Our Team
Chief Rueben George is the primary Indigenous co-founder of Salish Elements. Rueben provides a lifetime of relationship building and extensive public speaking figurehead experience to the company. Rueben is well respected within his own community as a spiritual leader, and this extends into the larger community as well. He believes Salish Elements provides a community-driven alternative to fossil fuels, which can help build a better world.
Omar Kassem is the Executive Director and Chief Engineer and primary hydrogen technology expert for Salish Elements and a co-founder of Salish Elements. Omar runs the day-to-day operations of the company. He is a registered Professional Engineer with over 7 years of energy industry experience particularly in plant design, maintenance, and operations. Omar believes in the power of fair and equitable resource management by communities.
Deanna takes 5 years of professional working experience from the technology consulting industry combined with a mind for understanding people and story cultivated from her university education in journalism. She strives to provide Salish Elements a human-centered and systems-thinking-based framework in which to communicate internally and externally.
Rory North was Chief Executive Officer of North Growth Management Ltd. He is a known philanthropist and major investor in the hydrogen and renewable energy sector in B.C. Since 2007 he has been closely following and investing the hydrogen and renewable industry and investing in it. His investing and funding priorities are environment, reconciliation, and mental health services.