Rob has more than 25 years of MTO Construction experience, plus contract administrator on roughly 15 CA Contracts, with 3 being over $25 Million. He’s passionate about his work and enjoys being an instructor for Good Roads’ Scott McKay Concrete course for the past 3 years.
Archives: Faculty
Faculty Description
M. Rick O’Connor, CMO, LL.B
With over thirty years of municipal law experience, M. Rick O’Connor, C.M.O., M.A., LL.B. has spent the last decade as the City Clerk and Solicitor for the City of Ottawa.
In 2005, Rick successfully achieved his Certified Municipal Officer designation (CMO) through the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO), and was the proud recipient of its 2006 Prestige Award, an honour that recognizes a member’s commitment to that Association’s ideals and for his contributions to the profession generally. In 2010, Rick also achieved his Certified Specialist (Municipal Law: Local Government) designation through the Law Society of Upper Canada. He was also honoured to be the recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award for 2012 by the Ontario Good Roads Association for serving as an instructor for more than twenty years. In 2013, Rick received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his leadership in the evolution of open and accountable public administration in Ontario.
A well-known speaker on various municipal issues, Rick has participated in many initiatives on behalf of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) as well as the AMCTO and is the Editor of O’Brien’s Municipal Corporation Forms.
The author of numerous legal articles, as well as being a regular speaker to various municipal organizations, Rick also co-authored Conduct Handbook for Municipal Employees and Officials (2nd ed., 2003), wrote Open Local Government (2nd ed., 2004) and co-authored A Practical Guide to Ontario’s Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (2007 and 2017).
Paul Villard Ph.D., P.Geo., CAN-CISEC, EP, CERP
Paul has conducted geomorphology research in fluvial, coastal and estuarine systems for over 25 years. His research has included sediment transport, channel evolution, hydrodynamics, field measurement techniques, urban impacts on rivers, and the evolution of restored rivers. Some of his projects include sediment transport studies, geomorphic assessments, stream and shoreline restoration, erosion assessments for both stormwater management and dewatering projects, hazard assessments, and site remediation.
Paul Knowles P. Eng
Paul graduated from Queen’s University and worked in the private sector for 9 years before joining the Town of Carleton Place as a Town Engineer in 1989. His involvement with the Municipal Engineers Association (MEA) and the Municipal Class Environment Assessment (MCEA) began shortly thereafter. In 1993, Paul was promoted to CAO for Carleton Place, but did not leave engineering and continued to be active with MEA.
Paul Johnson
Paul has over 37 years of experience working for the County of Wellington. He is a past President of Good Roads for 2010. He’s also one of the founders of Good Roads Snow School program and a retired member of the American Public Works Winter Maintenance committee. Paul is also a founding member of Environment Canada Multi Stakeholders Working Group on Salt Management and was brought out of retirement for the County of Wellington as a Coordinator for the Vaccination Effort.
Nicholas Gilbert, P. Eng.
Nicholas is a veteran Good Roads volunteer for more than 20 years. He graduated Lakehead University, Civil Engineering, and BCIT, Building Technology. He retired from MTO in 2016 after 25+ years as former Head of Geotechnical, West Region. He brings over 30 years of experience in civil engineering, design and construction.
Nahed Ghbn, PhD, PMP, P.Eng
Nahed holds a Ph.D. degree in environmental engineering with more than 20 years of professional experience in planning, design, construction, and management of infrastructure, environmental, stormwater and water resources projects. He is a professional engineer and working currently with the City of Brantford as a Senior Project Manager, Water Resources. He is responsible for developing and managing water resources and watershed initiatives, environmental assessments studies and leading the design and construction of various stormwater projects. Nahed has authored a number of technical papers and delivered numerous training sessions and programs. He is an active committee member with WEAO Collection Systems and MOECC’s Wastewater and Stormwater Practitioners Group.
Mohsin Talpur
Mohsin is a professional engineer with over 25 years of experience in civil and water resources engineering. He has served as Course Director for the TM31 – Storm Sewer Design Course with Good Roads since 2017. Currently, he is a Water Resources Engineer at the City of Brampton, providing technical reviews for development applications and contributing to watershed studies. His career includes roles at Conservation Halton, the City of Guelph, the City of Markham, and TRCA, along with international experience. Mohsin remains committed to professional growth through continuous review of technical literature and emerging research.
Mike Henderson
Mike is a C.S. Anderson Guelph Road School Director since 1998 and has several decades worth of experience working with and for municipalities. He’s currently Manager, Transportation Program Development with the Region of Waterloo and held past roles from Project Manager to Survey Party Chief. He has experience managing rehabilitation projects and core infrastructure assets. Mike is a graduate of Conestoga College in Civil Engineering Technology and he is a members of the Ontario Association of Certified Technicians and Technologists.
Michael Gregory, P.Eng., PE
Mike is a licensed professional engineer in Ontario, Florida, and Ohio with 30 years of experience in water resources planning, analysis, design, program financing, and policy development. He specializes in stormwater management master planning, floodplain analysis, and the design of infrastructure for flood/erosion hazard protection, quality treatment, volume reduction, and environmental flow maintenance.





