Staff
Ashley Anstey joined the Canadian Nuclear Association in 2019, where she works as Administrative Assistant in close coordination with the other members of the team. Ashley provides excellent attention to detail and effectively manages and distributes information throughout the office. She excels in planning and organization. Previously Ashley had a long professional relationship with FGL Sports, working in a management position where she provided continual coaching and training of her department by setting expectations, keeping open lines of communication and delivering constructive feedback and support to staff. Ashley is a goal-driven individual who loves a good challenge. Ashley holds a diploma in Business Marketing from Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology. She understands the meaning of value and will devote herself fully into her work. She has a sense of community and enjoys being involved in neighbourhood projects. She has multiple awards for her volunteer work as well as a 10-year appreciation award from the Sudbury Summerfest. Ashley has the ability to add her creativity to all situations to make every experience a unique and powerful one. When Ashley isn’t in the office, she enjoys camping, canoeing and becoming one with nature.
George is seconded to the Canadian Nuclear Association from Ontario Power Generation. George brings over 15 years of experience in dealing with governments at the federal, provincial, and international level. He has worked in the federal Government as a senior advisor to Ministers, Senior Policy Analyst at Western Diversification before working in the private sector as Director of Government Affairs at the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association and Vice President in a senior government relations firm in Ottawa working on a number of sectors including energy and environment. George speaks English, French, Spanish and Greek. He enjoys fitness, music and spending time with family. George volunteers at the Hellenic Community of Ottawa where he is presently a board member responsible for communications.
Jessica joined the CNA in November 2012 as the Receptionist/Administrative Assistant and in 2013 was promoted to Junior Executive Assistant to the President. In 2016 she was again promoted to Membership and Project Manager. Since joining the CNA, Jessica has performed a wide range of duties such as office administration, conference coordination and membership support. In her new role, Jessica is responsible for managing and overseeing all CNA events including the CNA’s annual conference and trade show and its fall energy seminar, as well as managing membership services and outreach. Jessica graduated from Algonquin College where she obtained a post graduate degree in Events Management. She also holds a Bachelors of Arts degree, with a Major in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology from the University of Ottawa.
Steve is currently on a part-time secondment to the Canadian Nuclear Association from Bruce Power where he serves as Senior Advisor, Regulatory Affairs for Bruce Power and is the company’s representative in Ottawa. At the CNA, Mr. Coupland serves as Director, Regulatory and Environmental Affairs where he has responsibility for co-ordinating an industry wide approach to regulatory issues as well as assisting members of the nuclear industry to continue to improve their environmental performance and receive recognition for nuclear’s role as a clean, reliable source of electricity. Prior to joining Bruce Power, Mr. Coupland worked as a management consultant for SCG Research Inc. and held several senior federal government policy and public affairs positions in Ottawa including working as a Director in the Prime Minister’s Office, Industry Canada and Government Services Canada. Mr. Coupland holds an M.A. in History from the University of Western Ontario.
John Gorman is President & CEO of Canadian Nuclear Association, past President & CEO of the Canadian Solar Industries Association, a Director on the board of the Energy Council of Canada, and held the position as Canada’s Designate to the International Energy Agency Executive Committee. He’s using this experience to secure a leading role for nuclear energy at the heart of Canada’s energy transition.
Before joining CanSIA, he was the Senior Vice President of Empower Energies, an innovative, global integrator of energy systems. He has served as a director on the boards of numerous community and corporate organizations, including one of the nation’s largest electric utilities.
John has been recognized as one of Canada’s CLEAN50 and is the recipient of the “40 Under 40” business award for excellence in business practices. He was awarded the designation of Climate Project Ambassador by Nobel Laureate Al Gore in 2008.
Emily has ten years of experience in marketing and communications. Her roles include work in the IT sector as well as government positions at Industry Canada, the Ministries of Energy and Infrastructure and the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission. Emily holds a combined honors degree in English Literature and Mass Communications from Carleton University and a post-graduate certificate in Interactive Multimedia from Canadore College.
Romeo currently works as a communications officer for the Canadian Nuclear Association, where he has responsibility for media monitoring, social media, and promoting the nuclear industry’s messages on various platforms. Prior to joining the CNA, he worked as a journalist on Parliament Hill, covering three prime ministers. Before that he was an entertainment reporter and studied political science at Carleton University.
John leads the development of policy and research products to support the CNA’s mission, and co-chairs the Public Affairs Advisory Committee. He was project manager of the 2018 Small Modular Reactor Roadmap, and has been Canada’s representative to the Washington-based Global Nexus Initiative. John worked with the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa from 1990 to 2010, where he was a member of a Climate Outreach Team that in 2006 received a Superior Honor Award for effectively communicating U.S. foreign policy on the environment and climate change. An advocate for the productive integration of immigrants into Canadian society, he has led two of Ottawa’s immigrant services organizations. John is on the teaching faculty of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University and is the author of Strangers with Memories: The United States and Canada from Free Trade to Baghdad (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017).
Tricia Weagant is Vice President at the Canadian Nuclear Association where she oversees the organization’s operations and marketing / communications strategy. Tricia leads a team of communications, government relations, human resource, policy, research and member relations professionals that make up this industry advocacy association, which promotes the use of nuclear technology for clean electricity production, medicine, research & development.
Tricia’s background prior to joining the Canadian Nuclear Association included leadership roles in corporate, agency and association communications.
As Senior Director, Marketing & Communications at Payments Canada, Tricia was a member of the Operational Leadership Team with oversight for ecosystem engagement, operational and cultural performance. In her role, she oversaw the internal / external communications, government relations, committee governance, education, market research, events and partnerships teams.
Tricia was a key part of the organization’s transformation, leading the rebrand of the Canadian Payments Association to Payments Canada, helping guide the cultural evolution of the organization as it grew from 85 to 250 people, and driving ecosystem engagement and the innovation narrative as the industry modernized the infrastructure, rules and standards underpinning the Canadian payments economy.
Prior to this, Tricia was a senior team member at the Toronto office of Ketchum Public Relations, where she worked with a variety of corporate clients in professional services and technology, as well as a few consumer clients when it appealed to her personal passions, such as Specialized bikes.
The deep media relations experience acquired at Ketchum built on the strong foundation in corporate communications she established at RSA Canada (formerly Royal & SunAlliance). At RSA Tricia was a key player in the corporate rebrand and a central member of the communications team.