Board Members

Al Shpyth joined the IMII in December 2015 and became executive director on January 1, 2016. Al brings more than 25 years of consulting, government and industry experience related to mining and the minerals sector to the IMII. A graduate of the University of Saskatchewan (in 1986), he obtained his master’s degrees in environmental studies from York University (in 1991) and in environmental law and policy from the Vermont Law School, where he graduated with highest honours, in 2014.

As a consultant, Al worked on environmental assessments and feasibility studies for mining projects in Saskatchewan (potash), British Columbia (copper) and Manitoba (silica sand). While with the Government of Saskatchewan, Al was the lead author of the government’s Position Paper on Proposed Uranium Mining Developments in Northern Saskatchewan in the mid-1990s and helped to set the public policy framework for approvals of the McArthur River, Cigar Lake and McClean Lake projects. He also conceived of and created the Northern Mines Monitoring Secretariat and Environmental Quality Committees to facilitate community involvement in the regulation of the uranium mining industry in northern Saskatchewan. In industry, Al held a number of progressively more responsible positions within Uranerz Exploration and Mining Ltd. and Cameco Corporation in areas as diverse as public affairs, human resources, special projects (ISO 14001), policy and systems development, government relations, information systems & technology, and business technology services. His work for Cameco was both national and international in scope, having been seconded to the Canadian Nuclear Association in Ottawa as director, environmental and regulatory affairs, and represented the company as their first managing director in the Central Asian Republic of Kazakhstan.

In Saskatchewan, Al served several years as the chair of the Uranium Section of the Saskatchewan Mining Association, and on the board of directors of the Saskatoon Co-op. He also served as a volunteer board member, President and Past President of the Saskatchewan Environment Industry and Managers Association.

Patty Rosher is the Assistant Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). The CGC is responsible for regulation of the grain handling industry and works to ensure the integrity and marketability of Canadian grain for the domestic and international grain trade, from producer to global consumer. Prior to joining the CGC, Ms. Rosher was general manager of Keystone Agricultural Producers. She was also a director with Manitoba Agriculture for seven years, including a stint as the acting general manager and COO of the Food Development

Centre. Prior to that, she spent 18 years at the Canadian Wheat Board in policy, program management and marketing. Ms. Rosher holds a master’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in science (agricultural economics) and a bachelor’s degree in commerce. She has served on the boards of her community centre, her condominium board and Mediation Services of Winnipeg.

After growing up on a farm in northeast Saskatchewan, Kendra Mueller has had a passion for agriculture for her entire life. She and her husband Gordon now run a 7,500-acre grain farm near Humboldt, which produces a variety of grain, oilseed and pulse crops. They use the latest technology to operate the farm in a long-term, sustainable manner.

As a Senior Relationship Manager, Corporate and Senior Accounts at Farm Credit Canada, Ms. Mueller serves a diverse range of agribusiness customers, including top-tier accounts for the province of Saskatchewan. Her deep knowledge of the agriculture industry, and of agriculture finance, allow her to bring real value to her relationships with customers, helping them grow and succeed in a highly competitive marketplace.

Ms. Mueller earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree from the University of Saskatchewan and is a longstanding member of the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists, holding a Professional Agrologist designation. She is currently completing her Directors Education Program through the Institute of Corporate Directors and University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Ms. Mueller is a past Board member of Ag-West Bio and the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission, as well as serving on the selection committee for SREDA’s Agriculture Technology HARVEST Program. She is also a basketball coach and a tireless volunteer for her local community. Kendra and Gordon have three awesome kids who are also very passionate about agriculture.

Dr. Shawn Gibson is the Executive Director of the Agriculture Research Branch in the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Saskatchewan and has expertise in plant molecular biology and physiology.

Dr. Gibson’s work focuses on the Ministry of Agriculture’s science, research and innovation funding which involves engaging with stakeholders in the agriculture industry to coordinate provincial investments into organizations, people, projects and in the demonstration of new agricultural practices and technologies. Prior to his position as Executive Director, he was the Manager of the Research Unit and Research Specialist for Value Added Processing in the Agriculture Research Branch. He is based out of Regina.

Dr. Curtis Rempel is Vice President, Crop Production and Innovation, Canola Council of Canada; Adjunct Professor, Dept of Food & Nutrition Science, Richardson Centre for Functional Foods, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Manitoba.

He joined the Canola Council of Canada in July 2012. Curtis is responsible for (i) directing the Crop Production Team Agronomists with a mandate to optimize profitability for producers and the supply chains they serve while minimizing production risk, (ii) developing research priorities for canola production, oil and meal utilization, (iii) developing sustainability and production stewardship guidelines, (iv) liaising between producers, industry and academia to optimize extension activity as it pertains to canola production and innovation, (v) manage the coordination of the trials and budget for the Western Canada Canola/Rapeseed Recommending Committee (WCCRRC) and the Canola Performance Trials, (vi) monitor and manage issues related to domestic and global biotechnology acceptance and regulation, (vii) manage the CP&I budgets ($2 million) and direct GF2, ARDI, MITACS and CARP research activities and budgets ($20 million), (viii) represent Canadian canola’s best interests with industry and professional groups and numerous other activities.

