East Toronto 2026 Annual General Meeting

The PEO East Toronto Chapter invites you to attend the Chapter's 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM). This event will be a great opportunity for Chapter Members to network and learn more about our Chapter and its activities. Chapter Members will also have the opportunity to volunteer to join the Chapter's Board.

The AGM will open with refreshments and networking, followed by a call to order and a welcome address by the East Toronto Chapter's Chair. Committee Chairs will present their reports for the past year, and the Chapter's 2026 Board will be elected. The AGM will be followed by a keynote address by our guest speaker, and the evening will conclude with 2026 PEO Council candidate speeches.

Event Details:

• Date: Thursday, February 12, 2026
• Time: Doors open at 6:30 pm; AGM starts at 7:00 pm
• Venue: Arts & Letters Club – 14 Elm St, Toronto, ON  M5G 1G7

Registration: Click on the 'SIGN UP' button above to register on Eventbrite.

AGM Agenda:

6:30 pm – Registration and Networking
7:00 pm – AGM Call to Order
                   Safety Briefing
                   Land Acknowledgement
                   Approval of 2026 AGM Agenda
                   Appointment of Timekeeper
7:04 pm – Approval of Draft 2025 AGM Minutes
7:05 pm – 2025 Committee Report
7:20 pm – Treasurer's Report
7:25 pm – Chapter Activity Report
7:35 pm – Chapter Volunteer Recognition
7:40 pm – 2026 East Toronto Chapter Board Member Election
7:45 pm – AGM Closing Remarks
7:50 pm – Keynote Address
8:10 pm – 2026 PEO Council Election Candidate Speeches
8:30 pm – Event Adjournment

Keynote Address: Innovations in Research for Sustainable Energy, Water, and Clean Air

The World Health Organization estimates that 884 million people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water and 759 million people worldwide are without reliable electricity. Many regions with high water scarcity are off-grid, remote and have high renewable sources of power. This presentation provides an overview of previous and on-going research in the Freire-Gormaly Lab at York University led by Associate Professor Marina Freire-Gormaly. The projects in her team span sustainable water, energy, and healthy environments. Including the development of smart, reliable and sustainable renewable powered water treatment systems; computational modeling of COVID-19 aerosols and HVAC designs for healthy indoor environments; materials development for carbon capture. Methodologies used include Machine Learning & AI, experimental systems, material coating and weathering. Applications span drinking water, industrial carbon capture processes, automotive, and manufacturing industry. Avenues for future research in smart and resilient systems for healthy and sustainable communities will also be presented.

Keynote Speaker: Marina Freire-Gormaly, PhD, LEED GA, MCSME

Dr. Marina Freire-Gormaly is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at York University's Lassonde School of Engineering. Her research includes studying aerosol transmission in indoor environments for HVAC systems, developing stand-alone solar powered reverse osmosis water treatment systems for remote communities, and developing hydroponic systems for growing crops in space. She is also interested in machine learning applications for smart design of innovative energy and water systems, smart systems using the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, and advanced additive manufacturing methods.

Marina worked at Ontario Power Generation (OPG) on the Darlington New Nuclear Project and the Darlington Refurbishment Project. She contributed to a World Bank project evaluating Canada’s ‘Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy’ (RISE). Marina served as Chair of the Student Affairs Committee and Professional Affairs Committee of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, and she currently serves as associate editor for the Desalination and Water Treatment Elsevier Journal.

Marina is passionate about research and teaching energy systems to the next generation of engineers innovating solutions for society’s sustainability challenges.