Our Team
Management
Grant Dixon
ATAP National Leader / ATAP Manager - British Columbia, Alberta, and the North
Grant Dixon, based in our Edmonton office, is the National Leader for ATAP and also Manager for ATAP - British Columbia, Alberta & and the North regions. As National Leader, Grant focuses on expanding and promoting our services throughout western Canada, the north, and Ontario. With over 35 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, Grant brings a wealth of knowledge in water systems operations, management, and project management. He has over 18 years of experience as a utility operator and manager and has worked extensively for Municipal and First Nations clients, and has also worked in the consulting engineering field, both municipal and public works administration, as well as in provincial government and business management. His background knowledge includes: process troubleshooting; operator assistance and mentoring; pilot-and bench-scale testing; risk assessments; SOPs; emergency response planning; start-up and commissioning; and project management. Grant is a certified Cross Connection Inspector. Additionally, he has contributed his efforts to the Alberta Water & Wastewater Operators Association (AWWOA) and to the Western Canada Water and Wastewater Association (WCWWA) and will assume the role of President of the Western Canada Water Association in 2025.
Mark Keller, P.Eng.
ATAP Manager - Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario
Mark, the Manager of ATAP in the Saskatoon office, possesses extensive expertise in water and wastewater treatment, accumulated over a amazing 38-year career. He has honed his leadership and management skills through overseeing processes, teams, system design, and project execution. Mark's proficiency extends to project planning, construction design, management, and commissioning. He has comprehensive knowledge of water and wastewater treatment systems, as well as the relevant federal and provincial regulations and reporting obligations. Recognizing the importance of accountability in operations and project management, Mark employs his wealth of experience along with proficient analytical and computer skills in water chemistry and process control to evaluate and enhance system requirements. Moreover, he strongly emphasizes continuous learning, evident in his consistent support and training contributions to the Saskatchewan Water & Wastewater Association (SWWA) and the Western Canada Water and Wastewater Association (WCWWA).
Water & Wastewater Operations - Field Services & Training
Phil Beaulac
Water & Wastewater Systems Specialist
Phil has over 18 years of industrial maintenance experience including 14 years of water and wastewater operations, and 5 years of welding and construction experience. He has also worked extensively in business management. Phil is certified Class 2 in Water Treatment, Water Distribution, Wastewater Treatment and Wastewater Collection. His principal work at ATAP is working with northern water & wastewater operators in the NMTA Circuit Rider Program for Saskatchewan and the Manitoba Water System Circuit Rider for Northern Manitoba. In addition to water, wastewater, and technical skills, Phil is also a Power Mobile Equipment operator evaluator.
Kelvin Browne
Operation & Maintenance Technician
Kelvin has over 20 years of experience in the mechanical contracting field and holds a Journeyperson Plumbing Ticket and a General Gas Ticket. Before joining ATAP, he successfully managed a local Plumbing and Heating company. His diverse background encompasses residential, commercial, and industrial mechanical projects, offering a multifaceted range of experiences and valuable construction insights. In addition to his wealth of knowledge, Kelvin possesses remarkable troubleshooting skills. He is well-versed in pump maintenance and controls, proficient at valve identification and servicing, and highly knowledgeable in hydronic and forced air heating, plumbing, and water treatment systems.
Michael Buchholzer, A.Sc.T.
Water & Wastewater Systems Specialist
Michael has approximately 30 years of experience in water and wastewater operations and has worked as a municipal Water and Wastewater Plant Operator, Plant Foreman, Waterworks Manager, and a Director of Environmental Services and Capital Projects. He is certified Class 4 in Water Treatment, Water Distribution Wastewater Treatment, and Wastewater Collection. Additionally, Michael has four years of part-time experience teaching water and wastewater courses. Prior to his career in water and wastewater operations, he worked as an Assistant City Engineer in a mid-sized Saskatchewan urban municipality.
Joshua Buniak
Water & Wastewater Systems Specialist
Joshua has over 20 years of combined operational experience in the public works and mechanical technology fields. He is a certified water and wastewater operator with Class 2 in Water Treatment, Water Distribution, Wastewater Treatment, and Wastewater Collection. Joshua is also a Class 2 Certified Thermographer (infrared photographer) and holds a National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) certification; Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP); Lateral Assessment Certification Program (LACP) and Manhole Assessment Certification Program (MACP). He provides multiple technical field services such as reservoir cleaning and inspection, unidirectional flushing, swabbing, maintenance repairs and condition assessments for ATAP’s clients. Joshua also instructs water and wastewater courses and workshops and evaluating operators of Powered Mobile Equipment.
