Jim Carter, Brent Hesje, Carol Moen and Holger Petersen join Class of 2025
NAIT offers no higher award than an honorary degree. Each year at convocation, the graduating class is joined by a small group of extraordinary people who, throughout their careers, have done amazing things for their communities.
This year, that group comprises four outstanding Albertans:
Together, their contributions span mining and energy, education and business, arts and culture, and trades and diversity. That is, they leave almost no aspect of life in the province unimproved.
“Their accomplishments and dedication to their fields embody the values of innovation and lifelong learning,” says Daryl Silzer, vice-president external relations and chief development officer.
“They serve as community leaders and inspiring role models for NAIT graduates, reinforcing the vital role polytechnic education plays in shaping Alberta’s future.”
Here’s a look at their stories (which you can read in full at nait.ca) and how they embody the polytechnic’s vision, promises and values through their contributions to the community.
Honorary Bachelor of Technology in Management
An engineer by training, Dr. Jim Carter joined Syncrude, one of the province’s earliest bitumen mining operations, in 1979, quickly ascending to leadership roles, which include president.
Carter would play a key role in revolutionizing the industry, in part through technology. Innovations ranging from the size of haul trucks to a novel transport system to move ore from mine to extraction plant bear his mark. So does the 2006 upgrader expansion that boosted Syncrude’s output to an astonishing 350,000 barrels per day.
But community building and environmental stewardship were also fundamental to Carter’s contribution. Under his watch, employment opportunities with Syncrude increased with respect to local Indigenous groups. Fort McMurray was enriched by the Theatre and Arts Centre at Keyano College, its construction overseen by Carter, then on Keyano’s Board of Directors. And former oil sands mining operations were reclaimed and transformed into a bison ranch.
Carter would play a key role in revolutionizing the industry.
Numerous other organizations have also benefited from Carter’s leadership, the impact felt in utilities, construction, finance, innovation and more – including among Alberta’s youth. In 1997, Carter cofounded Careers: The Next Generation. He still chairs it today.
Carter is a member of the Order of Canada, the Alberta Order of Excellence, and holds honorary doctorates from three Canadian universities. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond and platinum jubilee medals, and the King Charles III’s Coronation Medal.
Carter is also an inductee of the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame, the Canadian Petroleum Hall of Fame, the Junior Achievement Northern Alberta Business Hall of Fame, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Learn more about Honorary Degree recipient Jim Carter
Honorary Bachelor of Business Administration
Brent Hesje has a long history with NAIT – one that has reshaped the institute.
In 2008, Hesje joined its Board of Governors. At the time, he was CEO of Fountain Tire, a role he held for over 17 years. Being on the board struck him as a good fit: many of the chain’s technicians were grads. He soon discovered that much of Fountain Tire’s leadership was, too.
In 2013, Hesje assumed the role of NAIT’s board chair, where his skills as a leader, and as a seasoned marketer from previous days with Procter & Gamble, came to the fore. The next year, NAIT launched “Essential,” a major comprehensive fundraising campaign.
His skills as a leader, and as a seasoned marketer, came to the fore.
As campaign chair, Hesje helped lead the way to raising $125 million – $25 million more than the goal. That contributed to the construction of the Feltham Centre, opened in 2016. Later, Hesje served on the advisory committee for the construction of the Productivity and Innovation Centre, opened in 2018.
All told, Hesje played a role in creating about a quarter of the total square footage of NAIT’s current Main Campus.
Hesje’s other awards and acknowledgements include NAIT’s Distinguished Friend of the Institute award, induction into the Northern Alberta Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, the Tire Industry Association Hall of Fame, and more. He continues to serve on several boards throughout Western Canada, with numerous others benefiting from his experience and expertise.
Learn more about Honorary Degree recipient Brent Hesje
Honorary Bachelor of Technology in Management
Carol Moen has championed women in trades and technologies throughout her career. Part of that was through lived experience: she started as a mechanical engineer with Dow in the 1980s – a trailblazer in a field populated mostly by men. For nearly three decades, Moen steadily rose through the ranks of leadership.
She followed that by serving as the first female Registrar of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.
More recently, Moen formalized her role as an advocate for equal opportunities. For the past six years, she has served as president and CEO of Women Building Futures (WBF), an organization dedicated to furnishing women and gender-diverse people with skills for meaningful careers and better lives.
She started as a mechanical engineer – a trailblazer in a field populated mostly by men.
During Moen’s time with WBF, it graduated more than 1,000 women from programming that prepares them for apprenticeships in the skilled trades, and expanded its efforts into other provinces. In 2023-24 alone, 284 participants completed, its highest number ever. Many continue their training at NAIT.
Moen has also served on boards and committees dedicated to advancing a variety of causes, from the well-being of people with disabilities, to energy diversification efforts, to health-care initiatives. She is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and the King Charles III’s Coronation medal.
Learn more about Honorary Degree recipient Carol Moen
Honorary Bachelor of Technology in Management
Few people who have done as much for music in Edmonton as Dr. Holger Petersen, a 1970 graduate of what NAIT then called Radio and Television Arts.
After cutting his teeth in the media business as a student, Petersen quickly earned a reputation as one of Edmonton’s leading music journalists, interviewing the likes of B.B. King, Mavis Staples, Gordon Lightfoot, Led Zeppelin and more.
He also quickly found a seemingly permanent place for himself on the airwaves. His CKUA show, Natch’l Blues, went live in January 1969 – he’s been there ever since, more than 55 years and counting. Two books of interviews (Talking Music, volumes 1 and 2) have spun out of that work, adding “author” to Petersen ’s long list of accomplishments.
Petersen helped make the local – and national – music industry what it is today.
But his impact has extended beyond sharing his lifelong passion for music. Petersen helped make the local – and national – music industry what it is today. In addition to cofounding Stony Plain Records in 1976, he has served on numerous boards to support musicians and creatives. He’s also among the founders of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival.
Petersen is a member of the Order of Canada, the Alberta Order of Excellence, and holder of honorary doctorate degrees from the University of Alberta and Athabasca University.
He is an inductee of the Folk DJ Hall of Fame by Folk Alliance International, and was the first non-American citizen to be named Best Public Broadcaster by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. Petersen is also a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond and golden jubilee medals, and the Alberta Centennial Medal.
Learn more about Honorary Degree recipient Holger Petersen