Advisory Councils

Jesse McCormick (Anishinaabe/Oneida) provides strategic advice on the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, regulatory processes for major projects, corporate strategies to support reconciliation and the intersection between environmental protection, natural resource development and protection of Indigenous rights.

Jesse holds degrees from the University of Guelph, the University of Ottawa and the Harvard Law School.   He has served as the Director of Policy and Indigenous Relations for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Director of Rights Implementation for the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.  In those roles, he contributed to the establishment of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and provided strategic advice to support government decision making in relation to major projects.  Jesse held senior leadership roles in the reform of Canada’s federal environmental assessment processes and the development of federal legislation to implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Jesse has also contributed to the protection and promotion of Indigenous rights at the international level as a Senior Indigenous Fellow at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.    He is a practicing lawyer and a member of the Law Society of Ontario and the Law Society of British Columbia.   He has over a decade of experience providing legal advice on aboriginal rights and title, regulatory processes and legislative initiatives impacting Indigenous peoples.  Jesse is a proud citizen of Canada, the Anishinabek Nation and the Oneida Nation (Wolf Clan) and he is committed to the achievement of reconciliation through the implementation of rights, treaties and responsibilities.

In her role at Ontario Power Generation as a Senior Manager, Indigenous Relations, Christine John is able to live out her passion for supporting the development of relationships with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and brings an established network and experience in building effective partnerships through collaboration. Over the last two decades of working with community leaders and organizations across Ontario, Christine’s goal has been to increase the participation of Indigenous peoples in employment, procurement and engagement activities and to support industry awareness among Indigenous Nations and communities.

Christine has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Business and throughout her career, she has worked in various fields in the nuclear industry including Human Resources, Finance, Equity and Diversity, Corporate Social Responsibility, Communications, Public Education and Community & Indigenous Relations, which all lend to her approach and strategic vision. In addition to her professional role, she serves on community boards and coaches youth ice and ball hockey teams in and around Saugeen First Nation, where she lives with her family.

Through these roles, Ms. John aims to support youth development and community relationships with the goal of making a difference today so future generations will know a better world.

Chief Emily Whetung grew up in Curve Lake First Nation and left only long enough to pursue a higher education at Trent University and Osgoode Hall Law School. She practiced Real Estate Law in Peterborough for a decade before being elected as Chief of Curve Lake from 2019-2022. Chief Emily is passionate about the rights of First Nations people, ensuring her community has every opportunity to thrive and protecting the environment for all future generations, protection of Treaty Rights, finding ways to ensure economic advancements occur in sustainable manners, and building healthy relationships between First Nations and Canadians.

Chief Emily sits on the Anishinabek Nation Leadership Council and is currently Director of Indigenous Partnerships, Business Development. Recently, Chief Emily was the vice-chair to the Indigenous Advisory Council for Small Modular (Nuclear) Reactor Action Plan and a panel member for the Electrification and Energy Transition Panel in Ontario. She continues to use her expertise and knowledge to ensure that that voices of Indigenous people are heard and respected.

Dakota Kochie is currently the Director of Government and External Affairs at the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. Dakota most recently wrapped up his role as Chief of Staff for the Assembly of First Nations, Canada’s largest advocacy organization. Dakota is a humble advocate for First Nations issues and continues to advise First Nations leaders on intergovernmental, budget, and economic development issues. He was appointed by the Minister of Environment to the Canadian Environment Domestic Advisory Group (CEDAG) for the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Dakota has also worked for a Member of Parliament and worked on a number of federal, provincial, and municipal political campaigns. In his free time, Dakota is an avid kayaker, sports fan, and loves reading political biographies. Dakota is a proud Anishinaabe man from Pinaymootang First Nation (Treaty Two).

Currently, Gary Merasty is Chief Executive Officer at Peter Ballantyne Group of Cos. Mr. Merasty is also on the board of Bird Construction, Inc., Canada West Foundation, Enterprise Saskatchewan and Childrens Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan and Director-Industrial Investments at The Meadow Lake Tribal Council.

He previously occupied the position of Chairman of Northern Career Quest, Inc., President & Chief Executive Officer of Des Nedhe Development, Vice President-Corporate Social Responsibility at Cameco Corp., Chief Development Officer & Executive VP at The North West Co., Inc. and Chairman of Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority, Inc.

He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan.

Ms. Laurie Swami is the President and CEO of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). She was appointed to the role in 2016 and is responsible for implementing Canada’s plan for the long- term management of used nuclear fuel.