Bertrand Gaudet, A.SC.T.
Water & Wastewater Systems Specialist
Bert, as a Chemical Engineering Technologist, has over 30 years of experience in industrial analytical laboratories in three different industries: potash, natural gas, and pulp & paper. His main experiences in Industry are optimization of plant process to improve the quality and production of product and assistance to operators in troubleshooting their operations, mostly involving the process water, potable water, process waste and meeting environmental standards. Bert has participated in setting up quality control and quality assurance in SOP development and the processes he has been involved with.
Dave Hinz, B.A. , B. Ed.
Water Systems Specialist
Dave has been involved with water and wastewater operations over the past 10 years. Prior to that, he had a 30-year career as a teacher. He also has several years of experience managing and operating a small water-related business and working as a volunteer firefighter. Dave is certified Class 2 in Water Treatment and Water Distribution, and Class 1 in Wastewater Treatment and Wastewater Collection. He works as part of the ATAP technical team in the field, performing such tasks as potable water reservoir cleaning and water sampling. Dave’s extensive teaching experience, and ability to present challenging technical, math, and chemistry topics to students of all levels, is invaluable to our ATAP training services.
Glenda Holmes
Water & Wastewater Systems Specialist
Glenda is a Civil Engineering Technologist with over 25 years of experience, 16 of those as a city waterworks manager. She is a certified Class 3 in water treatment, water distribution, wastewater treatment and wastewater collection. Glenda has experience in training and supervising city waterworks staff and overseeing budgets. Additionally, she has experience managing various types of projects and has been a part of the development and maintenance of safety programs, including the process of expanding policies and procedures.
Russel Peesker
Water & Wastewater Systems Specialist
Russel has over 30 years of experience with water and wastewater operations. He has worked as a municipal water and wastewater operator, provincial park maintenance person, town foreman, and a Level 3 city water works manager. He is a certified Class 4 Operator in Water Treatment, Water Distribution, Wastewater Treatment, and Wastewater Collection. Additionally, Russel has provided training and supervision of city waterworks staff, overseen public works budgets, and managed safety, waste management and recycling programs.
Kevin Sutter, A.Sc.T.
Water & Wastewater Systems Specialist
Kevin has over 30 years of experience with water and wastewater operations. Sixteen of these were in supervisory and managerial roles for Class 3 (or above) municipal water and wastewater systems. He is a certified Technologist formerly trained in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering and a certified Class 4 Operator in Water Treatment, Class 3 in Wastewater Treatment, and Class 2 in Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection. Additionally, Kevin has provided classroom instruction in water and wastewater operations and is a key member of the Northern Manitoba Water System Circuit Rider team. Over the years, Kevin has volunteered many hours for various water and wastewater organization such as the Saskatchewan Water & Wastewater Association (SWWA), Western Canada Water (WCW), and the Upper Souris Watershed Association. He was also the recipient of the 2014 Outstanding Technical Achievement Award (Saskatchewan Applied Science Technologists & Technicians).
Garry Tenaschuk, C.Tech.
Operation & Maintenance Manager
Garry has 40 years of experience providing training, guidance and technical assistance to system operators and communities. Twenty of these years were in developing and implementing operator training programs to assist with the proper operation and maintenance of municipal systems. Garry is a Journeyman, inter-provincial Plumber/Pipefitter and an Industrial Instrumentation Technician. He is certified as Class 3 Operator in Water Treatment, Water Distribution, and Wastewater Collection, and Class 2 in Wastewater Treatment.
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Milton Wood
Project Coordinator
Milton is ATAP’s Project Coordinator, joining our team after 19 years in the Public Works sector, 15 of those in a supervisory and planning role. He is responsible for client liaison, planning, and project implementation for various ATAP field projects. Prior to the public sector, he managed a private business, had two years of training as an Agricultural Machinery Technician, and also attended many short courses in the water, wastewater, safety, electrical, computer, and accounting fields. He is certified as a Class 2 Operator in Water Treatment and Distribution and
Class 2 in Wastewater Treatment and Collection.
Murray Zakresky
Math, Science, and Safety Instructor
Murray spent 26 years teaching high school mathematics, chemistry and science. He was a vice principal for 8 years in a high school. After retiring from the school Murray spent 5 years with the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association as their training manager and a trainer. He was certified to present all of their courses and as a Safety Auditor. Upon leaving the SCSA he was the mathematics catalyst teacher at Moosomin School, educating teachers on how to instruct mathematics. Murray has instructed Math Foundations 30, Chemistry 30, and Welding Mathematics at Northwest College in North Battleford. Murray has 44 years of teaching experience.
