avenuecalgary.com

WE

11.22 / $6.50

CALGARY

top
forty
under
forty
Sportscaster
Harnarayan Singh
and the rest of the
Class of 2022

LET’S DO LUNCH AGAIN

WINTER IS COMING

FAMILY STYLE

The business lunch is officially back
and we know just where to go

How to make the most of the
snowiest season in the mountains

A unique inner-city property with
two homes for two generations

Mahogany - SW Calgary

ADVERTISING FEATURE

RIVERWALK PROUDLY
LOCATED IN CALGARY’S #1
COMMUNITY FOR SENIORS
The latest luxury retirement community from Verve Senior Living, located in
“Calgary’s #1 Community for Seniors,” is a state-of-the-art urban gem where
active retirees, as well as those with higher care needs, can have it all. Located in
the heart of Mission and Cliff Bungalow neighbourhoods, Riverwalk Retirement
Residence offers a unique standard of design, energy, and community
advantages you won’t find anywhere else. This new seniors’ concept is generating
unprecedented buzz for combining luxury suites and amenities with an exciting
and active community and unique neighbouring shops and restaurants.
THE PERFECT LOCATION

Just steps from the Elbow River, pathways,
parks and the many trendy shops, restaurants,
and essential services of 4th St. S.W., Riverwalk
eschews the tradition of retirement communities
being located in far-flung suburbs, far away from
the things that make life exciting.
“It’s really beneficial for the active senior to
be able to just walk out their door, not have to
worry about a car, and have easy access to the
huge variety of services and retail options that
are available in the community,” says JoLynn
Whidden, Riverwalk’s General Manager. “Even
something as simple as taking a stroll along the
beautiful Elbow River pathway is something our
residents can easily enjoy on a daily basis, with
no need for transportation.”

EVERYTHING YOU NEED

Riverwalk’s offWhile its location is a prime draw
site Presentation
for Riverwalk, it’s the breadth of
Centre and Show
amenities that make it difficult
Suite is located one
to leave. Multiple dining options,
block east of the
including a cocktail lounge, bistro,
Residence, at 2424
formal dining room and a private
4th St. S.W.
dining room for family gatherings,
one of the trendiest parts of
are helmed by in-house Red Seal
Calgary, the entire property
chefs who take great pride in their creations,
has been designed with an elegant, modern
seasonal menus, and Riverwalk’s ‘Livingaesthetic, with spaces that are expansive, bright
Loving-Local’ Farm to Table culinary program.
and airy: think luxury boutique hotel and you
Luxury amenities include a spa, beauty salon,
get the idea! Incredible river, mountain, and city
movie theatre, games room, lounges for relaxing
views are all available, and residents may choose
and socializing, a fitness centre providing a
from a range of suite sizes and designs – from
variety of activity programs, outdoor amenity
minimalist to generously sized two-bed and
spaces, and a Life Enrichment team to work with
two-bathroom plans.
residents to develop the customized programs
that are a cornerstone of Verve’s resident-focused PERSONALIZED TO YOUR NEEDS
philosophy. Live entertainment, guest speakers,
At Riverwalk, every resident receives
performers and vendors all make regular visits.
personalized service and care, whether they are
“I like to equate it to an all-inclusive vacation
independent or require more advanced assisted
resort,” says Whidden.
or memory care. Importantly, this range of care
means residents won’t have to leave Riverwalk
if their needs change, and, wherever possible,
EXCEPTIONAL VIEWS AND DESIGN
Riverwalk will work to keep couples together,
Riverwalk is a new build, utilizing cutting-edge
should their care needs differ.
technology and engineering. Being located in
Learn more at verveseniorliving.com/riverwalk or call 403.271.7244 or email
info@riverwalkretirement.com for information or to book a “Discovery Tour.”

YOUR NEXT

STARTS HERE.

Top 40 under 40, you’re already crushing your goals. So what’s next?
From promotions to deals, research and patents, new ventures or
Series A, the possibilities are endless.
Calgary is the place where bright minds and big ideas like yours come
together with an unmatched spirit to help solve global challenges.
Get inspired at livetechlovelife.com

Visit calgaryzoo.com/ZOOLIGHTS for more details.

It’s like a
U of A reunion
in here.
Congratulations to the University of Alberta alumni
on Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 list. We can’t
help but be inspired by the solutions they generate to
make our world healthier, safer, stronger and more just.
We salute you all for leading with purpose in our
communities and beyond.
Brett Colvin ‘12 BCom, ‘15 JD
Shannon Doram ‘11 MSc
Shaun Crawford ‘15 BEd
Simone Elizabeth Saunders ‘06 BFA
Jordan Raugust ‘09 MD

We have top
honours of our
own, too.
Know more U of A alumni
leading with purpose?
Nominate them for the

University of Alberta’s
Alumni Awards.

FAMILY FOCUSED AGING IN PLACE

Above: GL 480 one bedroom unit installed in SW Calgary. Below: GL 380 interior

Garden Loft is a prefabricated age in place backyard suite that
enables seniors and their families to live together with a customized
blend of independence, togetherness, safety, and support.
With Garden Loft’s family focused aging in place, seniors live with their family as a
neighbor rather than a roommate, with their own independent backyard living unit linked
by a common deck or garden to the main house. Families decide as a group when they
spend time together and apart, how to share the responsibilities of daily life, and where
to bring in additional services as needed. This powerful combination of independence,
togetherness, safety, and support enables high quality aging in place and benefits all
members of the family – old, young, and in-between.

Photography by Michael Grondin

Garden Loft helps seniors avoid a premature move to a care facility while still ensuring
the peace of mind that comes from having a safe living environment that supports
differing needs and abilities. It enables families to provide the kind of care and support
their loved one deserves in a manner that is convenient enough to be managed over the
long term and that doesn’t disrupt the lives of the rest of their family.

Book a virtual or in-person tour of our Show Suite
www.gardenloft.ca
Housebrand, celebrating 25 years of residential design-build in Calgary

garden loft

Your Phil
this November

Tom McCaslin
performs
John Williams

Mahler’s
Fifth
Symphony

Tynomi Banks:
Queen of the
Orchestra

5 November
Jack Singer Concert Hall

11 + 12 November
Jack Singer Concert Hall

18 November
Jack Singer Concert Hall

Explore our full Season at calgaryphil.com

Stravinsky’s
Firebird
26 November
Jack Singer Concert Hall

Symphony Sundays for Kids:

Firebird for
the Family
27 November
Jack Singer Concert Hall

Look
out
internet.
Here we
come.
From telling you where every dollar you spend on
oxio internet goes, to keeping you informed about
everything internet related, we’ve got nothing to hide.

Come
say hi at
avenue.oxio.ca

OPENING NOVEMBER 2022
FOLLOW US AT @THEBARBARELLABAR
OR VISIT BARBARELLABAR.CA

ANOTHER HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCE BY

YOU ARE A JOB CREATOR.

A growth builder.

You are
an opportunity
provider.

You make
the future of
Alberta’s economy
possible.

And that is worth
celebrating.

> Share your success story through the

Alberta Top Job Creators Awards.
> Learn more and apply for free today to have your

organization’s accomplishments celebrated.

TopJobCreators.com

WAKE UP TO OUR
MOUNTAIN PARADISE.
Book your stay at Sunshine Mountain Lodge today.
sunshinemountainlodge.com

Congratulations
to our Associate Conductor

Karl Hirzer
on being named one
of Avenue Calgary’s
Top 40 Under 40
See Karl conduct the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
at these concerts this Season:
Tom McCaslin performs John Williams / 5 November
Stravinsky’s Firebird / 26 November
Firebird for the Family / 27 November
Traditional Christmas / 13 + 14 December
Late Night at The GRAND: Professor Bad Trip / 3 + 4 March
Brass Transit: The Music of Chicago / 14 + 15 April

calgaryphil.com | 403.571.0849

Divorce isn’t easy,
but it’s a path to a new beginning.

C A L G A R Y

A L B E R T A

Compassionate, Guidance Through
All Areas of Divorce.
Suite 1900, 639 5th Ave. S.W., Calgary, AB T2P 0M9 | Phone (587) 356-4342 | info@wellsfamilylaw.com | www.wellsfamilylaw.com

ADVERTISING FEATURE

The Streams of
Lake Mahogany by
Jayman BUILT
Enjoy resort living in a community where
neighbours become friends

J

ayman BUILT’s newest luxury development brings the appeal of resort
community living as it stretches
around Mahogany Lake, the largest in
the city, combining 84 acres of beach
and waterfront fun. Centred around the idea that
“vacation doesn’t have to end,” The Streams of
Lake Mahogany is Calgary’s first and only lakeside, maintenance-free, luxury condo and villa
bungalow community.
“Everything about this neighbourhood is
designed to recreate that ‘holiday feeling,’” says
Jordan D’Haese, sales manager, Jayman BUILT
multi-family, where residents have no worries, no
stress and can enjoy beautiful views and plenty of
activities. “The concept of resort living is something Jayman is pioneering in Calgary. It’s taken
to the next level with The Streams, where resort
living is four-seasons living.”
The layout and design of The Streams further

models, as well as park and lake-facing Reflection
Estate Condominiums. Three brand new villa
bungalow show homes opened this year, with possession dates available this Fall and Spring of 2023.
“We believe single-level, maintenance-free
living is ideal for our residents. However, the
quality, sustainability and energy efficiency you
have come to expect from Jayman BUILT remains
unchanged at the Streams,” says D’Haese.
Villa bungalows at The Stream feature solar
panels, tankless water heaters, triple pane windows and more, all helping homeowners save
more money annually (up to $700) on their energy
bills. Smart Home technology solutions are also
included, and are all voice or app controlled by
Amazon Alexa for added simplicity in your new
resort lifestyle. Residents can choose from five
different villa bungalow models, including the
newly released Parker model. Or choose the park
or lake-facing Reflection Estate Condominium
models modeled after Jayman’s
award-winning Westman
Village located next to The
Streams. Residents can further
personalize their homes with a
professionally certified interior designer from the
Jayman styleMagic™ centre.
With retail options just a short walk away in
Westman Village, the location of The Streams of
Lake Mahogany is equally unmatched. Residents
can enjoy dinner at Chairman’s Steakhouse, take in
some smooth jazz sounds at Alvin’s Jazz Club or get
a retail fix at the Urban Village and Village Market.

Everything about this neighbourhood is
“designed
to recreate that ‘holiday feeling
”
capture the look of resort living. The central
gathering spaces, communal firepit and pergola,
barbecue areas and tables welcome residents to
relax, meet neighbours and visit with friends
and family. In addition to full access to Calgary’s
largest lake, which offers swimming in the summer and skating and ice fishing in the winter, the
community’s namesake is a real feature found in
the tumbling streams nestled within the green
spaces of The Streams.
When choosing a home to fit your lifestyle,
The Streams offers five different villa bungalow

For more information on The Streams at Lake
Mahogany, visit jayman.com/thestreams.

UNVEILING CALGARY'S FIRST & ONLY LAKESIDE VILLA BUNGALOWS

ENJOY THAT VACATION
FEELING ALL YEAR LONG.
Imagine a destination where you’re surrounded by like-minded
people. Socializing with friends and neighbours as you’re
barbecuing in a shared space, enjoying a vibrant nightlife with
nearby restaurant hotspots or are simply taking it easy lakeside.

1,060 – 1,402 SQ. FT.
VILLA BUNGALOWS

D O U B L E & S I N G L E C A R G A R AG E S
O P T I O N A L B A S E M E N T D E V E LO P M E N T S

• Exclusive enclave with Alpine
Contemporary architecture and
cobblestone streets
• Water features and meandering
streams with immaculate
landscaping throughout
• Outdoor living spaces including
firepits, BBQs, and seating
areas, all overlooking the lake
or streams

REFLECTION ESTATE
CONDOMINIUMS

O N T H E PA R K :
1,705 – 1,747 SQ. FT.

ON THE LAKE:
1,705 – 2,053 SQ. FT.

VISIT OUR PRESENTATION CENTRE AT WESTMAN VILLAGE:
1955 Mahogany BLVD SE | 587.350.0237
ResortLiving@jayman.com

• South lake views – every home
has lake access

• Fenced backyards with
maintenance free living
• A full day with a professional
Interior Designer to personalize
your home with unlimited
interior finishings
• Save money on your energy
bills with Jayman's Core
Performance, including solar
panels, high efficiency furnace,
triple pane windows

Mon. – Thur. 2PM – 8PM | Fri. CLOSED
Saturday, Sunday & Holidays: 2PM – 5PM
JAYMAN.COM/THESTREAMS

MadeInAlbertaAwards.ca

Join us for the Made in
Alberta marketplaces
Bow Valley Square
NOVEMBER 23 & 24, 2022
M AR KE T H OST

ILLUSTRATION BY JARET T SIT TER

11.22
34
on the cover
Harnarayan Singh: host and play-by-play
commentator for Sportsnet,
bestselling author and member of the
Top 40 Under 40 Class of 2022.
Photo by Steve Collins

103

22 Editor’s Note
114 Work of Art

90

D E PA R T M E N T S
27 Detours
Puck drop: three longtime Calgary Flames
season ticket-holders share stories and
memories from their seats in Section 120
at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Speaking
of domes, there’s a new one over the
outdoor courts at the Osten & Victor
Alberta Tennis Centre — bring on the
year-round playing. Plus, we’re getting
into the holiday spirit with markets, lights
and treats; diving into George Canyon’s
memoir; and toasting the fall season with
a crisp pear cocktail.

20

FEAT UR ES
90 Dining
The business lunch is back, and it’s
better than ever at these top spots in
the downtown core.
98 Decor
A unique property in Bridgeland designed
by Studio North features two separate
residences for two generations of
couples, with a space for everyone to
meet in the middle.

34 The Top 40 Under 40
Class of 2022
Class in session: we’re celebrating this
year’s list of 40 individuals (and duos)
achieving remarkable success and making
Calgary a better place, all before they
reach their 40th years.
By Tsering Asha, Kendall Bistretzan,
Elizabeth Chorney-Booth, Gabrielle
Cleveland, Jennifer Dorozio, Valerie
Fortney, Christina Frangou, Colin Gallant,
Stephanie Joe, Nathan Kunz, Jacqueline
Louie, Michelle McIvor, Amber McLinden,
Jaelyn Molyneux and Colleen Seto

103 Guide to Winter
in the Mountains
How to enjoy the snowiest season in
Banff and beyond, with a roundup of recreational Nordic ski races, a visitor’s guide
to Field, B.C., plus gondolas, galleries, food
fests, winter-warmer cocktails and more!
By Gabrielle Cleveland, Dominique
Lamberton, Jacqueline Louie, Jody
Robbins and Lynda Sea

november 2022

T O P 4 0 P H O T O B Y S T E V E C O L L I N S ; F O O D P H O T O B Y J A R E D S Y C H ; M O U N TA I N P H O T O B Y N O E L H E N D R I C K S O N

contents

TH AN K YOU TO OU R S P O N S O RS

AS A TOP 40 ALUM, ELLEN PARKER
continues to elevate a variety of local
and national charity and for-profit brands
through PARKER PR’s thoughtful public
relations strategies and skilled team. The
pandemic brought challenges as a majority
of PARKER PR’s client work pre-pandemic
was boutique events and grander scale
community events. During this time,
Ellen’s innovation led her to take risks,
hiring film producers and videographers
and launching PARKER Media. Most
recently, Ellen formed a strategic
partnership with RedPoint Media and will
now produce all of RedPoint’s video digital
marketing ads through PARKER Media.
Passionate about building community and
inspiring the next generation of thought
leaders, Ellen volunteers on a number of
boards and committees and is a volunteer
guest speaker for the PR program at
Mount Royal University.
Ellen Parker’s business was founded in
November 2015, modelled after a PR
firm she worked for in New York City.
Her dream was to create a platform
to generate awareness for charity
organizations near and dear to her heart
and businesses doing good work in
the community. Growing up in a musical family in Calgary’s inner-city and
volunteering since she was 11 years old (serving food to families in need and
helping with the Wearable Art program at ACAD), Ellen has fostered a deep
love for music, arts, fashion and helping others. Ellen is grateful to bring
people together and to be a voice for those who need it most. Outside of
PARKER PR, Ellen enjoys spending time with her geologist husband Erik and
two boys, Oliver and Henry, visiting art galleries, hiking, camping, eating sushi
and most recently sailing.

Never Drink
Ordinary

Release your inner
bartender! Spirits with
Smoke’s smoking boards
and kits are the perfect gifts
for the modern bartender.
Upgrade the Old Fashioned,
Margarita and Negroni with
the taste, aroma and texture
of smoke. Happy hour will
never be the same
www.spiritswithsmoke.com

T

he Top 40 Under 40 project,
presented in association
with connectFirst Credit
Union and the University of
Calgary, is one of the most
exciting projects we work
on here at Avenue. The
issue you’re reading right
now is the culmination of a
year-long effort that starts with the opening
of nominations for the upcoming year on the
day we release the Top 40 issue for the current year. (That’s right, nominations for 2023
are now open at top40under40.com.)
We receive hundreds of nominations,
which go on to be sorted, vetted, shortlisted
and judged. It’s a lengthy and involved process that requires a meeting of many minds
— those within our organization and, in the
case of our volunteer panel of judges (read
more about them on Page 84), outside of it
as well.
But ultimately, all that effort is well worth
it, because what we end up with is a snapshot
of a Calgary that is brimming with potential.
The Top 40 Under 40 Class of 2022 represents
success at a young age, but also hard work,
grit, innovation, hope and passion for making
a difference. As our cover star, Hockey Night
In Canada broadcaster Harnarayan Singh,
said: “I knew my career dream was a long
shot, but I still wanted to keep going.” And
because he kept going, a national pastime

SHELLEY ARNUSCH
EDITOR IN CHIEF
s a r n u s c h @ re d p o i n t m e d i a . c a

Guts and
Glory
Last month, we announced the winners and
runners-up of our annual Made In Alberta Awards.
This month, shop our Made in Alberta Markets
on Nov. 23 and 24 at Bow Valley Square.

opened up to a huge swath of the population that thought they would never be part of
Canada’s game.
Of course, the field of broadcasting is just
one of many represented in the Class of 2022.
This year’s honourees come from a diverse
range of sectors — everything from finance
to cleantech, to medicine, social welfare and
the arts. And while early career success is
a common thread, another is the desire to
create opportunity and space for others to
succeed, to lift others up and make the world
a better and more accepting and accessible
place for all.
It’s an honour and a privilege to celebrate
these young visionaries, to find out who they
are and what makes them tick and why they
choose to do what they do, and then introduce them to you.
Another year, another Top 40 project.
It never gets old.
U P D AT E
Last month’s feature article about the effect
of the COVID-19 pandemic on those escaping domestic violence included information
about the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter
(CWES). On Sept. 28, CWES announced its
new name and identity, Fear Is Not Love. The
CWES will continue to operate within this
larger organization, which also includes nonshelter programming and services as part of
the movement to end domestic violence.

