Board of Directors

AAFRE is governed by an experienced board of directors made up from various parts of the Alberta community. They are elected at the Annual General Meeting, which is traditionally held in conjunction with the June luncheon meeting. Without the participation of the following people, AAFRE would not be where it is today. Their commitment, hard work, and dedication to the cause of the Society has raised awareness for the plight of philanthropic giving in Alberta, and improved the success of such endeavours for all of AAFRE's members.

AAFRE's Board of Directors is recruiting new members. If you are interested in an exciting and educational professional opportunity, please contact Carmen Boyko. 

President

Carmen Boyko

Carmen is the Marketing Coordinator for YOUCAN Youth Services. "This is an exciting opportunity as I'll be creating a marketing and fundraising strategy where there was none." Loving the opportunity to work closely with the youth that take part in YOUCAN Youth Services programming, Carmen's work will include impact statements, personal stories and public awareness campaigns.

Carmen has been involved with non-profit organizations for over 15 years, working for various charities, including the Canadian LIver Foundation, HIV Edmonton,
Alberta Easter Seals and the Alberta SPCA.

Carmen has been an active member in AAFRE since 1997. She has served as Secretary, Professional Development Chair and is in her first year as President. Her other committee work includes the AAFRE Tradeshow and the Celebrate Excellence Luncheon.

Past President

 Janet Tryhuba, CFRE

Janet began her Fund Development career with the YMCA in 2000 as the Manager for the Jamie Platz YMCA where she played a key role in the development in the Annual Strong Kids Campaign and with development of the YMCA's Straight From the Heart Capital Campaign.

In January 2004, Janet was appointed as Manager for Community Relations and Fund Development with responsibilities for the West Division of the Straight From the Heart Capital Campaign, Communications & Marketing, and leadership for the YMCA's Annual Fund Development Program. In 2008, Janet achieved attaining her CFRE designation, and was appointed to the role of General Manager, Relationship Development and Engagement.

Janet has been an active member in AAFRE since 2004. She served as the Marketing Director and is in the first year as President. Her other committee work includes the Alberta Fundraisers' Golf and Social Event, AAFRE Tradeshow, and Celebrate Excellence Committees. Janet is also the Administration Contract Liaison for AAFRE. 
 

Vice President /Executive Secretary

Leona Yez

Leona Yez has 20 years experience in the area of Fund Development and Communication. She began her career at the Glenrose Foundation and then moved on to the Boys' & Girls' Clubs of Edmonton where she implemented a comprehensive fund development program including Board development, annual and major gifts, corporate sponsorships and planned giving.

Since that time, Leona has focused primarily on the communications side of fund development, five years with the Edmonton Community Foundation and four years as a consultant to the charitable sector. Her consultancy work has focused primarily on strategic communications as it pertains to fund development as well as mentoring senior management around fund development planning, implementation and evaluation.

Treasurer

Bill Rees

Bill worked in radio, television, and public relations in Regina before moving to Edmonton, where he joined the Public Affairs Bureau of the Government of Alberta. He has since been active in the church and several community groups. He was President of the local chapter of the Edmonton Public Relations Society and is an accredited member of the Canadian Public Relations Society.

Bill is a participating member of the Edmonton YMCA and currently a full-time volunteer. He has traveled to South America and Southeast Asia on behalf of the YMCA, helping to develop relationships with the community YMCAs in those areas.
Bill has been involved in several fundraising programs, has served local organizations in programming roles, and has volunteered with the Provincial Fund Development conferences.

Professional Development

 Pam Miller

Pam began her career in fund development in 1996 with Kids Kottage. After working several years for the Government of Alberta as Executive Assistant to the Director of Personnel, and after she tried her hand at teaching playschool, she joined the team at the Foundation for The Love Children/Kids Kottage. Her present position is Development Director for Edmonton's only crisis nursery.

Before joining the AAFRE Board, Pam served on the program committee, helping to recruit luncheon speakers and providing advice on development-related topics.

