Our Staff and Board of Directors

Ray Blumenfeld, chair

President, We Communications Inc.
Phone: 1-800-344-7055

Ray is a partner in We Communications Inc., a marketing, creative design and publishing company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Ray has more than 25 years experience in sales, marketing, communications and publishing with connections in the business, entertainment and sports worlds.

Professional Highlights

• Research, development and launch of three nationally distributed, industry-leading magazines:

• Canadian Water Treatment (CWT)
  Launched in 2001, CWT is Canada’s only complete water magazine with a mandate to stir the debate on water quality, equipment, innovation and policy development. CWT is published six times per year and is distributed to more than 8,200 water professionals.

• Canadian Meat Business (CMB) – www.meatbusiness.ca
  Launched in 2002, CMB is Canada’s leading magazine for processors and distributors of beef, pork and poultry across Canada. CMB is published six times per year and is distributed to more than 6,000 food industry professionals.

• ReNew Canada (RNW) - renewcanada.net
  Launched in 2005, RNW leads the national discussion on infrastructure renewal by engaging readers with the people, companies and ideas that are changing our economy. RNW is published six times per year and is distributed to more than 10,000 related industry professionals.

Personal Highlights

• Current Member - Board of Directors – The Safe Drinking Water Foundation – a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to find treatment and preventative solutions in order to make surface and ground water safe for human consumption in rural areas of the world.

• Former Member - Board of Directors – The Rainbow Society – a non-profit organization that grants wishes to chronically and terminally ill children.

• Former President and Co-founder - Canadian Soccer League

• Former Vice President and Co-founder – Winnipeg Fury Soccer Club

Dr. Jania Chilima, board member

Sr. Environmental Project Manager, City of Edmonton

Jania Chilima, PhD is a multi-disciplined environmental professional, with strong policy-based and field-based expertise to work and research in diverse environmental sectors. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science (BSc. Honours) in a joint degree program in Environmental Resource Sciences and Business Administration from Trent University, ON, Canada. She also has a PhD in Environment and Sustainability, and a Masters of Environment and Sustainability (M.E.S.) from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada. Her doctoral dissertation focused on collaborative water governance and management, investigating the lentic-lotic system of Lake Diefenbaker (Saskatchewan), incorporating community-based participation theory and practices, institutional analysis framework, and recreational hazards assessment, taking into account behavioural aspects of the lake’s users. Her master’s work investigated watershed cumulative effects assessment and management for the Grand River, ON, Canada. In addition, she holds a number of environmental specialization and professional certificates including Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) Phase I from Associated Environmental Site Assessors of Canada (AESAC), Environment Canada - Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN) certificate in terrestrial monitoring, Environment Canada - Ontario Benthos Biomonitoring Network (OBBN) certificate in Benthic macroinvertebrate analysis, Social Impact Assessment (SIA) training and Quality Assurance in Environmental Impact Assessment from  International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), and  Human and Ecological Risk Assessment from Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, among others. As a community-minded individual, her volunteer track history is long with significant contributions to her local community in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan in general. Jania Chilima is currently working for the City of Edmonton as a Sr. Environmental Project Manager, in the Environment and Climate Resilience Section of the Urban Planning and Economy branch.

Dr. timothy (tim) molnar, board member

Professor of Education, University of Saskatchewan
Phone: 1-306-966-7572

Dr. Tim Molnar is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. Through science education Tim is seeking to support First Nations communities in making better choices for improving the quality of the drinking water in their communities. Safe drinking water at everybody's tap will improve health and well-being in their community. While most Canadians take good quality drinking water for granted, good quality drinking water is still an issue for many First Nations communities. Tim's work is centered on how to make the move towards safe drinking water both smoother and faster.

Dr. John o'connor, board member

Hospitalist, Northern Lights Regional Health Centre

Dr. John O’Connor was the first to raise concerns about high rates of cancer in Fort Chipewyan, a community downstream of the Alberta tar sands.  As a result, Dr. O’Connor was charged with “causing undue alarm” and brought international attention to the issue.  He is a family physician and now divides his practice between Nova Scotia and Northern Alberta.  Dr. O’Connor is featured in the film Downstream.

tracy webb, board member

Tracy graduated from Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia with B.Sc. Geology, B.Ed. (Secondary Science), and M.Ed. in Leadership. Over her career of 35+ years, she taught Chemistry, Biology, Oceanography, Geology, Science 10, Pre-IB Science and IB Extended Essay. Tracy has extensive experience in developing, reviewing, editing, and assessing lessons to encourage and optimize student learning. She has contributed to many organizations, and she has lead teams and professional associations, such as our Safe Drinking Water Foundation (SDWF), the National Education for Sustainable Development Expert Council, The Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM), National Steering Committee (Teacher Advisors) for Green Street, and as a NS Provincial Science Lead Team member, Association of Science Teachers. Even though she is “retired”, she is still very active with educational programs and projects, including the Gulf of Maine Institute, and the Atlantic Geoscience Society (AGS), where she continues as the Education Committee Chair.

Her efforts and dedication have been recognized by various organizations: EECOM Excellence in Environmental Education K-12 Outstanding Teacher Award 2005; NS Provincial Association of Science Teachers “Excellence in Science Teaching”; NSTU Provincial Education Week Award for Exceptional Contributions to Education, AGS Nelly Koziel Award 2019, and a National Institute Excellence Award.

SDWF is proud to have Tracy as a member of its Board of Directors, as an exemplary teacher to contribute to marketing SDWF school programs.