Dr. Strauss has a book on our economic system. Get it HERE.

John, often called “the grandfather of North American wood pellets,” is widely recognized as one of the leading experts in the wood pellet sector. John’s experience, wisdom, and history in pellet manufacturing is legendary. In 1994, John founded Pacific BioEnergy Corporation located in Prince George, British Columbia, where he successfully established one of Canada’s leading wood pellet exporters. In 1996, John was instrumental in establishing the Wood Pellet Association of Canada and served as its executive director from 2005-2009. He manufactured and shipped the first ever transatlantic shipment of pellets from North America (to Sweden) in 1997. John brings a broad range of wisdom and skills key to the sector from forest management, to pellet manufacturing, to logistics optimization, to negotiating shipping contracts. John is the recipient of the 2014 Founders Award at the International Biomass Conference.  John was honored with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the 2023 Argus Biomass conference in London.

Kayleigh is a process safety specialist with expertise in hazard analysis, combustible dust, and inherently safer design. She has extensive experience with wood products manufacturing. She helps enhance industrial safety and reduce risk by identifying key opportunities for improvement and supporting the implementation of strategic action plans. She is currently the Director of Obex Risk Ltd., a process safety consulting firm based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Kayleigh is a Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry, Honours), Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical), and Master of Applied Science (Chemical Engineering, Process Safety).