Todd McDonald

Founder & President

After a 10-year career in the international footwear industry, Todd began his energy career in 2001, helping a large publicly traded company set up a successful energy trading entity. In 2005, he followed his dream of becoming an entrepreneur and started Energy Atlantica. Now, with 18 years of experience managing and trading natural gas in Canada and the US Northeast, he possesses an in-depth knowledge of a very complex market. Todd specializes in asset optimization, commodity contracts, risk management strategies, capital project evaluation, and supply and transportation management. He has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. Professionally, he is most proud of the exceptional work and dedication shown by his employees.

Todd is also co-founder of GIVETOLIVE, a non-profit dedicated to inspiring people to live happy and healthy lives through generosity, fitness, and achievement of the extraordinary. He is humbled by, and proud of, the volunteers and event participants that have raised over $3.1 million for various charities. He has completed numerous GIVETOLIVE events: cycling to Texas three times, swimming from New Brunswick to PEI three times (no shark sightings yet) and finishing two Ironman triathlons.

Todd lives life to the fullest with his wife and GIVETOLIVE co-founder, Ashley. He is often seen at the office with his favourite VP of Gas Production, his Goldendoodle, Pickles.

Paul MacQueen

VP of Trading

After a successful career in information technology, Paul joined a then young Energy Atlantica in 2007. For the last 12 years, he has been instrumental in growing the company, while becoming well known for being one of the friendliest and most knowledgeable traders in the industry. Paul focuses on client management, financial analysis, gas trading, and supply and pipeline optimization. He has extensive knowledge of major pipelines, supply sources, and end-users in the Canadian and Northeast US markets. He has degrees in Business Administration and Information Technology from Cape Breton University.

In his free time, Paul volunteers extensively as a board member of GIVETOLIVE. He has participated in almost every BIG RIDE, only missing one to date; amassing over 7,000kms while cycling from Canada to Texas three times, Banff to Boulder, Ottawa to Halifax, and finishing an Ironman Triathlon.

Paul plays a mean electric guitar, has a great sense of humour, and is deadly to catch on a bike. He and his wife have two adorable children.

Heather McGrath

Director of Trading

Heather joined Energy Atlantica in 2012 after a 10-year career in pharmaceutical sales as a Senior Sales Executive. Her strong work ethic and exceptional people skills propelled her into her current role of Senior Trader and Key Account Manager. She spends her days focusing primarily on gas trading, fuel dispatch, logistics and transition management. Her knowledge and dedication to her clients is first class. Heather graduated from Mount Allison University as well as completed a graduate certificate in Human Resource Management.

Heather spends a great deal of time volunteering and giving back to our community. In addition to being involved with her daughter’s school PTA Executive and serving on the GIVETOLIVE Board of Directors, she has served as GIVETOLIVE’s BIG SWIM Event Director for several years; leading a team dedicated volunteers and participants in raising funds for Brigadoon Village Children’s Camp. In her tenure as Event Director the BIG SWIM has surpassed the $1M mark in cumulative funds raised for this noble cause. In 2014, she performed double duty; organizing the event while training for (and completing) her own 17km swim across the Northumberland Strait.

Outside the office, Heather enjoys keeping active by playing volleyball, swimming and spending time with her husband and their three beautiful girls.

Patrick O’Connor, CPA,CBV

Director of Finance

Patrick joined Energy Atlantica in 2020 after a 6 year career at a national audit and accounting firm as a manager of Corporate Finance and Valuation where he obtained his Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) designation and his Chartered Business Valuation (CBV) designation. His extensive experience in both assurance and valuation/transaction advisory services led him to his current role as Corporate Controller. Patrick spends time managing working capital, aiding in account management, and analyzing transaction opportunities. Patrick graduated from Acadia University with a Bachelor of business administration.

In addition to his role at Energy Atlantica, Patrick stays involved in the Halifax business community and served as the Chair of the awards committee between 2019-2020 for Family Business Atlantic (FBA). Patrick also stays active in the community as a current member of the friends of Hope Cottage aiding in the planning and execution of various events annually with the goal of helping to serve meals to those less fortunate and looks forward to participating in GIVETOLIVE events. Patrick enjoys spending his free time on the golf course or playing hockey and basketball.

Ashley Ward

Project Manager

After an early career in international development and education that took her around the world (India, The Gambia, & St Lucia), Ashley joined EA as its first staff member in 2006. She has held or holds numerous roles for the company, including HR, project management, community engagement, strategy, and marketing.

Ashley is currently a project manager with the company and manages its various sponsorships and community involvement annually. Ashley is also a co-founder and a board member, of EA’s charitable endeavor, GIVETOLIVE. She led the organization in its first five years through to its success today, executing endurance events for thousands of participants while raising approximately $400,000 annually for various charities. She has also participated in over a dozen GIVETOLIVE events, including cycling to Texas twice, circumnavigating Iceland, and tackling the 15km distance at the Big Chill.

Ashley is very active in her community, having led a project to successfully sponsor a Syrian family during the refugee crisis and serving as a volunteer birth doula for low-income families. Ashley is an exceptionally driven individual who has been recognized as one of the top emerging leaders in Atlantic Canada and was recently awarded the “2019 Young Alumnae of the Year” by StFX University. Ashley holds a Bachelor of Psychology and English from StFX, a Bachelor of Education from Mount Saint Vincent University, and has studied her Masters of Public Administration at Dalhousie University.

In her free time, Ashley enjoys painting Nova Scotia’s rural landscapes and sunsets, being active outdoors, and loves to travel the world with her lifetime partner Todd.

