Board of Directors

Mariana Fregonese is the Director of Social Performance and Development at Pan American Silver Corp. With over 17 years of experience in mining, social performance, and sustainability in the Americas, she is passionate about responsible mining and enhancing the quality of life of local communities. Mrs. Fregonese also manages strategic relationships with governments, public agencies, and non-governmental organizations to achieve effective and sustainable community development. She is a Certified Sustainability Practitioner (CSR-P) and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy (Hons) from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Kettina Cordero is a seasoned Investor Relations professional with over 15 years of experience working with publicly listed Canadian public companies, predominantly in the mining sector. She is Vice President of Investor Relations at Aris Mining. Her experience includes working with small and large-cap mining companies in the precious metals and copper sectors with operations throughout the Americas such as Pan American Silver, Alexco Resource and more recently Capstone Copper.

Kettina is fluent in English and Spanish. She holds a Diploma in Commerce and Production from the Alexander von Humboldt Institute (Perú) and achieved the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI) CPIR (Ivey School of Business) designation in 2012.

Sarah Martin is an associate at Fasken who works with clients on a wide range of mining, energy and environmental matters, with an emphasis on commercial and regulatory issues. Sarah assists with due diligence and risk assessments for acquisitions and other corporate transactions, as well as environmental assessments, permitting and compliance issues. Sarah discovered her interest in mining transactions as an articled student at Fasken and looks forward to helping advance women in the industry through her work with WIMBC.

Ms. Boldt is a professional accountant (CPA, CGA) who has held progressively senior financial leadership roles with several public companies in the mineral exploration and development industry. Prior to her appointment as the CFO & Corporate Secretary of Lucara Dimond Corp., Ms. Boldt served as the CFO & Corporate Secretary of Kaminak Gold, where she was responsible for corporate due diligence and the negotiation, documentation, and execution of a Plan of Arrangement for an acquisition transaction valued at $520 million. Prior to Kaminak, Ms. Boldt was the Vice-President, Finance & CFO for Stornoway Diamond Corporation where she was a member of the senior management team responsible for arranging financing in excess of $900 million for the development of the Renard Diamond Mine in Quebec. Ms. Boldt is an independent Director of Bluestone Resources Inc. Ms. Boldt currently serves as a director of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), where she represents the Diamond, Gold and/or Platinum Group Metals Producer Forum.

Jill Arias has been in the mining sector since 2004 as VP of Corporate Communications and Marketing for First Majestic Silver Corp.  She plays a key role in the perception of the company through its branding in the media, and marketing materials for the company and for valued shareholders. First Majestic values diversity in the workplace and Jill also plays a role in mentorship within the company assisting with empowering and educating managers and shares efforts in the inclusion of a women in mining group within the office environment.

Outside of First Majestic, Jill also co-chairs, sitting on the Canadian Cancer Society Daffodil Gala Committee, and volunteers her time towards Make-A-Wish Foundation when she isn’t off on a plane to the next mining conference or being a mother to her sassy 10-year-old daughter.

Joanne (Joey) Freeze has over 30 years of experience in exploration with junior and major mining companies. Joey co-founded, Candente Resource Corp. while living in Peru in 1997. She guided significant acquisitions in Peru and Mexico as well as the split of Candente Resource Corp into: Candente Copper Corp. and Candente Gold Corp. in 2009 and Cobriza Metals Inc. in 2012. Joey oversaw the listing of the companies on the TSXV, TSX and the Lima Stock Exchange (BVL) and to date has raised over $100 million in equity financings.

Joey also guided the acquisition and current exploration at one of Mexico’s highest grade historic gold and silver past producers, the El Oro Project. At El Oro, 8 million ounces gold equivalent of gold and silver were mined historically from four mines.

Since 2011, Joey has been on the Advisory Board of the Institute of International Development at McGill University. She also participates as part of the Peruvian delegation in Shared Value Initiative Leadership Summits. Joey also joined the Board of Directors of Durango Resources in December 2018. She is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, Canada (APEGBC). Joey holds a B.A. in Geography (University of Western Ontario 1978) and a B.Sc. in Geology (University of British Columbia 1981). She also previously served as a Trustee to the Society of Economic Geologists.

