Our Global Team
Alan R. MacDonald B.Sc, M.E. Des.
Founding Director
Alan is a Founding Director of ESG Management Solutions. His passion is supporting organizations to achieve responsible, sustainable development and operations through a coaching and advisory approach. Alan regularly provides advice to Corporate Boards and Government Departments on issues related to ESG, sustainability, and risk management. In 2019, Alan supported Seven Generations Energy of Calgary to develop and implement an ESG management system that helped 7G achieve the FIRST responsible gas producer certification in the world. Alan is a strong advocate for simplified life-cycle assessment as a tool for materiality and impact management. “Training in simple LCA and full-cost economics should begin at the earliest levels of grade school and progress every year to graduation.”
Alan has extensive international experience, including supporting regulatory approvals in more than 20 jurisdictions through social, economic, and environmental impact assessments, indigenous partnering and capacity building, sustainability management frameworks, quality, environmental and safety management systems, sustainability in design, contaminated site remediation, and triple bottom line decision support In addition to his technical and project management experience, Alan has more than 25 years of senior level business experience, including governance, finance, enterprise risk management, human resources, marketing, and operations.
Alan was Global Technical Director for Sustainability for an international EPCM (engineering, procurement, construction management) company for more than 5 years. He led sustainability in design on numerous projects including the Port Metro Vancouver Container Capacity Improvement Project in Tsawwassen, B.C.; the Joslyn North Oil Sands Mine in Alberta; a new Bauxite Refinery, Mine, Railroad and Port Development in St. Anne, Jamaica; and the Nanisivik Naval Facility on Baffin Island, Nunavut. He was the Lead for the LNG Canada front end engineering design (FEED) team for the development and completion of permits, environmental management plans, and social performance initiatives in 2014-15. LNG Canada in Kitimat, B.C. is the only major LNG project of more than 30 proposals on B.C.’s west coast to achieve both positive regulatory and investment approvals to date.
Alan has worked extensively with aboriginal organizations and companies in Canada, including the development of national-level aboriginal capacity building curriculum and materials. He is also the co-author of numerous social and environmental guidelines, including guidance documents for the CCME (Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment), ARPEL (Regional Association of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Sector Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean); Environment Canada; Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, CAPP (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers); Alberta Reclamation Research Technical Advisory Committee; Alberta Treaty Nations Environmental Secretariat, as well as government departments and mining, construction and energy companies in Canada and abroad.
Barclay Hunter
Senior Associate, Emergency Preparedness and Training
Barclay is the Founder and CEO of Global ICS. Global ICS provide online, classroom and field (mock exercise) emergency management (Incident Command System) training in Spanish, French and English. Barclay has nearly 30 years of experience in technology based program development and delivery in Health, Safety, Emergency/Risk Management and Regulatory Compliance – including web-based and SAAS applications, management systems, performance support solutions, online learning development and delivery platforms.
Barclay developed the first commercially available online safety training programs in Canada, and has been instrumental in providing proven business strategies, knowledge management solutions and project management to national and international organizations.
Barclay’s company, Global ICS, has recently been responsible for TC Energy’s online and classroom based emergency management (ICS) training for North America wide operations. Additionally, he has led the development of the City of Calgary Contractor Safety Management Program, as well as the Alberta Municipal Safety Association First Responder Wellness, ICS and Contractor Safety Management program.
Melissa Whellams Principal Avanzar, B.Comm., M.A.
Senior Associate, Human Rights and Social Risk Management
Based in Calgary, Melissa is a Principal at Avanzar with expertise in the extractive industries, particularly in developing countries. She has worked on numerous projects with international oil and gas and mining companies such as AngloGold Ashanti, Barrick Gold, IAM Gold, Inmet Mining, Rio Tinto, Shell, AngloAmerican, Agnico Eagle, Bankers Petroleum, Goldcorp, Eldorado Gold, Teck, Cameco, New Gold, Kinross, Newmont Mining, Pacific Rubiales, and Sherritt International.
She specializes in the areas of human rights and security, human rights impact assessment, sustainability and human rights training for employees, grievance mechanisms, stakeholder engagement, social risk assessment, multi-sector partnerships in community development, community based water monitoring, stakeholder mapping and analysis, social management systems and CSR performance measurement and reporting.
Melissa has assisted a number of extractive companies to develop Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies, strategies and programs in Canada, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Eastern Europe.
