Northwestern Polytechnic Board of Governors

Kerschbaumer, Heather

Ms. Heather Kerschbaumer is the owner of Golden Acre Seed, a forage seed cleaning facility and marketing business on her family farm. She has more than 25 years of leadership experience with agricultural organizations, and is currently serving as Treasurer at Organic Alberta. Ms. Kerschbaumer was the past President of Forage Seed Canada, and a founding member and past Treasurer of the Peace Region Forage Seed Association. Ms. Kerschbaumer was a student at the former Fairview College, now part of the Northwestern Polytechnic campus.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Northwestern Polytechnic include the core competencies of leadership and governance and preferred competencies of finance, human resources, legal, risk management, and/or strategic planning. Ms. Kerschbaumer was directly appointed in February 2021 on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

Radbourne, Lorne

Mr. Lorne Radbourne has served on the board since November 2017. He is a retired educator and Grande Prairie City Councillor. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie, board member of the Grande Prairie Public School District Education Foundation, and a board member of the Hockey Alberta Foundation. Mr. Radbourne holds a Master’s degree in Educational Administration, a Bachelor of Education degree, and a diploma in Educational Administration from the University of Alberta.

Birnie-Browne, Angela

Ms. Angela Birnie-Browne is a Child Care Supervisor/Coordinator with the Children's Centre Demonstration Daycare at Northwestern Polytechnic. She holds an Early Learning and Child Care Diploma from Northwestern Polytechnic.

Cage, Brent

Mr. Brent Cage is a Barrister & Solicitor with Carter Lock & Horringan in Grande Prairie, Alberta. He is involved in corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. He is an active board and community volunteer. He is currently serving as a Conduct Committee Member for the Law Society of Alberta, a board member on the Grande Prairie-Mackenzie Conservative Electoral District Association, and chairperson with the Beaverlodge United Church. He has earned a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Alberta, a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Major in Political Science from the University of Calgary, and his Juris Doctor at the University of Saskatchewan.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Northwestern Polytechnic include the core competencies of leadership and governance, as well as the preferred competencies of finance, human resources, legal, risk management, and/or strategic planning. Mr. Cage was directly appointed in August 2019 on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.


Torgerson, Lydell

Mr. Lydell Torgerson is an Accounting Partner with Fletcher Mudryk LLP where he specializes in audit, taxation, corporate reorganizations, and estate planning. Mr. Torgerson has served as a volunteer Financial Agent for the Grande Prairie-Mackenzie Conservative Association, and as the Finance Chair for the 2004 Royal Bank Cup Committee. He earned a Bachelor of Administration degree in Management from Athabasca University and Grande Prairie Regional College, and became a Chartered Accountant in 2002, earning the 2002 ICAA Bronze Medal.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Northwestern Polytechnic include the core competencies of leadership and governance, as well as the preferred competencies of finance, human resources, legal, risk management, and/or strategic planning. Mr. Torgerson was directly appointed in August 2019 on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

Pietsch, Andrew

Mr. Andrew Pietsch is a Heavy Equipment Technician Instructor at the Fairview campus of Northwestern Polytechnic. He has completed the Becoming a Master Instructor program at NAIT and has a Red Seal certificate in the Heavy Equipment Technician trade.

Fjeld, Dominique

Ms. Dominique Fjeld is currently a student at Northwestern Polytechnic in the university transfer program. She is the President of the Circle of Indigenous Students and previously was a member of the Spirit Seekers Youth Conference.

Beairsto, Cody

Mr. Cody Beairsto is a Senior Director and Managing Partner with Beairsto and Associates Engineering Ltd. Currently, he is a member with the Northern Alberta Development Council, Trustee with the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees, and a member on the Northwestern Polytechnic Workforce Advisory Committee. He is a professional engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Alberta.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Northwestern Polytechnic include the core competencies of leadership and governance, as well as preferred competencies of finance, human resources, legal, risk management, and/or strategic planning. Mr. Beairsto was directly appointed on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

Horseman, Darlene

Ms. Darlene Horseman is an Indigenous Studies Instructor at Northwestern Polytechnic in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department. She is also a part-time sessional instructor at the University of Alberta and Northern Lakes College, teaching Indigenous Studies and Cree Language. Over her academic career, she has received several awards, including the Distinguished Alumni Award, Salutatorian Award, and Laurence Decore Award for Student Leadership. Ms. Horseman holds a Master of Arts degree in Native Studies and Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Alberta.

Pack, Melanie

Ms. Melanie Pack is President of the Northwestern Polytechnic Students’ Association (NWPSA) for the 2023/24 academic year. Previously, she served as the Vice President Internal with the NWPSA for the 2022/23 academic year. She is currently enrolled in the Business Administration degree program at Northwestern Polytechnic. Ms. Pack is a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and a Cannabis Sommelier.

Miller, Shawna

Ms. Shawna Miller is the Chief Financial Officer of Virtus Services Ltd., as well as the President and Business Owner of Smithco Enterprises Ltd. which operates 16 Subway Restaurants. She is the Chair of the Alberta Chamber of Commerce, board member with the Workers' Compensation Board, and a board member with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Sociology from the University of Alberta and a Business Administration certificate in Accounting from Grande Prairie Regional College.

Forbes, Jason

Mr. Jason Forbes is a Senior Partner with KMSC Law LLP. He has served on a number of boards and community organizations, including Chair of the Grande Prairie and District Society for Christian Education, former interim Chair of the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital Foundation, and a member on the BILD Grande Prairie. Mr. Forbes holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Northwestern Polytechnic include the core competencies of leadership and governance, as well as the preferred competencies of finance, human resources, legal, risk management, and/or strategic planning. Mr. Forbes was directly appointed on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

Wittig, Ken

Mr. Ken Wittig is part Owner and Business Development Manager at Northstar Hydrovac and President and Business Owner of Star Energy Logistics Ltd. He is also currently serving as a Councillor for the Town of Valleyview and as a board member with both the Valleyview and District Chamber of Commerce and the Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association. Mr. Wittig holds a Business Management certificate from Grande Prairie Regional College and a Project Management certificate from Northern Lakes College.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Northwestern Polytechnic include the core competencies of leadership and governance, as well as the preferred competencies of finance, human resources, legal, risk management, and/or strategic planning. Mr. Wittig was directly appointed on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

Landis, Dennis

Mr. Dennis Landis is the former Chief Executive Officer and Chairman at Prairie Coast Equipment. He is active in his community and serves at various boards, including Chairman of the Workforce Advisory Council at Northwestern Polytechnic and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Peace River Bible Institute. Mr. Landis holds a Bachelor of Religious Education degree from the Peace River Bible Institute.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Northwestern Polytechnic include the core competencies of leadership and governance, as well as the preferred competencies of finance, human resources, legal, risk management, and/or strategic planning. Mr. Landis was directly appointed on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

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