Congratulations to alumni
Vicki Van Chau (BFA ’08, Media Arts) and
Simone Elizabeth Saunders (BFA ’20, Fibre)
on being named Top 40 Under 40!

AUArts.ca
22

October 2022

P H O T O B Y H E AT H E R S A I T Z ; C L O T H I N G S T Y L I N G B Y G R A V I T Y P O P E

E DITOR ’ S N OT E

Innovate, disrupt,
collaborate, inspire

Congratulations to this year’s Top 40 Under 40
Whatever path you’re leading, Oxford has the space for you
#oxworxyyc flexible office solutions
Bow Valley Square | Centennial Place
Devon Tower | Eau Claire Tower

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Editor in Chief Shelley Arnusch, sarnusch@redpointmedia.ca
Design Director Steve Collins, scollins@redpointmedia.ca
Managing Editor Dominique Lamberton, dlamberton@redpointmedia.ca
Senior Digital Editor Alana Willerton, awillerton@redpointmedia.ca
Digital Engagement Editor Alyssa Quirico, aquirico@redpointmedia.ca
Special Projects Editor Tsering Asha, tleba@redpointmedia.ca
Contributing Editors Meredith Bailey, Derek Clouthier, Jill Foran, Jennifer Hamilton
Editorial Assistant Michaela Ream
Digital Editorial Assistant Chris Landry
Staff Photographer Jared Sych
Special Projects Intern Kendall Bistretzan
Design Intern Sofia Velasquez
Contributors Valerie Berenyi, Alexandra Burroughs, Elizabeth Chorney-Booth, Gabrielle
Cleveland, Jennifer Dorozio, Valerie Fortney, Christina Frangou, Colin Gallant, Stephanie Joe,
Nathan Kunz, Jacqueline Louie, Michelle McIvor, Amber McLinden, Jaelyn Molyneux,
Jody Robbins, Lynda Sea, Colleen Seto, Katherine Ylitalo
Contributing Fact-Checkers Gabrielle Cleveland, Conchita Galvez, Samantha Gryba,
Amber McLinden
Proofreader Alex Frazer-Harrison
Land Acknowledgement Advisors Elder Edmee Comstock,
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Digital Producer Paula Martínez
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Distribution City Print Distribution Inc.; NextHome

may be reproduced without the written

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CFO Roger Jewett
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Accountant Jeanette Vanderveen, jvanderveen@redpointmedia.ca

consent of the publisher.

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Published 11 times a year by RedPoint
Media Group. Copyright (2022) by RedPoint
Media Group. No part of this publication

NEXT ISSUE

December

Are We a Winter City?
A closer look at Calgary’s Winter City Strategy
and how it’s helping us own our cold weather.

Holiday Gift Guide
From lil’ stocking stuffers to the most extravagant
statement items, there’s something for everyone
in our roundup of locally sourced gifts.

Best Bars and Lounges
Classic hangouts, secret speakeasies and more of
the best places to sip cocktails this season.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada
Canadian Publications

and the Government of Alberta.

Mail Agreement No.

Avenue is a proud member of the Alberta Magazine Publishers
Association, Magazines Canada and the International Regional Magazine

40030911.

Association, and abides by the editorial standards of these organizations.

We acknowledge the traditional territories

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and the value of the traditional and current
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24

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Congratulations
to the Top 40s.
We love celebrating community
leaders – because we’re driven
to develop them.
Our programs are where Calgary’s
youth find belonging and learn the
skills and confidence they’ll need
to build up their communities.

Tells us about the
parks, recreation centres,
shopping areas and
other parts of the city
you love to visit in our
Best Neighbourhoods
Survey.

avenuecalgary.com/NeighbourhoodSurvey

NOVEMBER 14
TO
DECEMBER 31
2022
avenuecalgary.com

ymcacalgary.org/youth-programs

25

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Ready to Build?
Labbe-Leech Interiors
Ltd., brings confidence
to Calgary’s finest firms
with expert construction
management and interior
renovation services.
Since 1974, Labbe-Leech has been the trusted
advisor to professional firms across Calgary
looking to open, relocate or renovate interior
medical and office space. Labbe-Leech’s
footprint can be seen throughout the city, with
an expertise that includes medical offices,
professional services, financial institutions, and
security sensitive facilities, to name a few.
Recognizing that every successful project
starts with a vision, Labbe-Leech works to make
its clients’ project a reality. Whether it’s site
selection, assisting with choosing a consultant
group, pre-construction assistance, space
planning and budgeting, Labbe-Leech is there
to manage your project with the expertise and
professionalism your facility deserves.

MEDICAL PROJECT
Labbe-Leech’s specialized knowledge is
evident in its recent projects in the medical
field. The company’s professional construction
management group understands the unique
challenges a medical facility faces, and
guides its clients through these complexities.
This expertise allows its clients to focus on
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completed above industry standards.
Every aspect, from building codes, specialty
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The assortment of medical diagnostic and
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practitioner offices.
In addition to the medical field, LabbeLeech has long been the trusted advisor for the
commercial and industrial construction sectors,
having completed such projects as Heartland
Generation, a 41,000-sq. ft. two-floor renovation
on the commercial side, and the industrial
venture Tetra Tech, a lab testing facility and
office renovation that spanned 47,000 sq. ft.
Safety is also a top priority for the Labbe-

HIGHLIGHTS
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• diagnostic and imaging

Leech team, which holds COR Certification,
ISNetworld, Contractor Check and
ComplyWorks.
Labbe-Leech puts its clients’ needs and
the well-being of its community at the heart
of everything it does, and offers ongoing
support for local charities, including the Brown
Bagging for Calgary Kids Society and Animal
Rescue Foundation.

To bring your vision to
life, visit labbeleech.com
and see how Labbe-Leech
can make it all possible.
26

November 2022

Detours
[A

NOTEBOOK OF THE CITY

]

Cheers to great seats: Chuck Mendelman (left)
and Walter Moscovitz at the Scotiabank
Saddledome. (Not pictured: Marilyn Sheftel.)

FANNING THE FLAMES
F O R T H E S E L O N G T I M E C A L G A R Y F L A M E S S E A S O N T I C K E TH O L D E R S , L A S T I N G FA N D O M A N D F R I E N D S H I P H A S B E E N
F O R G E D W H I L E C H E E R I N G T O G E T H E R F R O M T H E I R S E AT S .
ast season, the Calgary
Flames won a firstround playoff series
(only their second time
doing so in 17 years),
which led to a thrilling Battle of Alberta
faceoff. It was the Flames’ first playoff
encounter with the Edmonton Oilers
since 1991. According to longtime
friends Marilyn Sheftel, Walter
Moscovitz and Chuck Mendelman,
who have some of the best seats in the
Scotiabank Saddledome, the Flames

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

L

avenuecalgary.com

played some “very good hockey” —
and they would know. The three have
been season ticket-holders for more
than 40 years.
In that time, Sheftel, Moscovitz
and Mendelman have witnessed star
players like Al MacInnis, Jarome Iginla
and Johnny Gaudreau compete and
cheered on the Flames from their seats
when the team won the Stanley Cup
in 1989. For the past 34 years, Sheftel,
Moscovitz and Mendelman have called
Section 120 at the Dome their second

home, and, for the eight years prior, it
was row 2, behind the penalty box, at
the Stampede Corral.
Sheftel has fond memories of
the Corral: “I think fans were less
intimidated. We didn’t worry about
acting crazy because there were no
lights in the crowd while the game was
being played. The only light was on the
ice.” When the Saddledome opened
in 1983 and became the Flames’ new
home, it trumped the Corral with its
nearly 20,000-seat capacity. Having
27

Detours
News You Can Use

TENNIS BUBBLES UP

priority picks on seats when
the Dome opened, Sheftel,
Moscovitz and Mendelman
moved to rows 6 and 7 in
Section 120, right at centre ice.
One of their highlights was
when Sheftel won a 50/50 prize
of $41,000 in 2006. Concession
snacks at the Dome have
remained consistent for years,
the trio says, and they continue
to order malts, popcorn, nachos
and “Dome foam” at games.
Snacks, winnings and great
hockey aside, they’ve enjoyed
watching their children and
grandchildren grow up going
to games in their seats. “My
daughter would come to games
and bring her babies on her
lap,” Sheftel says. “Now, when
Walter can’t go to a game, I
buy his tickets and take my
grandchildren.” However, their
children often tell them that
it’s time for a new arena: “The
young kids say we need all these
amenities,” says Mendelman.
“We just want good hockey.”
While it’s the second-oldest
arena in the NHL (after Madison
Square Garden in New York),
the trio say it has aged gracefully
and has great sightlines. “The
Saddledome is a great hockey
arena,” says Moscovitz. It’s a
place where three friends have
four decades of memories.
—Gabrielle Cleveland
28

hanks to Canadian
powerhouses like
Leylah Fernandez,
Bianca Andreescu
and Félix AugerAliassime, tennis is more popular
than ever, and Calgarians now have
a new option to play (and watch)
tennis through the winter months.
The Osten & Victor Alberta
Tennis Centre (ATC) in Acadia has
served as the city’s premier tennis
facility since it opened in 2016,
providing eight indoor and five
outdoor courts. As of this fall, the
outdoor courts have been converted
to year-round playing areas with
the installation of a 40-foot-tall
insulated and fully lit bubble dome
that will keep both players and
spectators comfortable through any
kind of weather.

T

“Tennis is one of
the best sports
you can play
at any age.”
DANNY DA COSTA, CEO,
OSTEN & VICTOR ALBERTA TENNIS CENTRE

Funding for the bubble covering
came from several partners,
including Tennis Canada, which is
strategically helping to winterize
courts across the country to make
the sport more accessible and
affordable for all Canadians. The
ATC, which runs as a not-for-profit,
guides about 1,200 adults and kids
through its formalized programming
every 12 weeks, and the expansion
of its indoor program means even
more Calgarians can develop a love
for the sport.

“Tennis is one of the best sports
you can play at any age — you can
start at three and play until you’re
90,” says Danny Da Costa, ATC’s
CEO. “There are a lot of studies
on the health benefits of tennis
that have found it’s one of the best
cardiovascular sports you can play.”
The new coverings will make it
easier for ATC to host events like the
Calgary National Bank Challenger, a
professional tournament held
Nov. 5 to 13. For the first time,
the event will include a women’s
competition, which, like the men’s
event, allows the ATC to host some
of the world’s best up-and-coming
players. With the newly winterized
courts, Calgarians can root for the
next crop of tennis phenoms, while
maybe even producing a few of our
own. —Elizabeth Chorney-Booth
November 2022

P H OTO S BY J A R E D SYC H

THE OSTEN & VICTOR ALBERTA TENNIS CENTRE’S
NEW DOME OPENS UP MORE YEAR-ROUND COURTS.

Detours
How to

3 questions FOr...

A Holiday
Lights
Installer

KICKSTART
YOUR
HOLIDAY
SPIRIT

Professional holiday lighting
installation is becoming big
business in Calgary. Stella Lights’
Ben Richardson shares some
stories from his end of the ladder.

1

Is November too early to put up your
lights? This year, we started our installs
in the second week of September.
People don’t need to turn their lights
on right away, so we take advantage of the
good weather in the earlier months.

I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y J A R E T T S I T T E R ; P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F W I L D E R I N S T I T U T E / C A L G A R Y Z O O

I T M AY O N LY B E N O VE M B E R , B U T T H E H O L I D AY
SEASON WILL SOON BE IN FULL SWING.
HERE’S HOW TO GET FESTIVE BEFORE THE
CALENDAR EVEN FLIPS TO DECEMBER .

Hop On the Market Circuit
The popular indoor/outdoor
Millarville Christmas Market, held
just outside of the city at the
Millarville Racetrack, runs over
the first two weekends of this
month. You’ll find locally made
goods, as well as food trucks,
real reindeer, photo ops with
Santa and a kids-only shop. For
more edge-of-the-city fun, the
Spruce Meadows International
Christmas Market follows the
Millarville market, taking place
the last two weekends of
November and the first weekend of December.
millarvilleracetrack.com
sprucemeadows.com
avenuecalgary.com

Wander Among Festive Lights
The Wilder Institute/Calgary
Zoo’s annual outdoor light
display is the perfect way to
enjoy some holiday pizzazz.
This year’s Zoolights, presented
by Olympia Trust Company,
kicks off on Nov. 18 and runs to
Jan. 8. While strolling through
the light displays is the epitome
of wholesome family fun, there
are also three ticketed events
for ages 18 and older throughout the season for those looking for a more sophisticated
Zoolights experience, complete
with cocktails.
calgaryzoo.com

Indulge in Christmas Goodies
It’s never too early to start on
the treats. Many local bakeries
unveil holiday menus and offerings in November, such as the
gingerbread house decorating kits from Pretty Sweet
Bakeshop and a festive lineup
from Pie Junkie (turkey dinner
pie, anyone?). Be sure to pop
into the Ship & Anchor Pub for
a glass of its famous Shipnog
or grab a bottle to go: $5 from
each glass and $10 from each
bottle is donated to local
charities. —E.C.B.
prettysweetco.com
piejunkie.ca
shipandanchor.com

2

Do you get people asking for National
Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation-level
displays? We do trees up to 35 feet
tall and some of those get pretty
elaborate. We have also put lights up for
people participating in local community
competitions, and we know that some
houses have won a couple of competitions
with lights we’ve installed.

3

Is there anything you won’t put a string
of lights on? We say on our website
that we’ll even decorate your dog, so
there’s not much we won’t do. The
only thing we turn down are trees that are
too big or are so close to houses that they’re
unsafe. —E.C.B.

29

Detours
Local book Spotlight

Drink of the season

SWEATER WEATHER
T H I S C O C K TA I L F E AT U R I N G E AU C L A I R E D I S T I L L E R Y ’ S
RU P E RT ’S W H I S K Y I S I D E A L F O R B R I S K FA L L A F T E R N O O N S .

George Canyon, the awardwinning country musician,
actor, Juvenile Diabetes
Research Foundation
spokesperson and official
national anthem singer for
the Calgary Flames, can now
add author to his resumé. This
month, Simon and Schuster
Canada is releasing My Country,
Canyon’s memoir, which details
his early days growing up in
Nova Scotia, all the way to his
current life as an established star
living in rural Alberta, with stints
in Nashville and on tour buses
along the way.
While Canyon seems like
he’s always had it made, what
with his chiselled good looks
and smooth, deep voice, he has
overcome adversity in his life.
This book details his struggles
as well as his climb to musical
success with humour and
homespun wisdom. —E.C.B.

G E O R G E C A N Y O N P H O T O B Y A L K A N E M I N P H O T O G R A P H Y ; C O C K TA I L P H O T O B Y J A R E D S Y C H

MY
COUNTRY

London Richard, a
mixologist at Eau Claire
Distillery in Turner
Valley, was inspired
when he saw a cocktail
featuring pear, a fresh
fall ingredient. “Most
people gravitate to
pumpkin spice and
apples, but there are
so many rich flavour
palates to play with this
season,” he says. Hence,
Sweater Weather,
which he’s crafted just
for us, is a warming, yet
refreshing pear-infused
cocktail — reminiscent
of a crisp fall day.
“The flavour of Eau
Claire whisky is highlighted beautifully with
pear juice and a touch
of honey,” he says. “The
rye gets a boost of spice
from the sumac and
orange liqueur, while
Licor 43 helps bring
out the rich caramel
notes in the whisky and
adds warm vanilla and
spice.” —Dominique
Lamberton

$25, simonandschuster.ca

R e cipe
1.5 oz. Eau Claire Distillery Rupert’s Whisky
0.5 oz. Legend Distilling Manitou Orange & Sumac Liqueur
(or Grand Marnier or another orange liqueur)
0.25 oz. Licor 43 (or Galliano or another vanilla liqueur)
0.75 oz. pear juice
0.5 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 bar spoon wildflower honey
30

Pour all ingredients into a shaker
with ice. Shake vigorously for at least
20 seconds (more if desired!) and
double-strain into a coupe or flute
glass. Garnish with an edible wildflower and pear slice.

November 2022

21-0017220: ADV-13808

DOCUMENTARY
FILM F

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or Brewery Permit
or Licence?
We’ll help get you
there faster.
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Representatives help make
it faster and easier to get
your restaurant or brewery
business open.

NOV. 23-27

Get the help you need to
open your doors.

GLOBE CINEMA

Visit calgary.ca/ber to learn more.

Tickets & Info at
CALGARYUNDERGROUNDFILM.ORG

Join me and we can
OWN.CANCER together.
Not only a Top 40 Under 40 recipient but also a cancer
survivor, Katie Smith-Parent is passionate about raising
funds for the Calgary Cancer Centre’s $250 million
campaign, OWN.CANCER. The centre is anticipated to
open in 2023 and will bring the world’s best cancer
treatment, research and patient supports to Calgary.
OWN.CANCER with us.

Donate Today. OWNCANCER.CA

KATIE SMITH-PARENT,
Top 40 Under 40 recipient, cancer survivor
and OWN.CANCER campaign cabinet member.

avenuecalgary.com

31

P
O
T

forty under forty
34

november 2022

class of 2022
It’s time, once again, to reveal our
annual list of 40 individuals (and duos)
who have made waves in their respective
fields, industries and sectors before their
40th birthdays. Avenue’s Top 40 Under 40,
presented in association with connectFirst
Credit Union and the University of Calgary,
is, in essence, a celebration of early career
success, but also of the brains, guts and grit
it takes to make change, to innovate, to
lift others up, and, in doing so, create
a better city and world for all of us.
So settle in and get ready to be inspired,
as we introduce to you the amazing
Top 40 Under 40 Class of 2022.

BY TSERING ASHA, KENDALL BISTRETZAN,
E L I ZA B E T H C H O R N E Y- B O OT H , GA B R I E L L E C L E V E L A N D ,
JENNIFER DOROZIO, VALERIE FORTNEY, CHRISTINA FRANGOU,
COLIN GALL ANT, STEPHANIE JOE, NATHAN KUNZ,
JACQUELINE LOUIE, MICHELLE MCIVOR, AMBER MCLINDEN,
JA E LY N M O LY N E U X A N D C O L L E E N S E TO
PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE COLLINS AND JARED SYCH

avenuecalgary.com

35

Tomi Ajele

Age 28

Editor in Chief, Afros In Tha City

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
BY HE LP I N G B L AC K CA LG A RI A NS
S H AR E T HE I R STO R I ES , TOMI A J E L E H A S
B U I LT A N ATI O N A L LY RE COG NI ZE D
M E DI A B RA ND.

