planning. He is also a Chartered Investment Manager and holds bachelor’s degrees in Education and Arts. As a partner at a private investment management firm in Ottawa, he designs and implements tailored financial strategies that help clients assess their situation, balance priorities, and make informed decisions. Eliott’s approach places client needs at the center of the planning process and is aimed at fostering long-term confidence. He does not sell third-party financial products.

Eliott is regularly consulted for his expertise in the Financial Post’s weekly Family Finance column, where he provides financial guidance to Canadians. Outside of his professional work, he is an educator, youth volunteer, martial artist, motorcycle enthusiast, dog owner, and frequent traveler.

Generative AI for Manitoba: Transforming Medical Imaging and Agriculture Dr.Vahab Khoshdel, PhD, P.Eng.

This session will explore the transformative impact of generative AI (GenAI) in two of Manitoba’s most critical sectors: healthcare and agriculture. In medical imaging, GenAI models—such as diffusion models and generative adversarial networks (GANs)—are enabling unprecedented advances in 2D and 3D image reconstruction, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and supporting earlier, more reliable detection of disease. In agriculture, GenAI is powering next-generation crop monitoring and simulation tools, enabling producers to analyze real-time imagery, predict growth stages, and forecast yields with remarkable precision.

By bridging physics-based models with deep learning, Dr. Khoshdel’s research advances fundamental AI science while delivering practical, high-impact solutions that directly benefit Manitoba’s healthcare and agri-food industries. Attendees will gain insight into both the technical breakthroughs and real-world deployments of GenAI, and how this technology is reshaping the province’s future in innovation-driven sectors.

Dr.Vahab Khoshdel, PhD, P.Eng.

Dr. Vahab Khoshdel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Manitoba and Director of Data Science at AIRM Consulting Ltd. He holds two PhDs—in Robotics and in Biomedical Engineering—and specializes in generative AI, deep learning, computer vision, and robotics. His interdisciplinary research applications include medical imaging, ultrasound and microwave reconstruction, precision agriculture, and robotic systems. At AIRM Consulting, he led AI-driven product development and deployment, bridging research with industry impact.

Dr. Khoshdel has contributed extensively to scholarly literature, served in leadership roles at conferences, and delivered applied AI trainings.Based in Winnipeg, his work fosters locally driven innovation in Manitoba, facilitating real-world AI-enhanced imaging technologies and intelligent systems.

From Lab to Clinic: Engineering-Driven Solutions for Alzheimer’s Diagnosis and TherapyDr. Zahra Moussavi , P.Eng.

Memory and cognitive declines are associated with normal brain aging but are also precursors to dementia, in particular Alzheimer’s disease. While currently there is no cure or "vaccine" against dementia, based on brain’s plasticity, there are hopes to delay the onset or to slow the progression of disease. Alzheimer’s disease is multi-facet condition; thus, the key to its management is in multi-disciplinary approaches. The clinical treatment of Alzheimer’s is basically a family of cholinesterase inhibitors like Aricept that the majority have a very low response rate.

In this talk, I will review and discuss engineering-driven solutions as non-pharmaceutical treatmentssuch as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial alternative/direct current stimulation (tACS/tDCS) with Cognitive Exercises. The results of our recent longitudinal clinical trials will be presented.

Dr. Zahra Moussavi , P.Eng.

Dr. Zahra Moussavi is a professor, Canada Research Chair Tier I, and founder/former director of the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program at the University of Manitoba. Her research focuses on respiratory acoustics signal processing for detecting obstructive sleep apnea, immersive virtual reality for Alzheimer's diagnosis and neuro-rehabilitation, and longitudinal non-pharmaceutical treatments for dementia.

She has earned multiple awards including "Canada's Most Powerful Women (Top 100)", IEEE EMBS Distinguished Lecturer, and the "2018 Technical Excellence Award". Zahra has published over 354 peer-reviewed publications, and has delivered more than 137 invited talks—including two TEDx presentations—And developed the cognitive training app called MindTriggers that Is available for free on any platform.

