Who We Are

FYRE Canada is a group of Calgarians who are passionate about engaging in and fostering opportunities for international development initiatives. Directors and members come from a range of backgrounds, contributing diverse expertise and experience to our enthusiastic and dynamic community of active global citizens.

Board of Directors

The Foundation for Youth Rights to Education, Canada is guided by the expertiseand commitment of four directors who bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the organization.

Mark Kavanagh

Mark Kavanagh is president of FYRE, an environmental scientist and consultant , and a  sessional instructor at the University of Calgary. Mark brings a wealth of volunteer service to the organization, having served for over 30 years as a community volunteer for a variety of organizations including Director of the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists.

Mr. Kavanagh is one of Canada’s leading experts in environmental liability assessment who was instrumental in developing Alberta’s Liability Management Programs to protect the public from the cost of bankrupt petroleum or coal mining companies. In his latest role, with the Alberta Utility Commission,, he served as staff environmental expert for the largest electrical generating and transmission hearings in Alberta’s history.  Prior to joining government, as a consultant,  Mark supervised and personally conducted due diligence liability assessments for oil and gas acquisitions around the world, worth in excess of $5 Billion 

Jeff Scobie

Jeff Scobie is VicePresident of FYREand a leading expert in energy law . He is a partner in a Calgary-based law firm and a sessional instructor at the the University of Calgary. Jeff is a partner at the law form LAwson Lundell, and has extensive experience in all aspects of natural gas, petrochemical and independent power and water projects as well as other forms of energy. He advises clients with respect to the structuring, development, financing and operation of world-wide energy projects and other corporate, commercial and energy-related matters, both domestic and international. Prior to joining Lawson Lundell, Jeff worked for Qatar PePetroleum, ultimately as general counsel, and continues to be recognized for his substantial Middle East experience. He has also practiced with two major law firms in Calgary and an international pipeline company. 

As a sessional instructor at the Faculty of Law, University of Calgary Jeff has taught a variety of courses including International Petroleum Transactions; Business Associations, Advanced Business Transactions and International Business Transactions. Jeff has also taught at the Faculty of Management, University of Calgary.

For more details about Jeff’s career please see the : http://www.lawsonlundell.com/team-Jeff-Scobie.html

Joseph Wells

Joseph Wells is Vice President of FYRE and an internationally renowned environmental consultant and principal of Calgary –based environmental consulting firm, Integrated Environments (2006) Ltd.

Joseph has worked in the field of environmental management since 1974. His early experience (1974-81) included National Parks Warden Service and gas field development and reclamation. He worked on project environmental planning and implementation for the Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline Project Norman Wells Pipeline. Since 1984, he has provided consulting services primarily to the energy sector. His area of practice in corporate environmental management and regulatory planning has included remediation strategies, environmental technologies, management of corporate environmental liability, and environmental planning.  Joseph has also contributed his experience in business strategy and planning to various projects requiring technical and commercial integration. In addition to his work in the Western Canadian Energy Sector, Joseph has worked internationally on projects in Asia (Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan), Africa (Benin, Kenya, Egypt, Zambia, Togo, Malawi), Latin America (Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Costa Rica), Europe (United Kingdom, France), and the Middle East (Yemen, Jordan, Cyprus).

More information about Joseph’s career in available at the Integrated Environment’s (2006) Ltd. website at  http://integrated-environments.com/our-team/

Dwayne Coben

Dwayne Coben, the principal of Coben Advisory, has over 30 years business experience in Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Australia across a broad range of industries and sectors. Dwayne has held CFO and executive merger & acquisition positions in both public and private companies, including executive positions for Berkshire Hathaway companies in the United States.

Mr. Coben founded Coben Advisory to offer services in disciplines that he acquired considerable expertise such as strategy development, financial evaluation and mergers & acquisitions. Dwayne was CFO and part-owner of a private alternate fuels technology company and Senior Vice President and CFO of HomeServices of America, Inc.. Dwayne led that company through a successful US$49 million initial public offering and acquisitionsgrowing the company to the second largest full-service independent residential real estate brokerage company in the United States.

Additional information about Dwayne’s career is available at the Coben Advisory website: http://www.coben.ca/bio