Derek Ali, MBA, P.Eng. (President 2003 – Present)
Derek is a Professional Engineer and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). He has over 35 years of professional experience in Canada and overseas with a strong track record in public sector services. Derek held senior positions with the Government of the Northwest Territories, City of St. Catharines and Niagara Region until 2003 and understands public service delivery from an owner/ operator perspective. He is also a Certified DWQMS Internal Auditor.
Since 2003, as the President of DFA, he has provided a full range of professional management services to our clients. His expertise includes water & wastewater operations, rate studies and user fees, O.Reg. 453/07 financial plans, asset management planning, water supply agreements, capital planning, financial planning development charges, emergency response planning and training, policy and by-law development and implementation, operational reviews, organizational restructuring and stakeholder engagement
He has also led multi-disciplinary teams on many projects including the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) of Trinidad and Tobago’s effort to transfer wastewater services from WASA into a separate Authority in 2009-2011. He is very experienced in workshop facilitation, working with municipal staff and Councils, issue identification and resolution, development of decision-making information and delivering presentations to a variety of audiences. Derek has also provided expert witness testimony before the Manitoba Public Utilities Board and brings a broad range of industry knowledge, operations management and financial planning experience to our clients.
Shannon Hughes, B.A., E.M.A. (Environmental Coordinator)
Shannon has been part of the DFA team since 2005. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography as well as a post-graduate certificate in Environmental Management and Assessment from Niagara College. She brings experience in environmental assessments, project management, regulatory reporting, research and analysis and public consultation facilitation. Shannon is also trained in the transportation of dangerous goods. She has been responsible for researching and analyzing information for a wide variety of projects such as water and wastewater rates, sewer use by-laws, combined sewer overflow (CSO) studies, waste collection and processing studies. Shannon has also assisted in the preparation of emergency response plans and continues to bring a value to our clients.
John Murphy, C.P.A., C.M.A., A.M.C.T. (Municipal Finance Specialist)
John is a Certified Management Accountant and an Accredited Municipal Clerk Treasurer and has worked in upper tier, single tier and lower tier municipalities in Ontario. Having been involved in municipal finance for over 20 years John brings extensive experience in financial analysis, financial policy development, long-term financial planning, budgeting, financial reporting, development charges policy and administration, infrastructure financing, water and wastewater rate setting, stakeholder facilitation, asset management planning and senior management liaison.
John is a key team member in preparing Municipal Rate Studies, Long-Term Financial Plans, Development Charges Studies, Landfill and contaminated site liability calculations and Asset Management Plans.