Student Achievement Award Finalist Presentations – Modular Power Converters for Parallel Battery Connection in New Flyer Electric Buses

Partnering with New Flyer Industries, this student team investigated a modular approach using bidirectional power conversion to enable flexible parallel connection of batteries. Their work demonstrates how converter-based architectures can mitigate harmful currents while opening new possibilities for mixing and upgrading energy storage systems. This session will highlight the team’s design process, prototyping, and system-level modeling, and explore how their results provide a foundation for future zero-emission transit development.

Presenters:

Blake Vermette, Aeron Balbin, Nathan Janz

Evan Tyerman, Mohammad Atari, Liam Murray

Student Achievement Award Finalist Presentations – Design and Implementation of a Real-time Space Environment Simulator for CubeSat Verification

For CubeSats, verification is vital, yet traditional test facilities are often too costly or inaccessible. To address this, the student team designed a real-time simulation and emulation system capable of reproducing orbital conditions and sensor feedback on the ground. Their platform integrates software models, a magnetic field emulator, and visualization tools to test guidance, navigation, and control algorithms prior to launch. n this session, the team will describe the simulator’s architecture, its application to a CubeSat mission at the University of Manitoba, and its potential to streamline verification for academic and research teams developing small satellites.

Presenters:

Erica Von Stackelberg, Zack Louttit, Daigh Burgess

Adam Garofalo, Paul Manzano

Student Achievement Award Finalist Presentations – Mechanical Vibration to Stimulate Proprioception for Post-Stroke Rehabilitation

Stroke rehabilitation often requires new approaches to restore proprioception and motor control. This project explored the use of controlled mechanical vibration as a low-cost, non-invasive method to support recovery. Through a pilot study and the design of a custom stimulation device, Karisma Vyas examined whether vibration at muscle-tendon sites could enhance movement accuracy. In this session, she will present the technical aspects of her device, experimental design, and data collection methods, and discuss how vibration-based therapy could inform future clinical applications in accessible rehabilitation technologies.

Presenter:

Karisma Vyas

KeynoteHow We Win: Engineering TrustBilly Ray Taylor

Based on the principles from The Winning Link, this dynamic and actionable keynote walks leaders through the proven LinkedXL methodology used by world-class organizations to move from reactive chaos to strategic clarity—and ultimately, to sustained results. Billy Ray Taylor shares how to engineer trust and transform organizational culture by building what he calls the 3D approach: Deliberate Clarity, Deliberate Ownership, and Deliberate Practice. These principles are foundational to building a connected business model where strategy, people, and processes are fully aligned.

This keynote is ideal for leaders and teams who are struggling to define, align, or execute strategies that create trust and drive results; experiencing operational misalignment that leads to collisions, confusion, and lost performance; or constantly reacting to problems without identifying the root constraints.

The audience will leave with a clear framework for building a high-performance, self-sustaining culture;tools to implement a Daily Management System that drives accountability and execution; and a roadmap for creating a connected enterprise that wins—intentionally and repeatedly.

Billy Ray Taylor

Billy Ray Taylor is a globally recognized operations strategist, visionary CEO of LinkedXL, and bestselling author of The Winning Link. Renowned for transforming complexity into clarity, he advises Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms, and global brands on how to scale with precision and purpose. Billy is an Execution Icon!.

As former Director of North America Operations at Goodyear, Billy led a legendary turnaround—driving earnings from a $38 million loss to over $1 billion. His success lies in aligning strategy, performance, and culture to create results that stick. At LinkedXL, he delivers the LinkedXL Process, a proven business operating system that fuels sustainable growth.

Billy is also a world-class keynote speaker, captivating audiences across industries with high-energy talks that spark action and inspire ownership.Known for making strategy simple and execution real, Billy equips leaders with the tools and processes to build businesses that win—On Purpose, not by chance!

Harassment in the Workplace: Understanding Rights, Responsibilities, and Legal ConsequencesJennifer Sokal, Allie Moar

This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of workplace harassment, focusing on both the legal obligations of employers and rights of employees. Participants will learn how harassment is defined under the law and what steps employees can take to report it.

The session will also cover employers’ duties to prevent and respond to harassment, including the legal requirement to conduct timely and thorough investigations. We will explore the consequences of failing to investigate complaints properly, as well as the potential legal, financial, and reputational outcomes that can arise.

