In this episode, Chad Hughes welcomes Kristina Hamernik, Energy Storage Development Manager at Innergex, to the show to talk about land access and stakeholder engagement from the developer perspective. Kristina talks about the personal experience she had living abroad that led her to study renewable energy. She shares her career journey since then, her philosophy, and how the technology being used to develop battery storage sites is changing.

It was the experience of living abroad in Krakow, Poland and developing allergic reactions to the smog while running that led Kristina to research clean air and into getting her Masters at Sciences Po in France. Her career has led her through Public Energy where shse was focused on diversifying energy mixes and fossil fuel dependant remote locations to her position with Innergex today. She tells Chad about her experiences working with land professionals and hearing landowner stories early on in her work.

Chad and Kristina dive into the very human element of land development projects, the company perspective of not just generating revenue but focusing on people and prosperity and ensuring a benefit to the planet, and what factors can cause land owners to back away from projects being discussed. Kristina also explains what battery energy storage looks like and her role in working to develop and expand the adoption and understanding of the advantages of energy storage. This episode highlights work in the renewable space and the vital importance of the human element of the land piece.

“... energy storage is moving fast, and it's exciting because it's moving quickly, which might be a cause for concern, but I have to say, this industry is so quick on adopting lessons learned. There are so many success cases. And then there are cases where there's definitely things to be taken for the future and adopting different measures. And I think principally everything is health and safety. That's the crux of it. But it's an industry where best practices are advancing so, so quickly because the lessons learned are being adopted and taken very seriously, which is really exciting. And then when you combine that with decreasing price trends because of increased demand, for example, these projects are commercially viable.” - Kristina Hamernik

About Kristina Hamernik:

While living abroad, a personal experience served as the catalyst for Kristina’s career change and dive into the energy industry. She is passionate about the opportunities for enhancing energy security while adopting clean energy solutions. Kristina has worked as a business and early-stage project developer for renewable energy solutions for remote regions and islanded diesel power grids and included work on projects for remote mining operations, Northern communities, post-natural disaster grid reconstruction and modular renewable solutions for military applications.

Kristina’s current role is Development Manager for Energy Storage at Innergex, where she is driven by the opportunities and benefits of wide-spread adoption of energy storage across Canada and internationally.

Based out of Montreal, Kristina is enjoys being active outdoors during all-seasons with a love for cross country and downhill skiing, hiking as well as regularly practicing kickboxing. She is currently training for her first triathlon.

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Chad Hughes | CEO, Entrepreneurial Leader, Author: website |linkedin

Kristina Hamernik |Energy Storage Development Manager, Innergex: website | linkedin

In this episode, Chad Hughes talks with Sandra Dixon, Supervisor of Western Canada Gas at Enbridge and President of the Canadian Association of Land and Energy Professionals (CALEP). Sandra discusses how she came to her role in CALEP in 2019 and what it entails. The conversation looks at the scarcity of resources in terms of new people entering the land industry, how the roles and titles have changed, and the challenge of providing education and awareness about opportunities in the land profession.

Three areas of education are highlighted: awareness, recruitment, and training. Chad and Sandra address the specifics of all three and how CALEP is involved. Sandra addresses the need to change awareness of the industry by adjusting the perception of the roles as being just oil and gas-centric. She also discusses how much of the work is networking and face-to-face relationships, which are not where the younger generations have their strengths due to their greater online focus.

Chad and Sandra examine how potential recruits can come from people making career transitions, the types of former jobs that are a good base for heading into the land industry, the challenges around maintaining and creating higher education training for land professionals, and what people can expect to see from CALEP in the coming year. Sandra shines an insightful light on challenges and potential in the land industry and the role of CALEP within it.

“So yeah, there's definitely been a decline [in association enrollment] and we want to change that. But we have to make ourselves relevant. We have to have the education component put in play. And I would also suggest that we have to be piloting work programs, those types of aspects where we can get people some experience and exposure to what we're doing. I think that's super important.” - Sandra Dixon

About Sandra Dixon:

Sandra is an accomplished Land Management Professional and the Supervisor of the Lands & Right-of-Way Western Canada Operations Team at Enbridge. In her role, she is crucial in delivering leadership, mentorship, and support for land management activities across Western Canada, with specialized expertise in British Columbia land matters. With a strong background in land management, stakeholder engagement and regulatory affairs, Sandra excels in building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders, landowners, government agencies and regulatory bodies.

At Enbridge, Sandra provides expert counsel, leadership, and support to her team of regional Land Agents, overseeing land management activities in Alberta and British Columbia to ensure operational success. She plays a pivotal role in advancing regional core projects and associated operational programs. Additionally, Sandra manages the annual development of community and stakeholder engagement plans and is instrumental in shaping the strategic direction of her operational areas. Her active involvement in planning and development of teams, as well as task groups, underscores her commitment to Enbridge's objectives.

Sandra has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to volunteering her time and engaging with industry initiatives. Beyond her role at Enbridge, she actively mentors and supports others, contributing to the ongoing exchange of knowledge and fostering professional development. As President of the Canadian Association of Land and Energy Professionals (CALEP), a non-profit professional association for Land Agents in Canada, Sandra plays a pivotal role in public and government relations. She is dedicated to establishing the highest professional and ethical standards for Land Agents, while also promoting education and training to set clear expectations for those who interact with stakeholders. Sandra’s leadership and contributions make her a distinguished figure in her field.

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Chad Hughes | CEO, Entrepreneurial Leader, Author: website |linkedin

Sandra Dixon |Enbridge / CALEP President: website | linkedin

Chad Hughes welcomes Andrew Fulford, Surface Land Manager of Birchcliff Energy, to the show to talk about Birchcliff’s unique culture and his thirty-plus-year career. Andrew, who got into the industry by going to Olds College in what was then called the Land Agent Program, got offered his role at Birchcliff twelve years ago, and he reflects on changes in his career and the industry while offering advice to newcomers in the surface land business.

Andrew discusses how the always-changing industry offers a lot of opportunity for growth in a career due to the progress and new skill sets required with the shifts. He says it does lead to being a bit of a jack of all trades and includes project management as one of his roles now. One of the things he learned very recently was the role of Indigenous relations when he not only needed to understand the new consultation regulations, but also become immersed in Indigenous history and culture so he could adapt to their way of doing business.

Chad and Andrew talk about company culture and what makes Birchcliff so unique and positive. Andrew highlights the relationships frontline people form with communities and the smooth communication they develop. He reflects on how much things have changed in the industry and how the training now would be substantially different than when he first started. His advice to people looking for a career in the industry is to learn about the whole industry, not just land.

“... when you first get into the surface land business, if you're passionate about it … I say to people, go to where you will learn the most. Go to those. Look for those places where you will gain the most skills and diverse skills. Don't just focus on one. It may not be the best-paying job that you take off the start, but it's probably the one that's where you're going to learn the most, and it's probably going to take you away from home for longer periods of time. I spent a good part of the first part of my career, you know, behind the wheel of a vehicle and sometimes away from home for 1 to 2 weeks at a time… but I'll tell you what. It paid off in spades towards the latter part of my career. And the skills that I built and the understanding that I had about the business when I did that.” - Andrew Fulford

About Andrew Fulford:

Andrew is the Surface Land Manager for Birchcliff Energy, responsible for surface land access, community and stakeholder engagement, indigenous relations and managing a team of 5 surface professionals.

He graduated Olds College in 1986 with a Land Agent diploma and over the next dozen years worked as a consulting landman for several land brokers and a royalty trust company. In the late 90’s he moved “in-house” to the role of Senior Surface Landman for PanCanadian Petroleum, a major exploration and production company which later merged with Alberta Energy Corp. to become into EnCana Corporation. Here he managed a one of the surface land teams focused on Coal Bed Methane development in southern Alberta. In 2012 he moved to his present role at Birchcliff Energy Ltd. an intermediate oil and natural gas company based in Calgary with operations focused on the Montney/Doig resources play in north western Alberta.

With over 35 years in the land industry, he has been involved with a diverse variety of projects across all 4 western provinces including acquisition of linear right of ways for powerlines, natural gas and telecom, wellsites, gathering systems and gas processing facilities, freehold and crown mineral land projects, stakeholder and indigenous relations and crown surface land disposition acquisitions.

He has worked with the Southern Alberta Institute for Technology to help update and develop their Surface Land Management Course which he also taught for a number of years and has also developed and taught short courses for CAPL and CAPLA (now CALEP and LEMAC) over the past 15 years.

Additionally, he has volunteered on various industry committee which presently include the CALEP – Field Acquisition Management Committee and the Olds College, Surface Land Management Program - Industry Advisory Committee.

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Chad Hughes | CEO, Entrepreneurial Leader, Author: website |linkedin

Andrew Fulford |Surface Land Manager, Birchcliff Energy: website | linkedin