Engineers and Geoscientists BC

Board Member Profiles

Chair

Michelle Mahovlich

Michelle Mahovlich, P.Eng., P.Geo., FCSSE, recently stepped down from her role as the Director of Engineering and Public Works for the City of Langford where she worked for the past 14 years. She currently has her own firm practising primarily in municipal engineering. Previously, Michelle was the Project Manager that oversaw the remediation of the former cement plant at the 1,500 acre Bamberton site and then the site’s Development Manager. Her 17 years of private sector work experience included both geotechnical and contaminated sites engineering work. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology and a minor in Biology from McMaster University, along with a master's degree in geological engineering from the University of British Columbia. Prior to being first elected to the Board in 2020, Michelle served on Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s Investigation Committee as Vice-Chair and as an executive member of the Municipal Engineers Division. Michelle spends much of her volunteer time with the University of Victoria, Camosun College, and local school districts promoting women in STEM and is a strong proponent of ongoing professional development for her work team. She currently mentors five EITs/GITs working toward their professional designations. Michelle is an experienced volunteer with Engineers and Geoscientists BC and has served on the Board for more than 3 years, most recently as Vice-Chair before being acclaimed to her current position as Chair of the Board.

Vice Chair

Mark PorterMark Porter, P.Eng., StructEng., is a Designated Structural Engineer with over 25 years of experience. His work around sustainability and climate change has been recognized by the award of Fellowship in the Institution of Structural Engineers and Engineers Canada. A champion of sustainability since the early days of his career, he has led and been part of cross-disciplinary structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering teams on award-winning and boundary-breaking projects. Mark brings a deep recognition of the essential value of prioritizing people in design and in leadership, finding great motivation in investing in leadership development, mentorship, and serving with committees and code-development projects to advance sustainability in the built environment. He was the founding Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Group to Engineers Geoscientists BC , and also serves on the Wood First Advisory Committee for the Forestry Innovation Investment Group as well as CSA Code Development Committees. Mark is the Vice President of Engineering at Nexii Building Solutions.

Immediate Past Chair

Mark Adams

Mark Adams, P.Eng., is currently Vice President and Global Minerals & Metals Market Lead at AtkinsRéalis. He has worked in the mining industry for nearly 20 years in project, engineering, operations, and technology roles. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mining Engineering and a Master of Business Administration, both from the University of British Columbia, as well as executive education from Oxford and Aalto Universities and the Institute of Corporate Directors. Alongside his professional work, Mark is dedicated to various non-profit organizations that advocate for youth, seniors, veterans, education, healthcare, and engineering. He served as a reserve officer in the Canadian Armed Forces for 13 years and currently holds positions on several boards and committees, notably the UBC Mining Industry Advisory Committee and the UBC Faculty of Applied Science Dean’s Advisory Council. He is finishing his tenth year volunteering with Engineers and Geoscientists BC, having previously served on the Continuing Education and Professional Practice advisory groups, and the Audit, Governance, and Executive sub-committees. Mark has been recognized for his work with awards such as the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers, and the Canadian Mineral Processors' Ray MacDonald Volunteer Award. In addition, he was included on Business in Vancouver's 40 Under 40 list and was named one of the 500 Most Influential Business Leaders in BC in 2022.

Board Members

Veronica Knott

Veronica Knott, P.Eng.,  is currently the Manager, Mining Technology Support Services at Newmont Corporation, providing technical expertise and program oversight of global mining technology solutions. She is a demonstrated mining leader with operational and engineering experience in surface and underground mining. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mining Engineering from the University of British Columbia (UBC). In addition to her full-time work, Veronica has spent her time volunteering for various organizations advocating for youth, education, diversity and STEM, notably Girl Guides of Canada, the UBC Board of Governors, and Canadian Mining Games. 


Karen Ling

Karen Ling, P.Eng., is a well respected senior leader in the construction industry, experienced in mentoring teams, assessing risk, and overseeing revenue and profitability of operations. Having held roles such as Vice President of Operations and Project Director, she is skilled at strategic operations and change management, including development of succession plans and introduction of equity, diversity, and inclusion policies. Karen has served the engineering and geoscience community recently as the outgoing Chair of the Board of Directors for the Engineers and Geoscientists BC Benevolent Fund Society, and continues to focus on public outreach as a volunteer mentoring and educating children in engineering, science and technology in classrooms.  Karen is a collaborative communicator, directing team members’ focus towards common goals to build agreement and action. Overseeing project teams within the construction industry requires bringing a broad range of opinions to consensus, often involving stakeholders of differing backgrounds and motivations. Karen has had a wide variety of experience in leadership roles, including as a construction industry executive and as a small business owner.


