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.

President

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.

Past President

Cindy Wilson
Cindy has been employed in long-term care service thirty years. She has displayed her leadership skills in such positions as Director of Recreation Services, Coordinator of Volunteer Services, and Director of Pastoral Care. She has offered her support to the CAPITAL CARE Group, the CAPITAL CARE Foundation, several Alzheimer Care Centres in the region, and most recently, the Dianne & Irving Kipnes Centre for Veterans. She has over twenty-five years of experience organizing conferences and thirty years of special-events planning. Her educational background is in Marketing, Health, and Business Administration.

Cindy has been a member of AAFRE for twelve years, serving on the Board of Directors for the past nine as President, Secretary, Administration Contract Liaison, and Privacy Officer.

Vice President

Janet Tryhuba
Janet began her Fund Development career with the YMCA 2000 as 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 West End Straight From the Heart 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 Campaign, Communications & Marketing, and leadership for the YMCA's Annual Fund Development Program.

Janet has been an active member in AAFRE since 2004. She served as the Marketing Director and is the current Vice President for AAFRE. Her other committee work includes the Alberta Golf and Social Event, AAFRE Tradeshow, and Celebrate Excellence Committees.

Executive Secretary

Carmen Boyko
Carmen began her fundraising career eleven years ago with the Alberta SPCA, after spending several years working in the marketing departments of local shopping malls. She then decided to take a few years off to spend time with her daughter, during which time she continued to volunteer for several Edmonton groups. Carmen returned to the field seven years ago to work as Manager, Funds Development with HIV Edmonton and is now the Special Events Coordinator for Alberta Easter Seals.

Carmen has been a member of AAFRE for over six years and is currently working on her CFRE accreditation.

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.

Marketing

Donna Roth
Donna is a Senior Vice President of Marketing & Environmental Affairs for Douglas Printing. She is responsible for all marketing initiatives; as well as for reviewing and updating environmental policy and corporate commitment for the protection of the environment. Donna is also the FSC Chain-of-Custody Certification Coordinator, which involves enforcing the compliance of certification standards and monitoring the site to verify that CoC procedures are being followed. She is also responsible for the orientation and training of staff on environmental policies and procedures.

Donna has spent the past four years in the printing industry. Prior to that, she spent eighteen years in the not-for-profit sector with an extensive background in marketing and communications. She holds a certificate in Marketing, as well as certification in Non-profit Management and Fundraising from the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy.

Communications

Judith Paquin
Judith serves as the Communications and Development Manager for E4C. She was born and raised in Edmonton and has pursued many local and international challenges.

After working for ten years in the social services field Judith returned to school to pursue her designation in Journalism. Judith worked at the Edmonton Journal until 1997, when she was presented with an opportunity to travel to Africa and work for an International Development NGO, evaluating a groundbreaking health care project.

In 2000, Judith returned to Canada and her job at the Edmonton Journal. With human and social services now firmly entrenched in her conscience, the challenge of combining her social service and journalism skills are now blossoming as the Communication and Development Manager of E4C. Judith has brought energy, passion, and focus to E4C’s communication and development capabilities. She has recently completed a re-branding strategy for the agency, and still finds time to work part-time at the Journal Photo department, allowing her to combine her passions for people and photography.

Membership

Emily Lennstrom
Emily currently serves as Senior Development Officer in the Faculty of Science at the University of Alberta. She is a graduate of the Fund Development Program at Grant MacEwan College. Emily has previously worked with the Canadian Paraplegic Association, the Canadian Diabetes Association, and Leadership Edmonton.

Program

Sherry Schaefer
Sherry has worked in long-term care for the past twenty years. Her positions at CapitalCare have included Recreation Therapist, Community Liaison Manager, and most recently, Care Manager at the Kipnes centre for Veterans. Throughout her career she has led many fundraising initiatives for healthcare, including a major campaign for building construction and special-event fundraisers.

Sherry is an active AAFRE member and for the past four years has led the Christmas Silent Auction Committee, which has evolved as an event that raises funds to support the AAFRE Professional Development Assistance Fund.

