Public Lands Appeal Board

Ms. Nickerson is a senior adjudicator and public sector leader with over 20 years of experience in regulatory compliance, administrative law, and tribunal operations. She has held key roles in both territorial and provincial governments, including:

• Manager of Licensing for Alberta’s Private Career Colleges
• Manager of Operations for SafeRoads Alberta
• Senior Adjudicator, where she led adjudication under the Immediate Roadside Sanctions regime for impaired driving.

Her career began with the Territorial Court of the Northwest Territories, where she oversaw court operations across multiple legal domains and served as a Justice of the Peace. She spearheaded a digital transformation initiative for circuit courts in remote Arctic communities, significantly improving access to justice and operational efficiency.

She has led multidisciplinary teams, developed adjudicator training programs, and driven continuous improvement in quasi-judicial operations. She was appointed Chair and Appeal Co-ordinator of the Public Lands Appeal Board effective September 2, 2025.

Ms. Aalbers has a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering. She worked as a reservoir engineer predominantly for Shell in the US, Europe and Africa. She finished her 15 year oil and gas career as the Strategy and Portfolio Manager for Shell in Africa.

During her posting with Shell in Gabon, in addition to her technical role, Ms. Aalbers was appointed the business principles focal point and provided bribery and corruption training to Shell staff. She was also a trained Shell talent assessor. She returned to Alberta to support the family farming operation from 2010 to 2015.

Ms. Aalbers became an elected official in 2013 for Mountain View County, where she is currently serving her third term. In 2021, she became the first female Reeve to be appointed as the chief elected official of Mountain View County.

Ms. Aalbers has completed Level 1 in the Alberta’s National Advanced Certificate in Local Authority Administration. She was appointed to the Provincial Law Enforcement Review Board in June 2021. Ms. Aalbers was appointed as a member of the Environmental Appeals Board on June 24, 2022, and is cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.

Dr. James Armstrong is a hydrogeologist with over 30 years of diverse environmental and hydrogeologic experience. He has a MSc (Hydrogeology, University of Waterloo) and a PhD (Geotechnical Engineering, University of Alberta).

Dr. Armstrong provided consulting services for over 20 years, with direct project experience on all phases of contaminated site assessment and remediation. His PhD research focused on assessing natural attenuation of hydrocarbons at upstream oil and gas sites. He then worked as a water Stewardship Advisor with Encana, where he directed groundwater resource evaluation and permitting to support hydraulic fracturing, including:

• well installations
• groundwater flow modelling
• groundwater-surface water interaction assessment
• water well complaints and stakeholder disputes

He retired from active practice in 2020, before being appointed as a member of the Environmental Appeals Board on March 29, 2023, and cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.

Mr. Averill has a B.Sc. from the University of Alberta’s Environmental and Conservation Science program, specializing in Land Remediation and Reclamation. He works at the intersection where energy development meets rural communities and the natural environment, and is currently with Sproule Asset Management.

With over 2 decades of experience in the natural gas and oil industry, Mr. Averill has extensive knowledge in all stages of project development; from land-use planning, community consultation, exploration and construction, through to closure and reclamation. His holistic understanding of the lifecycle of oil and gas development and its impacts on stakeholders and the environment positions him as a progressive leader in the industry with a proven track record of finding practical solutions to seemingly complex land-use challenges.

Mr. Averill is the Manager of Stakeholder Relations, Surface Land and Closure for a medium sized Alberta-based energy producer. He was appointed as a member of the Environmental Appeals Board on February 25, 2020, and is cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.

Mr. Deibert is a professional geoscientist with over 30 years of experience in the environmental consulting sector, based in Alberta. He has a B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia and a M.Sc. from Queen's University and is a registered member of APEGA, APEGS and EGBC. He has completed the Rotman-ICD Directors Education Program and holds the ICD.D designation.

He was a founding partner of a private consulting firm in 2000 with operations in Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan. The firm was sold in 2016 to Summit Earth where he continues to practice on contract basis, providing environmental consulting services to the energy, industrial and commercial sectors. His technical experience includes all aspects of contaminated site assessment and remediation including soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater assessments, remediation, risk management, liability assessments and site closures. He also continues to preside over stakeholder engagement activities, permit/approval applications and regulatory filings.

Mr. Deibert was appointed to the Environmental Appeals Board on June 6, 2024, and is cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.

Mr. Fawcett has served over 20-years as an executive leader and entrepreneur in the public, non-profit, and private sectors. He holds an MBA from the University of Alberta, a BA in Political Science & Applied Energy Economics from the University of Calgary, and a certificate in Energy Policy Planning.