Whether you're an employee seeking to understand your protections or an employer aiming to foster a respectful work environment, this presentation will offer practical guidance grounded in legal expertise

[Jennifer Sokal] Jennifer Sokal, Associate, MLT Aikins LLP. Jenn is a litigator practising both in the areas of administrative / regulatory law and in general litigation A particular focus for Jennifer is Occupational Health and Safety defence including related to offences, reprisals and prosecutions. She also works in professional regulation. She has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada, all levels of Court in Manitoba, courts in Saskatchewan and British Columbia and various tribunals and administrative bodies, including the Manitoba and Alberta Labour Boards

[Allie Moar] Allie L. Moar, Associate, MLT Aikins LLP. Allie practices in the area of labour and employment and advises employers on a wide range of labour and employment issues, including employment standards, employment agreements, workplace policies, employee discipline and termination and human rights issues.

CentrePlan 2050 – A Path to Post-Pandemic Downtown RevitalizationKurtis Kowalke, RPP, MCIP

COVID lockdowns and work from home mandates changed the downtown landscape significantly as the City of Winnipeg was beginning the CentrePlan 2050 project. The pandemic revealed that when a district relies solely on that daily influx of office workers to maintain vitality, it is more vulnerable to disruption. A healthy downtown requires a diversified portfolio of commercial, institutional, cultural, entertainment and especially residential uses.

CentrePlan is a tool to guide development and municipal investments with a heavy emphasis on transforming the downtown into a collection of residential mixed-use enclaves. This presentation covers the "big moves" identified in CentrePlan to achieve its objectives and highlights some early successes.

Kurtis Kowalke, RPP, MCIP

Kurtis is the Principal Planner for the City of Winnipeg's Downtown Planning Branch, a role he has served in for the past 8 years. He has worked in the Planning Department for a total of 18 years overall Kurtis graduated from the University of Manitoba and has a Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture.

Aggregate and Quarry Operations for Northern DevelopmentRichard Munroe, FGAC, P.Geo.

Since the 1970s, the presenter has been actively engaged in the exploration and development of construction aggregates, quarry rock, dimension stone, and chemical rock in Manitoba. The province contains a wide range of stone types and glacial aggregate products that support numerous industrial applications. These include cement production, ready-mix concrete, concrete blocks, pavers, precast components, silica sand for hydraulic fracturing and silicon metal, asphalt, bentonite shales, and dimension stone blocks.

This presentation will examine historical, current, and emerging issues related to permitting, extraction, transportation, and reclamation that influence the availability of these products in the marketplace. Selected past projects will be highlighted, with emphasis on opportunities in northern Manitoba and the potential role of tidewater facilities in supporting future development.

Richard Munroe, FGAC, P.Geo.

Richard Munroe, FGAC, P.Geo. has been an exploration geologist for 48 years and continues to travel the world in search of new mines and mineral deposits He has traveled extensively in Europe, Ireland, England, Scotland, Canada (including the high Arctic), Greenland, Iceland, Mongolia, China, USA, SE Asia, Mexico, Caribbean, and South America.

He is active in scientific research, mine development and exploration protocols. His early career began with companies such as Canada Cement, LaFarge, Dow Corning and Cemex, working with high calcium limestone deposits, industrial minerals, sand, gravel, quarried rock, concrete and dimension stone.

Clearing the Path: Addressing Recruitment Bottlenecks for Employers and Job SeekersJaysa Toet, CPHR

In today’s job market, both employers and job seekers encounter frustrating delays during the hiring process—missed opportunities, extended wait times, and communication breakdowns. This session adopts a dual-perspective approach to understanding why these bottlenecks occur and how to address them.

We’ll explore how outdated workflows, unclear expectations, and technology gaps slow down hiring from the inside, while also looking at how job seekers experience delays, confusion, and disengagement.

Participants will leave with practical strategies to improve process flow, strengthen communication, and reduce time-to-hire—while prioritizing the candidate experience. Whether you’re an employer, team leader, or job seeker, this session will provide insights to help you streamline recruitment or job searching, making the hiring process more effective for everyone

Jaysa Toet, CPHR

Jaysa Toet is a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) She has spent over a decade working as a strategic partner for businesses and organizations across Manitoba. As the Founder of Lively Consulting, she dedicates her expertise to designing and delivering recruitment services that resonate with the needs of employers and candidates.