Curtis was raised on a farm specializing in dairy and special crops in southeastern Manitoba and is still involved with commercial farm production. His education includes a BSc and MSc from the University of Manitoba, PhD from the University of Guelph, and MBA from Athabasca University/University of Guelph. Prior to joining the Canola Council of Canada, Dr. Rempel has worked as a research scientist for Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, has taught at numerous universities and community colleges in Canada, and has operated his own consulting company for 10 years, primarily providing business and marketing strategy and scientific counsel to Fortune 500 companies. In the corporate sector, Dr. Rempel worked for 8 years in R&D, corporate finance and business strategy and development at Monsanto Corp, as a senior consultant for Meyers, Norris, Penny focusing on commodity marketing, renewable energy, intellectual property protection, enterprise software applications, and scientific competitiveness and most recently as the Business Development Manager at the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods & Nutraceuticals.

Dr. Rempel is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Food Science and his current research interests include (1) “green” extraction technology; 2) extraction and characterization of bioactive molecules from oilseed crops and medicinal plants of the tall grass prairie and boreal forest; 3) development of functional foods, biopharmaceuticals, drug delivery platforms, and bioindustrial products from co-streams of crop processing.

Dr. Annemieke Farenhorst is Associate Vice-President (Research), University of Manitoba. Previously, Dr. Farenhorst served as Associate Dean (Research) and professor of soil science in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and is a Registered Professional Agrologist. She joined UM in 1997 and holds a doctoral degree in Geography from the University of Toronto and a doctorandus degree in physical geography and soil science from the University of Amsterdam. An active researcher, she holds grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and has supervised more than 100 students and postdoctoral fellows in natural and social science research projects.

Dr. Farenhorst has been recognized for her professional contributions through a range of awards including WXN’s Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award (2016), the Ms. and Mrs. Ralph Campbell Award for Meritorious Service in University Outreach (2015) and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) for leadership in pesticide research and community involvement.

The Honourable JoAnne Buth has long been a passionate public servant, leader, and advocate for Canada’s agriculture sector. She has led departments in Manitoba Agriculture, Soils, and Crops, and spent five years as the President of the Canola Council of Canada (after eight years as Vice-President). In recognition of her expertise in the agriculture sector and her service to the community, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Buth to the Canadian Senate, where she sat for two years with the Conservative caucus, representing Manitoba.

Attending the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba, Buth has served on many agriculture advisory committees in both private industry and government, including the Canada Grains Council and the Entomological Society of Manitoba. She has also served a variety of community organizations such as the Golden Prairie Arts Council, which promotes arts and cultural activities in rural Manitoba. For all of her service to farmers, the wider community and Canada’s agriculture sector — a cornerstone of Manitoba’s economy — The University of Winnipeg Alumni Association is honoured to present JoAnne Buth with the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Dr. Terry Fonstad is a leader in environmental research for animal agriculture.  His work is the basis for much of the regulations and policies related to siting and permitting of intensive livestock operations in the prairie regions.  Dr. Fonstad’s academic home is the Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering.

Dr. Fonstad’s research started with site selection for development of intensive livestock operations and includes design and construction of compacted clay liners and reactive transport of nitrogen rich solutions.  He was asked to expand his research into mass mortalities management when BSE was discovered in Canada.

This led to the novel use of gene sequencing of DNA extracted from soil cores to evaluate the risk of burial as a mass mortality management strategy.  Gene sequencing is also used in his research to maximize biogas production in relation to agricultural waste utilization.  Dr. Fonstad leads a Pan-Canadian team with the goal of increased biosecurity in the food industry through reduction of pathogen transfer in the swine transport sector.  Additionally, he leads a team completing environmental research for the cattle industry at the USask Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence.

Dr. Fonstad is a registered professional engineering and professional agrologist.  He is a Fellow of Engineers Canada and honorary Fellow of Geosciences Canada.  He has served two terms on the council of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan as well as one term on the executive and served as President in 2019-20.  He was awarded the Public Service Award from the RM of Blucher No 343 for his service on municipal council from 2002-2017.

Gina Feist is the Executive Director of the Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute (BMBRI), a not for profit member organization comprised of maltsters, brewers, seed companies and the barley commissions. The primary purpose of BMBRI is to support the development of new Canadian malting barley varieties that are profitable for growers and meet the premium standards of BMBRI members and their customers.

Throughout her career Gina has worked in diverse research related roles; starting at the lab bench early in her career, moving on to business development and intellectual property management, and prior to joining BMBRI she was the research program manager at the Western Grains Research Foundation. Gina has a BSc., a Masters of Business Administration and is a Professional Agrologist (PAg).

Dr. Susan Blum is the Associate Vice President Applied Research and Innovation at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. Previously, she was the Director of Research Services and Ethics at the University of Saskatchewan and Director of Finance and Administration at the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation and has spent over 23 years working in research administration. Prior to these roles, Susan had a strong research background in ecotoxicology and was a polar bear biologist for the Government of Nunavut.

Susan is currently a member of the World Federation Colleges and Polytechnics Applied Research Group, is Chair of Polytechnic’s Canada research group, and is a member of the NSERC Committee on Research Partnerships, the NSERC Canadian Association of Research Administration (CARA) Working Group, the Colleges and Institutes of Canada National Research Advisory Committee, the Tri-Agency Grant Management System External Advisory Board and serves as a Board of Director member for the Refined Manufacturing Acceleration Process (ReMAP) and the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA).