#4 SWE Dinner with Alison Thompson
Juree's Thai Place | January 11, 2017

Having held several positions at a coal based utility in the US and hydrocarbon giants in Canada such as Suncor and Nexen and now as a Principal at Borealis GeoPower & Canoe Reach Energy, Alison Thompson has stood on both sides of what sometimes seems like a deep divide between renewable and non-renewable energy production. As an engineer she brings a depth of understanding of the technology behind energy production. Through her incredible diversity of experience, she has developed an intimate understanding of the political landscape and business culture of energy in Canada and beyond.

Her board experience is equally as diverse as her career experience. Locally she was a board member of Alberta Innovates as well as is a Fellow of The Natural Step's Energy Futures Lab. Nationally she is the Chair and a Founder of the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association as well as a director of Youth Science Canada. Globally she was a director of the International Geothermal Association and is still a part of a committee charged with crafting geothermal resource specifications for the United Nations. She also serves on the US based Geothermal Resources Council’s Public Outreach Committee and is an ongoing Expert Evaluator for the European Commission's Research Executive Agency.

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#3 SWE Dinner with Priya Kale
Saigon Y2K, Crowchild Trail | November 25, 2016

About our female professional of the month: 
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Priya Kale is a professional in the automation domain, and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electronics and communications Engineering. She has also studied her Post graduate degree in Diploma in Business management, from the Shivaji University, India.

A majority of her experience has been in the domain of Microprocessor based Electronic systems design, Microprocessor based system design (Hardware and Software), Web technologies.
Priya's family owns and runs a successful engineering business, "The Fine Group" in Miraj, India. The Fine Group is a national leading manufacturer of various kinds on Industrial Testing Machines - Hardness, Dynamic Balancing, etc. Priya uses her entrepreneurship skills by assisting the one of her other major family business of reselling American refurbished medical equipment in India..

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#2 SWE Dinner with Paula McGarrigle
Saigon Y2K, Crowchild Trail | September 26, 2016

About our female professional of the month:

​Paula McGarrigle is a professional with over 20 years of experience in the energy sector in North America. The majority of her experience has been in the renewable energy sector.
Paula is the co-founder of Solas Energy Consulting. Her experience includes project development, climate change, business development, and strategic planning. Paula was previously the head of Shell Wind Energy for Canada, and started the Suncor Alternative and Renewable Energy group.

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#1 SWE Dinner with Prudence Hoffman
Saigon Y2K, Crowchild Trail | January 13, 2016

Prudence is the Canada Engineering Manager for Honeywell Process Solutions, located in Calgary. In her role, she manages three engineering offices across Canada, in Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto. She holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta and is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).  
 
She has 19 years of process automation experience, divided between two automation companies: 17 years with Emerson Process Management and two years most recently with Honeywell. Over her career, she has held various roles including Project Engineer, Marketing Coordinator, Interface Manager, HR consultant, and Engineering Resource Manager.
 
She is married and has two children. She and her husband work very hard to find balance between work and life, and enjoy living in Calgary.