T

36

“BY THE NAT UR E OF BEING INV ESTED IN

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

omi Ajele grew up in what she
describes as “very white spaces,”
where she struggled to express
experiences her peers didn’t share.
As she grew into adolescence, she
became more confident naming
her experience and being her authentic self. Still, she wanted to find
more connection with other Black Calgarians.
In 2020, Ajele became active with Afros In Tha
City (AITC), a community group known for DJ
events, workshops and talks. On AITC’s Discord
server, Ajele and a group of fellow soon-to-be
editors created a media arm for the group that
focused on telling personal stories in vivid detail.
“The value of personal stories is that they offer
something that I think is rarely offered in stories
that feature marginalized folks, and that is nuance,” Ajele says.
Since AITC has a horizontal organizational
structure, Ajele is quick to acknowledge the project as a team effort, but it was clear from the outset that she was fulfilling the role of editor in chief.
Ajele managed the Black Futures collaboration
with local media organization The Sprawl and
has fielded requests from Global TV and HGTV
Canada about interviewing Black leads for new
programming. During her tenure, AITC has grown
its audience and paying membership, and has
participated in revenue-growth programs with
Indiegraf, resulting in a $9,000 mix of grants and
donations, and a $5,000 grant from the Canadian
Association of Black Journalists.
Ajele is also an in-demand speaker and,
outside of her work with AITC, she has a full-time
job with Apathy is Boring, a charitable organization that encourages democratic participation by
youth in Canada. In all these things, she brings
her authentic self and a passion for a better world.
“Being able to live in alignment with your beliefs and your values and your convictions — that,
to me, is success,” she says. —C.G.

FINDING A PLACE, YOU END UP BUILDING A
PLACE FOR OTHERS AND END UP BUILDING
S O M E T H I N G T H A T O T H E R W I S E D I D N ’ T E X I S T. ”

november 2022

Nagwan Al-Guneid

Age 37

Director, Business Renewables Centre Canada

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
N AG WA N A L- G UNE I D H E L PS SI MP L I FY
A N D ACC E LE RAT E L A RG E -SCA L E
RE N EWA B L E EN E RGY USE BY P ROVI DI NG
RESO URC ES A N D E DUCAT I ONA L TOOL S .

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

I

f you ask Nagwan Al-Guneid for advice
on the best way to a greener future, she’ll
tell you there’s no singular solution. “I like
to say that we don’t have a silver bullet to
lower emissions and achieve our environmental, social and governance initiatives,”
she says. “We need many tools and technologies.”
Al-Guneid is the director of Business Renewables Centre-Canada (BRCC), an initiative of
the Pembina Institute. BRCC is an educational
platform that provides guidance and resources
to corporations and public institutions looking to
buy renewable energy through power purchase
agreements (PPAs).
With a PPA, a corporation or public institution
can buy directly from a wind or solar developer
with no utility company in the middle, producing
a long-time stable rate. Al-Guneid and her team
provide educational tools and resources to help
public institutions and corporations in Alberta
learn about PPAs. Under her guidance, BRCC has
grown and diversified its community of renewable energy buyers across sectors, with corporations such as Starbucks, Telus, TC Energy, RBC
and Amazon on board. By 2023, the PPA market in
Alberta will contribute $3.75 billion in renewable
construction, bringing 4,500 jobs.
But PPAs are only one facet of Al-Guneid’s approach. Prior to joining BRCC in 2021, she worked
as a manager in policy innovation and government relations at Energy Futures Lab and, while
there, grew to recognize that we need government
policies to provide solutions to create a net-zero
future. Now, through BRCC, she is working to find
ways for government policies to be seen as pathways, not barriers, to zero-emission solutions.
“We’ll always need energy, and now [is the
time] to move the dial and scale up our efforts to
lower emissions,” she says. “But we need to zoom
out and start seeing the energy system as a whole,
not just one side of it.” —M.R.

avenuecalgary.com

“A S O U R WO R L D M O V E S T OWA R D B E I N G M O R E
CLIM ATE - CONSCIOUS, IT ’S NOT AN EITHER, OR.
W E C A N A D VA N C E A P R O S P E R O U S E N E R GY
SECTOR AND ENJOY ECONOMIC BENEFITS
W HILE ADDR ESSING CLIM ATE.”

37

R.J. Bailot

Age 36

Executive Director and Co-founder, Canadian Animal Task Force

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
R . J . BA I LOT ’ S I N T E RNAT I ONA L LY
R ECO G N I Z ED C HA RI T Y P ROVI DES
A N I M A L-W E LFA RE SE RVI C ES I N
UN DE R S ERV E D COMMUNI T I ES .

A

38

“ I T ’ S R E A L LY I M P O R T A N T T H A T
I’M STILL DOING W H AT INSPIR ED
ME TO DO THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE
B E C A U S E I T K E E P S M E M O T I VAT E D .”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

s executive director and co-founder
of the Canadian Animal Task Force
(CATF), R.J. Bailot’s days are spent
in service of animal welfare.
Bailot incorporated CATF in
2007 and it became a registered
charity in 2008. Recognizing that
there was a great need for services
in remote rural areas, CATF provides on-site
veterinarian care, such as spay-neuter clinics and
surgeries, for First Nations communities and other underserved regions. In addition to providing
population control and other veterinary services,
CATF also assists in disaster recovery of animals
and pets and aids in relinquishment cases.
“We’re seeing an increase in the surrender of
animals because [the owner is] not able to afford
a veterinarian bill. In those cases, we try to help
them when funds are available,” Bailot says.
CATF started out as a team of three and has
grown to a network of more than 2,200 active
volunteers. Since 2010, it has completed nearly 70
on-site clinics and examined, spayed, neutered,
vaccinated and dewormed more than 21,000
companion animals. Additionally, CAFT has
placed more than 7,500 surrendered animals with
partner rescue groups. “We don’t go into a situation with an enforcement role; our role is to help
people when they reach out for help,” Bailot says.
The organization’s hard work has not gone
unnoticed. In 2008, Bailot was given an award for
outstanding personal achievement by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. And, in 2021,
the R.J. Bailot Bursary for Volunteerism in Animal
Health Technology scholarship was created in his
honour by the key donors behind the Carla Cumming Sojonky Adoption Centre. The scholarship
recognizes the impact Bailot has had on the lives
of animals and people. “We can’t just care about
animals and not people, or vice versa,” Bailot says.
“We need to look at this in a full-circle way to see
the long-term impact.” —G.C.

november 2022

Age 34 | 30

Gursh Bal | Kai Fahrion
Co-CEOs, Zeno Renewables

WHY THEY ARE TOP 40S
G UR S H BA L A ND K A I FA H RI ON A R E
M A K I N G I T E A SI E R FOR RESI DE NC ES
TO A DO P T SO L A R E NE RGY WI T H A N
I N N OVAT I V E T URNK E Y A P P ROAC H .

Kai Fahrion (sitting)
and Gursh Bal.

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

E

lectricians Gursh Bal and Kai Fahrion
want to reduce humanity’s impact on
the environment, one home at a time.
In 2015, the duo created residential
solar solutions provider Zeno Renewables, offering a turnkey approach
by directly employing the designers,
engineers, project managers, electricians, marketers and sales specialists it takes to
add solar power to a home. Clients have one point
of contact to access all that expertise. “We want to
make the barrier to renewable energy so low that
adopting solar energy is an easy choice,” says Bal.
Zeno completed only two installations in its
first two years, but Bal and Fahrion persevered,
honed their message and built momentum. In
2022, its seventh year, Zeno Renewables completed 750 installations and hit the milestone
of 1,000 residential-system installations. Those
systems will result in approximately $36 million in
energy bill savings over the next 25 years and yield
carbon offsets equal to 2.3 million trees planted.
In 2021, Bal and Fahrion shifted their roles
from director of business development and director of operations to co-CEOs to make way for new
managers. Since those changes, Zeno has grown
its number of employees from 25 to 85, and is now
expanding outside of the province. “We introduced processes, structure and the entrepreneurial mindset of what we had to do to push forward,”
Fahrion says. “We attached a goal to a vision and
that made it tangible and allowed everyone to be
part of it.” That ultimate goal is installing solar in
1 million homes by 2040.
Zeno Renewables also started #CityCleanUp —
an initiative that selects a community each year
and spends several Saturdays cleaning it up. And,
through Strides for Sustainability, a marathonrunning fundraiser, the Zeno team raises money
for students in financial need. “If you have the
opportunity to makes someone’s life better, why
wouldn’t you?” says Bal. —J.M.

avenuecalgary.com

“ W E ’ R E R E A L LY G O O D A T H I T T I N G T H I N G S
HEAD - ON TOGETHER. IT’S BEEN A BIG
PA R T O F O U R S U C C E S S . ” – K A I F A H R I O N

39

Kerry Black

Age 37

Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
KE R RY B L AC K H EL PS DE VE LOP SOL UT I ONS
FO R I N F R A STR UCT URE - RE L AT E D C H A LL E N GES I N I N DI G E N O US COMMUNI T I ES .

I

40

“I’M DR AW N T O IS SUE S OF INEQUALI T Y
A N D I N E Q U I T Y, A N D W H E N I T C O M E S T O
ENGINEERING, W E DON’T OFTEN LOOK
THROUGH TH AT LENS.”

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

n the simplest of terms, engineering is
defined as the merging of scientific and
mathematical principles to solve real-world
problems. But, for Kerry Black, a civil engineer who works with Indigenous communities to tackle the underlying challenges
around access to clean water, the role of an
engineer is so much more.
As Canada Research Chair in Integrated
Knowledge, Engineering and Sustainable Communities, Black has secured more than $6 million
in research funding, and believes the best way
to address serious infrastructure challenges is
by embracing a transdisciplinary approach. “It’s
about bringing all kinds of different players to the
table with all different kinds of knowledge and
value systems to help address problems in a better way,” she says.
Black understands there are entrenched historical, colonial and patriarchal systems that contribute to the water and sanitation issues Indigenous
communities face. As a non-Indigenous person
committed to walking a path of reconciliation, she
works with Nations and communities toward selfdetermination, ensuring community voice is a key
part of decision-making around water.
Seeing a crucial need to bridge the gap between
scientific solutions and social and geographical realities, Black facilitates a process in which
members of a community are able to steward,
advise and guide research directions; and codevelop and collaborate to develop tools, plans,
training opportunities and other approaches that
address their specific needs and unique context.
This, Black believes, is the best and only way to
ensure improved access to safe drinking water
and sanitation, and to build healthy, resilient
communities.
“Being an engineer is not just about figuring
out the mechanics of the technology,” Black says.
“It’s about solving problems in a bigger way than
the narrow view we’ve had of engineering in the
past.” —K.B.

november 2022

Mark Blackwell

Age 34

General Partner, Builders VC

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
M A R K B L AC K W EL L I S MOVI NG T H E T E C H
E CO N OM Y I N CA LG A RY FORWA RD BY
I N V EST I N G I N STA RT UPS A ND C RE AT I NG
A ST RO N G E R T E C H E COSYST E M.

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

A

fter cutting his teeth in Silicon
Valley, Mark Blackwell is now
building a stronger tech ecosystem
in Calgary as an investor.
In 2014, Blackwell began moonlighting for GNS3 Technologies, a
Calgary startup with technology to
replace physical network hardware
when designing and simulating a network. The
Canadian Technology Accelerator program sponsored Blackwell’s move to Silicon Valley to receive
mentorship and scale the business through the
international business accelerator Plug and
Play. As chief operating officer, Blackwell led the
rebrand of GNS3, launched its online community
and managed 2 million users from more than 60
countries. In October 2015, GNS3 sold for $32
million to a publicly traded U.S. company.
Blackwell returned to Calgary and is now
building the tech ecosystem here through his
work with international venture fund Builders
VC. In December 2021, Builders launched a
$250-million fund that is backing strong Calgary
startups, including Veerum and Provision.
Blackwell is also board chair for the $100-million Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund created under former Mayor Naheed Nenshi to build
capacity in the city for tech entrepreneurs. As part
of that, Blackwell funded more than $80 million
of training initiatives with SAIT and the University
of Calgary’s Life Sciences Innovation Hub to Plug
and Play Ventures on the company accelerator
and venture funds side. He also mentors at UCalgary through the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial
Thinking, CDL (Creative Destruction Lab)-Rockies and UCeed, a philanthropic fund that supports
startups as they transition to commercialization.
“I can genuinely look small businesses in the
eye and say, there’s no reason for you to have to
go to Seattle, New York, Toronto or Vancouver,
because we have all the infrastructure in Calgary
now,” Blackwell says. —J.D.

avenuecalgary.com

“ I A LW A Y S F E LT L I K E I H A D
ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE —
EV EN A S A K ID.”

41

Doug Brown

Age 37

Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder, ZS2 Technologies

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
D O U G BROW N I S A M AT E RI A L S SC I E NT I ST
WH O H A S DEV ELO P E D A FI RST- OF- I TS KIN D C EM E N T TH AT IS I N CONT E NT I ON
FO R TH E $10 0 - M I L L I ON XP RI ZE .

W

42

“ M Y H O P E I S T H A T M Y C O M PA N Y A N D I C A N

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

ith a PhD in materials
chemistry from the University of Calgary, Doug Brown
is setting out to become
a global force in sustainable solutions to combat
climate change. “I became
concerned about things
like resource exhaustion back in high school. I
targeted chemistry as a foundational level for how
I could make an impact,” Brown says.
His company, ZS2 Technologies, which he cofounded with two partners, is primarily focused
on developing net-negative carbon footprint
cements. This first-of-its-kind product, based on
repurposing waste brines from the oil-and-gas
sector into carbon-storage cements, translates
into highly resilient, more sustainable building
options than conventional cement, one of the
most carbon-intensive materials around. One of
the uses for ZS2’s cement will be rebuilding communities devastated from extreme climate events.
Such pioneering work has caught the world’s
attention. Brown and the ZS2 team are currently
competing for the US $100-million XPRIZE, the
biggest competition in history around carbon
removal, funded by Elon Musk.
In just 2.5 years, ZS2 has gone from four to 50
employees and has been recognized by the Alberta Cleantech Investment Summit and named by
Foresight Canada as one of the 50 most-investible
cleantech companies in the country. ZS2 is also
finalizing B Corp certification, which measures a
company’s social and environmental impact.
Brown, who mentors new graduate students
at UCalgary in his little bit of spare time, says
using his PhD in such an entrepreneurial way is
his dream career. For the foreseeable future, the
passionate scientist is focusing on the green-tech
ecosystem.
“Then, maybe I can start thinking of finding a
work-life balance,” he says. —V.F.

PUT CALGARY ON THE M AP WHEN IT COMES
T O P ROV IDING S OLU T IONS F OR T HE NE X T
INDUST R I AL R E VOLU T ION.”

november 2022

Iman Bukhari

Age 33

CEO, Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
I M A N B UK H A RI ’S NON- P ROFI T
O RG A N I Z ATI O N I S H E L P I NG TO A DDRESS
R AC I S M A N D P ROMOT E A MORE
I N C L U SI VE SOC I E T Y.

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

A

t age 19, Iman Bukhari founded the
grassroots not-for-profit Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation
(CCMF) because she was determined to create a more equitable,
more understanding Calgary.
Originally from Pakistan,
Bukhari and her family came to
Calgary in 2000 when she was 11 years old. She
recalls being the target of racism while growing
up here, particularly in the wake of 9/11. “When
I came to this city as an immigrant, I saw a lot of
racism, and I see it’s gradually decreasing now,”
Bukhari says. “That gives you hope that we as a
society are evolving.”
The CCMF is doing its part to help that evolution. Since 2009, the Calgary-based, volunteerrun organization has been delivering education,
technology, arts and policy initiatives and has
won more than 12 community advocacy awards.
It produced an award-winning documentary, YYC
Colours; launched the inclusive language app,
Language Decoded; and created Culture Commons, an online resource hub for kindergarten to
Grade 12 teachers. The CCMF also spearheaded
a petition in 2020 that led to the City of Calgary
declaring systemic racism a concern and pledging
to create systemic change. “The work I do is about
human dignity,”Bukhari says. “I want to make
sure all Calgarians have a life filled with dignity.”
Bukhari, who holds a master’s degree in multimedia communications, says the most important
thing she has learned in her CCMF journey is how
to talk to people. “Having a conversation about
racism is uncomfortable for a lot of people,” she
says. “How can you say it in a way they need to
hear it?”
On top of leading the CCMF, Bukhari works
full-time for the City of Calgary and is the mother
of two young children. When asked what advice
she might give her younger self, “I would tell myself, ‘Do more; do a lot more,’” Bukhari says. —J.L.

avenuecalgary.com

“ T O C R E AT E C H A NG E , YO U H AV E T O
MAKE IT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR
PEOPLE TO GET ON BOAR D.”

43

David Campbell

Age 37

Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Calgary

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
PH YS I C I A N - R ES E A RC H E R DAVI D
CAM P BE LL DES I G N S P ROG RA MS TO I MPROVE DI A B E TES CA R E A MONG SOC I A L LY
D I S A DVA N TAG E D P OP UL AT I ONS .

m

44

“I THINK TH AT EV ERYBODY H A S A RIGHT
T O T H E B E S T K I N D O F H E A LT H C A R E A N D
ACCESS TO ALL THE THINGS PEOPLE
N E E D T O B E H E A LT H Y. ”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

idway through his undergraduate
studies, David Campbell moved
to Florida to volunteer with a
mission set in a poor community
of mostly immigrants. He stayed
two years, and the experience
changed the rest of his life. “It
led me down a road of being
interested in advocating for those who are not
well-served by the medical system,” he says.
Campbell obtained degrees in kinesiology
and medical anthropology, followed by an MD, a
PhD in health services research, and fellowships
in endocrinology and inner-city health research.
Today, his work focuses on metabolic diseases,
particularly diabetes, and how these conditions
are affected by social disparities.
Diabetes is difficult to manage, requiring medications, a strict diet, regular exercise, monitoring
of blood sugar levels and access to a health-care
team. But it’s especially challenging for those who
do not have access to drug insurance, healthy
food or a home. Cambell developed a screening
program for people with complications of diabetes at Calgary’s Drop-In Centre and a diabetes
outreach program at the Mustard Seed Wellness
Program in conjunction with the University of
Calgary’s student-run clinic.
In addition to his work as an endocrinologist,
Campbell leads research designed to improve
health among socially disadvantaged communities. Since returning to Calgary in 2019, he has
received more than $28 million in funding and
authored 35 papers in peer-reviewed journals
(78 papers since 2010).
Campbell credits his wife, a policy analyst, for
sparking his interest in working with the vulnerably housed. “What motivates me is [reducing]
the impact of inequities in our society, specifically by making health care more accessible and
acceptable to people who face various forms of
social disadvantage,” he says. —C.F.

november 2022

Andrew Chau

Age 35

Co-founder and CEO, Neo Financial

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
A N DR EW C HA U I S AT T H E H E L M
O F A UN I CORN COMPA NY T H AT
I S C H A N GI NG T H E FAC E OF
CO N S U ME R BA NK I NG .

