Board of Directors

Cindy Choy – Chair

Cindy worked in architectural design, production and project management for 15 years before transitioning to provincial policy and program development where she was Director of the Manitoba Green Building Program and focussed on advancing sustainability and green buildings.

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Cindy has a wide range of building related areas including architectural design, production and construction, project management, and provincial green building policy and program development. She currently works as Planning Officer for her family’s small home development company.

In these various roles, she has and continues to volunteer in sustainability and building-related committees, boards and working groups including Manitoba Round Table for Sustainable Development, Bee Better Manitoba and the Building Energy Technology Access Center at Red River College. She was a founding member of Manitoba’s Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council which later evolved into Sustainable Building Manitoba.

 

Curtis Hull – Vice Chair

Curt Hull has been project manager with Climate Change Connection and the Manitoba Eco-Network since 2007.  Curt is a professional engineer.

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Prior to his involvement in climate change, he worked for 25 years as Director of Quality Systems with a Winnipeg-based electronics design and manufacturing company. While there, he helped the company grow from 12 people in a small, local facility to an international concern with manufacturing and offices in 5 countries, and 1000+ employees.
In 2010, Curt was trained by Al Gore in Nashville and became part of the global Climate Reality Project. He continues to work with that project internationally.
Locally, Curt is working with many groups to move us to a fossil-fuel free future. He was one of the founders of Bike Winnipeg as well as 50by30.org and Transition Winnipeg. Recently, he has been doing consulting work on sustainability with northern First Nations.

Alex Fleming – Treasurer

Following equal parts of energy auditing on Manitoba’s “Energy Bus” and practicing as an energy engineer with EJ Faraci and Associates, Alex established Vancouver-based Demand Side Energy Consultants in 1990. He provided demand side management technical and program support to more than 16 utilities under the Power Smart license across Canada and abroad – then in 2001 he was given the opportunity to open Demand Side Energy’s Winnipeg office.

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Alex joined the Manitoba Energy Management Task Force in 2001, chairing the rebranded “Building Energy Management Manitoba” until 2009.  He continued volunteering as founding chair and enthusiast of the Better Buildings Conference for nine years, – culminating in the 2008 Better Buildings Conference featuring Justin Trudeau’s environmental education gala event. 

Alex continues to steer Demand Side Energy into its 4th decade of energy and emission modelling, energy auditing, facility commissioning and measurement and verification across Canada and abroad.  Circling back to geothermal heat-pump application engineering, he hopes to add experience and continued passion for net zero buildings, through energy modelling, energy efficiency and optimized geothermal design.

Jessica Piper – Secretary

Jessica is an emerging professional with a Master of Architecture and undergraduate degrees in Environmental Design and Biology. Currently, her work includes practice and research: she is an Architectural Intern focused on supporting and developing sustainable programming, projects, and initiatives within the office; and a research assistant at the University of Manitoba studying the integration of biomaterials into architecture and design. Jessica believes that meaningful sustainability necessitates a systemic and resilient approach to design.

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As a lifelong learner with diverse intellectual interests, Jessica is driven by the conviction that architects must take on a prominent role in addressing the crisis of climate change. She has extensive experience working in diverse, collaborative team environments, and consistently works to develop new skills, including most recently obtaining LEED accreditation. Jessica is thrilled to join the board of SBM to engage with and advocate for the bigger picture of sustainable policy in Manitoba.

Abhilash Kantamneni

Abhilash is a Research Associate at Efficiency Canada where he leads research into low-income energy efficiency retrofits and energy poverty. He is an electrical engineer by training, and is currently working on a PhD researching sustainable building energy retrofits in Canada’s social housing sector.

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He is also on track to become a certified Home Energy Advisor. He is moving (back) to his wife’s hometown of Winnipeg this summer, and looks forward to being on the Board of SBM to help deepen his sense of belonging in his new home of Manitoba – and bringing his experience and expertise with policy, research and advocacy to bear on advancing SBM’s strategic plan objectives.

