Meet the team behind Wyvern.

Leadership

Chris Robson

CEO and Co-Founder

Bio

Callie Lissinna

COO and Co-Founder

Bio

Kristen Cote

VP R&D and Co-Founder

Bio

Kurtis Broda

VP Product and Co-Founder

Bio

Christine Tovee

CTO

Bio

Meghan Dear

CGO

Bio

Ian Splinter

Product Development Manager

Bio

Chad Bryant

Director of Data Applications

Bio

Adam Keith

Strategy and Business Development

Bio

Adam Brown

Strategic Initiatives Lead

Bio

Vincent Sauer

Director of Research Projects

Bio

Taryn Haluza-Delay

Satellite Systems Lead

Bio

David Miller

Mechanical Design Lead

Bio

Ray Zhang

Electrical and Controls E.I.T

Bio

Chris Stewart

Data Scientist

Bio

Evan Giese

Software Developer

Bio

Taylor Rice

Operations & Finance Manager

Bio

Sameer Dada

Market Research Analyst

Bio

Brandon Hodge

Mechanical Engineering Co-op Student

Bio

Jagriti Luitel

Satellite Systems Intern

Bio

Daniel Solano

Optomechanical Eng. Intern

Bio

Advisors

Stephane Germain
President, GHGSat
Doug Sinclair
CEO/Founder, Sinclair Interplanetary
Will Zaichkowski​
Angel Investor
Arden Tse
Investment Manager, Yaletown Partners
Dr. Benoit Rivard
Professor at University of Alberta
Dr. Mike Lipsett
Professor at University of Alberta

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Chris Robson

CEO

Captains the [space] ship. MSc in orbital design and analysis, former AlbertaSat Project Manager, an expert in all things mechanical.

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Callie Lissinna

COO and Co-Founder

Nearly 6 years of experience working on four different satellites at the University of Alberta. People-oriented; background in mechanical engineering and math. In the evenings she teaches jazz and ballet classes for competitive dancers.

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Kristen Cote

VP R&D and Co-Founder

Kristen has 7+ years of experience with conceptualization, detailed design, and characterization of optical payloads for space, ranging from laser-based spectroscopy for planetary science, to imaging cameras for Earth observation, to optical atomic clocks for space-based gravitational wave detection. At Wyvern she oversees the development of our in-lab deployable optics prototype. At the same time she is working towards her PhD in physics at the University of Toronto as a Vanier Scholar. 

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Kurtis Broda

VP Product and Co-Founder

Kurtis Broda is VP Product and co-founder of Wyvern. Previously, he was a systems engineer at General Dynamics. Kurtis holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering where developed a new way of measuring compounds that influence global climate change.

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Christine Tovee

CTO

Christine Tovee has over 15 years in the aerospace and defence sectors both in Europe and North America. Her experience spans engineering management as well as research and development projects and at Airbus Group, she held the position of Chief Technology Officer for the North American division.

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Meghan Dear

Chief Growth Officer

Meghan brings a 20-year career in business and agriculture data commercialization to the Wyvern team. Meghan has worked across the agriculture system from research to product commercialization, as well as fundraising and governance in the industry. Meghan is the previous founder and CEO of Localize. Meghan has been an honouree for North 51’s Woman of Impact in Geospatial Innovation, recognized as a Top 40 Under 40, recipient of NACO’s Most Promising Startup award, winner of the Alberta TEC Venture Prize, received the 2016 AWE Emerging Innovator Award (Alberta), and the 2015 Star Woman of Grocery. Meghan is a Professional Biologist and former soldier (15 Field Ambulance Edmonton, 2001-2008) and her career has developed around agriculture across the world, including in Ghana, Burkina Faso, the United States, and at her home base of Alberta, Canada.

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Ian Splinter

Product Development Manager

Prior to joining Wyvern, Ian Splinter was the CEO of Cocoaburra Chocolates, a company he co-founded that specialized in producing fully custom 3D chocolates. In his free time, he is an avid rock climber and wood carver.

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Chad Bryant

Director of Data Applications

Chad has a PhD in Space Physics from the University of Calgary and was a post-doc and research associate at the University of Saskatchewan with the Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies. He has worked for numerous companies in different industries and has 15+ years in the software development lifecycle in varying environments and 18+ years in data analysis including 8+ years in machine learning. He is familiar with satellite imagery from space in multi-spectral and UV in EOS as well as incorporating ground and other satellite data for measurement. He has 4 patents pending related to satellite imagery.

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Adam Keith

Strategy and Business Development

Adam Keith brings over 20 years experience in the downstream Earth observation business, working with government, industry and the investment community along the value-chain.

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Adam Brown

Strategic Initiatives Lead

Adam Brown was the former CEO at Nanolog Audio, where he oversaw the commercialization of Nanolog’s quantum semiconductor technology for audio and photosensor applications. During his time at Nanolog, he was recognized as a Top 10 Finalist for the NASA iTech Challenge and was a Top 30 finalist for the Korean Startup Grand Challenge. Prior to Nanolog, Adam was the drummer in Striker, a Juno winning band, where he helped build an international brand and bring Canadian music to the global stage. He received his MBA (’18) and BComm (’12) from the University of Alberta, and was recognized as one of Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2019. Most recently, Adam ran as a candidate in the 2021 Canadian election in Edmonton West and received his PMP certification.