Prior to joining the NWMO, Ms. Swami spent 30 years, primarily in nuclear operations, at Ontario Power Generation. She served as Senior Vice-President of Decommissioning and Nuclear Waste Management, overseeing the operation of nuclear waste management facilities and planning for the
decommissioning of a nuclear generating facility.

Ms. Swami has extensive experience leading Environmental Assessment projects, including nuclear refurbishments. She has appeared before Joint Panel Reviews (CEA and CNSC) for the Darlington New Nuclear Project and OPG’s Deep Geologic Repository Project.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Chemistry from Queen’s University and a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business.

She is an ardent supporter of and advocate for the advancement of women to leadership positions. In recognition of this contribution, she received the Women in Nuclear Canada Leadership Award in 2016.

Jack R. Craig, Jr. currently serves as the Vice President, Strategic Programs for Atkins Nuclear Secured, in Aiken, South Carolina. In this role he supports the growth and success of Atkins Nuclear Secured and SNC Lavalin’s global nuclear business. He leads the development and implementation of growth strategies, conducts performance evaluations of operations, and participates on strategic project governance boards with the aim of enhancing the safe and efficient delivery of contractual commitments.
Prior to his current position with Atkins, Mr. Craig served over 30 years in high-level technical, management and executive leadership positions both at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Headquarters and DOE field offices. Many of these positions have been associated with environmental cleanup activities at former nuclear weapons production facilities throughout the DOE Complex.

Mr. Craig served as the Manager of the DOE Savannah River Operations Office (SR) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina, from May 2015 through February 2018. As DOE-SR Manager, Mr. Craig was responsible for one of the Department’s most diverse and complex missions, overseeing management and operations of the vast Savannah River Site covering 310 square miles, a workforce of over 11,000 federal and contractor staff and an annual budget of over $2 billion. He led the Site’s Environmental Management (EM) program which includes: treatment and disposition of High Level Radioactive (HLW) liquid waste, the closure of underground HLW tanks, the disposition of legacy plutonium and uranium materials, consolidation and safe interim storage of excess plutonium and spent nuclear fuel in support of national defense and nuclear nonproliferation priorities, remediation of soil and groundwater, and facility decontamination and decommissioning efforts across the Site. Additionally, Mr. Craig had overall leadership of the Savannah River National Laboratory, EM’s national laboratory and the Site’s multi-program applied research and development laboratory, focused in the areas of nuclear and homeland security, clean energy, and environmental stewardship.

Previously, Mr. Craig served as the Director of DOE’s Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center (EMCBC) in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 2004-2015, leading an organization that provides business and technical support to the entire DOE-EM complex in the areas of project management, financial services, cost estimating, intergovernmental communications, legal services, property and records management and technical services. In this position he was also responsible for executing all new acquisitions and contracting for DOE’s EM program. During this time the EMCBC served as the Acquisition Center for the $6 billion/annual DOE-EM Program.

From January 2014 through December 2014, Mr. Craig took on the added executive leadership roles of Acting Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for DOE-EM and Senior Advisor for the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management at DOE-Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Earlier in his career, from 2000-2004, Mr. Craig served as the Deputy Manager of the DOE Ohio Field Office where he was responsible for the management, cleanup and restoration of five separate DOE facilities (Fernald, Mound, Battelle-Columbus and Ashtabula) and the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York. From 1995-2000, he was the Site Manager of the Fernald Environmental Management Project, EM’s first major closure project, and responsible for the management of all facilities decommissioning, radioactive materials management, environmental restoration, and public involvement.

Before joining DOE, he managed environmental projects at Department of Defense facilities for General Dynamics Corporation and he also held various positions with the Naval Sea Systems Command.

Jennifer Edey is the Senior Vice President of Operational Services and Business Development at Bruce Power. She oversees the operation of key services that directly support the safe operation of Bruce Power’s nuclear fleet. These services include Information Technology and Digital Transformation, the operations and maintenance of all facilities and infrastructure, the document management system for Bruce Power, Radiological Waste Management and Health Physics. She also leads Emergency and Protective Services which consists of Nuclear Security, Fire Response and Prevention, and Emergency Management.

She has most recently added Business Development to her portfolio where she oversees isotope development, new nuclear initiatives and innovative technology and project opportunities to support our Net Zero Strategy.

Jennifer started her career with Suncor in Calgary where she was at the leading edge of renewable energy development in Canada. She developed wind farms across Canada and eventually co-ran a successful wind development company in Ontario.

She studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo and completed her Executive MBA through Queens University while working for Suncor in Calgary.

Lori was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer on March 20, 2023, after serving as acting president and CEO since July 4, 2022. Most recently, Lori served as the Senior Vice President, Operations and led the teams responsible for safe and reliable generation (conventional), transmission and distribution of power across the province. Ms. Clark was also accountable for the employees who serve our customers everyday and those focused on modernizing the New Brunswick power grid.

Lori began her career with NB Power in 1990. Since that time, she has held positions of increasing responsibility including Controller, Managing Director of Finance, Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs and Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Strategic Initiatives. Lori has extensive experience with the utility’s rate application process, appearing as a witness for NB Power at several rate hearings.

Lori holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. Lori has also studied Nuclear Reactor Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Leadership at the Wharton School of Business.

Rachna has had a diverse career in the nuclear industry. She first joined COG in October 2015, where she developed the Strategic R&D program and helped the industry establish long term priorities for R&D. In her five years at COG, she progressed from Program Manager of Research and Development to Director of Nuclear Safety & Environmental Affairs, before being appointed Deputy CEO. 

From 2020-2022, Rachna was Senior Director, Strategic Growth & Innovation at Kinectrics. In this role, she developed, orchestrated and implemented strategies to ensure Kinectrics’ long-term growth and profitability, and ensured that Kinectrics was well-aligned with its domestic and international clients’ priorities. Reporting directly to the CEO, Clavero had oversight of the nuclear business development team, the innovation portfolio and the company’s sustainability initiatives. 

Prior roles include senior positions with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Candesco Corporation and the Ontario Ministry of Energy. She began her career performing safety analysis for the restart of the Ontario reactors and then moved on to regulatory projects for the Canadian utilities and waste management. Rachna returned to AECL to lead licensing for new CANDU designs. During her time at the Ministry of Energy she provided strategic advice on nuclear new builds, refurbishment, radioactive waste management and emergency planning. She has consulted internationally at the IAEA and is the Chair of the SMR Task Force and Vice Chair for the committee developing Reactor Safety Standards at the Canadian Standards Association. A strong supporter of diversity in the workplace, Rachna is a mentor and coach to emerging leaders in the industry.

Mel Hogg is the Senior Vice President – Human Resources (HR) at OPG. Mel joined the company in September 2017 as Assistant General Counsel. She was appointed to lead the HR function in July 2019. Leveraging her legal and business expertise, Mel was tasked with simplifying and modernizing the HR function. Along with her committed HR and LR team, Mel is implementing a transformational HR strategy that will help leaders build high-performance teams focusing on development, embracing inclusion in a meaningful way and improving HR processes that contribute to OPG’s success. Mel’s mandate also includes working closely with OPG’s union partners to build effective business relationships.

Mel has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Toronto and graduated from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law in 2002. Prior to joining OPG, Mel practised commercial litigation in New York City and at a large national Bay Street law firm in Toronto.

Outside of OPG, Mel fuels her interest in social justice through her service on the board of a not-for-profit organization providing support to women experiencing violence.

Fred Dermarkar is AECL’s President and CEO. He was appointed in February 2021 for a term of three years.

Prior to joining AECL, Fred was President and CEO of the CANDU Owners Group, where he led the not-for‐profit organization to advance collaboration between CANDU nuclear reactor operators worldwide.

Fred has been working in the Canadian nuclear industry for close to 40 years. Throughout his career, he has occupied a variety of key technical and senior leadership positions at Ontario Power Generation in support of the design, commissioning, operation and refurbishment of its CANDU reactors.

Fred has received the Canadian Nuclear Association’s Ian McRae award in recognition of his substantive engineering contributions, leadership and positive influence on the Canadian nuclear industry and the advancement of nuclear energy in Canada, and the Nuclear Excellence Award from the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) in recognition of his contributions to Ontario Power Generation’s overall post-Fukushima response.

As President and CEO of AECL, Fred is leading the organization in its oversight role, seeing that the priorities of Government are delivered safely and efficiently under the Government-owned, Contractor-operated model.

Fred holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto and is a registered professional engineer in the Province of Ontario.