Mr. Fawcett served a decade in elected public office (school trustee and Member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly), which included holding several positions within executive council (Minister of Environment, Minister of Labour, Associate Minister of Finance). In addition to his public service, Mr. Fawcett has led teams of technical experts, business development associates, and communications/marketing professionals as a senior executive officer in the private and non-profit sectors (Vital Group of Companies and Silvera).

As an entrepreneur, Mr. Fawcett co-founded a small renewable energy development company (SunAlta Power), leading projects through various stages of development, and has provided advisory services in the areas of energy and environmental policy.

Mr. Fawcett was appointed as a member of the Environmental Appeals Board on June 6, 2024, and is cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.

Ms. Lacasse is a lawyer with over 25 years’ experience advising clients on regulatory, administrative, indigenous, and environmental matters. She holds a civil law degree from the University of Montreal and a common law degree from McGill University.

Ms. Lacasse worked in private practice focusing on aboriginal and environmental matters, followed by several years as Board counsel for the Energy and Utilities Board, and as in-house counsel for a large resource development company. She has represented clients in court cases and regulatory hearings, developed, negotiated and implemented agreements, participated in energy projects development, assessment and implementation, and was involved in developing corporate strategies and policies in Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia.

Ms. Lacasse is retired from the practice of law and is interested in mediation. She has completed several courses on mediation with the program on negotiation at Harvard law school, the University of Calgary, and the ADR Institute of Alberta.

On October 31, 2017, Ms. Lacasse was appointed as a Board member of the Alberta Land and Property Rights Tribunal (previously the Alberta Surface Rights Board and Alberta Land Compensation Board).

Ms. Lacasse was appointed as a member of the Environmental Appeals Board on November 26, 2018, and is cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.

Mr. McLauchlin holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Leicester, UK and a B.Sc. in Zoology/Animal Biology from the University of Calgary. He is also a Chartered Manager with a certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership from the Chartered Management Institute of the UK.

Mr. McLauchlin is a Senior Aboriginal Advisor/Senior Biologist with Environmental Leadership Matters, and an associate with Maskwa Environmental Consulting. He was elected to Ponoka County in 2007 and has been the Reeve since 2013. Mr. McLauchlin is also the President of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta until November 2024 and has been the Chair of Battle Lake Synergy Group since 2007.

Mr. McLauchlin was appointed as a member of the Environmental Appeals Board on November 22, 2023, and is cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.

Mr. Powter has a B.Sc. in Ecology and a M.Sc. in Plant Ecology from the University of Guelph. He is the owner of Enviro Q&A Services, a consulting firm providing environmental advice and guidance to the resource industry and government regulators since 2015.

From April 2010 to December 2014 Mr. Powter was the Executive Director of the Oil Sands Research and Information Network (OSRIN) in the School of Energy and the Environment at the University of Alberta. His work involved:

• identifying research and information gaps related to environmental impacts of oil sands mining
• filling those gaps through research
• providing information to regulators, industry, and the public

Mr. Powter worked for Alberta Environment for 29 years, including duties in land reclamation from 1981 to 2002, in policy and legislation development from 2002 to 2007 and finally as the head of the provincial environmental assessment program from 2007 to 2010. He was appointed as a member of the Environmental Appeals Board on November 27, 2018, and is cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.

Ms. Quarshie is a professional geoscientist with an MBA, M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering, and B.Sc. in Biological Sciences. She has over 30 years’ experience in energy, environment, land use and industrial development.

Ms. Quarshie has extensive experience in construction and operation of pipelines, environmental monitoring, process safety and environmental management systems including audits. She has extensive board governance experience as a former Vice Chair of the Appeals Commission, Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board.

Ms. Quarshie was appointed as a member of the Environmental Appeals Board on November 22, 2023, and is cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.

Jo-Ann Riddell is a lawyer with a focus on property transfers and real estate transactions. Her interest in land rights began early in her career working alongside stakeholders providing title review of surface and sub-surface rights, this led to her practicing as a real estate lawyer. Most recently Jo-Ann has started 'Pivot Properties Ltd.' a property holding and development company operating in Calgary, Alberta.

Jo-Ann holds a Bachelor of Arts (English) and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta as well as a Masters of Law from the Osgoode Hall Law School. She has also completed several courses in mediation, negotiation and arbitration through the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society.

Ms. Riddell was appointed as a member of the Environmental Appeals Board on June 6, 2024, and is cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.

Ms. Rippin Armstrong has an HBSc. in Biology/Environmental Science and is an independent environmental consultant. She has more than 25 years’ experience in regulatory processes and environmental compliance.

She has worked with government, Indigenous organizations, regulatory agencies and resource companies, through her work with the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Chambers of Mines and the Yukon Women in Mining Board. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Alberta Energy Regulator.

Ms. Rippin Armstrong was appointed as a member of the Environmental Appeals Board on November 22, 2023, and is cross-appointed to the Public Lands Appeal Board.