The most meaningful work requires looking inward, first.

Andrea van Vugt

Andrea van Vugt is the Alberta Provincial Director for Disability Without Poverty, a movement led by people with disabilities to fast-track a Canadian Disability Benefit. 

She is the Founder and President of the Disability Pride Alberta Foundation, a volunteer led non-profit organization committed to celebrating, educating, and empowering the disability community.

Andrea received the City of Calgary’s Advocacy Award and sits on the City of Calgary’s Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Andrea is committed to providing a disability lens to conversations regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Cecilia Chen
CFO at SmartBe Wealth Inc.

Cecilia is the CFO at SmartBe Wealth and began her career by winning the top graduate award from one of the Big Four accounting firms and went on to become a Senior Financial Analyst at a large natural gas storage company. For the past 6 years, she’s moved up the ranks of the world’s largest non-bank ATM operators to the role of Vice President Finance. Cecilia is also a dedicated volunteer. Her work with CPA Alberta earned her the Early Achievement Award. She is a first-generation immigrant to Canada and is committed to bringing awareness and a sense of possibility to women from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Cindy Rogers
VP Finance & Administration at Project Reconciliation

Cindy has extensive background in Finance and Accounting. She is on the board of the Calgary Region Immigrant Employment Council and UNDRCARD (boxing studio).  She is the VP Finance & Administration at Project Reconciliation, which is a First Nations-led initiative to secure majority Indigenous ownership in Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline and other large energy infrastructure projects.

Deanna Zumwalt
President at Coril Holdings Ltd.

Deanna Zumwalt is the President and CEO of Coril Holdings Ltd, and is responsible for the overall performance of Coril including the financial performance of its portfolio of operating companies and investments. Deanna has 25 years experience in the energy industry and investment management, along with a breadth of experience in finance, governance, marketing, and strategic planning.  She is the mother of four children, and has witnessed the impact of unconscious bias and racism on her three adopted black children.

Gabriela Pino

Gabriela is a dedicated fund developer with over 7 years of experience in the charitable sector. She is originally from Ecuador where she started her own chocolate-making business inspired by her sister. Gabriela holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Calgary with a specialization in entrepreneurship and innovation and is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE). Gabriela is passionate about equity and inclusion. She is driven by her entrepreneurial and philanthropic spirit and committed to building a just society for all.

Kylie Woods

Mother of identical twins and founder of Chic Geek, a Calgary-based non-profit that curates people, content and companies to build an inclusive community where tech-enabled women advance their careers, Kylie is passionate about improving gender diversity in technology.

 A "Need to Know" in Alberta Venture and profiled by the Mount Royal University Summit Magazine in their feature on Women in STEM, Kylie has represented Alberta in the prestigious International Visitors Leadership Program hosted by the US Department of State and was a voice for women in STEM on an international stage.

Rebecca Foshole-Luke
Founder Executive Director at Family Advocacy Support Centre

Rebecca Foshole-Luke is a forensic social worker who is passionate about the intersection of social work and the law. Her work is currently focused on dismantling and transforming the family policing "child welfare" system to ensure more equitable outcomes for families that are in crisis. She is the founder and Executive Director of the new organization Family Advocacy Support Centre (FASC). Rebecca is passionate about exploring how trauma-informed, antiracist community-centered, and equitable approaches can transform the way we provide social services. She is deeply invested in prioritizing individuals with lived experiences in her approach to systems change. Rebecca uses her lived experiences, education, and skills to find ways to influence anti-racist and anti-oppressive organizational and policy changes. She hopes to continue to contribute to finding solutions that will allow individuals systematically excluded to truly thrive and have access to equitable resources and support.

About the Family Advocacy Support Centre (FASC).

Our mission is to provide support, education, and advocacy for parents and caregivers impacted by the child welfare system. Alberta has limited socio-legal resources for those with child protection matters. We are focused on early prevention, community collaborations and partnerships that help prevent families facing challenges from being reported to child protection services.  We provide peer support circles, legal education information sessions, and advocacy support pre and post-apprehension. We want to empower parents with the tools and connect them to supports that will allow them to parent safely and keep children at home and out of the foster system. Our vision is that all children, families, and communities have the resources and support they need to flourish and thrive.  

Shanika Abeysinghe

At the age of 23 while maintaining a role in communications at the Calgary Drop-In Centre.

Shanika was named Executive Director of the Marda Loop Justice Film Festival (a Calgary-based socially conscious documentary film festival). Since then she has advocated for vulnerable Calgarians non-stop, sitting on committees for organizations like: Kids Help Phone, Calgary International Film Festival, Canadian International Fashion Film Festival, Famous 5 Foundation, University of Calgary Alumni Arts & Culture Council, and the Calgary Stampede.

These days as founder of Bessie Box Shanika leads storytelling, marketing, and customer success.

Tamara Woolgar
Executive Director at The A100

With a career in public relations spanning more than 19 years in corporate, agency, and freelance environments, today Tamara is Executive Director of the A100, a group of experienced startup founders and executives who mentor and support Alberta-based tech entrepreneurs. She is biracial and has become increasingly invested in BLM activism, and her memoir, “A Flawless Mistake: Tales From a Beautiful Life of Colossal F*ckups”, was published in July 2020 by Friesen Press.