 | Randy Oliver |
 | Ali Panasiuk, Lead Inspector, Government of Alberta. Ali has been working on the Bee Health Assurance Team with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation since 2007 and has been the Lead Apiculture Inspector since 2016. She is currently acting as Provincial Apiculturist. Her main role is to manage all inspections carried out by the province and ensuring beekeepers are educated and implementing correct management practices pertaining to honey bee pests and diseases. Before becoming the Lead Inspector she helped manage several hundred colonies, and assisted in numerous experiments and surveillance programs. She is very passionate about animal husbandry which originated from growing up on a farm that had many different types of livestock. Beekeeping fell naturally into her skillset so she ended up running her own colonies for many years. |
 | Gunjan Vasudeva, BeeSafe Biotech We are a team of three members: Dr Trushar Patel, Dr. Gunjan Vasudeva, and Jenna Letain (MSc)—currently, our company, BeeSafe Biotech Inc. is working on designing an on-site detection kit for viruses infecting honey bees. Canada has recently faced a massive loss of honey bee colonies, i.e., approximately 40% of their hives, and an increase in viral infections is a crucial player to this. Considering the increments in the loss of the agricultural economy due to the loss of honey bee populations to viruses, we observed a lack of a first point-of-care system, which is the proactive diagnosis also contributing to the situation. So the initial mission of Beesafe Biotech Inc, is to solve the delayed detection or diagnosis of viral infection by on-site detection kit so the beekeepers can test their hives quickly and more affordably, which will further educate them to take regulatory measurements to isolate or sanitize their hives to stop the spread of the viruses. |
 | Jenna Letain, BeeSafe Biotech We are a team of three members: Dr Trushar Patel, Dr. Gunjan Vasudeva, and Jenna Letain (MSc)—currently, our company, BeeSafe Biotech Inc. is working on designing an on-site detection kit for viruses infecting honey bees. Canada has recently faced a massive loss of honey bee colonies, i.e., approximately 40% of their hives, and an increase in viral infections is a crucial player to this. Considering the increments in the loss of the agricultural economy due to the loss of honey bee populations to viruses, we observed a lack of a first point-of-care system, which is the proactive diagnosis also contributing to the situation. So the initial mission of Beesafe Biotech Inc, is to solve the delayed detection or diagnosis of viral infection by on-site detection kit so the beekeepers can test their hives quickly and more affordably, which will further educate them to take regulatory measurements to isolate or sanitize their hives to stop the spread of the viruses. |
 | Dr.Trushar Pate We are a team of three members: Dr Trushar Patel, Dr. Gunjan Vasudeva, and Jenna Letain (MSc)—currently, our company, BeeSafe Biotech Inc. is working on designing an on-site detection kit for viruses infecting honey bees. Canada has recently faced a massive loss of honey bee colonies, i.e., approximately 40% of their hives, and an increase in viral infections is a crucial player to this. Considering the increments in the loss of the agricultural economy due to the loss of honey bee populations to viruses, we observed a lack of a first point-of-care system, which is the proactive diagnosis also contributing to the situation. So the initial mission of Beesafe Biotech Inc, is to solve the delayed detection or diagnosis of viral infection by on-site detection kit so the beekeepers can test their hives quickly and more affordably, which will further educate them to take regulatory measurements to isolate or sanitize their hives to stop the spread of the viruses. |
 | Dr. Renata Labuschagne, ABC Tech Transfer Program Lead, ABC. Dr. Renata Labuschagne joined the Alberta Beekeepers Commission (ABC) in 2019 as the Alberta Tech Transfer Program lead. Before joining the ABC team, Renata was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Steve Pernal’s apiculture research lab at Beaverlodge Research Farm, Agriculture Agri-food Canada, studying the inter-correlation of several important pathogens and phenotypes, so as to better understand drivers of colony health and productivity. Renata received her Ph.D. in Entomology in 2015 from the University of Minnesota studying under Dr. Mara Spivak. Previously, she received her B.Sc. in Animal Science from the Universidade Federal of Ceara, Brazil. Renata’s doctoral research focused on evaluating: 1) the seasonal benefits of propolis (a bee-produced resinous material) on the health and immunity of honey bees; 2) the role that types of resins play as a defense against two highly infectious brood pathogens, Ascosphaera apis (a fungus causing chalkbrood disease) and Paenibacillus larvae (a bacterium causing American foulbrood disease); and 3) the effects of the propolis “envelope” within the hive as a natural defense against disease. |