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

T

hree years ago, Andrew Chau had
an idea to challenge centuries
of banking practices, such as account fees, physical locations and
in-person appointments. Today,
his financial-technology startup,
Neo Financial, serves more than 1
million customers across Canada
from inside an app, with no monthly fees.
Neo recently achieved the status of a unicorn
company (a private startup valued at $1 billion or
more), and is backed by the co-founder of PayPal.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to build a generational company to serve millions of Canadians
and add value to their lives,” Chau says.
It’s not the first time Chau has been at the helm
of a tech company that has disrupted an established sector. His first startup, SkipTheDishes,
was part of a wave of app-based technologies that
had a huge impact on the hospitality industry
by revolutionizing how people order and deliver
restaurant food. Based out of Winnipeg, that company sold for $200 million in 2016.
Chau says growing up he was never exposed
to tech entrepreneurship — he was simply
interested in developing solutions to everyday
problems. To date, Neo Financial has raised more
than $300 million in funding and employs more
than 650 people, mostly in Calgary and Winnipeg. In January of this year, the company leased
more than 110,000 square feet of office space in
downtown Calgary over two buildings — one being a formerly empty converted retail floor in the
historic Hudson’s Bay building — contributing to
the revitalization of downtown. “I think, to date,
one of the biggest impacts we have had is just
showing people that, yes, it can be done here in
Calgary,” Chau says. “There’s nothing stopping us
— and, when I say ‘us,’ I mean entrepreneurs and
others — from building massive companies here,
and that we can attract talent, capital and build it
all right here at home.” —T.A.

avenuecalgary.com

“ W H AT YOU SEE ON THE OU TSIDE
I S O N LY F I V E P E R C E N T O F T H E
ACT UAL WOR K TH AT GETS DONE.”

45

Vicki Van Chau

Age 36

Filmmaker and Arts Administrator

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
VICK I VA N C HA U I S A C H A MP I ON FOR
T H E A RTS COM M UN I T Y WH OSE AWA RDWI N N I N G F I L M S E XP LORE A SI A NCA N A DI A N STO R I ES FROM T H E P RA I RI ES .

46
46

“BEING A BIPOC FEM ALE ART IST IS ALR E ADY
A V E R Y P O L I T I C A L S T A T E M E N T, S O I [ D O N ’ T ]
FEEL LIKE I NEED TO MAKE A HUGE
POLI T ICAL STAT EMEN T IN M Y WOR K.”

november 2022

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

V

icki Van Chau is a natural director.
In 2011, as the program director of
Emmedia Gallery and Production
Society, she led the organization
out of a financial crisis that almost
shut its doors, with the help of a
newly elected board of directors
and staff hires. In 2012, she helped
launch the annual Particle + Wave Media Arts Festival, which showcases exhibits, screenings, and
performances by local and national media artists,
and is the only festival of its kind in Alberta.
Chau is also a director (and producer and
screenwriter) of films that tell stories from her
perspective of a second-generation Canadian.
“I am Chinese-Vietnamese, but I was born in
Calgary, so I’m very different from people who
were born in Asia,” Chau says. “I always wanted to
make that distinction in my work, that the Asian
diaspora in Canada is its own culture.”
In her award-winning films, Chau focuses on
global themes through a local lens and highlights
underrepresented stories. In Pulled Strings, a
father teaches his daughter the art of hand-pulling
noodles. In Off to the Races, Chau collaborated
with the Calgary Chinese Orchestra to feature
a contemporary arrangement of a traditional
Chinese song, performed by 72 international musicians. “There can be stories told from a different
perspective that’s not part of the Western genre
and can include voices that are underrepresented
here,” Chau says.
Her portfolio of films has earned Chau numerous accolades and awards — including the
Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta’s Emerging Artist
Award — for her efforts to promote cultural appreciation of Asian diaspora communities in the
Prairies. “My films are often rooted in the Asian
diaspora story which sometimes includes the
immigrant story,” Chau says. “I want to provide a
platform for those types of stories not normally
heard.” — T.A.

Change makers,
ground breakers,
status-quo shakers.
Our alumni do it all.
Congratulations to an inspiring group of MRU alumni
for making this year’s Top 40 under 40. Here’s to you,
your accomplishments and all that’s still to come.
We can’t wait to see what’s next.
You always belong here. mru.ca/Alumni

avenuecalgary.com

47

Brett Colvin

Age 33

Co-founder and CEO, Goodlaywer

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
B R E T T CO LV I N C O - F O U N D E D A T E C H
STA RT UP TH AT M A K ES L E G A L SE RVI C ES
M O R E ACC ESS I B L E AND A FFORDA BL E .

W

48

“ I F Y O U W A N T T O B U I L D A S T A R T U P,
Y O U H A V E T O R E A L LY L O V E T H E
P R O B L E M Y O U ’ R E S O LV I N G . ”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

ith aspirations of playing
professional soccer, Brett
Colvin attended the University of Alberta on an athletic
scholarship, where he completed graduate studies and
applied to law school on a
whim. After finishing his
law degree in 2015, Colvin worked at a corporate
firm, where he was nicknamed “Mr. Ideas” due
to his enthusiasm for brainstorming creative
solutions. During that time, he also volunteered
as vice-president of the Calgary Women’s Soccer
Association, where he put his law expertise to
work by helping draft new bylaws.
In 2019, Mr. Ideas put his money where
his mouth is, leaving behind corporate law to
co-found and serve as CEO for the tech startup
Goodlawyer. “The final straw for me was when
one of the seniors at the firm told me to keep
coming up with ideas — but to keep them to myself. It just became so clear that if I wanted to really make a difference [in the legal industry], I was
going to have to try it on my own,” Colvin says.
Named Startup Calgary’s Alumni Choice
for 2020, Goodlawyer is a legal marketplace
connecting Canadian businesses, startups and
entrepreneurs with specialized lawyers. Colvin
says Goodlawyer puts an emphasis on transparency by including fixed upfront fees, which make
legal services more affordable and accessible. “We
build solutions that are faster, cheaper and fit the
needs of startups, specifically,” Colvin says.
Goodlawyer’s first marketing campaign was
a product of timing: the Goodlawyer team gave
customers free legal advice on the ever-changing
mandates associated with the COVID-19 pandemic with the promo code #washyourhands.
Goodlawyer has since expanded from just a few
employees working at home to a staff of more
than 25 with a downtown office. In 2021, it sold
$1.2 million in legal services and is on track to sell
more than $3.5 million by the end of 2022. —G.C.

november 2022

Jonathan M. Cornish

Age 37

Chancellor of the University of Calgary and President Emeritus, Calgary Black Chambers

WHY THEY ’RE A TOP 40
J O N CO R N I SH I S T H E YOUNG ESTEV ER C H A N C EL LOR OF A CA NA DI A N
UN I V E R S I T Y A ND FOUNDE R OF A NONPRO F I T O RG A N I Z AT I ON TO SUP P ORT A ND
UP L I F T YO UN G BI P OC P ROFESSI ONA L S .

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

O

ver nine seasons with the Calgary
Stampeders, Jon Cornish (who uses
they/their pronouns) broke multiple
rushing records and, in 2013, was the
recipient of the Lou Marsh Trophy as
Canada’s Top Athlete. Cornish was
inducted into the Canadian Football
Hall of Fame in 2019 and continues
to be an ambassador for the Stampeders.
But their legacy in our city goes beyond sport.
In 2019, Cornish, who works as an investment advisor with RBC Dominion Securities, founded the
Calgary Black Chambers. The non-profit organization addresses issues related to systemic racism
and supports BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People
of Colour) young professionals and students with
mentorship and career-skills training by partnering with numerous groups and organizations. The
Chambers has raised more than $150,000 and
given out $75,000 in scholarships to more than 30
recipients. “I’m trying to help people build their
lives [to] the place they want them to be, because
I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to build
my own life the way I want it to be,” Cornish says.
The Chambers also advocates for BIPOC representation on boards. “A direct result of our advocacy work has been Alberta’s first Black bencher
on the Alberta Law Society,” Cornish says. “The efforts in terms of diversifying our boards in Alberta
and Calgary have been very successful.”
This past April, Cornish was appointed the 15th
chancellor of the University of Calgary, making
them the youngest-ever chancellor in Canadian
university history. In the new position, they will
continue to embody the Calgary Black Chambers’
core values of mentorship, scholarship, fellowship
and advocacy. “In this life, I’ve been lucky enough
to have the opportunity to help many people,”
Cornish says. “And I see myself continuing that
over the next four years as chancellor of the
University of Calgary.” —T.A.

avenuecalgary.com

“FOR ME, THE DEFINITION OF
SUCCESS IS HOW MUCH YOU CAN
E L E VAT E T H O S E A R O U N D Y O U.”

49

Amber Craig

Age 34

Chief Merchandising Officer, FOUR20

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
A M BE R C R A I G H A S H E L P E D P I ONE E R
L E G A L CA N N A BI S U SE I N A L BE RTA ,
FIN DI N G C R E ATI V E WAYS FOR T H E
I N DUSTRY TO FLOURI SH .

I

50

“ T H E R E ’ S A LW A Y S S O M E T H I N G
YOU CAN DO FIRST OR BETTER
O R D I F F E R E N T. ”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

n the initial months following the legalization of cannabis in Canada, Amber Craig
says customers at FOUR20 Premium Market often refused branded bags, opting to
hide their purchases in backpacks or pockets. Now, four years in, the vibe has drastically changed. “Not only are people not
ashamed to talk about cannabis use, they’re
proud of it,” says Craig. “People will come in with
their co-workers or their mom or grandma.”
Craig hasn’t just witnessed this change in
public opinion, she’s helped facilitate it. On
legalization day in 2018, Craig assisted in opening
FOUR20’s first Calgary-based store — one of just
two cannabis shops in the city at the time. Since
then, she’s played a major role in expanding
FOUR20 to more than 30 Alberta stores, winning
two Best of Calgary awards and a Hashtag Award
for email marketing along the way.
While there are strict regulations around the
marketing of cannabis, Craig has helped strengthen the FOUR20 brand by prioritizing customer
connections and partnering with Calgary institutions. In 2019, she brought Canada’s first cannabis
consumption area to the Calgary Folk Music
Festival. That same year, she developed and began
teaching Canada’s first cannabis retail marketing
course at Mount Royal University.
Craig’s community connection reaches beyond
cannabis. As a co-founder and board member of
the Breaking Free Foundation (BFF), she supports
trauma survivors in Alberta. Since 2016, BFF has
hosted 85 free support meetings and provided
146 therapy grants. BFF’s annual Victor Walk
tour raises awareness for child sexual abuse — a
topic Craig covered in a 2020 children’s book she
authored, Victor the Frog. Profits from the sale of
the book go to the foundation.
In her work with both BFF and FOUR20, Craig
prioritizes real connection. “There’s just immense
pride when something you’ve worked so hard at is
welcomed with open arms,” she says. —N.K.

november 2022

Shaun Crawford

Age 38

Creative Captain, Mammoth XR

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
S HA UN C R AW F ORD I S H E L P I NG RA I SE
T HE P RO F I LE O F CA LG A RY A S A FI L M A ND
M E DI A C EN T R E T H ROUG H H I S WORK
C R E ATI N G X R CONT E NT A ND H I S OWN
F I LM M A K I NG P ROJ E CTS .

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

S

haun Crawford had a career in social
services when the opportunity to
pursue creative work came knocking. While working for the Calgary
Drop-In Centre, he connected with
the media company Mammoth XR
(short for “extended reality,” a term
that encompasses virtual reality,
augmented reality, mixed-reality and other forms
of interactive media) on a client project. “I came
to the conclusion that maybe the best way I could
contribute to building a better world was through
storytelling,” Crawford says.
Crawford began freelancing with Mammoth
XR in 2016, and is now the company’s full-time
Creative Captain, a position with duties ranging
from writing to directing to producing. He has
been an integral part of 360-degree videos made
for National Geographic; the Sammy the Snowman interactive video-animation installation
at Southcentre Mall; and a new VR game called
Jordan Jones Dies in Space.
A prolific screenwriter, Crawford has also
written 26 feature-length scripts. His first two
produced screenplays A Miracle on Christmas
Lake (2016) and Everfall (2017, co-written with
John Kissack), were significant achievements on a
commercial level, though what he calls his biggest
creative achievement to date is his directorial
debut, Here & After (2021). Made on a near-impossible shoestring budget, it follows a significant
encounter of a man on a day pass from rehab
and draws from Crawford’s real-life experiences.
“The best thing about my job at Mammoth XR
and as an independent filmmaker is having the
opportunity to make a contribution to the eternal
conversation,” Crawford says. “That’s what I talk
about art as being: eternal conversation about
a human experience. I get really excited about
having an opportunity to play even a small part in
that.” — C.G.

avenuecalgary.com

“IF I COULD GI V E AN Y ADV ICE TO M Y
Y O U N G E R S E L F, I T W O U L D J U S T B E T H A T
I T ’ S P O S S I B L E . I S P E N T WAY T O O M U C H O F
M Y LIFE NOT BELIEV ING TH AT I COULD DO
T H E T H I N G S T H A T I ’ M D O I N G N O W. ”

51

Sean Crump

Age 37

Head Chair and CEO, Included By Design

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
S E A N C R UM P M A K ES CA LG A RY A
M OR E I N C L US I V E C I TY BY CONNE CT I NG
PE O P LE W I TH DI SA BI L I T I ES WI T H
CE RTI F I E D-ACC ESS IBL E BUSI NESSES .

52

“EQUITY H AS ALMOST
BECOME OUTCOME-BASED,
W H E R E A S , I T H I N K E Q U I T Y,
R E A L LY, I S A B O U T
O P P O R T U N I T Y. ”

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

S

ean Crump believes universal design
is only the beginning of what makes a
business inclusive. His firm, Included
By Design, helps organizations
achieve globally recognized industry
standards for accessibility, which
Crump has aggregated into a singular
process. Those standards include
automatic doors, entry ramps, and dictation or
screen-reading software. Crump, a quadriplegic,
says research shows that most businesses can
support a unique need for an employee for less
than $500. “There’s a much bigger return on investment than I think people assume,” he says.
He also shows organizations how inclusively
designed operating practices can increase the
number and diversity of employees and customers who can access their space. At his own company, almost half of the long-term employees are
living with a disability. “For people with disabilities, if they find a place where they’re properly
supported, their commitment to that place is
equal to the support they’re shown,” he says.
Evidence of Crump’s success can be seen
throughout Calgary. Included By Design’s client
list includes major organizations such as Glenbow
and WinSport, as well as businesses like Dandy
Brewing Company.
Crump is also behind Krooshl, a virtual map of
certified-accessible and inclusive businesses in
the city vetted by Included By Design. In 2021, he
launched the beta version of Krooshl and, within
a few months, 50 businesses — ranging from restaurants and coffee shops to conference centres
— signed on to go through the vetting process and
be added to the map.
“As one of the last provinces to accept a provincial legislation around disability inclusion or
accessibility, I think a lot of the work I’ve done
has really helped Calgary progress forward and
be more accountable to disability inclusion,” he
says. —T.A.

november 2022

A MASTERPIECE
SCULPTED BY TIME.

T H E A R T O F T I M E , S I N C E 1 7 7 9.
Bowmore® Scotch Whisky, 40% alc/vol. ©2022 Beam Suntory, Inc. Chicago, IL.

bowmore.com

54

november 2022

Age 32 | 32

Connor Curran|Dustin Paisley
Co-founder and CEO (Curran); Co-founder and COO (Paisley), Local Laundry

WHY THEY ARE TOP 40S
CO N N O R C UR R AN A ND DUST I N PA I SL E Y ’ S
S USTA I N A B L E C LOT H I NG COMPA NY A I MS
TO DO N ATE $ 1 MI L L I ON TO COMMUNI T Y
O RG A N I Z AT I ONS BY 2030.

Connor Curran (standing)
and Dustin Paisley.

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

L

ocal Laundry started out in 2015 with
$100 and a Google search of “how
to make a T-shirt company.” It has
gone on to earn $1 million in annual
revenues. But, for co-founders Connor
Curran and Dustin Paisley, success is
more than money; rather, it’s about
creating a purposeful product that
supports the community.
As of 2020, less than five per cent of all clothing
purchased in Canada is made in Canada. Curran
and Paisley seek to change that by working exclusively with domestic manufacturers and designers
with high standards and regulations. That way,
every penny goes back into the local economy
and environmental impact is greatly reduced.
Paisley says that, due to their effective branding, Local Laundry is often mistaken for a “big
business.” Don’t be fooled: with just three
full-time employees, Local Laundry is small,
but mighty. Along with their dedication to local
production, Curran and Paisley aim to donate $1
million to local charities and community startups
by 2030 through Local Laundry and personal initiatives. They have already contributed more than
$175,000, with Curran recently raising $9,000 for
Pacekids, an organization that supports children
with special needs.
Beyond Local Laundry, Paisley helped launch
the Trico Changemakers Studio at Mount Royal
University and Curran serves on the Calgary
Chamber of Commerce, as well as several other
boards. Together, they spearheaded a local meetup event to help foster community and connection among Calgary’s small-business community.
“There’s no other clothing company in Canada
that is our size doing as much as we are doing for
the community,” Paisley says.
“We’re not millionaires driving fancy cars, but
we built something out of nothing and turned it
into a living,” says Curran. “At the end of the day,
it’s about the legacy we’re leaving behind.” — K.B.

avenuecalgary.com

“CALGARY IS ONE OF THE GR E ATEST
CITIES IN THE WORLD, AND I THINK IT ’S
PR ETT Y SPECI AL TH AT W E GET TO RUN
A B U S I N E S S T H A T C E L E B R A T E S T H A T. ”
– D U S T I N PA I S L E Y

55

Shannon Doram

Age 38

President and CEO, YMCA Calgary

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
S HA N N O N DO R A M RUNS ONE OF
T H E C I T Y ’S B I G G EST C H A RI TA BL E
ORGA N I Z AT I O N S , H EL P I NG CA LG A RI A NS
AC HI EV E TH E B EST VE RSI ONS
O F T HE M SE LVES .

