Ryan Abel

Ryan is currently a board member on the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) representing the Fort McKay First Nation, and holds a director position on the WBEA’s governance committee. Ryan works closely with Environment Canada to manage the Oski-ôtin Air Monitoring Site in an effort to better understand air emissions in the oil sands and their impacts on local communities, as well as the atmospheric chemistry taking place in the region.

Ryan spends much of his time protecting the ability of the Fort McKay First Nation to exercise their rights and practice traditional land use through the development of environmental mitigation and environmental agreements with companies looking to operate in Fort McKay’s Traditional Territory (the majority of Alberta’s oil sands).

A great deal of Ryan’s time as a co-op student was spent doing bio-sensor development and chemistry research at the University of Victoria, where he also worked closely with those now housing the world’s most powerful electron microscope.

Subsequent education: BEd Secondary Education and Teaching (2011)