Our team of experts

Yuho Okada, MBA is the President of Barkley Project Group. In addition to engaging in his current executive management role, Yuho has over 10 years of hands-on experience in project management including project development, financing, strategic planning, economic analysis, and business planning for numerous clean energy projects in BC and Yukon. Yuho has also been leading Barkley’s business interests in the Japanese renewable energy market since 2013. He holds a BSc. in Natural Resources Conservation from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Royal Roads University. He serves as a chair of the Board of Directors for a clean energy industry association, Clean Energy BC.

John Ebell is a co-founder of Barkley Project group. He is a Senior Project Manager and Geothermal Team Lead with more than 40 years’ experience in the natural resources sector. His broad background includes work in fisheries, environmental assessment and regulatory permitting, as well as more than 20 years’ direct experience in the clean energy sector where he has brought hydropower developments from concept to operation and instigated some of Canada’s premier geothermal projects. John’s project management experience spans all stages of development, including renewable energy resource inventory and concept development, feasibility assessment, strategic planning, design coordination, permitting, and operations management.

Ben Whyte, P. Eng. PMP, is a Director at Barkley Project Group and Hydro Team Lead. With 15 years of experience in heavy civil and industrial construction management, Ben has successfully led and delivered multiple clean energy projects in remote locations throughout British Columbia as a Project Manager. Prior to joining Barkley Project Group, Ben was responsible for site engineering as the Owner’s Representative overseeing the spillway program for BC Hydro’s Ruskin Dam & Powerhouse Upgrade project. Ben’s project experience also includes site project engineering and construction coordination of EPC contracts for solar power, nuclear power, and natural gas projects across Canada. Ben holds a degree in Civil Engineering and Management from McMaster University.

Diane Walton is the Finance and Administration Manager at Barkley. Diane has more than 25 years of experience in corporate accounting and office administration in the renewable energy, forestry, construction, and service sectors. Diane provides financial and administrative services to Barkley Project Group, operational hydropower companies, and development projects.

Dan Valliquette is the Operations Manager and Team Lead providing technical and management services in power plant operations, systems management, inspection and maintenance, and plant operator training and supervision. Dan is also experienced in hydrometric data collection, electrical energy load monitoring, project planning, design and construction. Dan is a certified Red Seal Electrician with over 10 years of experience in commercial and residential installations. He is experienced in the installation of grid-tied and off-grid renewable energy systems, including Micro-hydro, PV, wind and battery.

Mary Vasey, B.Sc., M.Eng, PMP, CEM, is a Project Manager and the Development Team Lead providing specialized services in community energy planning and the development of renewable energy systems in off-grid communities. Mary holds a Master of Engineering in Clean Energy from the University of British Columbia. She collaborates with a number of remote and urban First Nation communities to develop projects that align with community priorities and objectives. Her diverse experience in renewable energy technologies includes solar, wind, and hydropower development. She is passionate about streamlining high quality energy conservation measures in homes and community building to provide tangible solutions and real results.

Nick Balaban B.Ed., B.A. is a Construction Manager with more than 15 years of experience in construction. Nick has 7 years of experience working on hydropower development projects, including 8 years as a carpentry foreman. He specializes in working with concrete, including suspended slabs. Nick operated his own construction business for eight years, where he managed sub-contract trades and performed estimating and budgeting work for projects. Nick’s personnel management and communication skills allow him to thrive at the interface between design and construction.

Tim Matthews is a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Permitting Lead on the Hydropower team, with over 10 years experience in the clean energy sector. Tim is responsible for overseeing Barkley’s Regulatory Permitting and GIS services to support hydropower projects from concept through to operation. With a background in Geography, Tim is passionate about applying geospatial thinking to the human and physical world to help solve problems and aid in critical decision making.

Nigel Moore, B.E.S., is a Senior Project Coordinator contributing to hydropower development, training and employment planning, community engagement, business strategy and proposal development. Prior to joining Barkley, Nigel worked in academic and research institutes in Canada, Germany and the UK managing multi-institutional research projects in the areas of clean energy, climate change and community development. He is a trained facilitator with experience in the design and delivery of workshops on a variety of topics related to clean energy. He is the author of 13 published reports and articles, including as a contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report in 2014.

