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About Us

A coherent signal through complexity

The Energy Futures Lab is an independent, Canadian not-for-profit organization that brings together government, energy system and community leaders and innovators to navigate the complex dynamics and trade-offs of sustainable energy innovation.

 

Working across policy, technology and the economy, we develop and deliver solutions that accelerate progress toward Canada’s prosperous, resilient and low-emissions energy future.

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Our Vision

A thriving energy future, built together.

​We remove barriers standing in the path to future prosperity and progress for Canada and the world.

Our Mission

We shape the people-powered solutions to complex energy challenges.

 

We do this by bringing together diverse perspectives, building trust and shared understanding, applying systems thinking to identify opportunities for change, and supporting collaborative action that creates lasting impact.

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History

The Energy Futures Lab was established in 2015 as an initiative of The Natural Step Canada (now Generate Canada), bringing people from across Canada’s energy system together to explore how we might navigate the profound changes ahead.

 

From the beginning, the Lab was designed as a different kind of platform: neutral, cross-sectoral and grounded in the belief that meaningful change requires people with very different perspectives to work together.

Over the years, the Lab has convened hundreds of leaders, practitioners, innovators and community voices to imagine possible energy futures, test new ideas and build relationships across boundaries that too often keep people apart, and urgent challenges unsolved.

 

Our work has spanned energy, climate, technology, jobs, the economy, communities, Indigenous rights and reconciliation, and the many human systems that influence how systems we rely on mature and change.

In September 2026, the Energy Futures Lab became an independent charitable organization, rooted in Canada’s West and carrying forward a decade of experience in creating the conditions for unlikely collaboration and transformative ideas.

Today, the Lab continues to bring people together to ask better questions, challenge assumptions and create the relationships and possibilities that can move Canada toward a thriving, sustainable energy future, built together.

The Lab Team

Alison Cretney

Executive Director

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Marla Orenstein

Director, Partnerships & Impact

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Fatema Hardwarewala

Director, People & Finance

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Maureen Kolla

Director, Alberta’s Electricity Future

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Richard Hiller

Director, Future Materials Alliance

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Sarah Brooks

Advisor, Strategy and Design | Sustainability and Innovation Architect, Alberta's Electricity Future

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Keren Perla

Advisor, Strategy and Design | Project Director, ​Alberta’s Clean Competitiveness​ | Energy Systems and Innovation Architect, Alberta’s Electricity Future

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Matt Mayer

Advisor, Strategy and Design

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Emily Blocksom

Senior Manager, Future Materials Alliance & Network Engagement

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Ailsa Popilian

Senior Manager, Communications and Community Engagement

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Ashley Meller

Senior Manager, Strategic Communications, Media and Brand

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Brent Wellsch

Design & Facilitation, Fellowship Program

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Julie Bunker

Project Coordinator, Alberta's Electricity Future

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Preeta Raghunathan

Research Assistant

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Suzanne Life-Yeomans

Indigenous Relations Lead

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Shay Robertson

Operations Advisor

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Tom McCaffery

Government Relations

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Terri-Lynn Duque

Electricity Transformation Strategist, Alberta’s Electricity Future

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Mark Cabaj

Advisor, Developmental Evaluation

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Awards
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2023
Ecosystem Supporter of the Year
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2025 Award of Excellence
Large Community or Regional Project
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2018 Project Award
2022 Project Award
2024 Project Award
2025 Alison Cretney
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2024 Alberta Book Publishing Award for Reimagining Fire: The Future Of Energy
by Eveline Kolijn

Board of Directors

Chad Park

Chair

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Lori Hewson

Vice-Chair

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Usha Sthankiya

Treasurer

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Maya Douglas

Director

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