Lively is a talent acquisition consulting firm providing recruitment training, coaching, and full-cycle recruitment. Jaysa’s focus on the importance of livelihoods and the impacts of career decisions is the "why" behind her work.

Creativity and Risk: The Secret Tools of Successful Technical ProfessionalsLisa Moretto

Engineers and technical professionals often focus on concrete facts and dismiss their inner creativity and innovation. Clients deserve not only technically solid solutions but creative results. To rediscover our ingenuity, we must learn to use our imagination and take risks.

This session will help you understand your risk appetite and tolerance while tapping into your innate creativity.

Lisa Moretto

Lisa is the President of RGI International, Inc. and has 31 years experience teaching business, leadership and technical communication courses Her courses consistently receive positive reviews saying she is an engaging and interactive presenter. EGM has partnered with RGI for decades and frequently invites Lisa to present at Ingneium. She has worked for IBM and Hewlett-Packard as a professional technical communicator and she teaches technical professionals that they too, are technical communicators.

Lisa holds a BS in Technical Communication and an MS in User Interface Design from technical universities. Lisa also is a co-founder of the Centre for Technical and Engineering Leadership which offers a program of courses to help develop engineers, geoscientists and others to become confident leaders. RGI’s clients include professional technical associations, government entities, and private engineering firms.We have worked with diverse fields including pharmaceutical, bio-engineering, mining, agriculture, insurance, energy and transportation.

Engineering approaches to Arctic Climate Change ResearchDustin Isleifson, Ph.D., P.Eng.

In this talk, I would discuss how we develop and use technologies to improve observation and monitoring of our planet (such as satellite and radar systems), with a particular focus on the Arctic regions. I will discuss teleconnections with a broad base of sciences in a multidisciplinary approach, to answer questions that require a spectrum of research expertise. I will discuss how we are engaging with northern communities as partners in projects to ensure that knowledge is co-generated and shared, in a good way.

Dustin Isleifson, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Dustin Isleifson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Manitoba, Canada. He is the current Director of the Centre for Earth Observation Science (CEOS) at the UM. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and the Chapter Chair for the Winnipeg Section of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing/Aerospace & Electronic Systems Society. His research interests include remote sensing, Arctic science, antenna design, and satellite technologies.

He has conducted fieldwork throughout the Canadian Arctic, with numerous field excursions on the research icebreaker, the CCGS Amundsen, and research at the Churchill Marine Observatory in Churchill, Canada. His team is designing a passive microwave system, which will be used in the payload for ArcticSat, a community co-developed CubeSat for sea ice monitoring in Hudson Bay.

KeynoteArtificial Intelligence and Leadership Strategies – Powering the Future SafelyRoss Pambrun

This presentation helps bring attention to the crucial role of leadership in AI innovation and the potential risks of AI implementation. Ross discusses the potential risks of unrestricted AI implementation, including operational, legal, and reputational hazards, and provides strategies to mitigate these risks. He emphasizes the importance of top-down participation and support in effective AI adoption, offering leadership strategies that ensure responsible and strategic use of AI technologies

Additionally, Ross highlights the necessity for leaders to prioritize cybersecurity and manage the associated threat risks, underscoring the critical role of leadership commitment in safeguarding AI initiatives. Through compelling case studies, practical guidelines, and interactive discussions, this talk equips attendees with the knowledge and tools to advocate for and implement responsible AI systems.

Ross Pambrun

Ross Pambrun is a visionary Indigenous Métis business leader, futurist, and award-winning CEO of The Memphis Group, an Artificial Intelligence company that protects communities from environmental threats Studied at MIT, Harvard, and the Alan Turing Institute, Ross blends AI, machine learning, & cybersecurity to create innovative, culturally informed solutions.

A decorated fire captain with 24 years proudly wearing medals of service from the Province of Alberta and the City of Calgary, Ross leverages his expertise to tackle global challenges like climate change, cybersecurity, and cultural preservation

As a sought-after speaker, he presented at prestigious events like the Wall Street Journal: Future of Everything conference in New York. A musician, actor, and TV personality, Ross brings passion, humility, and inspiration to his mission of fostering innovation & safeguarding the future.