Sponsorship Subcommittee

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Chair

  • RhoB Energy Advisors LTD

    Roberta has 25 years of energy industry experience in multiple worldwide basins. She has explored, appraised, and developed both conventional and unconventional plays on projects in Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.

    Roberta has worked for Canadian juniors and multinational corporations (Apache, Schlumberger, and Saudi Aramco), consistently delivering and moving projects forward through collaboration and effective communication. She has performed in a leadership capacity both domestically and internationally.

    Currently at RhoB Energy Advisors, Roberta is evaluating domestic and international business development opportunities.

    Roberta has a BSc in Geology and an MBA from the University of Calgary. She is a registered Professional Geologist with APEGA.

Other Members

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  • PDAC

    Lisa McDonald is the Executive Director of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC). Lisa has played a vital role in PDAC’s success for more than 20 years.

    Before being the Executive Director, Lisa served as the association’s Chief Operations Officer (COO) for 10 years, where she delivered the strategic goals of the association and oversaw all aspects of operational performance. Lisa is considered one of the key drivers behind the expansion of the annual PDAC Convention in Toronto. As the Convention Director from 2001 to 2008, Lisa was an integral part of growing the event into what is now considered the world’s premier mineral exploration and mining convention, drawing upwards of 30,000 attendees from 135 countries.

    Lisa is a Past President of the Canadian Association of Exposition Management (the national association for professionals involved in the production, management, and planning of trade and consumer shows and events). She is a member of the Canadian Society of Association Executives.

  • SLR Consulting

    Catherine (Cathy) Fitzgerald, M.Sc., P.Geo. is a senior mining executive and Professional Geoscientist with over 20 years of international experience spanning mineral exploration, resource development, and corporate leadership. She holds a Master of Science in Geology from the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Science from Carleton University, and is a registered Professional Geoscientist in British Columbia.

    Cathy has held board, executive, and senior technical roles with both private and publicly listed companies on the TSX.V and CSE. She has led projects from grassroots discovery through to resource definition, growth, and successful divestments—delivering multi-million-ounce resource estimates, advancing exploration programs, and guiding companies through restructuring and growth phases.

    Currently, Cathy serves as Mining Advisory Growth Lead – Americas at SLR Consulting, where she supports strategic business development across the firm’s Global Mining Advisory practice. A Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists and recipient of the 2024 “100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining” award, Cathy is recognized for her technical excellence, leadership, and dedication to advancing responsible, innovative, and value-driven mining.

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  • Global Planning Solutions

    John Daugulis works for Global Planning Solutions (formerly Venue West Conference Services) as the Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships.

    John is an Honours graduated from the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business with a double major in Service Management and Entrepreneurship.

    He first joined Venue West as a co-op student in 2011 and was hired full time in 2012. Since joining the company, he has worked in all facets of the conference industry from finances to project management to business development and company leadership.

    As the Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships, John is responsible for securing Venue West’s national and international business, along with fostering relationships with partners around the world.

  • Mount Royal University / CFES

    Katherine is fascinated by the processes that form the “Earth beneath our feet”. She is the Director for the Community Science Liaison program that strives to embed place- and curriculum-based citizen science programs in Canadian kindergarten to grade 12 classrooms. Teachers appreciate these projects because they bring the real world into their classrooms, students feel empowered because they contribute towards improved understanding of their scientific-environmental backyards and scientists get rejuvenated passions for their disciplines through these student’s enthusiasm and energetic approaches to these programs.

    Katherine is also a very passionate promoter of the geosciences and has just recently developed a model to change the general public perception of the geosciences through national and international collaborations across these geoscience communities represented by various components of this Canadian bid to host IGC 2028.

    In addition to being the Chair for the CNC – IUGS and the International Director for the Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences; Katherine developed significant management, leadership and communication skills through her 33 years in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserves (RCNR) where she was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee medal for her combined service to the RCNR and the geoscience academic community.

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  • Global Planning Solutions

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  • University of Calgary

    Professor David Eaton was appointed 2015-2020 as NSERC/Chevron Industrial Research Chair in Microseismic System Dynamics in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Calgary. Together with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, his work focuses primarily on advancement of research, education and technological innovations in microseismic methods and their practical applications for resource development, with a secondary focus on the deep lithospheric structure of continents. In 2007, he rejoined the University of Calgary as Head of the Department of Geoscience, after an 11-year academic career at the University of Western Ontario. His postdoctoral research experience included work at Arco’s Research and Technical Services (Plano, Texas) and the Geological Survey of Canada (Ottawa). He has recently published a textbook on Passive Seismic Monitoring of Induced Seismicity. His work has been recognized by several major awards including the J. Tuzo Wilson medal from the Canadian Geophysical Union and a 2020 NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation.

  • Shaurat Sayani is a senior geoscience and energy professional with over 20 years of experience turning technical insight into strategic value. She has led multidisciplinary teams, managed complex subsurface programs, and delivered results across exploration, development, A&D evaluation, long-term planning, and risk management.

    Passionate about responsible resource development and continuous improvement, Shaurat excels at bridging technical and business priorities to drive performance and unlock new opportunities. A proud achievement in her career was co-chairing a technical conference committee at Husky Energy, showcasing technical achievements and fostering collaboration across the organization.

    She is a registered Professional Geologist (APEGA) and holds an MBA from Cornell University.

  • Amrine is the programme manager for a Community Science Liaison project based at MRU. She has a geology degree and has worked in geology outreach, education and communications and in geotourism and sustainable and regenerative tourism projects in Ireland and in Canada, where she is now based. 

    She is on the IGC2028 Social Media and Communications subcommittee and manages the IGC website.

  • University of Calgary

    Glenn is a geologist, turned ninth-grade earth science teacher, turned geoscience education researcher.

    He is currently an associate professor at the University of Calgary in the Department of Earth, Energy, and Environment, where he has been since 2013. His research focuses on teaching geoscience content using the history and philosophy of geology. He also researches how the use of metaphor impacts teaching and learning and how students learn when using virtual outcrop models.

To see who was on the IGC Sponsorship and GeoHost Subcommittee for the bid, click here. Thank you all for your support and the role you played in helping Canada win the bid to host IGC in 2028.

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