Amy Tuck

Amy leads Efficiency Manitoba’s Income-based, Indigenous, and community programs portfolio. A Crown corporation, Efficiency Manitoba, is dedicated to helping Manitobans reduce their electricity and natural gas use through energy efficiency programs. A Bachelor of Commerce graduate, she has extensive marketing, project management, and operations experience

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For over 13 years, Amy has been designing and delivering energy efficiency programs for a variety of customer segments in Manitoba. With a decade at Manitoba Hydro, she gained insight into the significant role that demand side management plays for utilities and the importance of bill affordability for underserved customers.

She believes that everyone should have access to energy efficiency programs and provides the strategic direction for a number of programs aimed at reducing barriers to participation and that build capacity opportunities.

Ayda Allahgholipour

Ayda is currently working at SMS Engineering as an energy modeler. She is passionate about sustainable designing and providing clean power for district energy. After a few years in professional practice, she returned to university to enhance her knowledge and skills. During her previous role, she applied renewable energy resources to provide power in microgrids.

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She also completed a NSERC Fellowship where she designed in-floor heating systems for homes in remote communities. As a research assistant at the University of Manitoba, Ayda developed a detailed model to simulate a new, high efficiency small-scale thermodynamic combined heat and power cycle that could serve houses in remote communities. Her passions have led her to participate in LEED which has driven her attention to green building design. Her experiences with renewable energy resources have combined to affirm a strong commitment to the design of economically efficient green buildings..

Aynsley Dueck

Aynsley Dueck is currently working at her family business, DUXTON Windows & Doors, with her father Al Dueck.

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She has been with the company for 8 years, starting in Marketing, then growing into a Continuous Improvement role, and is currently the Operations Manager. Aynsley has a strong business background, having grown up around the start-up company, and having a Bachelor of Education from the I.H. Asper School of Business.  She is very passionate about high performance building envelopes and is eager to help spread the word that building or renovating sustainably is achievable, and creates superior living spaces.

Aynsley was on the board for Young Construction Leaders of Manitoba (YCLM), which is a subset of Winnipeg Construction Association, for almost 5 years in various positions, most recently as Vice Chair.

David Anderson

David Anderson has a Master’s Degree in Architecture (2015) from the University of Manitoba. He has passed the Examination for Architects in Canada and expects to be a registered architect very soon. He is currently employed with Sputnik Architecture Inc. as an Architectural Intern where he continues to develop his skills as an architect.

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He is inspired by the effort that went into reusing as much of the existing building at Mountain Equipment Co-op and thinks the Hydro building is a good example of a new build. The design as a whole was intended to be a leader in energy efficiency and by doing so it offers incredible comfort for the inhabitants. He believes that joining the Board will allow him to better serve my community both as a professional and as a resident. He has a strong desire to further increase his knowledge of sustainable building practices and to promote these important practices within the design community and with the public in general.  

Dudley Thompson

Dudley is Principle in Dudley Thompson Consultancy – a consulting firm focusing on Sustainable Community, Regenerative Architecture, Advocacy, Stakeholder Engagement and Climate Change Mitigation.

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He works in Winnipeg for a variety of Corporate and Not-for-Profit clients. He was the founding principal of Prairie Architects Inc. in 1981 and has practiced as an architect in Manitoba since 1976. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies degree from the University of Manitoba and a graduate degree in Architecture from the University of Toronto. He transferred Prairie Architects in 2011 to four employees.

Dudley nurtured Prairie as an architectural firm that was committed at its roots to sustainability, stakeholder participation in design and building community. Prairie demonstrated this commitment to Sustainable Buildings with an integrated staff of building scientists and 90% of staff members that are LEED accredited. Prairie certified over 30 LEED buildings under Dudley’s leadership including Manitoba’s first LEED GOLD Building, Mountain Equipment Co-op, and several LEED Platinum projects including Manitoba Hydro Place and Amber Trails School. In his 35 years of practice, Dudley guided Prairie Architects Inc. as an Integrated Design Process Facilitator on numerous projects, in the regeneration of dozens of historic buildings, the renewal of many urban sites, the creation of many First Nation projects as well as a wide variety of residential, community and educational projects. Mr. Thompson recently served on the Board of Directors of Manitoba Hydro and was chairperson of the non-profit Winnipeg Housing and Rehab Corporation. In 2014, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Canada Green Building Council, Manitoba Chapter,  “For his visionary leadership, and his outstanding personal and professional commitment to advancing sustainable building practices in Manitoba.” He also received a Fellowship in the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 2016.  He lives in Winnipeg with his wife and two sons.

