Throughout her lengthy career as a professional engineer, Nannette Ho-Covernton has made it a priority to volunteer and support the sector, including a strong focus on supporting youth, sustainability, and energy innovation and advocating for greater inclusion of women in STEM fields.
She spent many years volunteering with APEGA, Alberta’s provincial engineering and geoscience regulator, serving on committees and helping to strengthen regulatory oversight and professional standards. Since 2019, she has been an Associate Warden for the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer, Camp 18, helping to welcome new engineers into the profession and deepen their understanding of the obligations the iron ring symbolizes.
Speaking of rings, for over 30 years, starting with the 1988 Winter Olympics, Ho-Covernton was part of the speed skating volunteer team at Calgary’s Olympic Oval, supporting international tournaments and operations. “At age 22, I just wanted to network. And then you get hooked on making an impact,” she says.
Ho-Covernton has also mentored many students at the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering (where she earned her degree), led the Engineering Career Centre’s advisory team, and advised chemical and mechanical engineering students. She also sits on the Dean’s Advisory Council for Southern Alberta Institute of Technology’s MacPhail School of Energy.
As the Sustainability Leader at Spartan Controls, Ho-Covernton worked to advance corporate responsibility in a variety of areas, including the environment, well-being, community, education and innovation. This involved close collaboration with industry partners to improve energy efficiency, operational efficiency, optimization, emission reduction and reporting, and increase alignment on environment, social and governance issues. She also mentored new entrants to the workforce who were hired at Spartan.
Since her retirement from professional engineering, Ho-Covernton has taken on a new role as Executive Director of the Energy Technology Centre (ETC), a nonprofit supporting energy startups and entrepreneurs working in energy efficiency, emission reduction, emission tracking, clean fuels, carbon capture, renewables, digital solutions, and even hydrogen. Many of those startups are female-founded and led, which tracks perfectly with Ho-Covernton’s work to advance women’s inclusion and leadership in engineering through her advocacy with organizations like WISE Planet and MindFuel.
“I think being there to support women is probably what I'm proudest of. And I always say this: if you can see it, you can be it.”