S

56

“I THRIVE ON CH ALLENGE. THE LAST
F E W Y E A R S H AV E B E E N A R I DE , B U T I
CAN’T SEE M YSELF DOING THINGS
A N Y O T H E R W A Y. ”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

hannon Doram’s two main motivators are healthy people and healthy
communities. Nowhere is that
confluence more apparent than at
YMCA Calgary, an organization that
Doram has been a key part of since
2011 and has led as president and
CEO since 2017, a job she took on at
the age of 33.
A sports enthusiast since childhood, Doram
worked in the public-health sector after she
graduated from university. “When I decided to
go down the path of being in public health, my
goal was fairly simple: I wanted to help people
lead their best lives,” she says. She yearned for an
opportunity to work directly with the public in a
way that would allow her to see the results of her
work. When she had the chance to help open the
Y at the South Health Campus in 2012, she knew
she had found her dream job.
Doram has now overseen the openings of the
two biggest YMCAs in the world (Shane Homes
YMCA in Rocky Ridge and Brookfield Residential
YMCA in Seton), all while managing 1,100 staff
and 1,300 volunteers.
About 14 months after opening those bright
and shiny facilities, COVID-19 hit and Doram had
to manage the difficult task of temporarily closing
them. Now, she is overseeing the planned revitalization of the Y’s Camp Chief Hector, and working
with volunteers on a fundraising campaign with
a goal of $14 million. Additionally, she hosted
a conference that brought together the leaders
of the 70 largest YMCAs in North America, and
is supporting and fundraising for humanitarian
efforts in Ukraine.
“This is an organization that attracts and shows
the best of Calgary,” Doram says. “I get to work
with great people and see them engage with
the community. It restores my faith in all of our
potential.” — E.C.B.

november 2022

Sam Effah

Age 34

Manager, Brand Marketing, Sponsorship and Brand Strategy, RBC

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
T W I C E C ROW NE D CA NA DA’S FA ST EST
M A N , S A M E F FA H H A S G ONE ON TO
R EP R ES E N T O UR COUNT RY ON T H E
G LO BA L STAG E A S CO- C H E F DE MI SSI ON
O F T HE 2 02 2 COMMONWE A LT H G A MES .

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

S

am Effah’s dad used to say that if
success was easy then everybody
would do it. “He always talked about
the hard work it took to get there,”
Effah says.
The born-and-bred Calgarian took
that advice to heart in his athletic career and later, as a marketing professional and volunteer. Able to cross the 100-metre
finish line in 10.06 seconds on his better days, and
competing against the likes of the legendary Usain
Bolt, Effah proudly represented Canada at three
World Athletics Championships, two Commonwealth Games and, in 2021, was inducted into the
Canada West Hall of Fame. He also gained nationwide celebrity in 2019 competing on The Amazing
Race Canada, coming in second place.
When he speaks to youth in his work with Right
to Play and Classroom Champions, though, Effah
often highlights the lows, like the race in 2014
where a broken starting block resulted in major
labral tears in both hips and surgery on the left.
“Success isn’t just about making it to the finish
line,” he says. “It’s also being able to rise from an
unfavourable situation, to be resilient.”
Effah has gone from representing Canada on
the track to representing Canada as Co-Chef de
Mission of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, held
this past summer. He also helps identify future
Olympians through the RBC Training Ground
program, which provides resources to help promising contenders reach their podium dreams. He
continues to hone his skills as a public speaker for
people of all ages on topics such as his personal
experiences as an African living in Canada.
Whatever he’s doing, the sage advice of his
father — a proud Canadian citizen originally from
Ghana and Effah’s first, best coach — is always
there. “Winning is more than just winning,” he
says. “It’s about using your platform to create tangible, positive change in your community.” —V.F.

avenuecalgary.com

“I FIND THE MOST INSPIRING
P E OP L E A R E T H O S E W H O H AV E
BEEN A BLE TO RISE UP FROM
U N FAV O U R A B L E S I T U AT I O N S .”

57

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Jessie Fiddler-Kiss

Age 39

Indigenous Education and Organizational Consultant; Founder, The Moss Bag Project

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
J ESS I E F I DDL ER- K I SS FOUNDE D A NONP RO F I T O RG A NI ZAT I ON TO SUP P ORT
IN DI G EN O US M OT H E RS A ND T WO-SP I RI T
PA R E N TS W I T H H E A LT H A ND H E A L I NG .

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

T

hrough strong ties to her Métis
lineage, Jessie Fiddler-Kiss has
long felt the call to serve her community. “I know where my family
comes from and what they’ve been
through,” she says. “To be in a space
to give back feels right. It feels
necessary.”
This outlook informs The Moss Bag Project
(TMBP), a non-profit organization Fiddler-Kiss
founded in 2014. TMBP provides support for
Indigenous mothers and Two-Spirit parents by
focusing on community love, reciprocity, birthing
and child-rearing education; and the creation of
moss bags (waspisonak in Cree), a way of physically wrapping up babies and sharing teachings.
The idea to start TMBP solidified when her own
father passed away around the time Fiddler-Kiss
welcomed her second baby. “All of these aunties
came out to support me [after my dad’s death],
and they gave me a moss bag,” she says. “I just remember thinking that all Indigenous parents and
aunties should have this … a safe space to focus
on loving their children and healing.”
Fiddler-Kiss says her work balances two
paradigms that don’t always align. “[With TMBP],
we’re trying to centre Indigenous teachings while
decolonizing charity and community work,” she
says. “We don’t always check the right boxes
according to colonial systems of approval, which
means funding organizations don’t always recognize the work that we do.”
Despite this challenge, TMBP continues to raise
money for scholarships (five have been awarded
to Indigenous parents to date); make, sell and gift
hundreds of moss bags to Indigenous families;
and share moss bag teachings in order to reclaim
traditional parenting skills. “Birth is a beautiful
place to begin healing,” says Fiddler-Kiss. “There’s
a postpartum openness, so, if you provide support
at that time, it can have a great effect on healing
communities.” —C.S.

avenuecalgary.com

“ T H E W A Y O U R G R O U P G A T H E R S I S A LW A Y S
I N H U M I L I T Y A N D R E C I P R O C I T Y. I T ’ S N O T
TR ANS ACTIONAL. W E’R E TRYING TO CR E ATE
A D I F F E R E N T K I N D O F S PA C E . ”

59

Kenneth Fuh

Age 34

Co-founder and Director of Product Development, Syantra Inc.

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
K E N N ET H F UH' S P H D RESE A RC H
H E L P E D DE V E LO P A NE W BLOOD T EST
TO DET ECT BR E A ST CA NC E R . NOW, H E
AIM S TO B R I N G TH E T EST TO PAT I E NTS
A RO UN D TH E WORL D.

B

60

“ I H AV E A S I NC E R E DE D I C AT I O N T O H A R D WO R K .”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

y 5:30 a.m., Kenneth Fuh is often
awake, trying to catch colleagues in
Europe before their day ends. It’s all
part of his dream to bring Syantra
DX, a made-in-Calgary blood test
to detect breast cancer, to women
around the world.
His philosophy? “If you’re determined, you can do it,” he says.
Fuh grew up in Cameroon. When he was 21, he
won a prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship
to do his master’s degree in biotechnology at the
University of Manchester — an experience he
describes as the biggest challenge of his life. After
graduating, he came to Canada to do his PhD,
focusing on the molecular mechanisms of breastcancer progression.
His research helped lead to the development
of Syantra DX, an assay that uses a unique set of
biomarkers to detect breast cancer from a blood
sample. “This test represents a major innovation
in breast cancer detection,” Fuh says. The tool can
pick up breast cancer at an early stage when it
may be easier to treat. It may be especially helpful
for younger women who are not recommended
for screening, but account for 18 per cent of breast
cancer diagnoses.
Syantra DX is currently available to patients
across Canada, and Fuh and colleagues are
working toward making it available to patients
in Europe. Getting the test to patients is only one
goal. Eventually, he hopes that his work will help
identify drug targets for difficult-to-treat breast
cancers. Beyond that, he believes the company
will be able to offer similar testing for other cancers. “If we could put all these together within the
next five years, I would be very happy,” he says.
But there’s more to his day than work, and
that’s the secret ingredient. “When I get home, I
shut everything down and spend time with my
family,” he says. —C.F.

november 2022

Age 39

Jiami Guo
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Calgary; and NYSCF - Robertson Investigator

“I’M A V ERY CURIOUS PERSON.
I NEED TO FEEL CH ALLENGED.”

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

I N TRO T K TK I S A N AWA RD-WI NNI NG
H YEQUI
S H E T’ SY AA ND
TOP
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R

ebel probably isn’t the description
you’d expect for an accomplished
cell biologist. But it’s fitting for Jiami
Guo. “I don’t like to be told what to
do,” she says.
This scientist with a specialty in
cilia — tiny antennae-like structures
in most cells — was a self-described
“mediocre student” throughout her high school
and university degrees in China. She struggled

avenuecalgary.com

to get a scholarship to study in North America,
but lucked out when another student passed up
a spot at Ohio’s Kent State University. Guo went
on to complete her PhD at Kent State. She didn’t
have a single publication during that time, but an
advisor in North Carolina took her on as a postdoctoral fellow — a move that changed her life.
Guo has always been inspired by her father, a
writer in China. He encouraged her to remain an
independent thinker. “I’m very curious. I want to
constantly explore the unknown things,” she says.
That’s how she ended up in an emerging field:
Cilia used to be considered evolutionary remnants of little significance, but, in the last decade,
scientists learned that mutations in cilia-related
genes lead to serious disorders. Guo, who moved

to Calgary four years ago, discovered that cilia
instruct the development and connection of networks in the brain, suggesting that cilia play a role
in neurological disorders.
Her work has attracted more than $3.5 million
in grants, and, in 2020, she was the first person
in Canada to receive the New York Stem Cell
Foundation’s prestigious Robertson Neuroscience
Investigator Award, a program that identifies and
supports promising early career scientists whose
cutting-edge research shows potential for treatments and cures. Guo has now co-authored 12
publications in major journals, including four that
significantly advanced understanding of cilia.
“For things that I love, I pour 100 per cent of
myself into it,” she says. —C.F.
61

Karl Hirzer

Age 33

Associate Conductor, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra

WHY HE’S A TOP 40 UNDER 40
ALONG W I TH CO N D UCT I NG A MA J OR
N O RT H A M ER I CA N ME T ROP OL I TA N
ORCH ESTR A , K A R L HI RZE R I S COMMI T T E D
TO F OST ER I N G EDUCAT I ON A ND
OU TR E AC H I N I T I AT I VES FOR YOUT H .

I

62

“ I A LW A Y S W A N T E D T O B E A C O N D U C T O R .
I CAN’T REMEMBER A TIME WHEN I DIDN’T
THINK TH AT WOULD BE COOL.”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

f you’re not convinced classical music is
exciting, catch a show conducted by Karl
Hirzer. The associate conductor for the
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra shares
his passion for music with audiences of all
ages. “The variety of sound worlds and the
dramatic narrative that you can weave with
orchestral music is amazing,” he says.
Hirzer moved to Calgary in 2016 to take on the
role of Calgary Phil’s resident conductor and was
promoted to associate conductor in 2018. He has
since led more than 150 performances in Calgary
and performed as a guest conductor with orchestras across the country and internationally.
In addition to his performance work, Hirzer is
actively involved in the PhilKids education and
outreach programs, leading the Education Series
concerts, where elementary students are bused
to Jack Singer Concert Hall. “Kids often have
no preconceived notion of what kind of experience they’re going to have,” he says. “There’s an
opportunity for them to be completely shocked.
You can feel that reaction when you’re performing
for a roomful of elementary school kids. You can
feel them all listening super-intently because the
music has grabbed their attention.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic prevented inperson events, Hirzer spearheaded a web series
called An Orchestra Adventure (with Maestro Karl
and Friends). Since 2020, the series has amassed
over 100,000 views on YouTube and was recently
picked up by PBS and several school districts in
the U.S.
To Hirzer, live music is more than just a form of
entertainment — it is a means of connection.
“Music can be understood by anyone, regardless of what language they speak, what age they
are or where they come from,” he says. “Music
has an incredible and extremely mysterious way
of reaching straight into your soul, and I really do
feel like we’re all in it together.” —K.B.

november 2022

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THE ENTIRE FOUR20 FAMILY
CONGRATULATES AMBER FOR
ACHIEVING TOP 40 UNDER 40.
WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!

AMBER CRAIG
63

Jessica Janzen Olstad

Age 38

Executive Director, Love for Lewiston Foundation

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
JESS I CA J A N Z EN O L STA D I S H E L P I NG
FA M IL I ES A F F ECTE D BY SP I NA L MUSC UL A R
AT RO P HY BY A DVO CAT I NG FOR STA NDAR D SC R E EN I N G S FOR NE WBORNS .

64
64

“GET CURIOUS. BE KIND. DO
T HE H AR D WOR K AND STAY
C O N S I S T E N T. ”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

S

ince February 2022, more than
20,000 infants in Alberta have been
screened for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). This is thanks to Jessica
Janzen Olstad, who once swore
that no family would endure what
hers went through with her son,
Lewiston. “I don’t want a mother to
have to sit holding her baby wondering, ‘Is this
your last breath?,’” she says.
Lewiston was born in May 2016. Two months
later, he fell sick. His mother was convinced he
had SMA, a rare disorder that can lead to muscle
weakness, motor delays and death. But it took
two and a half months to get Lewiston tested. By
the time his positive results came back, he had deteriorated beyond the point of survival. Lewiston
died just before his six-month milestone.
His parents felt that, if he’d been tested earlier,
he would have had earlier access to treatment and
might still be alive. Janzen Olstad, with her husband, Ronnie Olstad, poured her heartbreak into
raising awareness and funds through the Love for
Lewiston Foundation. The foundation has raised
nearly $2 million to support families with SMA.
Janzen Olstad also advocated with the province
for SMA testing to be included as part of standard
screening for newborns. “This was a no-brainer.
It’s already being done in other countries. It’s not
like we’re trying to build a rocket ship,” she says.
The newborn screening program launched last
winter, supported in part by $270,000 from the
Love for Lewiston Foundation.
A mother of three children (“two earth-side,
one up in heaven”), Janzen Olstad works as a
speaker and executive coach, encouraging people
to find joy, even in difficult circumstances. In
2020, she wrote a book, Bring The Joy, which is
available in bookstores and online. “I’ve learned
that you can be mad and that’s okay. You can
healthily channel that energy into rocket fuel to
continue to create change,” she says. —C.F.

november 2022

Alex Kingcott

Age 34

Founder and President, Shareworthy PR and Communications

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
A L E X K I N G COT T H E L PS MA J OR C ULT URA L
O RG A N I Z AT I ONS T E L L T H E I R UNI QUE
STO R I ES A N D BUI L D A UT H E NT I C RE L ATI O N S HI PS W I T H T H E I R A UDI E NC ES .

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

T

he first encounter with show business Alex Kingcott had was at her
parents’ floral shop. “Mr. Dressup
came in to buy balloons,” she recalls, “and I nearly lost my mind.”
As a child, she briefly aspired to
a life on stage, but the Broadway
show tunes-fanatic eventually
found her place behind the scenes. “It came as a
revelation that I could be devoted to the theatre
community, but I didn’t have to be on stage to do
it,” she says.
With a portfolio that includes the Calgary
Expo, Broadway Across Canada, Wordfest, High
Performance Rodeo and Calgary Opera, Kingcott
has, in less than a decade, established her PR firm
Shareworthy as the go-to for telling the stories of
Alberta’s arts and culture sector.
Helping her clients craft their community
engagement and communications strategies, then
bring those plans to fruition (she also advocates
for artists and arts organizations) requires a
mix of solid business skill and creativity. That’s
something Kingcott displayed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in spring of 2020. She not
only helped her panicked clients pivot; many
even managed to thrive, such as Wordfest, which
increased its online audience by 60 per cent
through its Imagine on Air program.
Kingcott keeps busy in her spare time volunteering with organizations such as the Calgary
Stampede and the Immigrant Council for Arts
Innovation.
While these days she’s rubbing shoulders with
Comic Expo guests like William Shatner, it’s clear
her childhood encounter with the late Ernie
Coombs (a.k.a. Mr. Dressup), a protégé of Fred
Rogers, who counted kindness and humility as
life’s most important values — left an indelible
impression. “If you do good work and you’re a
kind person, people will notice the spark,” says
Kingcott. “And they’ll want to fan it.” —V.F.

avenuecalgary.com

“ T H E R E I S S E R I O U S VA LU E I N
A C K N O W L E D G I N G T H E J O Y S O F H U M A N I T Y,
AND T HE WOR K OF ART ISTS.”

65

CONGRATULATIONS
Kerry Black, P.Eng., PhD.,
on your achievement as a
Top 40 Under 40 award recipient!
As assistant professor with the Department of Civil Engineering
at the University of Calgary, Kerry is dedicated to developing
innovative, clean-water solutions for communities.