Professional Development

Maureen Henkel
Maureen is currently the Fund Development Officer for the STARS Foundation, Edmonton Base, where she serves as the representative and liaison for all external fundraising events. She has been active in fundraising and volunteer management for fifteen years, having worked with the Canadian Diabetes Association, The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the Heart & Stroke Foundation. She has experience in lotteries and gaming, marathons, door-to-door campaigns, special events, and the volunteer management duties that are associated with these pursuits.

Maureen has a diploma in Behavioral Sciences and certification in Volunteer Management. She has been an active member of AAFRE for four years, with 2007/2008 being her first year on the AAFRE Board as the Director of Professional Development.

Celebrate Excellence

Mary Chibuk
Mary served as the Executive Director of The Parkinson’s Society of Alberta from July 2000 to the spring of 2006. She has a long history of involvement in the Edmonton community as a volunteer for school councils, Girl Guides, and several sports organizations. She currently serves on the Board and Finance Committee of Little Bits Therapeutic Riding Association.

After earning an undergraduate degree from Boston University and obtaining a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology, Mary began her health care career in the area of cardiac rehabilitation and research at the University of Alberta, also teaching in the Faculty of Rehab Medicine, followed by a mixture of volunteer and consulting work while raising a family.

Directors

Cyndi Harvey
Cyndi Harvey has worked in the voluntary sector as both an employee and a volunteer over the past seventeen years. She is a graduate of the Voluntary Sector Management Program, having completed both the Non-Profit Agency Management and Fund Development majors.

Organizations that Cyndi has worked for over the past few years include Volunteer Alberta, Volunteer Edmonton, MADD Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), and the Kids with Cancer Society. Cyndi's volunteer roles include Kids with Cancer, Ronald McDonald House, the Advisory Committee for the Resource Centre for Voluntary Organizations, and the Program Committee of the Alberta Association of Fundraising Executives. Cyndi is also a graduate volunteer of the Board Development Program.

Laura Svajlenko
Laura became a student member of AAFRE while completing the Fund Development Program at Grant MacEwan College. She is a co-founder of Edmonton Young Guns, a group which provides a forum for young development professionals to network.

Laura currently works in the Fund Development Office for CKUA Radio, and is delighted to serve on the Board of Directors.

Government of Alberta Liaisons

Scott Hood
Statute Administrator
Service Alberta, Consumer Services Branch

Scott joined the Government of Alberta in 1989. Since 1995 he 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 a Director 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 fundraising legislation. In 2006 the Deputy Minister appointed Scott to the Leader’s Council 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).

Scott is married to Eva and they have a 13-year-old son, Connor, and an 12-year-old daughter, Carling.

Dianne Johnson
Manager
Alberta Community Development
Dianne has been supporting Alberta’s volunteer and not-for-profit organizations for many years in her roles with Alberta Community Development. She is currently the manager of the Yellowhead Region for Alberta Community Development. Last year, Dianne and her team in the Volunteer Services Branch of Alberta Community Development received the 2003 Premier’s Award of Excellence (Bronze) for their ongoing support of the sector.

Bonnie Yaskiw
Manager, Licensing Support
Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC)
Bonnie Yaskiw brings over twenty-five years of experience with the gaming and liquor industries in Alberta to her role. Bonnie presently leads a strong team of dedicated AGLC employees. One of the responsibilities of this group involves processing over 12,000 gaming and liquor licences per year. Bonnie and her colleagues strive to ensure that the integrity of gaming and liquor activities are upheld, while 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. The proceeds from these events are directed toward many worthwhile projects for the benefit of Albertans at large.

AGLC staff work closely with charitable groups to ensure successful gaming events. The staff also offer gaming information sessions to help charities understand and follow the requirements of the Gaming & Liquor Act, Regulation, and AGLC Policy. On August 21, 2003, the AGLC released the new Charitable Gaming Policies Handbook.

For detailed information on the AGLC and the gaming and liquor industries, contact the AGLC or visit the AGCL web site at www.aglc.gov.ab.ca.

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