As Director of Regulatory Affairs for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), Dr. Mackenzie Denyes is responsible for the team ensuring the organization receives all required approvals, licenses and permissions to execute Canada’s Plan for the safe long-term management of used nuclear fuel which includes the construction and operation of a deep geological repository (DGR). Mackenzie has been with the NWMO since 2021 and previously participated in a number of environmental assessments, impact assessments, and construction phase permitting portfolios for projects in the mining and oil and gas industries. Mackenzie has extensive technical experience in human health risk assessment having specialized in contaminant transport and fate particularly via the inhalation of air and ingestion of country foods pathways. As part of this meaningful work, she’s been fortunate to engage with and learn from many First Nations and Métis community members. Mackenzie is passionate about sustainability and from 2015-2021 held an Adjust Professor position in the Faculty of Engineering at Queen’s University teaching Sustainability and the Environment, a course she also authored that focused of how industry has an unprecedented opportunity to positively contribute to the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Mackenzie holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Biochemistry and Environmental Science from the University of Ottawa and a PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada. She is a licensed in Ontario as a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo) and a Qualified Person for Risk Assessment (QPRA).