Betsy Agar is senior analyst in the Buildings and Urban Solutions Program at the Pembina Institute, Canada’s leading energy think tank. Betsy holds a Professional Engineers Ontario licence and a Master of Applied Science degree from McMaster University, and is a LEED Green Associate. She also serves on the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association’s board of directors and is an advisor to GHG Accounting.
Betsy was a founding member of Renewable Cities at Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue; during her tenure as research manager and tech lead, she oversaw program research, collaborated with global colleagues working to accelerate the growing 100 per cent renewable energy movement, and designed engaging dialogues aimed at exposing barriers to implementation. She co-taught the inaugural offering of Renewable Energy Transition Strategies: Practical Innovations for Urban Areas for the Faculty of Environment at SFU and taught in the first-year engineering program at the University of British Columbia.
Bringing her building science expertise together with her love of old cities, Betsy views rehabilitation as an opportunity to help practitioners, policy makers, and communities capitalize on energy-efficiency returns, make the urban “ecosystem” sustainable, and anchor a community’s sense of place.
When Betsy’s not working or volunteering, she is at home or travelling with her husband and teenagers — although her favourite place in the world is the South Magnetawan River, north of Parry Sound, Ontario. She has also developed an eclectic set of skills, such as producing podcasts, knitting, choral singing, and most recently swimming.
Contact Betsy Agar
work: 604-874-8558
