Your Board Members
Mike Cottreau, President
I grew up in PEI and I received my bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick in 2013. I worked on the east coast for 2 years for a small energy consulting firm performing various tasks such as energy audits, engineering studies, and refrigeration designs. I moved to Calgary in 2015 and joined ASHRAE that same year. It has been an excellent way to get introduced into the market and community.
Kevin McIntyre, President-Elect
I grew up in Southern Alberta and graduated from SAIT with a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology. I worked in industrial controls for a few years before finding an opportunity in Commercial HVAC. Throughout my career, I have been attending the ASHAE dinner meetings and other events. I got involved on the ASHRAE Board 5 years ago and looking forward to serving as the President-Elect this year.
Matthew Theriault, Vice-President
Young professional born and raised in Calgary with proven leadership and technical skills, I studied at both SAIT and the UofC, I currently work at Williams Engineering. This is my fifth year as a chair on the board and I look forward to applying my skillset to provide as much value as possible. Looking forward to seeing all the new and recurring faces of ASHRAE.
As Vice President for the upcoming 2023/24 year. Our goal is to continue to support the members of ASHRAE, a sense of community and professional development is important to us. We have a number of fun engaging events and activities this year, more details to come in the following months.
Mitch Adams, Secretary/Treasurer
I first learned about ASHRAE as a newcomer to the HVAC industry in 2014. Through my career since then, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a variety of different types of buildings and in many different roles within the consulting side of the industry, seeing first-hand the value that ASHRAE provides. Originally with Smith + Andersen and currently with Reinbold Engineering, I’ve also gained an appreciation for the diverse systems and design practices in the industry.
Coming into my second year on the BOG, I’m looking forward to applying what I learned with last year’s board to make this a successful 2022-2023. In my role as CTTC chair, I’m excited to work with presenters that can provide engaging and relevant information to the South Alberta Chapter.
Brett Banadyga, CTTC Chair
I was born and raised in Regina, SK, where I attended the University of Regina and received a degree in Industrial Systems Engineering. While at the U of R, I co-founded the ASHRAE Student Branch and served as president for the inaugural year.
In 2019 I moved to Calgary to join AME Group in my current role as a Building Performance Engineer.
This will be my third year on the BOG as the Membership Promotion Chair. I am looking forward to meeting more of the chapter members this year and am hoping we are able to grow our chapter with some new members.
Nick Mueller, CTTC Chair
Dana Heller, Historian
I have been an active member of SAC-ASHRAE since I started in the field 12 years ago, and being on the board has been especially rewarding. I am proud to be chosen as the History Chair this year and look forward to talking to many of you about your experiences with ASHRAE.
Raymond Nattress, Sustainable Communities Chair
Born in Ontario and studied at St. Francis Xavier in Nova Scotia, before moving to Alberta in 2008. After spending 3 years in the Oil & Gas industry, in 2011 I pursued a career in the HVAC industry with the Southampton-Trane Group of Companies and had transitioned to the Hatch Company in 2020.
Similar to others on the board, I have been an active member of SAC-ASHRAE since I started in the industry 12 years ago. As this year’s Sustainable Communities Chair, I look forward to working with local consultants, contractors, suppliers and ASHRAE members to support the upcoming SAC Sustainable Communities projects in 2023-2024.
Sarah Toogood, Diversity in ASHRAE Chair
I was born and raised in Edmonton and graduated from the University of Alberta in 2018 with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering. I began working at Switch Engineering after graduating and took on a consultant design role for HVAC and plumbing projects across many building sectors. Switch Engineering has since joined Integral Group, and I moved to Calgary in July of 2022, and am now a project manager within the green building sector. I am very passionate about combatting climate change with efficient and net zero carbon buildings.
I look forward to being part of the ASHRAE community and am excited about the opportunity to increase student involvement in our industry.
George Niksic, Research Promotion Chair
I was born in Toronto Ontario, my family moved west in 1975, Calgary has been home since. I graduated from S.A.I.T. with a Diploma in HVAC Design. I spent a little over a decade in custom air handling design and manufacturing before leaving the industry for Senior Management roles in the electrical and contracting fields. HVAC was always my passion, I jumped at the opportunity to return to the industry with Aqua Air in a Business Development role.
I am excited to be involved in ASHRAE as the RP Chair and I look forward to seeing everyone at our meeting and events.
Nikhil Amin, YEA Chair
I was born and raised in Calgary (not all that common these days!). My journey with ASHRAE began in my final year as a Mechanical Engineering student at the U of C. It has been a great opportunity for my personal and professional life, and I am glad to be a part of the community. I finally joined the Board last year as YEA Co-Chair, and it was an excellent year getting many like-minded individuals together. I am really looking forward to the coming year, it should be great fun!
Zak Yousef, YEA Chair
I was born in Libya and moved to Calgary in 2017. I got an internship with Smith +Andersen that introduced in to HVAC&R industry, which I really enjoyed. I have been part of University of Calgary ASHRAE branch for couple of years during my degree and served as student activities co-chair for the past year. I look forward to the upcoming year.
Ian Peters, Membership Promotion Chair
I grew up in rural Saskatchewan and completed post-secondary at Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Saskatoon. After graduating in 2014, I moved to Calgary for what was supposed to be one year of ‘workplace training’ at an engineering firm before I would return to the flatland. After that year I decided I liked mountains more than fields and decided to stay. I’ve worked on a variety of projects in mechanical consulting, though most have been institutional, educational, and healthcare facilities. I’ve been a member of ASHRAE for several years, but this is my first year on the board.
Simon Li, Government Affairs Chair
I received my mechanical engineering education from the University of Toronto. Before joining the University of Calgary, I have worked as a facility member at the University of New Brunswick and Concordia University. I started learning the HVAC field since 2015 and have been meeting a lot of great people. It is my pleasure to serve on the Board, and it is a great chance for me to learn how ASHRAE as an organization operates.
Student Activities Chair
I have been an ASHRAE member for over 3 years and been involved with SAC ASHRAE in some capacity. Stepping into the Student Activities Chair role is a natural fit for myself after being involved with the U of C Student Activities for a few years now. I got started and continue to be involved with ASHRAE because it provides me a platform to have a measurable impact in young engineer’s careers.
Student Activities attracts young professionals to the HVAC & R Industry while providing them an opportunity to build on their technical, leadership and social skills.
Student Activities at SAC ASHRAE wouldn’t be what it is without the continued support from all the members and leaders. It is this opportunity to work with various other industry professional is the reason that I am excited about the upcoming year.
Erich Binder, Sustainable Communities Co-Chair
Josh Hogan, Research Promotion Co-Chair
David Lima, CTTC Co-Chair
Ian Peters, Membership Promotion Chair