Dr. Grant Kennedy, ER Physician & Musician - June 7, 2023

Grant Kennedy is a singer-songwriter and emergency physician who grew up on the Canadian prairies. When you listen to Kennedy you hear warm melodies and easy-listening vocals blended with strong musicianship.
In 2018 Kennedy released his debut album HOME featuring the folk-pop anthem AMSTERDAM, & song that has been streamed over 150,000 times and received rave reviews from music bloggers internationally. On HOME Kennedy displaved his talents as a multi-instrumentalist playing guitar, piano, bass, ukulele, and trumpet. Fittingly the album was recorded in Kennedy's family home which provided warm, natural acoustics to compliment his family and life inspired songs.
The music from HOME has been streamed in 70 different countries and at home in Canada it has been featured on CBC Radio 1 on regional programs across the country. Locally AMSTERDAM was ranked as one of the top 50 songs of 2018 by 106.5 Mountain FM in Canmore & Banff.
When the global pandemic hit, Kennedy found himself on the front lines as an emergency physician. It wasn't long before he turned to his lifelong passion, music, as an outlet for the stress that was building up both within and around him. The new material was honest and necessarily darker than anything he had previously written. Ultimately he teamed up with Canadian music luminary Russell Broom to produce and bring his musical stories to life.
• On January 29th, 2021 Kennedy released the
collection of songs as an EP titled AWAY.

Josh Traptow, CEO Heritage Calgary, History of the Calgary Stampede - May 3, 2023

As a professional who continually gives back to Calgary, Josh Traptow is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Calgary which is a charitable Civic Partner of the City of Calgary.

Josh is an accomplished executive with experience on both sides of the boardroom. A sought after leader, communicator and advisor he has worked for both the municipal and provincial governments and has a unique understanding of the issues facing Calgary and our province.

He is an experienced political staffer at the both the Alberta Legislature and Calgary City Hall, having served in the Office of the Premier, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development and for two City Councillors.

He sits on the boards of the Alberta Motor Association as a Calgary Regional Advisory Board Member and on the AMA Insurance Company Board of Directors.

Josh is a 10+ year volunteer with the Calgary Stampede, currently he is the Immediate Past Chair of the Agriculture & Western Events Media Committee and 2nd Vice-Chair of the Western Agriculture Heritage Committee.

He is also an active community volunteer, serving as the Chair of the Board of the Calgary Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) and on the board of the Women In Need Society (WINS). He is a past board member of the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation and Vertigo Theatre. 

He has also volunteered for the Monarchist League of Canada, SAIT, Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Calgary, United Way of Calgary and the Calgary Public Library Foundation.

He has a diploma in Administrative Information Management from SAIT and a certificate in Public Relations from Mount Royal University. He also completed the NFP Governance Essentials Certificate through the Institute of Corporate Directors. 

In September of 2016, Josh was recognized as a SAIT Outstanding Young Alumnus. In 2012, he was awarded the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contributions to Canada and his community. He is a third generation Calgarian.

Honourable Judge Marlene Graham, Perspectives From the Bench & A Career in Law and Politics - April 5, 2023

Marlene Graham is a judge and a former provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. She served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1997 until 2004.

Graham was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1997 Alberta general election as a Progressive Conservative member for Calgary-Lougheed. She served 2 terms as MLA and resigned in 2004. During her time in office she did a lot of work revising the Alberta Family Law system.

After leaving politics, she was appointed as a provincial judge.

Jessica Vandenberghe, Assistant Dean, Faculty of Eng. Indigenous Engineering, U of A - March 2, 2023

As Canada continues to awaken and acknowledge the Truth of the oppressive history and racism that exists within the present towards First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Peoples, we all need to see ourselves in the Calls to Action. Jessica Vandenberghe, P.Eng., M.Sc. is born of the Dene Tha First Nation and is a sixties scoop survivor. Her journey to reconnect with her birth family, dealing with intergenerational trauma, everyday racism, while walking in a good way as a Professional Engineer, mother, and Canadian has not been easy. Listen to her share her lived experience of her recent trip to her home community for the first time and what lessons she has learned along the way to persevere, manage stress, and lift others up along the way. 