In addition to her work with the oil and gas and mining industries, Melissa has conducted social and environment supply chain audits for food and manufacturing companies such as McDonalds, Costco and Amazon. She has experience with various international standards and frameworks relating to corporate sustainability including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Global Reporting Initiative, the IFC Performance Standards, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining framework. Melissa is fluent in English, French and Spanish and holds a B. Comm. in International Business from the University of Calgary and an M.A. in International Development Studies from Saint Mary’s University.
Edme C. Brownlee B.Sc., M.E.Des., PhD.
Educator, Sustainability Researcher and Consultant
Dr. Brownlee’s primary concern is supporting individuals, communities, and organizations in their efforts to maintain the best life conditions on our planet. She has decades of experience in Environmental, Gender, and Social assessment and consulting, and has unique expertise in governance as it relates to ESG and sustainability. As a native Quechuan Peruvian who became the co-founder and Vice President of the University of Huaraz, Dr. Brownlee also spent more than five years working in Alberta and teaching at Keyano College in Fort McMurray. She completed her doctorate in Environmental Design at the University of Calgary in 2020 following 10 months of experiential learning in a traditional Andean community. Her success was to more fully understand the Andean worldview of her ancestors and identify 9 sustainability metaphors for our time. Dr. Brownlee applies her findings to the improvement of ESG governance. She is an international expert with a unique worldview important to our time.
Edme has researched attitudes and actions of sustainability and sustainability conceptual metaphors within Andean traditional communities. Her findings of social, environmental, and cultural sustainability, including governance, are applicable to any context where life conditions require to be maintained.
Edme has researched waste management practices, towards a sustainable environmental management system for Keyano College at Fort McMurray where she was instructor of chemistry, environmental law, land reclamation, soils, plant identification, and safety. She was a team member for the Social Impact Assessment and Training Plan of the Peru Rural Electrification Project (Dessau Soprin), local environmental specialist in the overall Due Diligence Assessment of the Peruvian Ministry of Education and Transport Proposals: “Construcción y Mejoramiento de Infraestructura Física en el Programa de Educación Rural” and “Programa Nacional de Saneamiento Rural,” Fondo de Desarrollo Peru-Canada, (CIDA, World Bank).
Edme is co-founder of the Universidad Nacional de Ancash “Santiago Antunez de Mayolo” (UNASAM) at the Peruvian Northern highlands (1978). There, she was a chemistry and environmental management professor, and academic vice-president. Edme was also the project manager of a prototype EIA and capacity Building, between the UNASAM and University of Calgary, (CIDA, 1988-1994).
Edme is fluent in Spanish and English. Basic French, Italian, Portuguese, and Chanka-Qichwa.
Evelyne Nyairo M.Sc. P.Biol.
Environmental Management, Strategic Planning
Evelyne Nyairo is a successful entrepreneur who has used her social, environmental, and business governance skills to build and grow successful international businesses. Evelyne brings decades of ESG experience to her coaching practice – helping her clients develop opportunity and embed sustainability. Evelyne and her most recent business start-up are featured on the 2021-22 season of Dragon’s Den. Her concept of working with women-led micro businesses in Africa to sustainably harvest and manufacture a truly sensational skin product line brings all the elements of ESG into real practice. Evelyne practices ESG every day. ESG Management Solutions are so honoured to have her as part of our Advisory team.
Evelyne is passionate about working with clients to implement management practices and structures that promote social, environmental and sustainability performance. Her experience and focus on the North American, European, and Sub-Saharan Africa markets has allowed her to support global organizations at the executive level in both strategic planning and management practice.
Holding a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science, Evelyn is a chemist and environmental professional with more than 20 years of experience. Spending much of her professional experience as the Founder and Director of a successful international environmental consulting firm, Evelyne is adept at leading and working with multidisciplinary teams, managing projects, and implementing management systems that embed sustainability, manage risk, and improve organizational ESG performance.
Growing up in Kenya, Evelyne was immersed in a culture of stark gender inequality that conditioned young women to believe that expectation and privilege differed between men and women.
Inspired by her daughter, Eliana, her rich heritage, and her passion for the environment, natural beauty and healthy living, Evelyne set out to change the world. Her business, Ellie Bianca, is passionately committed to bettering the lives of women around the world by empowerment through business and fair trade.
Christina Sabater B.A. Econ., MBA.
Senior Associate
Christina, Avanzar’s founder, has expertise in the areas of international socio-economic development and corporate social responsibility. Christina has extensive experience working in Latin America in the extractive and energy industries. Her work with these industries includes: social auditing; Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights compliance; ongoing community stakeholder engagement strategic planning; long term, sustainable poverty reduction strategy development; social risk and opportunity assessments; stakeholder engagement training for employees; non-governmental organization partnership development; and stakeholder mapping and analysis.