 | Patricia Wolf-Veiga; Manager, National Bee Diagnostic Centre |
 | Dr. Sarah Wood, Research Chair in Pollinator Health, Associate Professor, University of Saskatchewan Sarah Wood, DVM, PhD, DACVP is a veterinary anatomic pathologist with Prairie Diagnostic Service Inc. at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research interests include infectious disease of honey bees, ecotoxicology, and sustainable agriculture. |
 | Leilane Pulsifer, Science Communicator, BC-TTP |
 | Pascal Brunner; Vatorex CEO & co-founder |
 | Lynae Ovinge, Buzzworthy Solutions Lynae operates Buzzworthy Solutions where she provides contract/consulting services to the beekeeping and bee research community She grew up on a mixed grain/cattle farm near Granum, Alberta, and spent her summers working on commercial beekeeping farms. Lynae worked as an Apiary Inspector for Alberta Agriculture and has a Master’s of Science studying Varroa mite management at the University of Alberta. She later spent 8 years studying honey bee health and canola pollination with Dr. Shelley Hoover, first for Alberta Agriculture at the Lethbridge Research Centre, and later at the University of Lethbridge. She has also served as the temporary lead of the Alberta Beekeepers Tech Transfer Program. Lynae is married to Tanner Ovinge and they are proud parents of Quinn (7) and Beau (3). In her spare time, Lynae enjoys reading, camping, and watching curling, golf, and NFL football. |
 | Nicole McCormick, Alberta Tech Transfer Program Lead Technician |
| Amy Floyd, Dalan Animal Health | |
| Dan Aurell |
 | Liz Huxter Elizabeth and Terry Huxter have contributed provincially, nationally and internationally to the beekeeping industry. Both are past presidents of the BC Honey Producers Association. Liz has been the president of the BC Bee Breeders Association several times. Liz and Terry have based their participation in the beekeeping community on the tenets of education, innovation and breeding inspired by John Corner, Harry Laidlaw, Homer Park and Bill Wilson. Terry organized the Tracheal Mite Symposium in 1990 to help beekeepers formulate policies with the best knowledge available. In 1992, Liz partnered with Kerry Clark, Provincial Apiary Specialist, to successfully breed bees resistant to the tracheal mites. As example of their innovation, Terry was the front cover beekeeper of the December 2001 issue of the Hivelights Magazine. The photo features him storing 4 way mating nucs with wintered queens in temperature controlled sheds. Elizabeth has led investigations with the BC Bee Breeders Queen Testing Program (2006-2008) searching for the most varroa mite resistant queen stock in Canada as well as, advising on breeding projects in the United States. She bred and tested bee stock for two research projects looking to identify markers for disease resistance Bee IPM and APHIS, collaborating with University of British Columbia and Agriculture and Agri -Food Canada. In 2015, she investigated the impact of sub-lethal levels of neonics on hygienic behavior collaborating with Dr. Marta Guarna and Dr. Jeff Pettis. In 2017 Elizabeth was awarded the Fred Rathje Memorial Award by the Canadian honey Council Both Terry and Liz have given numerous talks on their sustainable and integrated practices producing queens, nucs and honey. |
 | Sue Cobey Susan Cobey’s focus is enhancement of honey bee stocks and improvement of colony health through selective breeding. She founded and managed the New World Carniolan Program for 40th generations. To diversity the U.S. gene pool, she worked with the Washington State University to collect honey bee germplasm from their native European range to incorporate into U.S breeding populations. Her experience includes management of Honey Bee Research Laboratories at the University of California, Davis and the Ohio University State. She has also worked with the USDA Baton Rouge Bee Lab. Her background includes commercial queen production in FL. and CA., and founding and operating a queen production business, Vaca Valley Apiaries, in California. Currently she runs Honey Bee Insemination Service, LLC. providing training and instructional material worldwide. |
 | Marta Guarna |
 | Dani Glennie Dani is a 2nd generation beekeeper from Saskatchewan where she is currently in the process of succession on her family farm. Dani has been raising queens since she was 17yrs old. It is her favourite part of the bee season and she looks forward to it every year because it's never the same and the challenges are always changing. Dani has spent 4 years on the Sask Beekeepers Association board and 2 years on the CHC board where she was able to meet beekeepers from across North America and help to deal with the issues that affect us all. The passion in the queen raising community is contagious and she is happy to talk to any and all about their breeding experiences. |
 | Lorne Prins |
 | Chenoa Kaufman |
 | Alex Walton |