Kai Foss, B.A., ADGIS, is a GIS Technician responsible for the development and support of GIS services. Kai is well versed in spatial data management, editing, analysis and the development of web mapping applications. Previous to working with Barkley Project Group, Kai worked at Nova Scotia’s Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture where she gained experience working with stakeholders and managing large data sets for use in online web applications.

Kai is also pursuing their master’s degree in GIS at Vancouver Island University where their research project is on the development of a baseline extent of Blue Carbon on the West coast of Vancouver Island.

Jonathan Venter, B.Eng, EIT, is an Operations Technician with the Operations team. Jonathan graduated with a Mechatronics Engineering Degree from the University of Port Elizabeth (NMMU) he also has his Post Graduate Diploma in Project Management. He has 9 years of experience in the renewable energy industry with a focus on wind energy. He has been part of renewable energy projects in South Africa, Spain and the United States. His experience spans from the commissioning of wind farms, reliability improvement and back-office technical analysis of plant performance.

Stuart Reiswig, B.A., B.S.E.E, is a Project Coordinator with a degree in Electrical and Renewable Energy Engineering from Oregon Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Barkley, Stuart has worked on the design and installation of numerous solar PV, solar hot water and energy efficiency projects. He also owned and operated a remote off-grid store and bakery in Montana, USA that he led through a clean energy transition from diesel to solar.

Janelle, Flett B.Sc. ENV is a Junior Project Coordinator, on the Development team, working on hydropower development and community energy planning. Janelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Mount Royal University and is a proud member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation located on Treaty 8 Territory. She brings her knowledge of freshwater health and experience of First Nations relations to Barkley Project Group. Currently, she sits on the Indigenous Youth Advisory Council in partnership with Suncor.

Ben Boudreau, B. Eng., EIT is a Project Coordinator contributing to the Tu Deh-Kah Geothermal management team. Ben graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. Before and during his engineering studies, Ben worked as a Hairstylist in Montreal for nearly 10 years. He has since worked primarily in design engineering on projects related to robotics, construction, and aerospace. Prior to working at Barkley, Ben worked as an Aerospace Design Engineer, helping design wildfire fighting aircraft to combat the effects of climate change all over the world.

Stephen Rayner is a Geomatics Technologist who leads the Community Infrastructure Development Initiative. Stephen graduated form the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology with a diploma in geomatics engineering technology. He spent 15 years working on a range of infrastructure projects in a multitude of rolls from planning, data collection, design, to inspection and commissioning. Previous to joining the BPG team Stephen spent 7.5 years as the Director of Government Services for a treaty First Nation. In this role he oversaw the comprehensive community plan, asset management plan, as well as program development and capacity building. Stephen also oversaw the planning, development, design, construction, commissioning, operation, and replacement of all Nation owned infrastructure.

Jason Village B.Comm. is a Business Analyst for the Community Infrastructure Development Initiative supporting communities in identifying, planning, and launching new infrastructure and economic development projects. Jason graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce, specializing in Business Operations and Logistics with a concentration in Sustainability and Social Impact from the University of British Columbia. His work experience includes funding for non-profits, geophysics field work, and project management on a Tiny Home with a hybrid renewable energy system. While at UBC, his focus was researching economic, technological, and policy barriers in energy transitions.

Meetika Kher BASc., EIT is a Renewable Energy Project Coordinator on the Project Development Team at Barkley, contributing to community energy planning for a variety of renewable energy generation projects for First Nations communities. Meetika graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Environmental Engineering, with an Energy Specialization as well as a Diploma in Sustainability. She is working to obtain a Master of Engineering in Cities Engineering and Management with an emphasis on Environmental Issues for Healthy Cities and Climate Change. She has experience working within the municipal, federal, international development, and consulting sectors, with a main focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Her main goal is to empower Indigenous communities through development of efficient renewable energy projects and to directly contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions from Canada’s energy sector.

Raj Khugsal is a Financial Analyst on Barkley’s Geothermal team. Raj is a Commerce graduate, certified PMP and current board member of Canadian West Coast PMI Chapter. He is currently working on the Tu Deh Kah Geothermal project supporting the larger team. He comes with broad experience in project management, budgeting, analysis, reporting and working with organizations on process improvement and optimization. His previous experience in renewables includes working with biomass fuel projects.