The Association of Professional Engineers
and Geoscientists of Alberta has regulated
the practices of engineering and geoscience
in our province for more than a century.
As the largest association of self-regulated
professionals in Western Canada, our
members work in diverse industries,
contributing significantly to Alberta’s
economic success and enhancing the
quality of life Albertans enjoy.
Together, we are driving Alberta forward
through courage and innovation.

apega.ca

66

november 2022

Age 34

Evan Legate
Board Chair, Epilepsy Association of Calgary; Partner, Longview Communications & Public Affairs

“ I H A D G R E A T H E A LT H C A R E ,
BUT I FELL THROUGH THE CR ACKS
ON THE SOCI AL SERV ICES SIDE.
M Y G O A L I S F O R N O O N E T O FA L L
THROUGH THE CR ACKS.”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

I N TRO T K TK I S A N AWA RD-WI NNI NG
H YEQUI
H E ’TSYAATND
O PI NC
4 0L USI ON
DI V ER S IW
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EVA NSTR
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OF
S HE M EE TS , A WOME N- OF- COLOUR
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M O R E TH A
30,000
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ROUP
T K TAKL.BE RTA NS .

i

n 2015, Evan Legate was a healthy 27-yearold who didn’t know anything about
epilepsy. Then he began having seizures.
He was diagnosed with epilepsy that year
— the same week his son was born — and
suddenly found himself coping with a brain
disorder and a newborn. It was a lot, and he
was terrified. Doctors helped manage the
medical side of his epilepsy, but social supports
for the new father and his family were scarce.

avenuecalgary.com

Now, he’s board chair of the Epilepsy Association of Calgary (EAC), leading an aggressive, fiveyear revitalization plan. His goal is to make sure
that the 30,000 southern Albertans of all ages and
demographics living with epilepsy have access to
community support.
To hit that goal, Legate grew the EAC board and
re-staffed. The expanded team introduced and revived programs, including multi-week sessions to
help newly diagnosed epileptics adjust to life with
active seizures, sessions addressing depression
and mental wellness, and programs that teach
coping methods for cognitive issues like memory
and attention. Group and one-on-one peer supports were brought back, as were programs for
parents and spouses. The EAC embedded itself

with the Calgary Comprehensive Epilepsy Program making it easier for medical professionals to
refer their patients for social supports.
Tapping into the skills he applies to his day
job as partner at Longview Communications &
Public Affairs, Legate is engaged in ongoing lobbying efforts to secure funding from the Alberta
government for the EAC to provide increased
community supports and education, and launching awareness campaigns to reduce the stigma
associated with epilepsy. In 2022, the EAC held
its inaugural Purple Day by Night Gala, which
raised $40,000.
“Our goal is to become the leading epilepsy
association in Canada and we’re well on our way
to getting there,” Legate says. —J.M.
67

David Leinster

Age 39

CEO, Contemporary Calgary

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
DAVID LE I N ST ER H EL PE D T RA NSFORM A N
ICO N I C CA LG A RY L A NDMA RK I NTO A
PL ACE W H ER E EV ERYONE CA N E NJ OY T H E
WO N DER S O F CO N T E MP ORA RY A RT.

D

68

“ M A N Y P E OP L E I N T H E C O M M U N I T Y H AV E H A D A
P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

avid Leinster’s grandmother instilled in him an appreciation for the
visual arts and the value of living a
creative life. As CEO of Contemporary Calgary, Leinster combines his
Nana’s teachings with his experience
in the world of branding and advertising to run one of the city’s premier
arts facilities.
Leinster utilizes his business and marketing
skills in overseeing almost every aspect of the
gallery. He admits leaving corporate life — he
was previously manager, enterprise brand and
creative services at Enbridge — to work in the arts
was a big risk. “I remember being really intrigued
and excited and also absolutely terrified … I felt
like that discomfort was something that needed to
be leaned into,” he says.
His history with the gallery extends to its
formative years: an Enbridge colleague, who was
Chair of the Institute of Modern and Contemporary Art, was galvanizing support from other arts
organizations and individuals to create a joint response to the City’s Expression of Interest process
for the former Centennial Planetarium building.
Leinster volunteered to be the project manager
for the submission, which was ultimately successful. In 2018, Contemporary Calgary reached an
agreement with the City to lease the building and
opened officially in January 2020.
Contemporary Calgary has since hosted shows
by international art stars like Yoko Ono and Omar
Ba, building an audience of more than 2,000
annual membership holders. Leinster has been a
fundraising machine, securing a $30-million commitment from the federal government and drumming up private money through the annual LOOK
Gala, one of the hottest social tickets in town.
“This building has always served the people of
Calgary as a place they go to be inspired,” he says.
“I feel like we’ve given something that was lost
back to the city.” —E.C.B.

V ISION FOR THIS GALLERY FOR A LONG TIME.
IT’S MY PRIVILEGE TO BE ONE OF THE PEOPLE
TH AT HELPED SEE IT THROUGH.”

november 2022

Brendan MacArthur-Stevens

Age 33

Litigation and Dispute Resolution Associate, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
BR EN DA N MACA RT H UR-ST E VE NS
A DVO CATES F OR I NC L USI VI T Y I N T H E
L EG A L P RO F ESSI ON, FI G H T I NG FOR T H E
R I G HTS O F LG BTQ2S+ P E OP L E I N COURT.

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

I

n his formative years, Brendan MacArthurStevens watched landmark legal decisions
for LGBTQ2S+ people unfold. Same-sex
couples gained the right to get married,
adopt and have visitation rights with hospitalized partners. Behind each of those
cases was a lawyer, fighting for justice.
Today, MacArthur-Stevens is that lawyer. When he isn’t resolving legal disputes for clients like WestJet or Canadian Pacific Railway, he’s
taking on pro bono cases for queer organizations
in Alberta. In 2018, when a faith-based group of
schools challenged the Province’s protections for
gay-straight alliances (GSAs), MacArthur-Stevens
assisted the Centre for Sexuality with compiling
and submitting evidence that GSAs are pivotal
to the well-being of LGBTQ2S+ youth. Both the
Court of Queen’s Bench and the Court of Appeal
sided with their position.
A member of the gay community, MacArthurStevens says there is a personal aspect to his pro
bono work that makes it both challenging and
rewarding. He is a co-founder of the Calgary
Trans Legal Clinic, in partnership with Skipping
Stone and the University of Calgary, which has
helped more than 500 transgender and genderdiverse individuals with issues such as changing
their names and gender markers on identification
documents. Recently, the clinic has begun assisting clients with legal advice on issues pertaining
to employment, family law and human rights.
MacArthur-Stevens plays a pivotal role in making his own workplace more inclusive, too. Since
2016, he has organized more than 100 employees
at his firm to march in the Calgary Pride parade,
and he is a current executive member of an allyship network to provide guidance and mentorship
to junior associates. “I have benefited so much
from allyship — my straight colleagues being
there for me to make sure I can succeed,” he says.
“I feel compelled to pay that forward to other
members of the LGBTQ community.” — A.M.

avenuecalgary.com

“I T ’S IMPORTAN T T H AT T HE R IGH TS AND
INTER ESTS OF MINORIT Y POPUL ATIONS LIK E
LGBTQ YOUTH ARE GI V EN A VOICE IN LEGAL
PROCEEDINGS TH AT W ILL OFTEN OV ER LOOK THEM
U N L E S S S O M E O N E I S T H E R E T O S P E A K U P. ”

69

Madeleine MacDonald

Age 33

Instructor, School of Hospitality and Tourism, SAIT Polytechnic

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
M A DEL EI N E M AC DO NA L D H A S BE E N A
KE Y F I G UR E I N E VO LVI NG CA LG A RY ’S
COCK TA I L C ULT UR E A ND NOW T E AC H ES
T H E N E X T G E N ER ATI O N OF MI XOLOG I STS
H OW TO STI R UP T H E I NDUST RY.

70

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

A

negroni on a cocktail menu might
not raise eyebrows these days, but,
when Madeleine MacDonald first
joined the hospitality industry in
Calgary nearly two decades ago, it
was a novelty. After getting her start
mixing cocktails at Model Milk,
MacDonald helped open two other
Concorde Group spots: Pigeonhole and Model
Citizen. She has also created cocktail menus for
Calcutta Cricket Club and the recently reopened
Plaza Theatre in Kensington.
MacDonald learned bartending through a mix
of mentorship, personal study (she was the only
Canadian to be accepted into the Drink Factory
Summer Stade Program in London, England) and
by trusting her gut. “I really love working with gin
and bourbon, but I have been known to dabble in
more of a savoury, weird vegetal area,” she says.
As an instructor at SAIT’s School of Hospitality
and Tourism, she helped overhaul the Hospitality
and Tourism Management Diploma and designed
the school’s new beverage lab.
MacDonald is also working toward making the
hospitality industry safer and more inclusive. In
2017, she partnered with the Centre for Sexuality in Calgary to host a workshop on addressing sexual harassment within the industry. She
brought that same training to her SAIT students
this year. MacDonald further worked to empower
women in the industry by hosting an all-female
speed bartending competition in Alberta that
raised more than $10,000 for breast cancer charities over two years. During the pandemic, through
the national Bartenders Benevolent Fund, she
helped fundraise and administer nearly $120,000
to service workers from Alberta, Saskatchewan
and Manitoba, whose labour was impacted by
restaurant closures.
As for her favourite cocktail to make these
days? Fittingly, it’s “The Last Word.” —J.D.

“ M Y B I G G E S T A D V I C E , 1 0 0 P E R C E N T,
IS JUST TO BE KIND...IT’S SUCH AN
U N D E R VA LU E D T H I N G.”

november 2022

Maximilian Michalowski

Age 32

Co-Founder, Vice President, Emprise Canada

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
E N TR EP R E N EUR MA X MI C H A LOWSK I
FI R ST M A DE WAVES I N CA NA DA’S H E A LT H
A N D W EL LN ESS RE TA I L SE CTOR A ND I S
N OW A DR I V I NG FORC E I N CA NNA BI S
M A N UFACT URI NG .

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

A

t the age of 23, Max Michalowski
had completed four years and eight
months in the Canadian military,
where he gained expertise as a
Naval diver and weapons technician and was a recipient of a Bravo
Zulu award. Fast-forward 10 years,
and the gregarious Calgarian is
now a major force in the fast-growing cannabismanufacturing industry.
Divergent might be an understatement in
describing those career paths, but Michalowski
sees many similarities. “Leadership was my No. 1
lesson [in the military] along with always taking
responsibility,” he says. “I also learned a lot about
the importance of camaraderie in the workplace.”
Those lessons have served Michalowski well
as an entrepreneur. At the age of 25, he entered
the natural health and wellness field, the business of his Polish immigrant father, and helped
grocery titans Safeway and Sobeys greatly expand
their product offerings. The initiative helped the
grocery chains, in a short time, increase sales of
health and wellness products by $350 million.
Along with starting two other companies, in
2018, Michalowski and two partners formed
Emprise Canada. The company has two fully
licensed micro-processing facilities with more
than 60 federally approved products that provide
both medical and recreational cannabis across
the country.
A proud Calgarian, Michalowski gives back
to the local community through membership in
the Rotary Club of Calgary Centennial. Though
he realized early on that a decades-long career
in the hierarchical military didn’t suit his driven,
entrepreneurial spirit, he has no regrets about the
years he spent in the service.
“My military time taught me that you have
to show up every day,” he says. “If you don’t, no
one’s going to show up for you.” — V.F.

avenuecalgary.com

“BEING BROUGHT UP IN AN IMMIGR ANT
F A M I LY, I W A T C H E D M Y F A T H E R W O R K D A Y
A N D N I G H T. I T ’ S I N M Y B L O O D T O J U S T D O
EV ERY THING THE BEST I CAN.”

71

Sabrina Mueller

Age 37

Production and Operations Manager, Pumphouse Theatres Society

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
IN H E R T I M E M A N AGI NG P UMP H OUSE
T H E AT R ES SO C I ET Y, SA BRI NA MUE L L E R
D ID AWAY W I T H TH E ORG A NI ZAT I ON’S
FIN A N C I A L DEF I C I T A ND CONT I NUES
TO M A K E L I V E TH E AT RE A FFORDA BL E
A N D ACC ESSI BL E .

72

“I’M A V ERY H ANDS - ON PERSON WHO
L I K E S T O L O O K WAY B E YO N D T H E
N U M B E R S A N D T H E PA P E R W O R K . ”

november 2022

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

S

abrina Mueller will apply for a halfmillion-dollar grant in the morning
and fix an old toilet in the afternoon.
Just another day in the life of the
production and operations manager
of Pumphouse Theatres Society,
where Mueller, who joined the organization in 2009 and has been in her
current role since 2019, wears many hats, from
managing the society’s finances to working with
clients to bring their shows to fruition.
The live-performance arts sector was hit hard
during the pandemic. Even so, Mueller was able
to turn Pumphouse’s multi-year deficits into regular surpluses while still maintaining affordable
costs for users and patrons.
From 2020 to 2021, while Pumphouse was unable to operate 90 per cent of its typical revenuegenerating activities, Mueller focused on running
the educational programs for kids, while applying
for as many grants as possible. Her efforts paid off.
“I’m either really good at grant writing, or they
feel really bad for us,” she says, laughing. Thanks
to her ability to leave no stone unturned, she
secured enough funding to overcome the deficit
and reintroduced the Pumphouse Theatre Festival
Season. “Everyone deserves exposure to arts,
culture and theatre,” Mueller says. “That’s how we
grow as a society. That’s how we tell our stories.
And, if we don’t keep it going and keep it affordable, those opportunities are going to be lost.”
Going forward, Mueller hopes to maintain the
momentum she has established with the help and
hard work of the Pumphouse team. But, no matter
what happens, she knows that just being able to
keep the doors open is an important accomplishment. “Success isn’t always meeting your goals,”
she says. “It’s making sure the communities
you’re serving are happy with what you’ve given
them.” —K.B.

JP Pedhirney

Age 38

VP Culinary Operations/Corporate Executive Chef, Concorde Entertainment Group

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
OV ER S E EI N G OVE R A DOZE N OF
CA LG A RY ’S MOST C E L E BRAT E D
R ESTA UR A N TS , C H E F J P P E DH I RNE Y I S
H EL P I N G T U RN CA LG A RY I NTO A
M A J O R DI NI NG DEST I NAT I ON.

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

R

estaurants can be famously dramatic
workplaces, full of big personalities,
creative tensions and more than a
bit of ego. As VP of Culinary Operations for the Concorde Entertainment Group, JP Pedhirney is the
visionary force guiding some of the
city’s best restaurants and is working
to create a healthier restaurant culture for his staff.
Anyone who has sat down at any one of
Concorde’s more than 20 locations — be it Major
Tom, Surfy Surfy Bar, or the new Barbarella Bar
in Stephen Avenue Place — has had a literal
taste of Pedhirney’s work. He joined Concorde
in 2015 and quickly became the executive chef at
Bridgette Bar, taking Concorde’s top chef job in
2020 to oversee restaurant and menu development. Not only have the latest crop of Concorde
restaurants topped local and national best-of lists
— most significantly Major Tom’s Best New Restaurant and 12th Best Overall Restaurant honours
in this year’s Canada’s 100 Best rankings — but
Pedhirney and his team have mastered the art of
both understanding and challenging Calgarians’
palates, with the company’s revenues growing
significantly since he signed on.
“We like to stay very approachable, trying not to
cross into something customers don’t understand,” Pedhirney says.
A big part of his job has been nurturing chefs
who work their way up to running new restaurants within the company, or taking on leadership
positions as culinary directors. Pedhirney doesn’t
get much of a chance to actually cook in the
restaurants these days (something he does miss),
but it’s even more rewarding to see his staff create
delicious things. “It is important for me not to take
all of the credit for the work that has been done”
he says. “My role is about being able to lead and
inspire others to become more than what they
think they’re even capable of.” —E.C.B.

avenuecalgary.com

“A S L O N G A S P E O P L E A R E G R OW I N G A N D
A B L E T O H AV E FA M I L I E S A N D H AV E A G O O D
CAREER THROUGH CONCORDE, I’M H APPY
TO DO W H AT I’M DOING.”

73

Ali Pormohammad

Age 33

President and CEO, MHCombiotic Inc.; Medical Microbiologist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UCalgary

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
AL I P O R M O H A M M AD DE VE LOP E D A
N OVEL A N T I M I C RO BI A L , A ND H E ’S ON
H I S WAY TO B RI NG I NG NE W
P RO DUCTS TO MA RK E T.

74

“ I F YO U WA N T T O H AV E
R E A L LY B I G G O A L S , Y O U
H AV E T O TA K E A R I S K .”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

I

n 2019, Ali Pormohammad, a microbiologist by training, was living in a basement
apartment in Calgary, worrying about how
to make ends meet. He was working in a
restaurant at night and volunteering in a lab
during the day. His post-doc funding was
frozen; his visa was running out. Friends
in Iran encouraged him to return home,
where he would inherit his family’s restaurant.
“But I came here to do science,” he’d tell them.
He sent more than 300 emails to academics
across Canada, hoping someone would give him a
chance. Then, R. J. Turner, one of the global leaders in metal-based antimicrobials at the University of Calgary, opened the door to Pormohammad,
and it has been full speed ahead ever since.
Pormohammad developed a novel antimicrobial that has been shown to increase effectiveness
but decrease side effects, compared to current
antibiotics. This work led to more than 50 publications in prestigious journals, numerous awards for
excellence in research, and much-needed funding and scholarships.
This year, Pormohammad and colleagues
formed MHCombiotic Inc. to bring antibacterial
and antibiofilm products to health-care, veterinary and agriculture industries. He hopes their
materials will make a difference in a world where
antimicrobial resistance is a growing problem.
Drug-resistant infections were directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths worldwide in 2019 and
associated with another 5 million deaths that year.
Pormohammad is looking to secure more funding to continue his research and to grow the company into a global leader in antibiotics. He hopes
to accomplish this from Calgary. He credits his
friends, colleagues and mentors for helping him
through tough times. “If you have good people
around you, they’re going to give you motivation
and support you to grow,” he says. These days, he
lives by a lesson he learned in the toughest days of
2019: “Never lose your hope.” — C.F.

november 2022

Get out and enjoy the snow.

PROGRAMS & RENTALS
outdoor-centre.ucalgary.ca

REIMAGINE WHAT IT MEANS
TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL.
SAIT congratulates its alumni being recognized on this year’s
Top 40 list, including Amber Craig, Gursh Bal, Kai Fahrion, Iman Bukhari,
JP Pedhirney and Madeleine MacDonald.
SAIT has a history of creating the future for over 100 years. We challenge
tradition with the power of applied research, work-integrated learning and
hands-on education to reimagine the world of work.
Our focus on tech will continue to drive new industries and shape the future
economy. It’s why our students learn a better way and graduate career-ready
with in-demand skills — and why our alumni go on to lead change.

LEARN A BETTER WAY.
sait.ca/LearnBetter

avenuecalgary.com

75

Robert Price

Age 37

Founder and CEO, Bōde

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
ROB E RT P R I C E F O UN DE D A FUL LY ONL I NE
R E A L ESTATE M A R K ET P L AC E , C H A NG I NG
H OW W E BUY A ND SE L L H OMES .

A

76

“ T H E B E ST T H I NG I S L E AV I NG A
L E G A C Y, M A K I N G T H I S PA R T O F
PEOPLE’S LIVES, THEIR EXPERIENCE
AND LI V ELIHOOD, BETTER.”

