Keyano College Board of Governors

Zukic, Nermin

Dr. Nermin Zukic is the Chair, Business Department at Keyano College. Dr. Zukic holds a Doctor of Education degree from Columbia University, a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Computing from the University of Winnipeg, as well as a Computer System Technology diploma from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.

Farwell, Kim

Ms. Kim Farwell is the Manager of Production Planning, Control, Quality and extraction technical at Syncrude Canada Ltd. She has served on the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta for several years and has held the roles of President, Chair of the Governance Committee, and Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. She was also the Director of the Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Alberta, a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and a certificate in oil sands technology from the University of Alberta.


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

Matte, Chris

Mr. Chris Matte is Vice President of Technical Engineering services at Syncrude Canada Ltd. Mr. Matte has held various leadership and technical roles at Syncrude. He was also a district representative at Nalco Canada Corporation, and an applications engineer at Campbell Scientific Canada Corporation. Mr. Matte recently completed a more than two-year mandate on the board of ACFA régionale de Wood Buffalo. He is an active member of the community, and has volunteered with Fort McMurray Scouts, Norfort Gymnastics, and youth soccer.


Mr. Matte holds a Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering from Laval University, and a Certificate in Strategic Leadership from the Sauder School of Business through the University of British Columbia.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Keyano College include: leadership, governance, finance, human resources, legal, risk management and/or strategic planning. Chris Matte was directly recruited and appointed on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills and attributes as described above.

Patel, Kalpesh

Mr. Kalpesh Patel currently is the Regional Engineering Manager NPA with Suncor. He has held several management positions with Suncor including Manager, Reliability Engineering Extraction Primary; Manager, Reliability Engineering Tailings & TRO; and Lead, Reliability Engineering Coarse Tailing. He is a Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Saurastra.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Keyano College 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. Patel was directly appointed on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

Rosser, Andrew

Mr. Andrew Rosser is the Senior Vice President, Production and Interim Managing Director with Syncrude Canada Ltd. Prior, he was General Manager of Shell Energy’s MARS Corridor, a set of offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Alberta, and a Certificate in Strategic Decision and Risk Management from Stanford University.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Keyano College 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. Rosser was directly appointed on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

MacNeil, Joe

Mr. Joe MacNeil is the General Manager for Jacobs Industrial Services Ltd. Previously, Mr. MacNeil was Site Manager for Safway Services Canada Inc., Construction Manager for PCL Construction, and the Director of Operations for ClearWater Energy Services. Mr. MacNeil has been an engaged leader of the Fort McMurray community for 28 years. He is currently an honorary board member on the Northern Lights Health Foundation Board of Directors, and was previously the Chair and Vice Chair for the foundation. Mr. MacNeil is a master electrician, and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Thomson, Adele

Ms. Adele Thomson is the Manager of Stakeholder and Aboriginal Relations with Canadian Natural Resources in Calgary. Prior to this, she was Project Manager Stakeholder Relations/Employee Services with Canadian Natural Resources in Fort McMurray. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Gonzaga University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Windsor.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Keyano 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. Ms. Thomson was directly appointed in April 2020 on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

Powder, Raymond

Mr. Raymond Powder was an elected Councillor with the Fort McKay First Nation from 1998–2000 and from 2000-2020. He also held Administrator as well as Employment and Training Coordinator roles with the Fort McKay First Nation. He studied Business Administration with Keyano College and General Studies at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Keyano College 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. Powder was directly appointed on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

Scott, Donald

Mr. Donald Scott is the Executive Director with the McMurray Métis Local 1935 and an Assessor and Practice Manager with the Canadian Centre for Professional Legal Education. He is the former Mayor of the Reginal Municipality of Wood Buffalo and a former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, where he held the roles of Minister of Innovation and Advanced Education, Associate Minister of Accountability, Transparency and Transformation, and Deputy Government House Leader. He holds a Master of Law degree from the University of Cambridge, and a Bachelor of Laws degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Brunswick.


Competencies required for members of The Board of Governors of Keyano College 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. Scott was directly appointed on the basis of meeting the competencies, skills, and attributes as described above.

Bevans, Leon

Mr. Leon Bevans is an Instructional Technology Specialist at Keyano College. He has served as a member of Keyano College Computer Information Systems Program Advisory Committee, was the Co-Director of Information and Communications Technology for Wood Buffalo Arctic Winter Games, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Wood Buffalo YMCA. Mr. Bevans holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta.

Miller, Sheresee

Ms. Sheresee Miller is the President of the Students’ Association of Keyano College for the 2023/24 academic year. She is currently enrolled in the Business Administration Management Diploma program at Keyano College. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources Management and an associate degree in business studies from the University College of the Caribbean as well as a Business Administration Diploma from the Caribbean Institute of Business.

Skeel, Shavell

Ms. Shavell Skeel is currently enrolled in the Business Administration Management Diploma program at Keyano College. She has volunteered with the Students’ Association of Keyano College’s Governance and Academic Committees, as well as with several community organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and a Legal Education Certificate from Norman Manley Law School.

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