Jessica Vandenberghe, P.Eng., M.Sc. is born of the Dene Thá First Nation, is a sixties scoop survivor and raised in an inclusive German farming family in northern Alberta. Her exceptional career is based on two engineering degrees from the University of Alberta. She has worked in the oil sands, mining, regulatory, infrastructure, consulting industries and academia. She is the Assistant Dean, Engineering Community and Culture at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Alberta. Her consulting firm, Guiding Star Consulting walks in a good way with Indigenous Peoples and Communities and those who want to build meaningful relationships to build strong vibrant communities. She is a mother of two and is passionate about ensuring inclusive organizations and equitable frameworks. She sits on many boards and Councils that contribute to STEM outreach, support underrepresented demographics, build capacity and lead to healing, ethical behaviour and trusted relationships.

Dr. Doug Mahoney , Cancer Treatment Researcher, February 1, 2023

Dr. Douglas Mahoney is the Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Disease at the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.  Dr. Dough Mahoney leads the Alberta Cellular Therapy and Immune Oncology (ACTION) initiative, a program that focuses on developing next-generation immunotherapies.

Dr. Mahoney’s lab is one of three in the world looking at a new immunotherapy combination that is showing promise for killing cancer.  In the global fight against cancer, scientists and clinicians are searching for ways to harness the body’s own immune system to attack and kill cancer.  Through this research they have found a combination of cancer therapies that complement each other to help the immune system clear the cancer.  Treatments aimed at reviving up the immune system’s attack on the cancer may be the most promising approach to cancer therapy since the evolution of combination chemotherapy, and Dr. Mahoney and his team are leading the way.

Frances Wright, Famous 5 Foundation, Women as Nation Builders - January 11, 2023

Frances is very grateful that her parents brought her to Calgary from South Africa when she was six years old. 

After earning a B.A., Psychology/Sociology from the University of Calgary and completing the Canadian Securities Course, Frances moved to Ottawa to work on Parliament Hill and complete an Honours B. Journalism at Carleton.

 Over the years, Frances has launched several businesses - Wright Consultants, Pillow Parlor, PORTS International Men’s & Women’s Clothing stores and now Poot-Wright Consulting specializing in economic development, public engagement and government relations. She has been instrumental in launching charities such as Women’s Justice, Youth Clubs of Calgary, the Famous 5 Foundation and the Canadian Centre for Adult Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse (cc4ms).

 In February 2019, Frances completed an18 years old project when the Senate of Canada finally agreed to restore O Canada to its inclusive nature – True patriot love, in ALL of US command!

 From 1996 until 2005, Frances had the pleasure of serving as the Co-Founder and CEO of the Famous 5 Foundation. As of January 1, 2022, Frances became the CEO of the F5F once again in preparation of the 95th Anniversary of the ‘Persons’ Case on Oct. 18, 2024 and she welcomes your suggestions and participation.

 As the happy and proud spouse of Richard Pootmans, Calgary City Councillor for Ward 6, Frances is looking forward to many more years of repaying Canada for allowing her to be a citizen so she can continue to ‘feel equal to high and splendid braveries!’  The F5 pledge!

Murray McCann MSM, CPA, B.Sc.N (Hon.) - Field of Crosses -

"When you think someone should do something about that, recognize that you are someone."

Murray McCann is a visionary entrepreneur and community leader who reinvests his success into organizations that combat hunger, homelessness, fear and violence. His programs that honour fallen soldiers and support homeless veterans continue to grow as word spreads. Widely recognized for his selfless generosity, he continues to make a difference here at home and abroad.

For more than 50 years, Murray has consistently reinvested proceeds from his entrepreneurial ventures into the community. Entrepreneurialism, he says, is the Alberta Advantage. It is the key to Alberta’s future. “We’ve got to encourage and nurture entrepreneurialism, because it makes things happen. And if things aren’t happening, you make them happen,” says Murray. “We’ve always been a province of entrepreneurs. You don’t need to go to elsewhere to pursue your dreams. You can achieve them right here in Alberta.”

Full Bio at https://www.alberta.ca/aoe-murray-mccann.aspx

Julie Van Rosendaal - Wednesday, Oct 5, 2022

Julie Van Rosendaal is the Calgary-based author of twelve best-selling cookbooks. She has been the food columnist on the Calgary Eyeopener on CBC Radio One for 17 years, is the contributing food editor for the Globe and Mail, and for the past twenty years has been a freelance food writer and columnist for other publications across Canada. Julie speaks and cooks at culinary schools and events across the country, and has a very engaged audience on her social media channels and blog, Dinner with Julie.