She has conducted over twenty social risk and management assessments throughout the world. Christina formerly worked as a Manager at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), a business association that focuses on ethics, environmental and social issues. At BSR she helped agricultural, extractive and information technology companies in Latin America develop their sustainable development and corporate social responsibility strategies and programs. Christina’s work with the social sector began over ten years ago while managing a grass roots economic development non-profit in Puerto Rico. She holds an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and an economics degree from Yale University. She is a co-author of the “Minera El Desquite Report: Esquel, Argentina” (in English).
Leslie Woods
ESG Innovation Liaison
Leslie Woods has invested her career focused on the “social” aspects of ESG. Her experience includes Human Resources consulting, creating learning & development programs, providing training & facilitation for organizations of all sizes, developing KPI’s to drive individual and corporate performance and designing and documenting ISO standards to improve organizational outcomes.
Leslie Woods has invested her career focused on the “social” aspects of ESG. Her experience includes Human Resources consulting, creating learning & development programs, providing training & facilitation for organizations of all sizes, developing KPI’s to drive individual and corporate performance and designing and documenting ISO standards to improve organizational outcomes.
She has a passion for working with organizations who are driven to differentiate themselves in a perceived sea of sameness through various “people” strategies including ESG.
Leslie has held leadership roles within small business and provided consulting and training to large corporations. She understands the overwhelming challenges that organizations are experiencing in our rapidly shifting world and is excited to collaborate with a team of leading ESG experts to provide guidance, clarity and support.
Nick Kendrick B.A., MSc.
Intermediate Associate, Sustainability Management and Training
Nick has nearly 10 years of environmental and energy industry experience in Canada. A former senior control room operator at Syncrude’s massive oil sand complex in Alberta, Nick holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Calgary with a concentration in Sustainable Energy Development. During his studies he grew a passion for sustainability reporting, sustainability management systems and especially ESG, inspiring him to become a founding member of ESG Management Solutions.
Nick has experience helping customers develop training and awareness packages, ESG policy and goals, reporting, and communications strategy and materials. He is a guest lecturer to the Haskayne School of Business. Nick has worked extensively with indigenous organizations in the energy transfer space and is an expert in the application and installation of energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy transition technology. He advises customers on sustainable energy transition options and design.
Leveraging this experience in Sustainable Energy Development, Nick’s education combined the faculties of Law, Engineering, Environmental Design and the Haskayne School of Business to deliver a holistic education on the three pillars of sustainability with a focus on sustainability reporting, environmental management systems and ESG. Since graduating Nick has been busy as a Sustainability Educator, facilitating workshops with Natures Ride 4E (Environment, & Energy Efficiency Education) program teaching students about the importance of energy efficiency, sustainability and how they can reduce their environmental impact in their own homes.
Wes Funk B.Comm., B.Sc. (Hons.), M.E.Des.
Senior Associate, Carbon Advisory and ESG Decision Analysis
Wes is the Founder and Principal of DXD Consulting Inc. DXD provides advisory services in sustainable development, including carbon advisory, ESG reporting and triple bottom line risk and decision analyses. His expertise is to optimize the economic, social, environmental and technical trade-offs associated with the lifecycle phase of a clients’ operations to manage risk, effect quality decisions and position sustainable value creation.
Wes has over 25 years of experience delivering environmental management services to the private and public sectors globally including North and South America, Europe, Australia and Africa. Wes was the Global Director – EcoNomics™ and Sustainability at WorleyParsons and oversaw the global development and local integration of non-technical risk management and sustainability systems, tools and processes across the markets that the WorleyParsons Group serviced world-wide. In 2015, Wes merged the global WorleyParsons EcoNomics™ and Sustainability service line across 5 regions with core decision and risk analysis functions at location level to form Advisian’s first global service line.
Wes’ knowledge lies in the identification, quantification, management and financial treatment of environmental, social and economic risks and benefits associated with hydrocarbon, infrastructure and mining projects. More recently, Wes has advised private sector clients on carbon risk; carbon reporting; and field and large facility closure strategies that include the development of decision analyses, enterprise wide risk assessments and innovative, results-based closure mechanisms. He is presently working with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (EPAC) on regulatory engagement strategy to advance results-based closure. Additionally, Wes has led the project management efforts for fugitive methane management research with the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada (PTAC) over the past three years.