Mahsoo Naderi-Dasoar

Mahsoo Naderi-Dasoar, P.Eng., is Director of Engineering Projects at the City of Burnaby where she oversees the Capital Project Delivery of Infrastructure Projects’ Portfolio as well as managing the Survey Department. Mahsoo is a dynamic and seasoned strategic leader with 20 years of experience in engineering management, governance and major infrastructure delivery. Expert in complex multi-discipline and cross functional organizations, Mahsoo holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, and two master’s degrees. She received her Master of Construction Engineering and Management from the University of Alberta with specialty in Risk. Mahsoo is an avid advocate for climate resilience as well as enhancing equity and inclusion within engineering and geoscience sectors. She has been a former elected councillor for the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) from 2014-2017. Mahsoo volunteers for boards to serve the communities that she lives, works, and belongs to.


Matthew SalmonMatthew Salmon, P.Eng., After serving 24 years with the British Army in the Corps of Royal Engineers, Matthew moved to Canada in 2015 with his young family and started working for the District of Lake Country where he is currently the Director of Engineering and Environmental Services. Matthew is a strategic leader and a natural problem solver and is proudly representing the Okanagan. Of particular interest to Matthew, is continuing to raise standards and accountability and ensuring the Continuing Education (CE) requirements are relevant and appropriate.   



Jens Weber

Jens Weber, P.Eng., is a professor in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Victoria. His research, teaching and professional interests are in software safety and security engineering. Dr. Weber served as the Director of the accredited Bachelor of Software Engineering degree program from 2007–2014 and as Acting Associate Dean in 2021. He was an industry research fellow with the BC Advanced Systems Institute from 2004–2008. Dr. Weber has been licensed with Engineers and Geoscientists BC as a professional engineer since 2009. He received his doctoral degree from the University of Paderborn (Germany) and was awarded the Ernst-Denert Software Engineering Prize in 2000.
 


Government Order in Council Appointees

Bill Chan

Bill Chan, CPA CGA, ICD.D, sits on the Board of Directors of Vancity Credit Union since 2018 and is the Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Governance and Risk Committees. Bill also sits on the BC Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) that provides specialized health services (i.e., BC Women’s Hospital, BC Children’s Hospital, BC Cancer, BC Transplant, BC Centre for Disease Control). He is the Chair of the Finance and Operations Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. Bill has over 25 years of executive management experience with Encorp / Return-It depots in BC and was their Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Bill's career path has focused on building successful programs that bring together financial sustainability while being environmentally and socially responsible. Bill also volunteers his time with the CPABC (Chartered Professional Accountants of BC) board.


Leslie Hildenbrandt

Leslie Hildebrandt, ICDD, LLB, is a Corporate Director with over 25 years of strategic governance, legal, and regulatory experience. She is a Board Director of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria where she serves as 1st Vice President of the Board and Chair of the Facilities Committee. Prior to her retirement from the Land Title and Survey Authority of BC in 2018, Leslie was Vice President, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs and Corporate Secretary, where she delivered a new Board governance framework, delivered corporate legal services, and managed strategic government relations. Previously, she served as Chief Advisor to the Province of BC on land title and survey systems, regulatory reviews of BC’s environment assessment, crown land management, and environmental protection programs.


Emily Lewis

Emily Lewis, CPA, CMA, is a management consultant with ERPIE Advisory Inc. and Associate Faculty member in the School of Business at Royal Roads University. Prior to this, Emily spent 17 years in the public and private sectors, and has experience in real estate, transportation, and financial, regulatory, and program management in all three levels of government. She is also a Director at the John Howard Society Pacific Region and has extensive prior volunteer board experience.


Cathy McIntyre

Cathy McIntyre, M.B.A., C.Dir., is a senior executive with over 30 years of business experience and 20 years of board experience.  Her management background includes corporate strategy, marketing, communications and stakeholder engagement   A seasoned board director, she is known for her passion for good governance, and as a champion of advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles.  Cathy currently serves on the Board of Directors of First West Credit Union, where she chairs the HR Committee.  Her past board experience includes Consumer Protection BC, CADTH, the University of Victoria’s Board of Governors, the Victoria Hospitals Foundation, the Arthritis Society of Canada and the CMA Society of BC, among others.  Cathy earned an MBA at the University of Victoria and a Post Degree Diploma in Accounting at Camosun College.  She is a Chartered Director (C.Dir), holds the Corporate Director Certificate from Harvard Business School, and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.