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

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 YMCA's 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. 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 the current Vice President. Her other committee work includes the Alberta Golf and Social Event, AAFRE Tradeshow, and Celebrate Excellence Committees. Janet is also the Administration Contract Liaison for AAFRE. 

Past 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.

Vice President / Professional Development

Carmen Boyko

Carmen began her fundraising career over twelve years ago with the Alberta SPCA, after spending several years working in the marketing departments of local shopping malls. After taking a few years off to spend time raising her daughter Taylor, Carmen returned to work as Manager, Funds Development with HIV Edmonton and is now the Fund Development Manager of the Northern Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Liver Foundation.

Carmen has been an active member of AAFRE since 2002 and became the Executive Secretary in 2006. Her other committee work includes the AAFRE Trade Show and the Celebrate Excellence luncheon. 

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.

Marketing

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.

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

Louise Hovelson

Louise began her Fund Development career in 2003 and specializes in the area of sponsorship. Louise is presently the Fund Development Officer for the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta. Her main focus is the development and implementation of the sponsorship program as well as the national direct mail campaign and the Major Gift program.

Louise, an AAFRE member the last six years, is excited to serve on the Board of Directors.

Program

Debbie Buchynski

Debbie is the Director of Development at The King's University College. Debbie's experience combines 'the best of both worlds' as she came to the field of Fund Development after many years in Communications. A graduate of the Grant MacEwan Advertising and Public Relations program (1984), Debbie started her career in advertising and public relations, holding positions with The Brick Warehouse, a recruitment advertising agency and a pizza franchise company. Moving on to communications in general, she joined The Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and then Interprovincial Pipe Line (now Enbridge) where she spent six years in communications and public affairs. While at IPL, Debbie earned her APR (Accredited Public Relations) designation in 1993 from the Canadian Public Relations Society.

In 1997, Debbie welcomed a 'bouncing bundle of Bailey' into the family and became a stay at home Mom. Debbie rejoined the workforce in 2003, entering the field of Fund Development with the Alberta Diabetes Foundation  and then the Canadian Diabetes Association. Debbie started in the Development deparment at King's in March 2007, and accepted the position of Director in August 2008. With a combined total of 20 years of communications and development experience, Debbie is eagerly looking forward to serving in the role of Program Chair for the 2009-2010 year.

Celebrate Excellence

Mary Chibuk 

Mary has served in a leadership capacity in the non-profit charitable sector having been a Board member, an executive director, fundraiser and volunteer. She currently is involved in consulting work and also serves on the Board and Finance Committee of Little Bits Therapeutic Riding Association; the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW-Edmonton) Academic Awards Committee; a Health Charities Coalition, and has served on the AAFRE Board for 4 years in several capacities, most recently as Chair of the annual awards program "Celebrate Excellence" and 20th Anniversary Celebration.

She has an undergraduate degree from Boston University and a Master's from the University of Alberta. Her career spans health care, non-profit managment, program development, fund development, and communications.

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, Culture & Community Spirit

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.