Instrumentation & Programming Services
Jared Suwala, P.Eng
Group Manager - Construction & Integration
Jared is the Group Manager for Construction & Integration. He has 20 years of industry experience in the design of municipal infrastructure control and electrical systems. Jared has been directly involved in resident engineering, design, drawing preparation, system start-up, commissioning, and acceptance of instrumentation and control systems for a number of water and sewage treatment systems. In addition, he has provided design, drawing preparation, and commissioning services for industrial/municipal electrical systems. Jared has experience with
multiple programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and has worked with most of the popular Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) packages. His background with computer science allows him to apply these skills to database management and custom data extraction applications. He has configured and implemented a number of custom interfaces for clients using such applications as MSSQL, Access, ARCView, and Excel. Jared has a Bachelor of Applied Science, as well as a Certificate of Computer Software Systems Engineering, both from the University of Regina.
James Johnston
Instrumentation Technologist
James is a Programmer in the Instrumentation and Control Technologist for ATAP with over 8 years of industry experience in the programming of municipal infrastructure control systems. He has been directly involved in system start-up, commissioning, and acceptance of instrumentation and control systems for water and sewage treatment systems and building heating/cooling systems. James has considerable experience with a Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) including numerous AB controllers x and Schneider M340 and M580 PLC’s. His experience also includes work with Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) packages most notably including Vijeo Designer, and FactoryTalk View SE and ME. James has helped to lead the commissioning of controls systems in many facilities including White Rock WTP in White Rock, B.C., the WTP at Grandmother’s Bay, SK, The Creeks Wastewater Pump Station, and recently at the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Powell River, B.C. James’s other abilities include troubleshooting of control systems and controls equipment, installation and setup of transmitters, and wiring of low voltage circuits.
Paul Botari, A.Sc.T.
Instrumentation Technologist
Paul is an Instrumentation and Control Technologist for ATAP. He has 6 years of experience in the field. Prior to joining ATAP, Paul had a work term of industry experience in the programming of industrial infrastructure control systems as well as a work term in the commissioning department at a mine site. He has since been directly involved in system start-up, commissioning, and acceptance of instrumentation and control systems for water and sewage treatment systems. Paul has experience with Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Human Machine Interface (HMI) including EcoStruxure, Control Expert, RSLogix5/500/5000, FactoryTalk ME / SE, ProWorx32, CScape, Archestra, IDE, Vijeo Designer, Citect and WindowViewer/ Maker. His experience also includes Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) packages.
Mike Shewchuk, A.Sc.T
Instrumentation Technologist
Mike is an Instrumentation and Control Technologist for ATAP with over 4 years of automation experience. Prior to joining ATAP, Mike worked in the industrial mining and food processing industries, gaining experience in the programming of process control systems as well as installation and commissioning of numerous process related instruments. Mike has since been directly involved in system start-up, commissioning, and acceptance of instrumentation and control systems for water and sewage treatment systems. He has experience with Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Distributed Control Systems (DCS), and Human Machine Interface (HMI). Some common control systems Mike has worked on include Unity Pro XL, SoMachine Basic, Studio5000 Logix Designer, DeltaV, ABB, Vijeo Designer and Factory Talk View ME. His experience also includes Supervisor Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) packages as well as onsite instrumentation. Instrumentation – instrument calibration of temperature measurements, pressure, flow and control valves, preparation and review of maintenance procedures and frequencies according to the manufacturer.
Louis Derain, A.Sc.T.
Instrumentation Technologist
Louis is an Instrumentation and Control Technologist, with ATAP. Before joining the company, he completed the Electronic Systems Engineering Technology program at Sask Polytech and graduated in June 2023. Throughout his time at Sask Polytech, Louis acquired valuable skills in various areas, such as programming process control systems, creating electrical circuits, programming with C, and utilizing 2D/3D AutoCAD modeling. Louis joined ATAP in June 2023, where he has been actively involved in both programming and designing Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Human Machine Interfaces (HMI). Among the control systems he has worked with are Studio5000 Logix Designer, Control Expert, FactoryTalk View ME, and Vijeo Designer. Additionally, he is proficient in using MPLAB-X for C programming, NI Multisim for electronic schematic capture/simulation, and NI Ultiboard for electronic Printed Circuit Board (PCB) layout design.
