Bianca Fera
Environmental Scientist
Edmonton,AB
Summary
Bianca Fera is an environmental scientist with thirteen years of experience in the Environmental sector. Bianca's experience includes working with the agricultural, renewable, and oil & gas sectors, supporting regulatory affairs, approval application and management, permit acquisition, environmental management during construction, contamination and remediation assessments, and Indigenous Engagement. Bianca is a strong project manager and was most recently involved in overall project management and technical leadership on the Indigenous Engagement scope for the Alberta AgriSystems Living Lab project.
Bianca has extensive field experience involved with surface water, groundwater and soil quality monitoring including sample collection, data analysis and reporting. Bianca is involved in technical report writing and has experience writing proposals, permit applications in Alberta, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia, site specific monitoring reports, and work plans, Phase II and III ESAs and Health and Safety Plans in the province of Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
4
4
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Permitting and Indigenous Engagement Specialist
Worley Consulting
10.2018 - Current
- Lead engagement with Indigenous communities to increase participation on major projects.
- Project Management and technical leadership on Indigenous Engagement scopes for agricultural projects.
- Regulatory approval and compliance management.
- Federal monthly socio-economic reporting.
- Environmental management and planning on oil and gas construction projects.
- Managing and tracking safety submissions and compiling metrics for monthly Client reporting.
- Implementing database systems and providing technical support to track permit conditions and Indigenous Engagement Records of Conversations (ROCs).
- Conducting bi-weekly safety meetings to go over metrics and incidents.
- Write Phase II Environmental Site Assessment reports; coordinate internal review and final submissions.
- Leading field work, data collection, and reporting on oil and gas, and industrial sector monitoring programs.
- Provided ongoing support to clients throughout their journey, fostering long-lasting partnerships built on trust and mutual understanding.
- Participated in industry events and conferences as a representative of the company, strengthening professional networks while staying informed on emerging trends relevant to the role.
- Trained new team members on best practices for effective communication and relationship building with clients.
- Proactively identified potential challenges or roadblocks and devised strategies for overcoming them, ensuring project success.
Environmental Supervisor
AECOM
01.2016 - 10.2018
- Specialize in environmental remediation, site assessments, and workplace safety.
- Mentor junior team members and provide guidance on proper safety requirements.
- Supervise and train company staff, as well as Samson and Ermineskin Cree members, to complete Phase II environmental assessment and remedial excavation projects.
- Supervise Four Nations construction subcontractors to complete multiple environmental soil sampling programs using hydrovac, skid-steers, D6-D7 bulldozers, haul trucks, drill rigs, and excavators.
- Ensure compliance with provincial and federal policies regarding reclamation certification.
- Develop and maintain strong team and client relations, including company and subcontractor employees at various levels of organization.
- Interpreting historical site information, creating remediation work plans, and presenting work plans to senior management for proposal development.
- Represented AECOM at the 2017 Maskwacis Career Fair.
- Collect groundwater and soil field samples.
- Write Phase II environmental site assessment reports for the client and coordinate both internal review and final submissions.
- Received two Making a Difference Awards for building good safety culture and for high-performance in a challenging socio-political climate for two projects in 2017 and one Bravo Making a Difference Award as one of Canada's top performers.
- Successfully coordinated a challenging excavation project during the 2017 Off-Reserve by effectively coordinating and training new Four Nations workers while working within a difficult socio-political climate; the program was completed under budget.
Environmental Planner
Stantec
01.2013 - 01.2016
- Functioned as assistant project manager on multiple environmental projects.
Coordinated the environmental portion of the first environmental application under the - Alberta Energy Regulator’s new-play-based framework (Integrated Decision Approach).
- Liaising with large, multidisciplinary teams, co-consultants, and the client; coordinating document control, technical reviews, and production; and distributing high-quality reports for submission.
- Planned, scheduled, and coordinated all activities related to an environmental field visit and resulting environmental overview and basic impact analysis reports.
- Included managing a small environmental team and client expectations; coordinating document control, technical reviews, and production; and distributing and submitting high quality reports.
- Responsible for initiating baseline data collection and final report on tracking system improvement recommendations for a confidential project.
- Managed daily project finances and coordinated complex project teams using earned value analysis.
- Managed and executed two successful environmental field programs with no reportable incidents.
- Managed critical client regulatory documents and populated a searchable database with permit conditions for client management.
- Developed client relationships, including a two-year secondment to Chevron Canada Ltd.
- Collected and collated over 7,000 regulatory documents, permits, approvals, applications, and certificates for a client.
- Coordinated data collection between discipline teams and wrote environmental socio- economic assessments for meter stations and valve sites.
- Successfully navigated the new application process for submitting the Meadow Creek East project application to the Alberta Energy Regulator.
Environmental Technician
Golder Associates Ltd
01.2010 - 01.2012
- Specialized in environmental remediation, site assessments, and workplace safety.
- Supervised and performed Phase II environmental assessment field work including drilling, test pitting, excavation, groundwater monitoring, flowline, and well abandonment activities.
- Collected groundwater and soil samples, and submitted them for testing.
- Led field crews for the Kitscoty and Wizard Lake abandonment projects to turnaround losses and increase field efficiency.
- Co-created an effective field method for test-pitting. The new method was adopted by all project managers in the division and decreased client costs by 30%.
- Recognized as a strong leader in safety culture at the Imperial Oil Surplus Property Management safety forum, in Golder Canada’s national newsletter, and by the Imperial Oil Division in Golder Edmonton for 2011 and 2012.
- Trained twelve field staff, of which seven were recognized for their excellent safety performance at the 2012 Imperial Oil Surplus Property Management safety forum.
- Runner up for the Laboratory Accuracy Award.
- Overcame a challenging safety situation during two high-risk activities during the
- Leduc field extended Phase II drilling project by effectively supervising three separate job crews on the same day. The project was completed before deadline and was praised by the client for safety excellence.
- Coordinated and produced all seven reports for the 2010 Cynthia Field Interim Monitoring project.
- Highly praised for meeting report delivery deadlines, project completed under budget, and reports needed minimal corrections before client submission.
Education
Master of Environmental Science -
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON 09.2012 - 05.2013
B.Sc. - Environmental Conservation (Conservation Biology
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB 09.2005 - 05.2009
Skills
Client Consulting
Environmental Compliance
Environmental Remediation
Project Management
Regulatory Understanding
Indigenous Engagement and Relations
Languages
English
French
Timeline
Permitting and Indigenous Engagement Specialist
Worley Consulting
10.2018 - Current
Environmental Supervisor
AECOM
01.2016 - 10.2018
Environmental Planner
Stantec
01.2013 - 01.2016
Master of Environmental Science -
University of Toronto
09.2012 - 05.2013
Environmental Technician
Golder Associates Ltd
01.2010 - 01.2012
B.Sc. - Environmental Conservation (Conservation Biology
University of Alberta
09.2005 - 05.2009