JAMES PRINCE

Manager, Facilities Management
Edmonton General, Covenant Health

After working as an industrial insulator for several years, I was looking for a new career and enrolled in the Power Engineering program at NAIT. I started as a fourth Class Power Engineer in healthcare in 1994 at the Misericordia Hospital and eventually moved into a 3rd Class Shift Engineer role. In 2009 I advanced to a Maintenance Coordinator and then on to the Facility Manager role the same year.

As a new member of the management team, I also joined CHES and HEAA around that same time. I was first exposed to CHES through Ted Haggart and Steve Rees who had been my managers previously. I attended my first HEAA/CHES Alberta Conference and Tradeshow at the Red Deer Lodge in October 2009 and have been involved as a member in some capacity ever since. In 2017, I joined the Alberta Chapter Executive Team in the role of Treasurer. I have been part of the Clarence White Planning Committee and have participated in some wonderful advancements, while watching the show turn into a maximum capacity event. Unfortunately, with Covid-19 interrupting our momentum, CHES events were restricted to online activities and webinars. I feel we may now see a light at the end of the tunnel and I hope to continue participating in the good work of CHES Alberta.

DAVE ATTWOOD 

Director of Facility Maintenance & Engineering
Alberta Health Services

I grew up on a farm in a small community south of Calgary. I followed my passion of playing hockey to the city where I studied at SAIT in Broadcasting Electronics Technology. I found work in the home construction industry, and found that work as an electrician was a nice balance with my young family. I became a master Electrician in both Alberta and British Columbia, as I worked in the in the mining industry, the oil and gas industry and the commercial construction industry. Throughout all of the positions that I held, I found that maintenance calls were a strength of mine, which led me into the healthcare industry as a maintenance manager at the newly built South Health Campus in south Calgary. Healthcare has allowed me to grow my knowledge of facility maintenance to my current role of Director of Facility Maintenance and Engineering since 2017.

I have been fortunate to have worked in a wide variety of industries, and to have employers that have had strong commitment to safety.

Currently I am a member of:
• The AHS Electrical safety sub-committee
• The AHS CSA 8002 SOP committee
• The AHS provincial SOP committee
• The National CSA 463 Technical Committee as a healthcare representative

In health care I have been privileged to be a part of teams that have won the following Awards:
• Capital Management Energy Management Award 2015
• Capital management Lean Initiative 2016
• Capital management Sustainability 2020
• The Senators Contribution Award 2020 for contributions toward the PRU construction

TOM HOWARD

Mechanical Engineering Technologist
Alberta Health Services

Tom Howard is a Mechanical Engineering Technologist with 25+ years in facilities maintenance and engineering. He started his career in the Calgary Health Region and has spent the last 15 years in the south zone as an instrumentation mechanic and progressed to the manager position. Tom served on the CHES executive from 2012-2018 and was on the organizing committee for one of the most financially successful CHES conferences to that date. He is currently a member of the provincial Electrical Safety committee, Heliport Safety committee and SOP Development committee. He enjoys music and spending time with his family dogs. He looks forward to the opportunity of returning to the CHES executive to continue on with building the Alberta CHES chapter.

 SARAH AHMED

Associate
Smith + Andersen

Sarah brings over 15 years of experience as an electrical engineer and project manager. Over her career, she has worked in many industries, with focus on healthcare, education, and commercial projects. Sarah is an active member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) and Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), and is also a LEED Accredited Professional and an active member of the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC).

 PAUL PERSCHON

Senior Process Improvement Consultant
Alberta Health Services

Paul Perschon has been working for Alberta Health Services (AHS) for the last 11 years as a Senior Process Improvement Consultant in Capital Management supporting Facilities - Maintenance and Engineering (FM&E), Clinical Engineering (CE), and Project Management (PM). Prior to joining AHS, Paul was doing PM work on commercial, multi-family developments, and high-rise projects for the Rykon Group in Kelowna, B.C.

Paul’s education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Bachelor of Business Administration, Master of Arts in Leadership, and a Black Belt in Lean/Six Sigma. Outside of work, Paul has a long history of volunteering for non-profit organizations (Habitat for Humanity, kids’ camps, coaching hockey, soccer, and waterskiing).

Paul’s experience at AHS working on a wide variety of facility projects, his leadership education, and process improvement coaching provides a great platform for helping CHES to expand its opportunities for growth and innovation. In the role of Secretary, Paul would like to help enhance program offerings and training focused on: leadership, team development, and workplace safety (physical and psychological).