Tracy Swift

Senior Gas Scheduler

Tracy joined Energy Atlantica in the spring of 2021 and brings 23 years of industry experience with her. Tracy started her career in Alberta with a large natural gas aggregator company. After eight years of growing and transitioning into different roles, from assistant to the Operations and Trading department to Business Analyst and eventually Gas Scheduler, she found her way back home to Nova Scotia. She joined Emera Energy as Gas Scheduler and honed her skills with a thriving 15-year long career, taking on responsibilities from Manager of Natural Gas Logistics to Senior Commercial Services Manager. Tracy is an exceptionally trained Senior Gas Scheduler and is excited to contribute to our growing team!

Outside the office, Tracy enjoys time with her young son and she has recently taken a keen interest in camping.

Nadja Zinck

Gas Scheduler

Nadja joined Energy Atlantica in 2015 after a successful 10 years in the banking industry. Following 4 years of exceptional performance as Energy Atlantica’s Executive Assistant, she transitioned into the role of Data Analyst. Nadja is exceptional with clients, has a passion for organization and excels at analysis, presentations, and details. She holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Acadia University.
The opportunity to work with GIVETOLIVE was a large part of what drew Nadja to Energy Atlantica. Nadja has participated in two of GIVETOLIVE signature events; she completed the BIG CHILL, a snowshoe through the wilderness of Nova Scotia in 2016 and traveled to Iceland for the BIG RIDE in 2017. She has also served as the Volunteer Coordinator for the BIG SWIM since 2015.

Outside of work, Nadja enjoys spending time with her husband and their two young children. She bakes a mean cupcake, loves to sew and stays active by running.

Tabitha Lord

Data Analyst

Tabitha joined Energy Atlantica in 2022, bringing with her over 20 years of procurement and logistics experience. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Technical Management with Finance Concentration from DeVry University. Tabitha is also a certified project manager, having attained her PMP Certification. She is responsible for the daily management of our unique database management system. Her many years of experience with procurement, spreadsheet management and Customs practices adds to the exceptional talent pool at Energy Atlantica.

She has a passion for empowering others and holds the view that opportunities are limitless and greatness is attainable by all. Tabitha served as a volunteer Junior Achievement Advisor for 4 years. Additionally, she also serves as a volunteer member for Crohn's and Colitis Canada. She has a love for travel, movies, and boasts that Grease is her all-time favorite movie. She is also the proud mother of two amazing children.

Marijke Vossen

Executive Assistant

Marijke joined Energy Atlantica in 2019 as our Executive Assistant. She brings multiple years of experience working within the Energy Sector in Belgium, where she performed roles as Business-to-Business Customer Support and Management Assistant to the Corporate Nuclear Projects Department. Marijke is well organized, has exceptional problem-solving skills and has a positive, open-minded attitude. She holds a Master's in Art History and a teacher’s degree in Archaeology and Art History from Ghent University, Belgium.

Marijke and her husband moved to Halifax from Belgium with their 3 lovely children in 2015. She volunteered as Secretary in the Home & School Association of her children’s school and is active in the GIVETOLIVE Community where she served as Co-Chair of The BIG FEED to support Feed Nova Scotia.

In addition to working part-time at Energy Atlantica, Marijke is currently a part-time student at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, studying to obtain her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Photography. Marijke enjoys spending time with her family, listening to music, hiking, and photographing Nova Scotia’s stunning ocean and landscapes.

Max Duckworth

VP of Risk Management

Max is an impact investor who provides capital and advises early-stage companies that are disrupting and innovating their space. In 2015, he co-founded MaSa Partners, which has invested in 20 companies across energy, food & agriculture, healthcare, and other sectors. Max currently serves on seven boards and as an advisor to several other companies.

Max was formerly an energy executive in the energy industry. Between 1998 and 2012, he was at Constellation Energy, where he held a number of senior commercial and leadership roles, including global head of trading and co-head of commodities. He has extensive, hands-on experience in commodity trading, risk management, structured deals, M&A, strategy, financial reporting, and governance. Max started his career in the energy & environmental policy arena, where he co-authored a number of studies that have been widely cited over the last 25 years.

Max holds a BSc (Hons) degree from the Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine in London England, and an MA degree from Boston University, both in physics. Max has been actively involved in UNICEF, the global children’s charity, for over a decade, having chaired its Mid-Atlantic regional board and served on its national development committee. He is an advisor and guest lecturer in the Energy Analysis & Policy (EAP) program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a mentor to local Wisconsin entrepreneurs through MERLIN. Max lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife Sarah, son Hartley and dog Tanner.

Ryan Frederic

Board Chair

Ryan Frederic is an entrepreneur and an aerospace engineer. He co-founded Applied Defense Solutions (ADS) in 2005 with a mission to provide analysis and engineering products and services to the Civil, Commercial, Defense, and Intelligence Space markets in the United States and internationally.  For 14 years he and his partners built ADS into a leader in the Space Situational Awareness market, until it’s the acquisition by L3 Harris in 2018. Ryan has been involved in the founding of a number of other businesses including, Water Management Solutions (WMS), a specialty construction company, Forever Fit Physical Therapy and Wellness, a healthcare provider, delivering outpatient physical therapy services, and Humble Rogue Ventures, a small venture capital firm that serves as a platform for Ryan to help and mentor other small enterprise founders to realize their vision. In his home state of Maryland, Ryan has served on the mid-Atlantic board of the US Fund for UNICEF, the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County, and the Columbia Festival of the Arts. Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He currently resides in Chevy Chase Md, with his wife Krista and their 3 young children.