Dr. Martin Boucher is the Research Chair in Sustainability and leads the Community Energy Innovation Centre (CEIC) at NorQuest College. He is an applied researcher and national leader in community energy and sustainability, known for building cross-sector partnerships that turn research into real-world impact. Martin’s work focuses on energy diversification, community wealth building, and local economic development, with projects spanning Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe. He has secured over $2 million in research funding to support initiatives in energy poverty, workforce development, cooperative innovation, and community energy policy design. His PhD, conducted across Canada, the U.S., and Sweden, explored decentralized socio-technical energy transitions, examining how communities shape more democratic and sustainable energy systems. Martin is the founding president of Community Energy Cooperative Canada (CECC), a national organization advancing community-led energy initiatives. He also serves on municipal and provincial advisory committees focused on climate resilience, energy policy, and just transitions. Before NorQuest, he was a faculty member at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan, where he led the development of the online Master of Public Administration (MPA) program and helped grow it into one of the school’s flagship offerings.

Guy Lonechild is a well-known advocate for enabling growth and leading energy transformation pathway opportunities for First Nations communities in Canada, serving as President and CEO of the First Nations Power Authority. Mr. Lonechild serves on Bruce Power’s New Nuclear Advisory Panel, chairs the Indigenous Advisory Council on New Nuclear, served as co-chair of Natural Resource Canada’s SMR Leadership Table, and is an Indigenous Relations advisor to OPG’s New Nuclear Review Board. His area of interest include Indigenous rights holders, public and stakeholder engagement, innovations for development in new nuclear and renewable energy, project finance, and Indigenous-led power procurement initiatives in the Canadian electricity sector. Recognized as a solution-oriented leader, Mr. Lonechild advocates for economic and environmental reconciliation as a path forward for stakeholders to harness the potential in alternative energy and supply chain opportunities that generate lasting benefits for Indigenous communities. He currently serves as a board member of the Energy Council of Canada (ECC) and the Clean Energy Association of British Columbia (CEBC). He holds a Master of Business Administration from Cape Breton University. He is also a former leader of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.

Dr. Marc-André Pigeon, PhD, is the director of the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives and an assistant professor in the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS). His research interests center around the study of co-operatives, governance, and money and banking. Prior to joining the JSGS, Dr. Pigeon worked as the assistant vice president of financial sector policy at the Canadian Credit Union Association, where he was responsible for monitoring, researching and advocating on behalf of credit unions. He has also served as an advisor at the Department of Finance, a lead analyst for two major Parliamentary committees (Senate Banking, Trade and Commerce; House of Commons Finance), an economist at the Levy Economics Institute, and a reporter for Bloomberg Business News. Dr. Pigeon holds a PhD from Carleton University in mass communications, a master’s degree in economics from the University of Ottawa, and a journalism degree from Carleton University. Dr. Pigeon has served on several non-profit and charitable boards, including the Co-operative Development Foundation (CDF), the Saskatchewan Co-operative Association, and Saskatoon Unitarians. In his spare time, he enjoys all-season camping with his family and their dog Pepsi and volunteering as a mechanic at Bridge City Bicycle Co-operative.