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Vincent Sauer

R&D Scientist

Dr. Vincent Sauer received his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering and has over 10 years experience in the fields of optics, nanophotonics, and nano-electromechanical systems. He likes to run, and as a result has an unhealthy knowledge about running shoes.

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Taryn Haluza-Delay

Satellite Systems Lead

BSc. in Engineering Physics. 4 years as a Systems Engineer with the student group AlbertaSat. Rock climbs and plays competitive Ultimate Frisbee when not designing space hardware.

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David Miller

Mechanical Design Engineer

David has 5 years of experience with complex mechanical design and prototyping. He earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering for designing Stirling engines for Alberta’s geothermal industry. David is always striving to learn more and share his experience by teaching and mentoring in mechanical design and manufacturing. After work, David is in the woods or woodworking.

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Ray Zhang

Electrical and Controls E.I.T

Ray completed a BASc in Mining Engineering and is currently finishing his MEng in Electrical Computer Engineering with a specialty in control systems. Ray’s area of interest lies in contributing to the next generation of autonomous systems for the benefit of society. Having worked in mining and construction, the disruptive effect of autonomous and remote equipment became apparent to him. As the adoption of automation becomes increasingly pervasive and the demands on these systems becomes more sophisticated, there is no shortage of interesting problems and areas of improvement to pursue.

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Chris Stewart

Data Engineer and Data Scientist

Industrial Engineer with a Masters in Clinical Engineering where he worked on data from smart distributed medical devices. Chris has experience spanning the Aerospace, Manufacturing & Healthcare fields and loves diving into all things data. In his spare time he enjoys sailing and the outdoors.

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Evan Giese

Software Developer

Evan is a business student turned developer after discovering a genuine passion for computer science and science in general. He has received 2 degrees from MacEwan University, one in Accounting/Finance, and another in Computer Science/Economics. Evan was drawn into AlbertaSat by an insatiable curiosity and a passion to build cool things. What is cooler than space? Evan has spent many years reviewing designs, and writing software for Ex-Alta 2, including but not limited to, implementing a CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems) compliant File Delivery Protocol. After being hired as a senior software engineer out of school, evan is genuinely excited to face new and exciting challenges engineering for space.

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Taylor Rice

Operations & Finance Manager

Taylor has 4 years of experience in corporate accounting, including an internship in public practice (audit). They hold a BComm, Accounting from the University of Alberta, and wrote the CPA Professional Education Program (PEP) CFE in September 2021, with designation expected in Spring 2022 after completing the practical experience requirements. They are interested in environmental sustainability and enjoy taking random online courses outside of work.

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Sameer Dada

Market Research Analyst

Sameer Dada graduated from the University of Alberta with a BA in Political Science and a minor in Economics, and has a keen interest in International Affairs, Economics, and International Business. Sameer has completed two co-op terms with the Government of Canada, firstly at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada working to facilitate citizenship processes, and at Global Affairs Canada assisting in the oversight of Canada’s international development efforts in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond. In 2020, Sameer also led a research team as part of Pivot 2020, a national research project centered around youth quality of life in Canada done in partnership with Simon Fraser University. Outside of work, Sameer can be found at the gym or with his headphones on, listening to music.

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Brandon Hodge

Mechanical Engineering Co-op Student

Currently completing a BSc in Mechanical Engineering. Three years of experience with mechanical design and systems engineering with the student group AlbertaSat. Passionate about the space industry and excited to continue my career.  Likes throwing myself off high things while strapped to a snowboard.

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Jagriti Luitel

Satellitte Systems Intern

Jagriti Luitel is a 2nd year student at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) studying Mechanical Engineering. In first year, she founded and led a project called StratoFredericton successfully launching a High-Altitude Weather balloon 103,000 ft into the stratosphere to take pictures of the earth from the edge of space, to spread climate awareness, and to inspire leadership in STEM for girls. She joined CubeSat NB; her university’s first satellite mission Violet to conduct mission simulations and orbital predictions using the STK software. She has also been selected to participate in the Advanced PoSSUM Space Academy to train as a citizen scientist-astronaut and explore upper-atmospheric research, bioastronautics, and human space flight operations. Outside of research and engineering, she is active in various leadership and community involvement roles. Beyond her career aspirations, Jagriti enjoys debating, painting, adventures, meditation, dancing, and meaningful conversations.

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Daniel Solano

Optomechanical Eng. Intern

Daniel Solano is a 4th year Applied Physics Student specializing in Electrical Engineering, at the University of New Brunswick. Since 2nd year, Daniel has been involved in the development of the CubeSat NB imaging payload. He has helped with various aspects of the project including technical work, project management and outreach. He contributed to the optical payload, the printed circuit boards and the embedded Linux image needed for the success of the imaging payload. Beginning in 3rd year, he has been the project manager of the imager, handling all aspects of how it relates to the satellite.

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