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

s the founder and CEO of B0de,
Robert Price is modernizing the
real estate industry and changing
how people buy and sell housing
across Canada.
The born-and-raised Calgarian
says he was always driven to start
his own company and find innovative ways to solve problems. In late 2019, he
founded Bode, a fully online marketplace where
buyers can buy, sell and list real estate. The platform includes access to housing research, listings,
marketing, viewings and transferring of titles, all
in one digital space. “All the innovation that’s happened [in real estate] has created selling services
or technologies for agents, but nobody focuses
on the customer,” Price says. “It’s really building
and modernizing and creating a simple and easy
process for people that want to take control.”
Bode is currently pending approval as a certified B Corp — a global designation that identifies
corporations dedicated to creating an inclusive,
equitable and regenerative economy. Since
its inception, Bode has created 400 real estate
transactions representing more than $175 million
of property. Home listings sell for 1.3 per cent
more, while users can save almost 50 per cent
on realtor commission. Between 2020 and 2021,
the platform added more than 8,300 customers,
representing 500 per cent growth.
Prior to Bode, Price was part of the team that
led the growth organization of the international
fibre-optics company Axia FibreNet to $1.5 billion, while introducing Canada’s first true gigabit
services to communities across Alberta. He was
also a ground-floor investor in local startup success story Symend, and continues to serve as an
advisor to co-founder and CEO Hanif Joshaghani.
“Success is really about relationships,” Price
says. “Making the world a better place is a big
pursuit, but it really is about who you surround
yourself with and what relationships you have
with other people.” — M.R.

november 2022

Jordan Raugust

Age 38

Physiatrist and President, Kinesis Medical Centre

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
J O R DA N R AUG UST CO- FOUNDE D
T HE C I TY ’S FI RST G ROUP - BA SE D
P H YS I AT RY C L I NI C A ND H A S SI NC E
H EL P E D G ROW I T I NTO T H E
L A RG EST I N T H E COUNT RY.

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

P

hysiatry is a specialty that few
physicians go into and few patients
understand. So, Jordan Raugust has
his job description stencilled on the
wall at Kinesis Medical Centre for
all to see: a nerve, muscle and bone
expert who treats injuries or illnesses
that affect how you move. “We often
see patients at their lowest and then we get to help
them find a way out,” Raugust explains.
Kinesis Medical Centre is Calgary’s first groupbased physiatry clinic. Raugust started out in
practice with his close friend and fellow physician
Vishal Tulsi in 2015. They were astonished by the
need. They brought in three other doctors and,
together, launched Kinesis Medical Centre the following year. Over the past six years, physicians at
Kinesis have cared for more than 50,000 patients.
With 23 examination rooms, the clinic is currently
the largest of its kind in Canada.
Raugust works closely with physiotherapists
and other health providers to develop personalized plans so patients can improve their function
and quality of life. Most of the patients at Kinesis
Medical Centre have complex conditions that
affect the brain, nerves, muscles and joints. “We
help patients make the most of their lives, despite
their illness or injury,” Raugust says.
“I try to approach things with a lot of joy, and I
hope that’s contagious.”
A married father of three, Raugust is passionate
about movement — whether it’s running over the
trails on Nose Hill Park with a friend or encouraging his patients to take another step. He was inspired to go into physiatry by his younger brother,
who has a developmental disability. People often
failed to recognize what his brother could accomplish, and Raugust set out to change that.
“I’ve always thought that we need to do a better
job as a society at helping people maximize their
potential,” he says. — C.F.

avenuecalgary.com

“YOU SHOULD CHOOSE SOMETHING
TH AT YOU LOV E TO DO, IN A PL ACE
WHERE YOU LOV E TO BE, WITH
SOMEONE YOU LOV E TO BE W ITH.”

77

Alex Sarian

Age 39

President/CEO, Arts Commons

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
A LE X S A R I A N I S TRA NSFORMI NG
ARTS COM M O N S W I TH MORE I NC L USI VE
PRO GRA M M I N G A N D A P L A N TO E XPA ND
AN D UP G R A DE T HE P H YSI CA L SPAC ES .

A

78

“SUCCESS IS FINDING THE
BALANCE OF BEING IN SERV ICE
T O O T H E R S I N A WAY T H AT
R EPLENISHE S YOU.”

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

lex Sarian previously held an
executive leadership role at Lincoln
Center for the Performing Arts in
New York and took on the role of
president and CEO of Arts Commons in May 2020. While the last
two years have been tumultuous,
he has forged ahead with ambitious
plans to expand and modernize the buildings and
make key institutional changes.
Among those changes has been the implementation of an Indigenous strategy created in
consultation with Treaty 7 Elders Reg and Rose
Crowshoe. “The Indigenous strategy is essentially
taking two years’ worth of storytelling and teachings and turning it into a blueprint that provides
us with a direction to move forward,” Sarian says.
He is also overseeing the Arts Commons Transformation (ACT) project, which includes a new
190,000-square-foot structure and full renovation
to the existing buildings. Sarian has raised $240
million of the required $450 million for ACT so
far and has engaged the Indigenous architecture
firm Tawaw to consult on the design. “It’s not just
a physical transformation, but also a transformation of what it means to be an arts organization
in the 21st century — one that prioritizes its civic
duty over its artistic responsibility,” Sarian says.
Sarian also works to make the programming of
Arts Commons more accessible through initiatives such as the Seasons of Gratitude campaign
that provided complimentary tickets to essential
workers, and the TD Incubator, which provides
BIPOC artists facility access and support to create
and present new work.
He represents Calgary and Arts Commons
internationally on numerous governing boards,
including SXSW, The New Group, Museo de Arte
Moderno de Buenos Aires, and the Global Teacher Prize. Naturally, he’s also a board member for
the Calgary Downtown Association — championing his adopted city both at home and away. —S.J.

november 2022

Simone Elizabeth Saunders

Age 39

Artist

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
S I M O N E EL I ZA BE T H SA UNDE RS I S
M A K I N G WAV ES I N T H E I NT E RNAT I ONA L
A RT WO R L D W I T H H E R T E XT I L E P I E C ES
T HAT H O N O UR FE MI NI NI T Y A ND T H E
STR EN GT H A ND J OY OF BL AC K L I VES .

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

A

round the time she was pursuing her fine arts degree at Alberta
University of the Arts, Simone
Elizabeth Saunders discovered the
tufting gun. She taught herself to
use it and began creating intricate
weaving designs based off her own
fine-art drawings.
She fell in love with the medium and began
creating large-scale textile artworks in a style she
calls “Black nouveau,” a reference to the art nouveau style of the late 19th century, characterized
by free-flowing lines and organic forms. “Black
voices were completely erased in that part of history,” Saunders says. “So, I take from those styles
and bring them into a contemporary lens, putting
the Black body within.”
In 2020, Saunders graduated with distinction
and was the national winner of the BMO 1st Art!
competition. That same year, she was offered exclusive representation by the Claire Oliver Gallery
in New York, which is staging a solo exhibition
of her work in March 2023. Her individual pieces
now sell for as much as US $28,000 and are in the
collections of museums and individuals across
North America, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art and 21c Museum Hotel Chicago.
Saunders has also seen success at home: her
2021/2022 solo exhibition at Contemporary
Calgary had some of the gallery’s highest rates
of attendance. But the true mark of success for
her was how many people — particularly, young
Black girls — she saw engaging with her work. “It,
unfortunately, took the Black Lives Matter movement to put the Black community at the forefront
and for art centres and institutions to turn their
gaze toward Black artists and people of colour,”
Saunders says. “I’m creating these portraitures to
find narratives that uplift Black joy, Black womanhood, and our strength, and our perseverance,
and our resilience.”—K.B.

avenuecalgary.com

“ TAP IN TO W H AT INSPIR ES YOU — NOT
N E C E S S A R I LY W H A T Y O U T H I N K O T H E R
P E O P L E WA N T T O S E E , B U T W H AT YO U
WA N T T O S E E .”

79

Harnarayan Singh

Age 37

Host and Play-by-Play Commentator, Sportsnet

WHY HE’S A TOP 40
A N AWA R D-W I N N I NG BROA DCA ST E R
FO R HO C K E Y N I GH T I N CA NA DA ,
H A R N A R AYA N S ING H I S A L SO A
B ESTS E LL I N G A UTH O R WH O H E L PS MA K E
CA N A DA’S G A M E MORE I NC L USI VE .

A

8
80
0

“I K NEW TH AT M Y CAR EER
D R E A M W A S A L O N G S H O T.
B U T I S T I L L WA N T E D T O
K EEP GOING.”

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

s a kid growing up in Brooks, Alta.,
Harnarayan Singh was a walking
encyclopedia of the sport of hockey.
“I was the only kid wearing a turban,”
Singh says. “Knowing so much about
the game helped me break the ice
with classmates.”
Though Singh idolized Wayne
Gretzky, he knew early on that he really wanted
to be a broadcaster, having honed his announcing chops using a Fisher-Price toy microphone.
Despite his precocious abilities, Singh understood
that becoming the next great hockey commentator would be a long shot. Though many of his
classmates and friends at his high school were
rooting for him, some of adults he encountered
vocally tried to steer him away from his dream.
They should have saved their breath. Today,
Singh, who broke ground as the first to call an
NHL game in Punjabi, the language of his immigrant parents and many of the 1.5 million or so
other Indo-Canadians, is a host and play-by-play
commentator with Sportsnet and CBC Sports;
a bestselling author; and a winner of numerous
awards and accolades like the Canadian Screen
Award for “best sports play-by-play announcer”
and a Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor
General of Canada for his contributions to Canadian Society. He’s also a community leader who
speaks to young people across the country about
everything from following your dreams to racism
and discrimination in hockey.
For Singh, who used to sleep in airports in
order to commute from his job in Calgary as a
local CBC reporter to Toronto to call the Punjabi games, having emotional support along the
journey has been key to his success. “I couldn’t
have done this without my family,” says the happily married father of two. “My parents taught me
that whatever you commit to, commit to it 100 per
cent.” — V.F.

november 2022

Leslie Skeith

Age 37

Hematologist, Alberta Health Services and University of Calgary

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
P HYS I C I A N A ND RESE A RC H E R L ESL I E
S K E I T H CO L L A BORAT ES LOCA L LY
A N D G LO BA L LY TO I MP ROVE CA RE
F O R P EO P L E WH O A RE P RE G NA NT.

P H OTO BY ST E V E CO L L I N S

L

eslie Skeith was inspired to go into
medicine by her mom, a physician
who died from cancer when Skeith
was a child.
Now a physician herself, Skeith
has dedicated her career to finding
answers for people who are at risk or
develop life-threatening blood clots
during or after pregnancy. “We want to identify
who’s at risk, what can we do to prevent it and, if
they have a complication, what is the best treatment,” she says.
Skeith is leading three large international
research studies to help answer these questions,
including a major trial that may establish whether
Aspirin can prevent blood clots in people who
have recently delivered. People who are pregnant
have traditionally been excluded from clinical trials. As a result, there’s not enough understanding
of how to care for people in pregnancy who have
blood clots or require medications, she says.
In the four years since she finished her training, Skeith has received more than $1.75 million
in funding. Her efforts are paying off, as her
other work has shown that low-molecular weight
heparin, a commonly prescribed blood-thinner,
does not reduce pregnancy loss in people with
inherited blood-clotting conditions (but can
cause side-effects).
In 2021, Skeith received the Cumming School
of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award
for excellence in research. She says collaboration is the key to her success. “We, together as
a research community, have made big strides,”
she says. Skeith also co-founded a dedicated
thrombosis clinic and a specialized clinic for
patients with antiphospholipid syndrome, an
autoimmune condition that causes blood clots
and pregnancy complications.
A mother of two daughters, Skeith hopes to be
a positive role model for her children, “similar to
what my mom was for me,” she says. — C.F.

avenuecalgary.com

“[IN RESEARCH,] YOU BRING
PEOPLE TOGETHER, DIVIDE
THE WORK AND IT ’S EXCITING
T O B E PA R T O F I T. ”

81

Katie Smith-Parent

Age 34

Business Development, Industry Diversification, Spartan Controls Ltd.; Co-founder, Axis Connects

WHY SHE’S A TOP 40
KAT I E S M I T H- PA R E NT C H A MP I ONS
WOME N A N D P ROMOT ES I NC L USI ON
ACROSS A LL O F CA LG A RY ’S SE CTORS ,
BUT ES P E C I A L LY I N E NE RGY.

82

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

T

here are two things Katie SmithParent is “super-passionate” about:
energy and diversity. At Spartan
Controls, an industrial automation company, she’s focused on
both. Smith-Parent is responsible for marketing, branding and
relationship-building to support
the company’s emerging industries. Being part of
the energy transformation excites her. “I love the
diversification of Calgary,” she says. “And we’re
making some serious progress.”
Promoting diversity of another kind is at the
forefront of her volunteer work. The born-andraised Calgarian is executive director of Young
Women in Energy (YWE) and a co-founder and
board director of Axis Connects — organizations
both dedicated to championing women.
Since taking the reins at YWE in 2015, she has
added more than 3,000 members, launched a
podcast and handed out more than 80 awards
celebrating the next generation of energy leaders.
Axis Connects, meanwhile, helps women from
all sectors advance their careers, with the goal of
putting more women in decision-making roles.
Smith-Parent and her co-founders started the
non-profit in 2019. In 2020, they launched the
Calgary Influential Women in Business Awards,
an event honouring five female leaders and one
male ally not only for their successes, but also for
their dedication to uplifting others.
In 2021 Smith-Parent was named Young
Resource Leader by the Alberta Chamber of
Resources. Having recently beaten breast cancer,
she has now joined the OWN.CANCER campaign
in support of the new Calgary Cancer Centre and
says her next focus will be oncofertility — helping
women facing cancer treatment pay for fertilitypreserving options. “When I’m on my deathbed, I
would love if someone said, ‘Wow, Katie had such
a positive influence on my life.’ That, to me, would
be success,” she says. — M.M.

“ I G E T S O E N E R G I Z E D B Y B I G , H A I R Y,
AUDACIOUS GOALS.”

november 2022

A
celebration
of
celebrations

february 25

It’s time to celebrate life’s special
days together again. Join Venue 308,
The Brownstone and Avenue
to experience this celebration
of celebrations.
T I C K E T S A N D I N F O R M AT I O N AT

AvenueCalgary.com/celebrate

avenue

Our people do amazing things,
every day.

Ask a Lawyer
The team at SVR Family Lawyers has a wealth of
experience in all aspects of divorce and family
law matters. We understand that every situation
is unique and tailor our approach to your
individual needs.

From everyone at SVR Family Lawyers,
congratulations to this year’s
Top 40 under 40!

Thank you to all our staff, physicians and volunteers
for all you do to keep Albertans healthy and safe.
Your dedication to our patients and each other is
an inspiration to us all.

Separation and divorce can be a daunting
experience filled with uncertainty. Meeting with a
lawyer before, or shortly after separation, can help
you to understand how relevant legal principles
will interact with the circumstances of your family.

Congratulations to the AHS Winners
of the 2022 Top 40 Under 40 award

What will I discuss with my lawyer?
The first step is to identify the applicable legal
issues, which may include parenting, child and/
or spousal/partner support, property division, or
other issues particular to your circumstances. You
will also discuss various process options, which
may include litigation, mediation, arbitration,
and other resolution processes.
What documents do I need to give my lawyer?
Be prepared to share financial disclosure
documents with your lawyer to identify potential
financial claims, calculate child and/or spousal
support, and assess the overall division of
family property. You and your spouse each
have the right to see financial disclosure from
each other, which includes income tax returns,
paystubs, bank statements, investments, and
other sources of income.

Dr. David Campbell

Dr. Leslie Skeith

Dr. David Campbell, Assistant
Professor, Division of Endocrinology
& Metabolism, Department of
Medicine, University of Calgary

Associate Professor, Division of
Hematology and Hematological
Malignancies, Department of
Medicine, University of Calgary

ahs.ca
avenuecalgary.com

You won’t be required to provide these documents
at your first meeting, but we recommend
gathering this information ahead of time.
To find out more about your rights and obligations,
please visit familylaw.svrlawyers.com.

Stacey Lee, Partner
403.231.3460
s.lee@svrlawyers.com
Abram Averbach, Partner
403.231.3453
a.averbach@svrlawyers.com
@svrfamilylaw
83

Judges

THE TO P 4 0 U NDER 4 0 PRO JECT WO U L D NOT B E
POSSIB LE WITHO U T THE JU DGES WHO VO LUNTE E R E D THE I R
TIME AND PROVIDED THEIR INSIGHT AND E X P E RTI S E TO HE L P
DETERMINE THIS YE AR’S CL ASS . A TOAST TO THE M!

SH ELLEY A RNUSC H
Avenue’s Editor in Chief has two decades of experience
working in magazines and 12 years of experience working
on Top 40 Under 40 projects. Prior to Avenue, she held
editorial roles at the Calgary Herald’s Swerve magazine
and at Pique Newsmagazine in Whistler, B.C. She has won
numerous awards from the Alberta Magazine Publishers
Association and the International Regional Media Association for her work as an editor, and a National Magazine
Award for her writing.

and the University of Calgary, is heavily involved with
provincial policy building in Alberta, and is the nominated
principal recipient of grants from Health Canada, Alberta
Innovates, Alberta Health and the Canadian Institute of
Health Research. He is also a member of the University of
Alberta’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, and
the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute and
the O'Brien Institute of Public Health.

PAT TI D IBSKI
Patti Dibski (Top 40 Under 40 Class of 2009) is the owner
of Calgary art gallery Gibson Fine Art. She holds an
MBA from the University of Calgary and has more than
17 years of experience in the art and design industries.
Dibski served for six years on the board of Calgary Arts
Development, is the current Vice-Chair of the Alberta
University of the Arts Board of Governors and is on
various local arts and culture committees.
MONTY GH OSH
Dr. Monty Ghosh (Top 40 Under 40 Class of 2021) is an
internist, disaster medicine and addiction specialist,
who works with multiple community-based not-forprofit organizations to provide support for marginalized populations. Dr. Ghosh has addiction certification
through the International Society of Addiction Medicine
and a Master’s of Public Health from Harvard University.
He is an assistant professor at the University of Alberta
84

WELLI NGTON HOLB ROOK
Wellington Holbrook is the former CEO of connectFirst
Credit Union. He holds an MBA from the University of
Oxford and a B.Comm. (Hons.) from the University of
Manitoba. Prior to connectFirst, Holbrook spent 15 years
with BDC Business Development Bank of Canada, and
just under a decade with ATB Financial. He has served as
a board member of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce
and as Chair of the Calgary Convention Centre Authority.