Erin Crawley

Erin holds an undergraduate degree in Architecture from the University of Manitoba, as well as a Masters degree in Sustainable Energy from Carleton University. Erin is an accredited LEED AP BD+C, and a Fitwel Ambassador.

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Erin currently works as a Senior Sustainability Analyst with EQ Building Performance. She operates primarily as a LEED Consultant for the Gordie Howe International Bridge port of entry facilities under construction between Ontario and Michigan. Erin also works as a Sustainability Consultant on a number of other developments, coordinating both LEED and compliance with the Toronto Green Standard.

Previously Erin worked as a Building Performance Consultant in Ottawa, as well as a Coordinator and Technical Writer for Sustainable Buildings Canada. Erin also spent time in the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program with Environment and Climate Change Canada contributing to Canada’s submission to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Kale Kostick

Kale is an environmental professional skilled in communications, leadership, and stakeholder engagement with a passion for sustainability and how humans interact with the built environment. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Business in Administration from the University of Winnipeg.

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She currently works as an Environmental Specialist at Manitoba Hydro, overseeing the Environmental Management System to manage risks and implement measures to minimize and mitigate environmental impacts within Manitoba.

Previously Kale worked at the University of Manitoba in the Office of Sustainability and the Architecture and Engineering Office. Kale is also a sessional instructor in the Clayton Riddell Faculty where she teaches about natural and anthropogenic issues in the environment. Her favourite sustainable build is the Clearwater buildings in Clearwater, MB. The community participation involved with everything in Clearwater is palpable making it one of her chosen towns to visit in the province

Lindsay Robinson

Lindsay is a professional engineer with a B.Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Manitoba and certified Building Energy Modelling Professional by ASHRAE. He also has training in solar engineering, geoexchange and passive house design.  He is currently working with Efficiency Manitoba as a Mechanical Systems Engineer and was previously in building energy modelling roles at WSP, Crosier Kilgour and Integrated Designs Inc. 

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Lindsay specializes in whole building energy modelling for code compliance, design optimization, sustainability certification and incentive programs.  Presently Lindsay is a member of the SBM Advocacy Committee and board member of the Manitoba Eco-Network, serving as Secretary and member of the Strategic Planning and Policy committees.  Previously he volunteered in the construction of Manitoba’s first Earthship home, and as a design team member developing the monitoring system for Manitoba’s first certified Passive House.  Before pursuing his passion for high performance and sustainable buildings, he had a 12-year career as a manufacturing engineer with Boeing.

R. Zane McKinnon

Zane is co-owner and founder of Red North Carpentry & Structure Ltd. He received his Carpentry Red Seal in 2014, graduating with honours from Red River College. Zane is passionate about building durable homes and in 2021 he obtained his certification as a Passive House Consultant and pursued further training completing the BEAM carbon accounting course in 2023.

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Red North Carpentry is a 2023 recipient of the Building Science Leadership Award from Logix Brands. This is for an ICF home that achieved 0.29ACH/50 and uses over 50% less energy than a standard home.  He is happiest out in the elements, working the tools, teaching and mentoring the company’s apprentices, and learning about building science and best practices.  Outside of work, you’ll usually find him running in Winnipeg and on Manitoba’s trails – having completed multiple ultra marathons. 

Rob Spewak

Rob is the Building Enclosure Professional with Efficiency Manitoba. He has been with Efficiency Manitoba since June 2022 and is working with their technical team to support the organizations energy efficiency program offerings.

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He has extensive experience developing research proposals, managing applied research projects and supervising staff, Rob enjoys the hands-on fieldwork with BETAC, and has trained and helped deliver large building airtightness testing services and training; he also has taken Level 2 Thermograph training. Prior to joining the College, Rob worked in technical sales in the areas of metering and controls and raw materials for composite manufacturing. He has a B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Manitoba and an M.Sc.in Bioresource Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan. Rob was born and raised in rural Manitoba just north of Winnipeg