Leadership
Vice-President
(International, Innovation and Enterprise)
David Bressler
David Bressler is a professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Science working in the area of bioresource technology, as well as renewable fuels, chemicals and materials. He is the technology founder behind Forge Hydrocarbons, an advanced lipid to hydrocarbon biofuel technology company. In addition to being recognized as one of Canada's Clean 50 (2017) Bressler served as executive director of the Biorefining Conversions Network (2009-2016) and project lead/member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Biofuelnet, the Canadian Network Center of Excellence, and member of the scientific advisory board (2012-2015) for First Green Partners.
Prior to his appointment, Bressler served as Chief Strategy Officer, International and Enterprise, reporting directly to the president. He was responsible for driving the University of Alberta's international research and industry partnership goals to advance the university’s global profile.
Bressler is a graduate of the University of Alberta, receiving his PhD in microbiology and cell biotechnology.
Email: dbressle@ualberta.ca | Phone: 780-668-4986
Associate Vice-President
(Enterprise and Global Partnerships)
Cristian Gonzalez-Paez
Cristian Gonzalez-Paez’s mandate consists of developing international partnerships that boost institutional profile and prestige, focusing on building large-scale partnerships with significant revenue generation for the university. With more than 15 years of experience in international relations and higher education, he has held leadership roles at the University of Toronto and University of Alberta, and continues to build transformative partnerships around the world. Currently, he serves as vice-president of the Education and Training Committee at the Canada/Mexico Chamber of Commerce. Gonzalez-Paez earned a master’s degree in International Relations from Dalhousie University.
Email: cgonzale@ualberta.ca | Phone: 587-982-0661
Associate Vice-President
(Innovation, Knowledge Mobilization and Partnerships)
Darren Fast
Darren Fast’s role is to develop and support a clear innovation strategy for the University of Alberta, utilizing and coordinating existing resources across campus and the community. This involves supporting entrepreneurs and innovators.
He also works to ensure research of all types has a clear path to add value to and have impact in the community through enabling knowledge mobilization and partnerships with industry and community organizations. He serves as a liaison to funding agencies, helping to build provincial, national and international research collaborations, as well as community research partnerships.
Fast holds a PhD from The University of Alberta and has been engaged in the commercialization of research for most of his career.
Email: dgfast@ualberta.ca
Director
(Global Engagement)
Dan Fredrick
Since joining the University of Alberta in 2008, Dan Fredrick has held leadership roles advancing the university's global engagement and internationalization efforts. In his current role he leads a team responsible for facilitating global partnerships, international agreements and sponsored student programs, helping advance the university's international strategy through engagement with governments, universities, industry and funding organizations around the world. Previous leadership roles include director, International Relations; director, International Projects; and manager, Sponsored Student Program.
Prior to U of A, he taught social sciences at a high school in Ottawa, served in the Parliament of Canada as a foreign policy advisor and worked in Canada and the Middle East as an immigration consultant.
Fredrick holds a Bachelor of Education, bachelor's and master's degrees in Religious Studies specializing in Islamic Studies, and a master's degree in International Relations, providing a strong foundation for his work in international engagement, diplomacy and cross-cultural partnership development.
Email: dan.fredrick@ualberta.ca