NAIMA Canada Staff

Jay Nordenstrom is the Executive Director of NAIMA Canada representing the mineral fiber insulation manufacturers. He promotes energy efficiency and environmental preservation through the use of members’ products and encourages the safe production and use of these materials. Mr. Nordenstrom helped found Efficiency Canada, our nation’s leading voice for energy efficiency. Formerly, Jay was Executive Director for the Canadian Association of Railway Suppliers. Prior to leading associations, Mr. Nordenstrom worked for the Mayor of Ottawa as well as the federal Secretary of State, International Financial Institutions.

Jay was a former executive member of the Carleton University Board of Governors, and was the President of the Carleton University Alumni Association and a former member of the Carleton University Senate. He was also actively involved with a variety of charitable causes including the United Way where he received the Community Builder Award. He is also a past volunteer and board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa.

He was awarded Ottawa’s Forty Under 40 distinction which recognises accomplished leaders who are under the age of 40 and also give back to their community.

Andy Cockburn is a Red Seal General Carpenter with practical experience in custom home building, panelized construction, timber framing, stair construction, architectural drafting, and historic restoration. After years of working in Eastern Ontario as a carpenter, Andy was brought into teaching with Algonquin College’s Perth Campus in their Construction Carpentry Advanced Housing program, where he stayed for 15+ years. During his tenure, he was the recipient of several awards including the NISOD Excellence Award and the Algonquin Student’s Association Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Since 2012, Andy has been a member of the Lanark and Leeds Home Builders’ Association, serving on their Board of Directors, as well as taking on roles as vice president (2016 – 2017) and president (2017 through 2023). 

In 2016, Andy trained with Canadian Passive House International in Ottawa (CanPHI), and successfully became a Certified Passive House Consultant in 2017. That same year, Andy completed training in the CHBA’s Net Zero Building Science.

As part of his work at NAIMA Canada, Andy serves on the Board of Directors with B.C.’s Home Performance Stakeholder Council, as well as on the Program Advisory Council for Techsploration in Ontario. His committee and board work includes participation in technical standards development with the ULC S700 (S702.1, S702.2 & S714) Committee(s) on Thermal Performance and Energy Use in the Built Environment and the CSA Technical Committee for Standard Z301 on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Apprenticeship Programs.

Gary Sharp is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario. Gary has been involved in the construction and renovation industry for over 25 years, always working towards improving the energy efficiency of Canadian housing.

Gary is a member of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) and has contributed to the industry by managing and writing the updates to the national CHBA Builders’ Manual for the last 5 editions spanning 25 years. The Renovators’ Manual and the Builders’ Manual both provide students with a technical understanding of building science and the details of how to build or renovate homes to meet the Net Zero and Net Zero Ready technical requirements. He authored the “Ask an R-2000 Expert” column for Homes and Cottages Magazine. Gary also coordinated and co-authored the Advanced Houses Workshop Manual.

While at the CHBA, Gary was staff lead on their Technical Research Committee and the Canadian Renovator Council and Home Modification Council. Mr. Sharp served as representative on the National Building Code advisory body, committees and working groups as well as representative on various CSA Standards.

Gary was also responsible for upgrades to the R-2000 Technical Requirement for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and provided technical expertise to for the Advanced Houses Program within NRCan.

In addition to his work with CHBA and NRCan, Gary facilitated technical expertise for the Ontario Ministry of Housing and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Canada (CMHC). Gary was also responsible for preparing various technical fact sheets for the R-2000 program.

Jillian is the Communications Specialist for NAIMA Canada, where she assists with website curation and facilitates digital communication strategies that help advance NAIMA Canada’s environmental preservation efforts. These strategies include outreach, content creation, digital marketing, social media, research, analytics, and reporting. She aligns social and creative development for projects, and has a focus on policy, advocacy, and workforce development.

Jillian sits on the Canada Green Building Council’s Workforce 2030 Coalition and the National Deep Retrofit Working Group and volunteers with Techsploration, an organization that empowers young women to explore careers in science, trades, engineering, and technology.

Prior to joining the NAIMA Canada team, Jillian received her Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Communications Studies as well as a post-graduate diploma with academic distinction from Algonquin College in Interactive Multimedia and Graphic Design.