Members of the BoG

Cathy Williams was appointed to the Board of Governors in October 2003 and designated Board Chair in October 2007. Ms. Williams is a member of the Board’s Academic Affairs, Audit and Finance, Human Resources and Compensation, Campus Development, Governance and Nominating (Chair), and External Affairs Committees.

Ms. Williams is Managing Director, Options Capital Ltd. In 2007, she retired as the Chief Financial Officer at Shell Canada Limited, having commenced her career with Shell in 1984 as a Senior Analyst in Corporate Finance. Since then, she held several positions with Shell in Canada and in London, England, including Head of Group Central Funds for the Shell International Petroleum Company; Manager of Crude Supply and Trading; Treasurer; and, Controller for Shell Europe Oil Products. Prior to joining Shell Canada Limited, Ms. Williams was employed by Nova Corporation, and the Bank of Canada in Ottawa and Toronto. Ms. Williams’ community involvement has included membership on the Boards of Directors of Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta and the United Way of Calgary, both of which she chaired.

Mr. John Giesbrecht — Chief Financial Officer, Energy Resources Conservation Board

John Giesbrecht was appointed to the Board of Governors in October 2004. He is Board Vice-Chair, a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee, Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee, and Chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee.

Mr. Giesbrecht is the Chief Financial Officer for the Energy Resources Conservation Board (formerly Alberta Energy and Utilities Board), a position he has held since 2002. Prior to that, Mr. Giesbrecht held various senior positions in industry. His background also includes a prior appointment as an Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Windsor. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds B.Sc. and MBA degrees. Mr. Giesbrecht is no stranger to Mount Royal, having served as an Executive-in-Residence in the School for Business and Entrepreneurial Studies (now the Bissett School of Business) from 2001 to 2002, and a member of the Accounting Program Advisory Committee from 2001 to 2004 (Vice-Chair in 2003 and Chair in 2004).

Ms. Linda Black — Lawyer

Linda Black was appointed to the Board of Governors in September 2006. She Chairs the Board’s Academic Affairs Committee, and is a member of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee and External Affairs Committee. Ms. Black represents the Board on the General Faculties Council.

Mrs. Black serves on the Law Enforcement Review Board of Alberta and the Board of Directors of the Certified Management Accountants of Alberta. Mrs. Black holds an LLB and an LLM from Dalhousie University and the University of Ottawa, respectively. She has worked in various senior executive government roles and served as the founding General Counsel at the University of Calgary.

Ms. Marie Delorme — President, The Imagination Group

Marie Delorme was appointed to the Board of Governors in August 2007, and serves on the Board’s Academic Affairs Committee, Governance and Nominating Committee, Human Resources and Compensation Committee, and Chairs the Campus Development Committee.

Ms. Delorme is President of The Imagination Group, a private consulting practice working with industry, government, bands and tribal councils and specializing in Aboriginal economic and business development. She also owns imagiNATION Cards Inc. which promotes the work of Aboriginal artists. Ms. Delorme is a recipient of the 2005 Alberta Centennial Medal, the Métis Nation Entrepreneurial Leadership Award, and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Salute to Excellence Award. She holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and has commenced PhD studies at the University of Calgary.

Ms. Jennifer Diakiw — Vice-President, Fund Development, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, Northwest Territories and Nunavut

Jennifer Diakiw was appointed to the Board of Governors in October 2008. Ms. Diakiw is the Vice-President, Fund Development, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Ms. Diakiw retired from the University of Calgary as the Faculty of Education’s Director of Fund Development and External Relations. Prior to joining the University of Calgary, Ms. Diakiw worked as the Donor Relations Coordinator and the Executive Assistant of the Investment Foundation at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT).

From 1991 to 1997, Ms. Diakiw worked for the Government of Alberta as the Executive Assistant to the Managing Director, Public Affairs Bureau and then as Special Assistant to the Minister of Economic Development/Minister of Labour. She served as a political volunteer on several occasions.

Ms. Diakiw is active in the community including serving as Past Chair of the Management Committee for Special Olympics Calgary, Board member of the Calgary Counselling Centre, and Incoming Board Member for Special Olympics Alberta.

Mrs. Dawn Farrell — Executive Vice-President, Commercial Operations and Development, TransAlta Corporation

Dawn Farrell was appointed to the Board of Governors in October 2008. Since 2007, Mrs. Farrell is Executive Vice-President, Commercial Operations and Development, for TransAlta Corporation. Prior to that, she served as Executive Vice-President, Generation with BC Hydro from 2003-2007 before returning to Calgary to rejoin TransAlta Corporation. From 1985 to 2003, Mrs. Farrell held positions at a variety of levels within the TransAlta organization, including Vice-President and Executive Vice-President levels.

Mrs. Farrell is a former Vice-Chair and member of the Mount Royal Board of Governors (from 2000 to 2003), and a former member of the Mount Royal Foundation Board of Directors (from 2002-2007). Mrs. Farrell holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance and a Master of Arts in Economics, both from the University of Calgary.

Dr. Kelly Hewson — Instructor, Department of English, Mount Royal College

Kelly Hewson was appointed to the Board of Governors in July 2007 as the faculty member and is a member of the Board’s Academic Affairs Committee, Campus Development Committee, and Governance and Nominating Committee.

Dr. Hewson joined the College community in 1993, after having worked at the Universities of Alberta, Athabasca and Calgary in a part-time capacity. During her tenure at Mount Royal College, Dr. Hewson has taught postcolonial literature, film and poetry as well as basic and advanced composition in the English and Communications Departments. She helped develop curriculum for one of the first applied degrees in Communications; served on numerous Mount Royal Faculty Association and departmental committees; served as a member of Calgary’s International Wordfest Board; and chaired the judging of the Caribbean-Canadian region of the Commonwealth Writers Prize 1998-2000, a literary prize she co-organized, with College support, in Calgary in May 2003. Dr. Hewson has presented at numerous conferences at home and abroad. Her recent work has focused on ice hockey and popular culture; the pedagogy of affect; and the image of the nation in film.

