Board of Directors 2011-2012

List of Current Board of Directors

Roxann Amyotte

Roxann Amyotte is a consultant and facilitator who assists non-profit agencies to make the best use of their resources and maximize operations. She has a passion for effective governance and is a Volunteer Instructor with the Alberta Community Spirit Board Governance Program.

Roxann brings over 25 years of experience in government, corporate and nonprofit businesses. She holds a certificate in non-profit management and has developed and facilitated training and workshops. She has a unique point of view as she has worked with a private philanthropic foundation, was an executive director, and is a committed volunteer. Roxann currently serves on the Board of the Family of Women, Inc. as Vice Chair and Communications Lead, with experience in reviewing and drafting effective policy. She is an active participant in her local Chapter, was a mentor for junior high school students, and participates in a variety of community service projects.

Lise Blanchette

Lise Blanchette is an experienced non-profit board member with several years of experience in the areas of human resources, volunteerism, recruitment, policy development and strategic direction.

Lise is currently working in the Health Care sector as the Coordinator, Volunteer Services for Bethany Airdrie, a long term care centre and Bethany Harvest Hills, a long term care centre with a focus on dementia. In addition, she sits on the National Board of Directors for the YWCA of Canada and is Co-Chair of the Nominations Committee and chair the World Relations Task Force; she is also the current President of the Airdrie Food Bank Board. She also has previous experience as the Director, YWCA Calgary, Vice President Alberta Council of Women's Shelters, Chair of the Social and Legal Action Committee ACWS, and Vice President Child Find Alberta. Lise's work experience spans over 27 years with the Federal Government in Client Service, Human Resources, Program management with youth, Hire a Student, Administration and the Employment Insurance program.

Lise is a passionate volunteer, following in the words of George Bernard Shaw, "I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generations."

Jaro Cooper

Jaro brings 15 years of strategic, analytical and people expertise helping organizations solve complex business issues both in Canada and internationally. He has a Master's of Business from Haskayne Business School and an undergrad from the University of Waterloo. He recognizes the importance of volunteering in community and supports a number of different organizations. Currently Jaro is a consultant with Cenovus Energy.

Colin Cochran

Colin Cochran has been involved in a managerial role in Sales and Marketing with Imperial Oil, for over 15 years and currently holds the position of Industrial Sales Manager - Western Canada. He is an active volunteer and has participated on a number of local non-profit boards in Calgary including the Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth; where he served on the board and as a committee member on the Board Development Committee. His volunteer roles have also included acting as the Co-Chair on the Sam Livingston School Council, volunteering for United Way Days of Caring, volunteering as a Management Consultant with Centre Point and with Junior Achievement.

Colin is married with two young daughters and enjoys spending time with his family. He is an aspiring competitive tri-athlete, and spends the rest of his free time renovating or tinkering with cars.

Stephen Detrey (Board Chair)

Stephen is a Chartered Management Accountant from the UK and a Certified Management Accountant Alberta (CMA). Having graduated with an arts degree, Stephen's 'first career' was in Arts management in London UK, before qualifying as an accountant and moving to Calgary in 2001. With a passion for animals Stephen has supported various charitable organizations including training as a volunteer docent at Calgary Zoo and supporting the RSPCA in various capacities in the UK, he also continues to pursue his interests in the arts. Stephen currently works for Ernst and Young in their Business Advisory practice here in Calgary.

Christopher Dougherty (Board Treasurer/Secretary)

Christopher Dougherty has four years experience as an employee of Scouts Canada, where he is responsible for more than 700 program and administrative volunteers operating 55 community based programs. Through his work, he has developed several tools and processes to improve Scouting's volunteer support that have received national adoption. He also has a strong connection with the United Way of Calgary and Area's workplace campaigns, having delivered more than 50 workplace campaign speeches at companies throughout the city through their Ambassador of the Way program.

In his spare time, he is volunteering with a provincial organization to help them establish a new volunteer program. In the past he has volunteered with the Calgary Search and Rescue Association, Scouts Canada, and various schools.

He has formal education and experience in program planning and evaluation, logic models, outcome measurement, and project management.

