ADRIA is supported by a dedicated team of part-time staff led by our Executive Director. Messages & emails are usually returned within 2 business days. Calls & visits are best accommodated weekdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. To deliver our quality training and professional development, we rely on a roster of experienced instructors and coaches.
ADRIA is governed by a Board of Directors and has adopted a set of by-laws, registered on the incorporation of the Institute on May 14, 2012. The Board consists of up to nine individuals who are elected by and from the membership. The Board also includes an elected representative from the ADRIC Board, and often a Past President. An Executive consisting of a President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary is elected by the Directors and announced at our Annual General Meeting.
2019-2020 Board of Directors
President:
Barbara McNeil
C.Med, Q.Arb
Barbara is a chartered mediator, integrity commissioner, facilitator, and adjudicator. She’s a certified ombudsman and trained in workplace assessment and investigation. For over thirty years, she’s helped people find resolution for their tough problems. Barbara was a hearing commissioner with the Alberta Energy Regulator from 2013 – 2017, adjudicating and mediating oil and gas issues. She has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a Masters in Public Administration.
Barbara’s work takes her throughout Alberta, where she meets wonderful people and keeps falling in love with our province’s beautiful landscapes. With more enthusiasm than talent she enjoys skiing, tennis, golf, and sailing. Recently Barbara started tormenting herself by learning and trying to play competitive bridge.
Vice-President:
Michelle Bonnici
Treasurer:
Dora Dang, C.Med, Q.Arb.
Past President:
Michelle Simpson C.Med, C.Arb
Michelle Simpson is based in Edmonton, AB and is a Lawyer, Investigator, Chartered Mediator and Chartered Arbitrator. Michelle has been involved in construction dispute resolution processes since 1982. Michelle teaches the National Arbitration course and has arbitrated or acted as referee in well over 100 cases since 2011 and has mediated countless numbers of issues associated with a wide variety of topics involving mostly business, sport, and construction issues. Michelle investigates work place and sport issues including allegations of harassment. Michelle is the current Past President of the ADR Institute of Alberta and has been heavily involved in CBA activities involving ADR and Construction.
ADRIC Representative:
J. Barrie Marshall, QC
Barrie is a retired lawyer and was, until June, 2019, a partner in the Calgary office of Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP. Barrie spent his entire career practicing in the area of commercial litigation with an emphasis on construction and securities law. He is highly regarded for his creative and effective litigation skills and dispute resolution strategies. His expertise in builders' lien law, in particular, made him a frequent advisor to a broad spectrum of construction industry participants including fellow construction law practitioners.
Barrie is a past chair of the National Civil Litigation Section of the Canadian Bar Association and has held several posts with the Alberta branch of that body.
Barrie is currently a director on the Board of ADR Institute of Alberta (ADRIA), an affiliate of the ADR Institute of Canada (ADRIC). Barrie also serves on the ADRIC Board as the ADRIA representative to that Board.
Barrie pursues a broad spectrum of interests and recreational activities. He enjoys reading, cycling, hiking, skiing, and spending time with his three grandchildren.
Director and Governance Committee Chair:
Kevin Kelly, Q.Arb, Q.Med
Director:
Doug Devlin
Director:
Amin Poonja, Q.Med
Director:
Ali Ansell, Q.Med
Ali has a private practice, working mostly with families and communities, and currently spends most of her time as an ADR Specialist at the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER). At the AER she helps companies, NGOs, landowners, and Indigenous communities work through disputes related to oil and gas development. She instructs, mediates, and facilitates, and she is actively engaged in a number of groups and committees, including the Conflict Resolution Day Planning Committee and Mediators Mentoring Mediators.
In her personal life she loves to garden and has been experimenting with composting over the last few years. She also enjoys travelling to new places and discovering hidden gems around the world. She's travelled to a number of European countries in the past and more recently has been exploring the United States. An unexpected favorite of 2019: sitting on the beach near wild horses on the island of Assateague, Maryland.
Treasurer: 
