Donald S. Bubar, M.Sc., P. Geo, President and CEO

Don Bubar is a geologist with over 40 years of experience in mineral exploration and development in Canada. Mr. Bubar is a graduate of McGill University (B.Sc., 1977) and Queen’s University (M.Sc., 1981). From 1984 to 1994, he worked for Aur Resources Inc. as Exploration Manager and later VP, Exploration. Mr. Bubar has been President and CEO of Avalon since 1995.

Mr. Bubar served as a Director of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) for nine years and Chair of its Aboriginal Affairs Committee from its creation in December, 2004 until retiring from the PDAC Board in March, 2013. Throughout his career, Mr. Bubar has been an advocate for increased Indigenous participation in the mineral industry, first through the PDAC and later through the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. Mr. Bubar serves on the Advisory Board to the Faculty of Science of McGill University and on the Board of Directors of PDAC's Mining Matters earth science education program.

R.J. (Jim) Andersen, CPA, CA, CPA (Illinois), CGMA, Vice President, Finance, Corporate Secretary and CFO 

Mr. Andersen is a Chartered Professional Accountant with 30 years of experience in the mining industry. He graduated with high distinction from the University of Toronto (B.Comm., 1991) and started his career with the mining services team at Coopers & Lybrand in Toronto, Ontario. He received his C.A. designation in 1993, after having placed 20^th in Ontario on the 1992 Uniform Final Exam.

Mr. Andersen began his own accounting practice in 1994 and was in charge of Avalon's audit from 1996 to 2000, prior to joining the company as its CFO in 2001.

Cindy Hu, CPA, CA, CPA (Illinois), Controller 

Ms. Hu joined Avalon in 2007. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Hu was a senior manager with the accounting firm Andersen & Company Professional Corporation. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 20 years of experience in public accounting practice and financial reporting, primarily for junior public companies and private wealth management portfolios.

MS. Hu earned her B.Com from Laurentian University in 1996.

Zeeshan Syed, M.Sc., Vice President, External Affairs

Mr. Syed is a graduate of the London School of Economics with a Masters degree in Comparative Politics and Economics, and has over fifteen years of multi-sector executive leadership. He has deep expertise as an international business development expert, climate change negotiator, nonprofit founder, and natural resources regulator, providing him a unique perspective of an energy system increasingly marked by change and disruption. Prior to joining Avalon in 2019, Mr. Syed was focused on public-private partnerships and management in public service, the nonprofit sector, and politics. He has served in the Office of the Prime Minister, with the Government of Alberta and with the United Nations Secretariat.  

Amiel Blajchman, MES, P.Ag., Manager, ESG & Sustainability

 Amiel Blajchman is a professional Agrologist and Canadian expert in  environmental and social impact assessment and community engagement. He has over 20 years’ experience working for private sector clients, Indigenous communities, government agencies,  mining companies, and international multilateral banks in managing  the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks of complex, high profile projects. Amiel is a graduate of York University with a Masters of Environmental Studies. Amiel is currently an instructor in the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies Climate Change Certificate Programme, and has delivered impact assessment training to industry, community and government. Prior to joining Avalon, Amiel worked with several junior mining companies, and has also worked for the Canadian federal government in several roles. .

Amiel currently serves on the PDAC’s CSR committee, and volunteers his time with Ve’ahavta, an agency serving underhoused Toronto community members, and has served on various other charitable boards. 

Georgi Doundarov, M.Sc., P.Eng, PMP, CCP, Senior Metallurgist

Georgi Doundarov has 30+ years of extensive managerial, operations, technical, project and financial experience in Canada, Europe and Asia. His experience covers the whole life cycle of a mine from studies, engineering, construction, commissioning and operations to closure. In addition, he has in-depth technical expertise in process engineering, plant design, construction, commissioning and closure, project and operations management, plant evaluation and optimization, NI43-101 compliant feasibility studies, metallurgical testing, R&D for base, precious, ferrous, and specialty metals and industrial minerals. Qualified Person under NI43-101, Professional Engineer of Ontario, Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) under the PMI, Certified Cost Professional (CCP) under the AACEI. 

Amin Dhillon, B.Comm, Director of Communications

Amin Dhillon joins Avalon after a decade working in national media. She has extensive experience working with brands and media outlets to create and produce digital media content and branded communications. Her media work specializes in sharing stories that focus on diversity and inclusion. 

Amin graduated from the University of Manitoba with a degree in commerce.