Karen Gallagher-Burt

Karen Gallagher-Burt MSW (c), RSW is the Volunteer Program Supervisor at Distress Centre Calgary. Karen leads a team of five staff and 200 plus volunteers in offering crisis line services to Calgary and area. Karen has previously worked in training, marketing and in various roles in the not-for-profit community.

Karen holds her Bachelors in Social Work from the University of Calgary and is currently completing graduate studies in the same area, and is a 2010 Leadership Calgary Alumni. Karen has served on a rural FCSS board and as Vice-President of Calgary OUTlink's Board of Directors and as secretary on the Calgary and Area Foster Parenting Association's board. Karen was the recipient of the 2010 Leadership in Volunteer Management Award from Volunteer Calgary and brings passion, enthusiasm and energy to her new role on the Board of Directors of Volunteer Calgary.

Heather Kinghorn

Heather is an independent consultant with over 15 years of experience in operational and financial accounting in the oil and gas industry. Heather brings to Volunteer Calgary her ability to be effective in a constantly changing environment, her strategic approach to problem solving as well as her great people skills. Heather has enjoyed giving her support to numerous charitable causes over the years and is very involved in her community from being past treasurer of the Curling Club to coaching soccer. Heather has a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is a Certified Management Accountant.

Dianne Liwanag

Dianne Liwanag believes that the business world and nonprofit world are not mutually exclusive. While Dianne has a drive for business and entrepreneurship, she gets great satisfaction in working to build a better, inclusive, and vibrant community through the nonprofit sector. She works for Amberg Corp. - an environmental consulting company specializing in air and audits. She also works as a part time Project Manager for a water sustainability project with the United Nations Association in Canada. She has over 20 years experience volunteering all over the world including the arctic, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Philippines. Since moving to Calgary in 2004, she has actively been involved with many organizations as a volunteer. These include the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Alberta Cancer Foundation, Calgary Bridge Foundation, Bow Valley College – ESL program, and Global Fest. When not working or volunteering you can find her teaching Swedish at the Swedish Language School of Calgary.

Janeen Scott

Janeen Scott's ongoing commitment to the Calgary community is demonstrated by her many volunteer endeavors. Currently she volunteers as a Career Coach at the Calgary Public Library offering support with networking, resumes and interview skills to job seeking Calgarians. First as a volunteer member and then as Vice President of the Artemis Foundation Janeen co-lead a team of women who hosted Gallery Calorie, a walking and tasting tour of 17th Ave SW, to raise funds for local grassroots charities. A past Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) national champion herself, Janeen now actively coaches, supports and has served as a judge for SIFE on an local and national level, encouraging post secondary students to positively impact their communities through hands-on business experience.

In her role of Human Resource Manager, Employee Relations and Recruitment at Enerflex Ltd, she actively coaches managers through change management, difficult conversations and strives to make Enerflex an employer of choice in the Alberta marketplace. Janeen holds a Business Degree, with a major in Human Resources, from Brock University.

Virginia Trawick (Board Vice Chair)

Virginia accumulated more than 15 years of experience in accounting and finance, mostly in the non-profit sector before making a focused shift to the field of organizational development in her current role as the Director, Organizational Effectiveness at the YWCA of Calgary. She is responsible for overall people management including staff and volunteers and is delighted to see the continuing growth of volunteering and the capacity it is bringing to the sector. She is passionate about volunteerism and its potential to engage people in the non-profit community. She has held voluntary positions in a variety of organizations including as a community volunteer on the YWCA of Calgary finance and audit committee prior to being employed there, treasurer of the Alberta Association of YWCA's and ongoing roles in community schools. Virginia has completed training in leadership and strategic planning, has a Bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Calgary and is a Certified General Accountant.

Martha Willson

Martha connects people with the resources they need to be successful. As a senior career coach and educator of adults in transition, she has assisted thousands of people in finding meaningful work. Recent experience includes supporting internationally educated professionals
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Martha has over 25 years' experience working one-on-one with clients and facilitating group learning. She has designed and delivered various seminars focused on building an effective marketing campaign for career success. Volunteer experience includes President, YWCA of Calgary, Founder and President, Calgary Women's Network, Member, Calgary Association Professional Coaches and involvement with various community organizations.

In addition to holding BA and BEd degrees, Martha recently was awarded her CPCC designation. She is certified to deliver the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, True Colours and Personality Dimensions programs.