Kaeli Gattens specializes in the development and execution of corporate communications strategies that enhance social impact and stakeholder value. Ms. Gattens holds over a decade of international experience working in various roles across the natural resource sector. Prior to her appointment as Director of ESG at the JDS Group of Companies, Ms. Gattens gained her passion and holistic approach to sustainability working at Goldcorp Inc., Finning, VRIFY, and Sun Peak Metals Corp. Ms. Gattens holds a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from SFU, a Bachelor of Political Science and Economics, and a Diploma in Intercultural Communications from UVIC. Ms. Gattens sits on the Board of WIMBC and is an active volunteer with both the Canadian Cancer Society and Special Olympics B.C.

Monica Hamm brings a diverse skill set to the table with over 20 years of experience in mining and capital markets.  She began her career in the lab industry working for both environmental and mining labs as an analyst and later moved into project management and business development.  Beginning in 2005, Monica held the position of Investor Relations where she developed and led investor relations programs for several Vancouver-based mining companies.  Since 2019, she has worked in Company Services with TMX Group as the Regional Advisor for companies listed on the TSX and TSXV.  She is a Certified Sustainability Practitioner and holds a BSc in geology from Brandon University.  Monica is dedicated to advancing the importance of ESG/Sustainability, and Indigenous Relations especially in the resource sector

With a background in Human Resources and workforce research, Courtnay has led labour market research and policy initiatives for the Canadian mining sector at the national and regional level. As Senior Consultant, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at PHC Inc. Courtnay works with mining companies, training institutes, and associations to develop and manage impactful diversity and inclusion strategies, policy and programming. Previously, Courtnay worked with the Mining Industry Human Resources Council – overseeing diversity and inclusion programing and workforce research.

Courtnay holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University and a Masters of Applied Science in Mining Engineering from the University of British Columbia. Throughout her career, Courtnay has engaged and advised mining industry committees and taskforces on building workforce capacity with a focus on identifying and addressing gendered barriers in mining and exploration. These include; the BC HR Mining Taskforce, WIM-WIN Sask, APEGBC’s Gender Diversity Taskforce, CIM Diversity and Inclusion Advisory, AME’s Board of Directors, CTEM, and WIM Canada.

Outside of work, Courtnay is an avid runner and road cyclist and enjoys exploring the mountains, forests and parks surrounding Vancouver with her husband, and two children.

Ms. Tessa Jolly is Senior Manager, Investor Relations with Eldorado Gold Corp, a Vancouver based gold and base metals producer with assets in Canada, Turkiye, Greece and Romania. In her current role, Tessa supports the VP, Investor Relations in the development and execution of the Investor Relations Program and strategy, with the objective to deliver comprehensive Investor Relations activities and communications to shareholders, potential investors, analysts, bankers and retail brokers. Tessa brings over 15 years of communication experience, specializing in shareholder activism, M&A, corporate governance, and social media for public companies. Tessa is a current member and Director of the BC Chapter of the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI), and a non-executive Director of Women In Mining BC.

Sean Kingsley has 17 years of experience in mineral exploration and mining, focusing on corporate development, strategy, finance, and communications. He serves as President & CEO of Gold Hunter Resources, a mineral exploration and development company, and as President of Investor.Events, an event management company for VIP Issuers to Investor experiences. Sean has supported numerous companies within the sector and contributed to various boards for private and publicly listed companies, showcasing his ability to advise and raise capital globally. His commitment to the mining community is demonstrated through his leadership in chairing the Association for Mineral Exploration BC’s Communications and Marketing committee from 2014-2018, continuing his service since 2012, and his participation in the Executive and Advisory Council for the Centre of Training Excellence in Mining since 2016. Sean also organizes networking events like Mining 4 Beer – Vancouver and the Groundup Networking Reception, attracting thousands of professionals. As the first male board member of Women in Mining BC, he is dedicated to enhancing sponsorship and opportunities for women in the sector.

Virginie Pochard-Linage is responsible for developing and promoting Geoscience BC as a Communications and Membership Manager. She has over 25 years of international experience in leading projects from conception to completion with a robust knowledge of global brand management and events. Her experience spans over a variety of B2B industries and sectors such as Agency, Government, Mining, Engineering, and Not-for-Profit organizations in France, Switzerland, United States and Canada.

Prior to her position at Geoscience BC, she worked at Bureau Veritas North America and helped WIMBC to raise funds through charity golf tournaments. She sat on the Board of Directors at Alliance Française of Vancouver for 4 years, advised ACEC-BC Membership Affairs Committee, provided marketing support at ITS-STI Canada, and volunteered at her son’ school for many years.