Ms. Norma Kenward — Administrative Assistant, Office of the Dean and Associate Dean, Faculty of Health and Community Studies, Mount Royal College

Norma Kenward was appointed to the Board of Governors in August 2006 as the support staff member and is a member of the Board’s Academic Affairs Committee and the Audit and Finance Committee.

Ms. Kenward joined Mount Royal College in November of 1988 as a member of the administrative team in the Department of Nursing, and in August of 2000 moved into the role of Administrative Assistant in the Office of the Dean and Associate Dean, Faculty of Health and Community Studies. Ms. Kenward was a Mount Royal Support Staff Association (MRSSA) Unit Representative for 10 years, and has served on a number of College and MRSSA Committees, including the MRSSA Negotiations Team, from July 1998 through June 2002.

Mr. Matt Koczkur — Vice-President, External, Students’ Association of Mount Royal College

Matt Koczkur was appointed to the Board of Governors in May of 2008 and was nominated by the Students’ Association of Mount Royal College to serve as the student member. He is a member of the Governance and Nominating Committee, Audit and Finance Committee, Academic Affairs Committee, and Campus Development Committee.

Mr. Koczkur had been a student at Mount Royal for nearly 5 years before he was elected to the position of Vice-President, External for the Students’ Association in 2007; he was re-elected in 2008 to serve an additional term. He is currently completing a Bachelor’s of Applied Policy Studies and aspires to diversify his current education through extensive travelling and the pursuit of further credentials in the areas of Eastern Religious Studies and Philosophy. Currently Mr. Koczkur is also serving as the Chair of the Alberta College and Technical Institute Student Executive Council (ACTISEC), an organization representing over 120,000 students from across Alberta.

Mr. Bruce MacKenzie — Regional President, Alberta and the Territories, RBC Royal Bank

Bruce MacKenzie was appointed to the Board of Governors in April 2008 and is a member of the Audit and Finance Committee, Campus Development Committee, and External Affairs Committee.

Mr. MacKenzie is the Regional President, Alberta and the Territories, responsible for the overall management of RBC Royal Bank’s financial planning, personal small business and commercial banking operations. He has held this position since August 2001. He joined the Royal Bank in 1980 and has held various positions of increasing responsibility since then.

Bruce MacKenzie is a Director of the Alberta Business Family Institute and the Alberta Bone and Joint Institute, as well as being an active supporter of the United Way and numerous other charities in various volunteer roles. Mr. MacKenzie is on the Board of Governors for Mount Royal College and the Calgary Petroleum Club and he also serves on the fundraising cabinets for Heritage Park, Bow Valley College, Reach! (Calgary Health Trust and the University of Calgary’s collaboration), S.T.A.R.S. (Alberta’s Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service) and the Foundation Board of Mount Royal College.

Dr. David Marshall — President, Mount Royal College

Dave Marshall has been a member of the Board of Governors since his appointment as Mount Royal's 8th President on September 1, 2003. As President, Dr. Marshall serves as ex-officio member on all of the Board's Committees: Academic Affairs, Audit and Finance, Governance and Nominating, Human Resources and Compensation, Campus Development, and External Affairs.

Prior to joining Mount Royal College, Dr. Marshall was President and Vice-Chancellor of Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, for 13 years, during which time he guided the institution’s transition to university status. A distinguished educator, scholar and researcher, Dr. Marshall has published extensively on the subject of leadership and administration. In his capacity as President, Dr. Marshall chairs or serves on numerous institutional committees and groups, including the Budget Advisory Committee, University Implementation Committee, College Management Group, Faculty Tenure Committee and General Faculties Council.

Ms. Ruth Ramsden-Wood — President, The United Way of Calgary and Area

Ruth Ramsden-Wood was appointed to the Board of Governors in October 2007 and is a member of the Academic Affairs Committee, Governance and Nominating Committee, and External Affairs Committee. She has served the community as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Way of Calgary and Area since 1997.

Ms. Ramsden-Wood is a member of the Homeless Foundation Board, past chair of the Southern Alberta Child and Youth Health Network, past Co-Chair of ImagineCALGARY roundtable to create a 100-year vision for Calgary and a member of the Steering Committee for the Calgary Economic Development Strategy for The City of Calgary. Ms. Ramsden-Wood holds a Master of Arts Degree from Columbia University. She was awarded the Strategic Leadership Forum’s President of the Year award in 2001, the first Honorary Bachelor for Applied Non-Profit Studies from Mount Royal College in 2002, and Calgary’s Management and Staff Team Award for outstanding employee and volunteer engagement. In 2007, she received the 2007 Woman of Vision award and the 2007 Top 100 Women in Canada award. Ms. Ramsden-Wood has dedicated her life to helping people reach their full potential and creating lasting change in community conditions.

Mr. Richard Shaw — Partner, McCarthy Tetrault LLP

Richard Shaw was appointed to the Board of Governors in August 2006. He is a member of the Board’s Audit and Finance Committee and Governance and Nominating Committee, and he Chairs the External Affairs Committee.

Mr. Shaw is a partner with McCarthy Tétrault LLP specializing in corporate governance, securities and mergers and acquisitions and has been with that firm since 1971. He is a Governor of the Glenbow Museum and a board member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Chair of the Calgary Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors. In the past, Mr. Shaw has served as a director of Theatre Calgary and on the Fundraising Committee of Discovery House.

(member list and bios from http://www.mtroyal.ca/AboutMountRoyal/OfficesGovernance/BoardofGovernors...)