Doddy Kastanya is a nuclear engineer with expertise in the areas of computational reactor physics, safety analyses, regional/neutron overpower protection (ROP/NOP) for CANDU design, and mathematical optimization for nuclear engineering applications. Doddy has served as a technical lead for many reactor-physics projects such as the ROP design activities for the ACR-1000 and the Enhanced CANDU 6 designs, the handswitch position re-classification for TQNPC in China, the physics design verification activities for the ACR-1000 design, the pressure tube axial elongation mitigation studies for Pickering stations, and reactor-physics analyses of medical isotope productions in CANDU reactors such as the Molybdenum-99 project for OPG, the Lutetium-177 and Cobalt-60 projects for Bruce Power, and the cobalt adjuster conversion project for SNN in Romania. Doddy served as a member of technical program committee for many international nuclear engineering conferences such as the Mathematics and Computational Method Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C), PHYSOR, Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference, and Advanced Nuclear Fuel Management. Doddy has served as a member of the editorial boards for Progress in Nuclear Energy, Annals of Nuclear Energy, and Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations. Doddy is also a licensed professional engineer in the province of Ontario, Canada. Doddy is currently serving as the President of the Canadian Nuclear Society.

John Gorman is President & CEO of Canadian Nuclear Association and past President & CEO of the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA). John served as Canada’s Designate to the International Energy Agency’s Executive Committee (PVPS) and was a Founder of the Canadian Council on Renewable Electricity (CanCORE). 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 was awarded the designation of Climate Project Ambassador by Nobel Laureate Al Gore in 2008.

In his role as Vice-President, Indigenous and Stakeholder Relations, Jason leads on all of AECL’s communications and public affairs functions and works to strengthen the organization’s approach to reconciliation with Indigenous communities and Nations. Jason is also responsible for government and international relations.

For 23 years, Jason has worked across many areas of nuclear regulation at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), including nuclear material accountancy, international safeguards, import and export controls, and nuclear security. Most recently, Jason was the Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs and Chief Communications Officer for the CNSC. In this position, he led strategic and regulatory policy functions, including the CNSC’s approach to reconciliation, as well as their internal and external communications programs.

Jennifer is the Director of Stakeholder Relations for Ontario Power Generation’s nuclear division, and has more than twenty years’ experience in strategic communications, community relations, and strengthening community partnerships.

Dakota Kochie is currently the Director of Government and External Affairs at the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. Dakota most recently wrapped up his role as Chief of Staff for the Assembly of First Nations, Canada’s largest advocacy organization. Dakota is a humble advocate for First Nations issues and continues to advise First Nations leaders on intergovernmental, budget, and economic development issues. He was appointed by the Minister of Environment to the Canadian Environment Domestic Advisory Group (CEDAG) for the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Dakota has also worked for a Member of Parliament and worked on a number of federal, provincial, and municipal political campaigns. In his free time, Dakota is an avid kayaker, sports fan, and loves reading political biographies. Dakota is a proud Anishinaabe man from Pinaymootang First Nation (Treaty Two).

For nearly 30 years, he has led or advised Fortune 500 companies and C-suite executives in various sectors including energy (nuclear, hydrogen and fusion), transportation, financial services, defence, and research and development. He has also advised domestic and foreign governments on energy, trade, and economic security policy.

Lou has held senior business development roles with CH2MHILL/Jacobs, one of the world’s largest US-based firms providing professional services and project delivery for government and private sector clients. Focusing on the Canadian federal government sector, he assisted with procurement captures in defence, and nuclear sectors, including the first ever Government-owned, Contractor-operated (GoCo) management of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). For the past eight years, Lou has served on the CNL executive team, seconded from Jacobs. At CNL, Lou led three separate portfolios simultaneously: stakeholder and Indigenous engagement, business development, and strategy.

Leveraging his decades of federal and provincial government experience, both from his service on Parliament Hill, with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and at global consulting firm Hill & Knowlton, Lou assisted numerous clients navigate government funding applications, procurements, legislation, and various regulatory processes.

Today, Lou is at the forefront of energy policy, including the development of innovative technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), nuclear fuel, hydrogen research and development, and promoting other innovative technologies that mitigate climate change, while ensuring energy independence, and building a clean economy.

Clint Thomas is Director, Government and Stakeholder Relations at Bruce Power, where he’s been for the past four years. Prior to that, he served Minister Vic Fedeli as Director of Communications at the Ministries of Finance and Economic Development, Trade and Job Creation, and as Principal Secretary while in the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition. Before joining MPP Fedeli at Queen’s Park in 2011, Clint was an award-winning journalist, working as News Director at Rogers Radio in North Bay and as an editor/reporter in the Canadian Press newsroom in Toronto during a 15-plus year career in broadcast journalism.