Engineering, Environmental & Regulatory Consultation
Shengtao Weng, M.Sc., P.Eng.
Project Engineer
Shengtao is as project engineer with over 25 years of experience, in numerous municipal engineering projects. He has been involved in study, preliminary design, design, project coordination, and construction management in the areas of water treatment and water supply, and sewer and storm water servicing. Shengtao’s engineering skills include assessing situations and identifying problems in water and wastewater pollution; exploring innovation in water and wastewater treatment; adapting these to meet local client needs; conducting air quality modelling and environmental assessments; participating in site and field surveys, and preparing and presenting reports. He has completed numerous Water system Assessments to meet the province’s regulatory framework. Shengtao graduated with a M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan.
Gordon Will
Senior Project Engineer
Gordon has over 30 years of experience in environmental engineering and planning, with emphasis on water and wastewater. He has also provided project management and site supervision for clients in both the private and public sectors. His close relationship to environmental and water issues in Saskatchewan has seen him involved in important changes to water management and regulations including development of the province’s 25-year water strategy, establishment of proposed new provincial water legislation, and development of the province’s water conservation plan. Gordon’s experience with interpreting and implementing current water regulations, for both federal and provincial requirements, has placed him in a lead role to function as liaison between clients and government to establish required treatment outcomes. This includes the new WSER federal requirements, the new provincial Code, and the new provincial Water and Wastewater Regulations. Gordon has a B.A.Sc., Environmental Systems Engineering from the University of Regina.
Safety Coordinators
Tessa Hambly
Safety Systems Manager for Saskatchewan, and Manitoba
Tessa Hambly is the Safety Systems Manager for Saskatchewan and Manitoba operations. Tessa provides leadership and administrative support to promote and manage Associated Engineering (AE) safety programs including guidance to facilitate compliance with municipal, provincial, and federal acts and regulations. Tessa has her Occupational Health and Safety Certificate from Saskatchewan Polytechnic and has earned her Canadian Registered Safety Technician (CRST). Tessa is certified to teach Occupational Health Committee Level 1 and 2 Training and Supervision & Safety.
James Sentes, CSO
Safety Coordinator
James Sentes is the Safety Coordinator for our Saskatchewan and Manitoba operations. As Safety Coordinator, James provides leadership and administrative support to promote and manage our safety programs. In this role, James assists in facilitating compliance with municipal, provincial, and federal acts and regulations. He has Construction Safety Officer Certification and is a Certified External Auditor with the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association (SCSA) and possesses Occupational Health Committee Level 1 and 2 Training and Supervision & Safety. James is a certified to train the following SCSA courses: Confined Space/Respiratory Protection, Aerial Work Platform, Auditor Training, Basic Training Techniques, Combined Scaffolding Course, Contractor, Fall Protection, Leadership for Safety Excellence and Safety Management, as well as being a Certified Journeyman Electrician.
Advisory Services
Ken Turnbull, C. Tech.
Senior Advisor
Ken, the former Program Manager at the ATAP Group for Northern Saskatchewan, remains actively engaged in offering assistance for project coordination and client liaison services within the Northern Saskatchewan Water & Sewer Circuit Rider Training Program, benefiting 31 municipalities in Northern Saskatchewan. Over the course of the last 25 years, he has played a vital role in overseeing contract administration, operation, maintenance, and construction projects encompassing water and wastewater systems, subdivision developments, and paving.
Project Administration
Cathy Lewty
Project Administrator, Training Services
Cathy has over 30 years of experience in office administration and graphic communications. She provides administrative support services to our senior management and staff, and facilitates the coordination, processing and scheduling of projects. Cathy is responsible for course inquiries/coordination and for maintaining our CEU rating/training database. She has a two-year diploma in Graphic Communications and a certificate in Office Automation. Before coming to ATAP she worked as a legal secretary (Victoria) and as a graphic designer (North Bay, Winnipeg and Victoria). She is ATAP’s first point of contact for clients who are making inquiries with respect to training courses and workshops.
Tina Hancock
Project Administrator - Field Services
Tina has a Computer Business Diploma with over 10 years of providing support and office administration. She provides administrative support services to senior management and staff in our field services, programming and NMTA sectors, facilitating the coordination and processing of projects. Tina has previously spent time in banking, transport, asset valuation and has her diploma for her Continuing Care Assistant (CCA) for the Saskatchewan Health Authority.