Celebrate Excellence

Laura Svajlenko
Laura has been on the board of AAFRE since 2007. Loving the connection to the development community, always learning from the diverse topics, speakers and networking that takes place at monthly luncheons while supporting the development community in a bigger way are all reasons Laura continues to serve.  Having worked in development field for six years, Laura has recently started a new role as a Campaign Manager for the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region.

Communications / Marketing

Lisa Evangelos

Membership

Vacant

Program

Joan Paton

Government of Alberta Liaisons

Scott Hood 

Minister’s Designate, Charitable Fund-raising Act
Service Alberta, Consumer Services Branch

Since 1995 Scott has been involved with legislation to protect consumers in Alberta. His responsibilities
include the administration of the Charitable Fund-raising Act as the Minister’s Designate, Franchises Act
and he has been delegated as the Director of Fair Trading under the Fair Trading Act.

Scott has been a liaison to the Alberta Association of Fund Raising Executives Board since 1999. In March of 2007, Scott was honoured to receive the Outstanding Service Award from AAFRE. He is also the Department of Service Alberta’s liaison to the Charitable Advisory Committee of which a number of AAFRE members participate. Scott also contributed in the drafting of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada’s harmonized fund raising legislation. In 2006 the Deputy Minister appointed Scott to the Collaborative Committee of the Alberta Non-Profit/Voluntary Sector Initiative (ANVSI).

In 1999, Scott was awarded the Premier’s Award of Excellence (Gold) for his part in developing the Consumer Affairs Tracking System (CATS) and CanShare, which has greatly improved the department’s ability to license businesses, register charities and allows law enforcement agencies to track consumer complaints across Canada. On October 11, 2005, the Consumer Services Branch was awarded another Premier’s Award of Excellence (Bronze).

Dianne Johnson

Manager, Culture & Community Spirit

Dianne brings to the board a perspective from the voluntary sector with current knowledge of the issues
affecting it, in both rural and urban settings. Dianne has been supporting Alberta’s volunteer and not-for-profit organizations for over 30 years in her roles with the provincial government. Dianne, her staff, and her colleagues, located geographically across the province, work to increase the knowledge, skills and abilities of individuals, organizations and community groups to meet the goals that they have set for themselves, with an over reaching aim to improve the quality of life for all Albertans. They provide facilitation and training services in areas such as strategic planning, board development, leadership training and public participation.

A recent initiative in this branch has been the Alberta Not-for-Profit Voluntary Sector Initiative (ANVSI) to create a relationship between the voluntary sector and government. The Alberta Community Spirit Program and other lottery funded grant programs are also delivered from the Community and Voluntary Service Division of Alberta Culture and Community Spirit in which Dianne works.

In her role with the Alberta Government, Dianne is also a member of the Premier’s Award of Excellence Leadership Team. In 2009, Dianne was honoured to receive the AAFRE Celebrate Excellence Award for Outstanding Service.

Bonnie Yaskiw
Director, Licensing and Charitable Gaming
Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC)

Bonnie Yaskiw, Director, Licensing and Charitable Gaming, Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission
(AGLC) brings over 30 years of experience in dealing with the gaming and liquor industries in Alberta.
Bonnie leads a strong team of dedicated AGLC employees focused on the licensing, regulating and monitoring of liquor and gaming activities in the province. Bonnie and her colleagues strive to provide exceptional customer service to stakeholders, while ensuring that the integrity of gaming and liquor activities is upheld. Significant focus is directed to maximizing the financial return to stakeholders and balancing the needs of social responsibility.

Alberta’s unique charitable gaming model provides opportunities for eligible charitable and religious organizations to conduct bingos, casinos, raffles and pull-ticket sales and direct the proceeds realized from these events towards many worthwhile community projects for the benefit of Albertans at large. The AGLC staff work closely with charitable organizations to ensure successful gaming events. The staff also offer gaming information sessions (GAIN) to help charities understand and comply with the requirements of the Gaming and Liquor Act, Regulation and AGLC Policies.



The Alberta Association of Fundraising Executives is incorporated under the Societies Act in the Province of Alberta.