A R N U S C H P H O T O B Y H E AT H E R S A I T Z ; A L L O T H E R P H O T O S S U B M I T T E D B Y J U D G E S

CH A RLES BUCH A NAN
Charles Buchanan is the founder of Technology Helps, a
social enterprise focused on solving technology poverty.
He spent nearly three decades in corporate technology
leadership, management consulting and entrepreneurship
with senior roles at Suncor Energy, Deloitte, Oracle, MNP,
and Royal LePage, and has started and worked with numerous technology companies in areas that span online
games, to fintech and environment protection. He is a
founding board member of the Calgary Black Chambers;
a member of the GAIN Team at United Way of Calgary
and Area; grant committee at Calgary Foundation; entrepreneur mentor at Venture Mentoring Service of Alberta;
and founder and advisory board member of UpRising
Academy, helping at-risk youth in Jamaica in STEM and
sports. He holds an MBA from Queen’s University and a
B.Sc. (Hons.) in electrical and computer engineering.

HYDER HASSAN
Hyder Hassan (Top 40 Under 40 Class of 2018) is CEO of
Immigrant Services Calgary and before that spent more
than 10 years in the financial industry. He has 15 years
of experience serving in civil society, the private sector,
finance and government sectors as a transformational
and visionary leader. Hassan co-founded FullSoul.ca, a
not-for-profit that provides Ugandan health facilities with
medical supplies for safer childbirth. He holds a Master’s
in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from HEC Montréal,
a B.A. in management studies from the University of
Waterloo and maintains several financial designations.
In 2019, he was named one of the Calgary Herald’s
Compelling Calgarians, and was awarded the Immigrants
of Distinction Award (Under 35).

JOSEPH LOUGHEED
Joe Lougheed (Top 40 Under 40 Class of 2002) is a
corporate lawyer at the global law firm Dentons Canada
LLP. An active community volunteer, Lougheed is currently board chair at Calgary Economic Development
and also serves as the Honorary Consul to Sweden in
Southern Alberta.

november 2022

congratulations to
Dr. Kenneth Fuh
As our Co-founder and Director
of Product Development, Dr. Fuh
has been instrumental in the
development of the Syantra DX™
Breast Cancer blood test for breast
cancer detection. The precision
medicine test provides a molecular
approach that can identify breast
cancer at early stages, when it
may be easier to treat.

The Top 40 Class of

23

38 4

19
M O R N I NG PERSON / NIGH T PERSON

SUMMER / WI NT ER

36

38

6

T I ME / MONEY

P R E FE R WO R K I N G SOLO / PREFER WORKING WIT H A T E AM

36
23

4

6

MI NI - DONUTS / DEEP- FRI ED O RE OS

4

15
1

I N STAGRAM / TIKTOK / NEITH ER

2 3 4

5 6

7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

34
8

HOU RS

5
6
7
8

DOGS / CATS
86

AVERAGE NUMB ER OF HOURS OF SLEE P P E R NIG HT
november 2022

2022 by the Numbers
H O UR S

0

1

2 2

2

3

4

5

6

MET HOD OF T RANSPORTAT IO N
TYPI CALLY USED TO GET TO WO RK

7

8

9

10

1 1
3

3
6 6

15

1
3

5
9

AV E R AG E N U MBER OF H OURS OF E X ERCISE PER WEEK

0
2

10
14

28
30

2 5

31

1 3

Introverts20Extroverts22
0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

30,000 - 45,000

5
6
7

15
18
20

35
40
60

45,001 - 60,000

60,001 - 80,000
80,001 - 100,000

100,001 - 150,000
150,001 - 250,000

250,001 - 500,000
500,001 - 1M

N U M B E R O F DAYS OF VACATION TAKEN IN TH E PAST 1 2 MONT HS
avenuecalgary.com

ANNUAL I NCOME B EFORE TA X ES
87

The Class of 2022 Would Like to Thank
Tomi Ajele “Grace, Jenny and Danny; my family, with a special shout-out to my parents, Moji and Dele; my friends, for the absurd amount of support and hype they bring to my life.
Dooshima, for creating the beautiful community that is Afros In Tha City and empowering me to lead it; and Ado, Aurora, oualie, Jaysi and Chris for building Afros In Tha City Media.
Nagwan Al-Guneid “My mother, my father, and my partner for all their love and unconditional support they give me.” R.J. Bailot “All my friends and family who have supported me
and the work we do in helping animals.” Gursh Bal “My wife, Janet, for always pushing me to be a better person; my children, Emma-Olivia, Nolan and Kendrick; my mother and father,
for raising me with love and care; my sisters, for always being there for me; my business partner, Kai Fahrion, for helping bring our dreams to life; my extended family and friends, for
surrounding me with support and patience; and the amazing team at Zeno, who have continued to raise the bar over the years and make the world a better place.” Kerry Black “My
parents, extended family and friends who have always been supportive; my colleagues, faculty and the University for their continued encouragement; my partner Adam, and my boys,
who keep me happy, grounded and feeling loved.” Mark Blackwell “My lifelong mentor Dick Haskayne, my amazingly supportive parents, and my wife and son who make me the happiest man in the world.” Doug Brown “My mom and dad, who ingrained in me an entrepreneurial spirit and supported me through my studies and career. I would also like to thank one
of my mentors, Scott Jenkins, who continually inspires me with his vision, business acumen and positivity. Finally, I would like to thank all of my friends who I have shared ideas, laughs
and purpose for change with over the years.” Iman Bukhari “My father, for his selflessness, that brought me to where I am today.” David Campbell “Rachel Campbell, Stew Campbell,
Kim Campbell, Braden Manns, Brenda Hemmelgarn, Cello Tonelli, Kathy King-Shier, Gillian Booth, Stephen Hwang, Johannes van Leenen, Noel and Sydney Reynolds, Chuck McMann, Paul
Kerber, my team, trainees, co-researchers and collaborators.” Andrew Chau “My family, who have been extremely supportive, and the entire Neo team who are the driving force behind
Neo.” Vicki Van Chau “Phil Bowen, my family, EMMEDIA and the Calgary arts community.” Brett Colvin “Mum, Sean and Gran for their relentless support, and the Goodlawyer Army
for believing that we can change the world, together.” Jonathan M. Cornish “My community.” Amber Craig “My company, and the support they provide to help me grow.” Shaun
Crawford “My wife and kids. The wooligans. MAMMOTH XR and our partners. The cast and crew of any film I’ve worked on.” Sean Crump “My incredibly supportive partner Christine
(and son Jameson), my awesome and hard-working team at work, as well as my amazing friends and family!” Connor Curran “My wife Erin Curran, my parents Anne and Gerard Curran,
my business partner Dustin Paisley, my team member Kathleen Smiley, and friends and extended family who have supported us along the way.” Shannon Doram “My husband Allan,
the person who makes me better every day; my parents, who taught me to work hard, be kind, and to take care of others; my family, who grounds me, makes me laugh, and reminds
me what really matters; my best friend Ann, with whom I’ve travelled many miles with, on bikes and in hiking boots; my YMCA family — I learn so much from you every day; my incredible friends and colleagues: Kate, Dean, Brian, Jeff, Jan, Norma-Jean, Catherine, Cynthia, Pat, Kathi, Sarah, Danielle, Lourdes and so many more. Keep shining!” Sam Effah “My wife, my
mom, God.” Kai Fahrion “My family and my girlfriend, Chante, for always supporting my entrepreneurial journey.” Jessie Fiddler-Kiss “My parents, my brother, my grandparents, my
nieces, my husband and my children for all the unconditional love; and to the Moss Bag Project Aunties, to Elise, and to the network of women and ancestors that has held me in this
lifetime, kinanaskomatin.” Kenneth Fuh “My beautiful wife and lovely kids, thank you for your constant love and for always being there for me; and thank you to my parents, siblings,
friends, mentors, colleagues (past and present) and classmates for shaping different aspects of my life.” Jiami Guo “My families.” Karl Hirzer “Everyone who I have had the great pleasure
of working with in Calgary; above all, I would like to thank the extraordinary musicians of the Calgary Philharmonic.” Jessica Janzen Olstad “The LFL board and our partners, past and
present; my dear friends (you know who you are); my family, thank you for seeing me through my wild ride and grief journey, thank you for always honouring Lewiston’s Legacy, showing up and doing the hard work with me; my Heavenly Father: thank you for the breath in my lungs and a beating heart; to my partner and teammate for life, Hot Ronnie: thank you for
always being there, cheering me on, asking me the hard questions and ensuring I don't quit. I love you.” Alex Kingcott “My parents. My teachers. My teammates. Anyone who's ever told
me a good story.” Evan Legate “EAC board members and staff, the Calgary Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, my amazing wife Jenn, and everyone who taught me the importance of
being an active member in your community.” David Leinster “My wife Colleen and my incredible children: Redmond, Quinn, Jude and Matilda!” Brendan MacArthur-Stevens “My
husband, Jacob; my parents, Pam and Brad; my sibling, J; my friend, Jamie-Lynn; two of my mentors, David Tupper and Mike Dixon; my work mom, Arlene; and the entire Blakes team.”
Madeleine MacDonald “My parents, Jack and Lisa MacDonald; my brother Wilson MacDonald and his partner Joanna Skrajny, and my dear friends Sarah Shalagan and Makina Labrecque
for their unending support of each of my endeavours; to Stephen Phipps and Justin Leboe for mentoring me throughout my career, and to the rest of my friends, family and colleagues
for being my cheerleaders over the years.” Max Michalowski “Ryszard (Rich) Michalowski, for always being my biggest supporter, driving me to be my best version of myself; my fiancée,
Melissa Price, for being there for me since the day we met, showing me what true love is and supporting my goals and aspirations.” Sabrina Mueller “My wonderful family and friends;
my mentors: Matt LaBrie, Scott McTavish, Frank Hackett; and a few key people who help me make sure that we are always ready by opening night: Thomas Hall, Troy Couillard, Kelly
Malcolm, Breezy Manning, Ajay Badoni, Jamie Ripley. I couldn’t do what I do without any of you!” Dustin Paisley “My wife for being my biggest supporter and cheerleader, my business
partner for going on this journey with me, my parents for providing me with opportunities, and my daughters for inspiring me to be better, and do better for them.” JP Pedhirney “My
wife Heather Pedhirney; my mom and dad, John and Lauretta; my sister and brother-in-law, Jessica and Chad; the Wighton family; ALL my kitchen crew and the 1,000+ employees at
Concorde Entertainment Group who make every day an amazing day; Victor Choy, Brad Morrison, Ryan Magee and Chris Mckerrall, and all the industry mentors I've had along my career.”
Ali Pormohammad “My parents, family members and my mentors. This accomplishment was impossible without the support of Prof. RJ Turner and CCrest Laboratories Inc.” Robert
Price “My parents Art and Debra, my fiancée Holly, and numerous loved ones who have been incredibly generous with their time and encouragement in my life and career.” Jordan
Raugust “My wife Heather, my kids (Ben, Hannah and Halle), my parents and my colleagues at Kinesis Medical Centre.” Alex Sarian “My wife, my colleagues and my board of directors.”
Simone Elizabeth Saunders “My partner and my dogs for keeping me grounded, my family for endless support, my gallerist for amplifying my voice, and to everyone who takes the
time to see my artwork, so they may be seen.” Harnarayan Singh “Waheguru (The Creator), my ultra-supportive and loving family; my Hockey Night Punjabi colleagues; Kelly Hrudey,
Ron Maclean, Joel Darling, Ed Hall, Rob Corte, Deidra Dionne, Bob Babinski, Jeff Jacobson, Jeff Lohnes, Marc Chikinda, Scott Dippel, Kevin Hodgson, Harbans Gill, Dr. Onkar Singh, Atamjot
Dosanjh, Gurpreet Gill, and to the Sikh community in Canada and beyond who has supported me with their love and blessings from day one!” Leslie Skeith “My husband Adam McLean,
my father Rick Skeith, my sister Lauren Campbell, and my extended family and friends for their unwavering support. I am grateful to learn from my research mentors, Marc Rodger and
Gregoire Le Gal, and work with amazing colleagues in Calgary and around the world.” Katie Smith-Parent “My friends, my family, my colleagues, fellow volunteers and mentors.”
88

november 2022

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Each office is independently owned and operated.

89

( Back) Out
to Lunch

Lunch hour at Cucina.

A F T E R M O N T H S O F E M P T Y E AT E R I E S A N D O F F I C E T O W E R S ,
T H E B U S I N E S S L U N C H C R O W D I S B A C K — A N D D O W N T O W N R E S TA U R A N T S
H AV E G R E E T E D T H E M W I T H T R I U M P H A N T R E T U R N S O F T H E I R OW N .

L

ong thought to have peaked
with the three-martini boom
days of pre-2015 Calgary, the
business lunch is back — and
experiencing a renaissance.
Today’s midday affairs, which
have resumed after two-plus
years of COVID-19 restrictions and work-from-home
advisories, are all about thoughtful shared
plates, playfully curated wine lists and an
appreciation of the time we lost.
“There is a strong desire to be together,”
says Shannon Wray of Lawson Lundell
LLP, who regularly steps out for lunch
from her office at Brookfield Place. “Both
on the client front and with our team, we
have recognized the benefit of in-person
communication and collaboration.”

90

When Alberta dropped its remaining
restrictions this past spring, offices began
to refill — and restaurants followed.
While the rest of the country lingered over
protocols, it seems workers in downtown
Calgary showed up to capitalize on a new
normal. Data collected by reservation
platform OpenTable reveals Calgary and
Edmonton led the country with the most
weekday seated diners in May and June.
“[Corporate Calgary] can see they have
the chance to beat other companies to
the deal — and they are taking it,” says
Stephen Deere, owner of Modern Steak,
who sees the impact of in-person client
lunches every day. “A lot of Calgary-based,
energy-driven companies are in the game
right now. People are going out, people are
spending money.”

Despite staff shortages and a slowing
economy, the proof is on the street just
before noon on weekdays, as Stephen
Avenue fills with people heading to a
reservation or running to secure a table
before the rush. Abbreviated lunch menus
are still on offer, but many diners are
opting for main menus that include all the
celebratory fixings available at dinner.
Sommeliers, who discovered new
varietals over the last two years, are highlighting boutique bottles from smaller
wine regions around the world; and local
ranchers, farmers and suppliers, who
also survived closures, are invested in
the kitchens of chefs who are finding new
ways to impress creativity on the plate.
For corporate Calgary ready to reconnect, the timing couldn’t be better.

BY ALEXANDRA BURROUGHS

Dining

CUCINA

Cucina’s spaghettini carbonara and
grilled chicken with chickpea ragout.

OP E N 7 A. M. , MO N D AY TO F R ID A Y
B E S T F OR W O RK B ES T I ES CEL EB RAT I NG A N OF F IC E V IC T OR Y

w

ith its checkered tile
floors and open kitchen,
Cucina has the warm,
welcoming energy of an
authentic Italian bistro.
An antique wooden ladder found by
Italian-born owner Dario Berloni in
the 1980s, and a print of Portrait of
a Star, a piece depicting his late wife,
Valentina, by Calgary visual artist
Chris Cran (the original hangs in sister
restaurant Teatro), offer character that
is often missing from chain restaurants
in the core. “These small touches give
the space a personal feel,” says Mia
Berloni, director of operations for the
Teatro Group and daughter of Dario
Berloni. Like many of the city’s best
restaurants, Cucina’s menu evolves
seasonally — currently, it includes
a grilled chicken dish with chickpea
ragout, roasted cauliflower, fried kale
and salsa verde, and gnocchi with
braised pork. Just like at Teatro, highquality ingredients are the stars here,

K LEIN / H AR R IS
C U C I N A P H OTO S BY J A R E D SYC H , K L E I N / H A R R I S P H OTO BY C H R I S L A N D RY

O PEN 11:30 A.M., TUE S DAY TO F RI D AY ; CL O S ED MO N D AY
BE S T FO R LONGTIME C O LLE AGUE S CATC HIN G U P O VER T H E L U N CH S PECI AL

S

tepping off Stephen Avenue during the
lunch rush and into the cozy and chic
atmosphere at Klein / Harris is the perfect
way to take the edge off a stressful day.
Co-owners and life partners Christina
Mah and chef James Waters are there to greet
diners, working away in their “from-scratch”
kitchen in this homey, yet upscale space featuring shelves of cookbooks, preserves and a variety
of seating options so guests can relax and linger
longer. K/H prides itself on being an independent
restaurant inspired by a range of Canadian dishes
from coast to coast, from grilled Humboldt squid
to a parmesan crusted grilled cheese with Oka,
smoked Gouda, caramelized onions and green
tomatoes. Of course, you can’t go wrong with the
avenuecalgary.com

The Clove & Cola
zero-proof cocktail
at Klein / Harris.

from sustainably sourced octopus to
fresh focaccia baked daily at Alforno
Bakery & Café, another Teatro Group
restaurant. The wine list, curated by
Taylor Simpson, offers gems like a
2018 Viognier from Bench 1775 in
B.C.’s Naramata Bench, as well as
Tuscan classics like a 2018 Ornellaia
Le Volte, a perfect pairing for the
charcuterie selection from Calgarybased micro-salumeria Saltcraft
Meat Co. Diners looking to share can
graze on Nonna’s veal, beef and pork
meatballs, marinated olives, and
mushroom bruschetta. And, if engaging with your fellow diners is the top
priority, opting for one of the daily
features, which might include grilled
branzino with creamed potatoes or
fresh haddock risotto served with
broccolini and olive tapenade, means
you don’t even have to look down at
your menu.
515 8 Ave. S.W., 587-353-6565,
eatcucina.com

K/H burger, made of prime Alberta chuck and
brined brisket — it’s one of the best in the city.
For those looking for a quick bite, The One Punch
Lunch deal at $18 offers a daily feature sandwich
with a choice of a garden salad, fresh chips or the
daily soup, as well as a mini sour cream-crusted
butter tart filled with maple. The meal also comes
with coffee or the daily zero-proof or low-ABV
cocktail. “Zero-proof cocktails are a delicious option for those who aren’t having a regular cocktail,
especially during our lunch service,” says Mah. The
list includes Clove & Cola, a sparkling Italian soda
mixed with a reduction of cloves, vanilla and citrus
peels, and the Harris Swizzle, with fresh orange,
mint and lime juice topped with ginger beer. After
lunch, some diners are known to make their way
to the couches in the back corner of the restaurant,
an ideal spot for another beverage, like a French
75 topped with Veuve Clicquot or a classic Caesar
with K/H’s own clam and celery broth laced with
tomatoes, pickled celery and carrots.
110 8 Ave. S.W., 403-262-8100, kleinharris.com
91

Dining

MODER N ST E AK
OP E N 1 1 : 30 A. M. , T U ES D AY T O FRI D AY ; CL OSE D M ON D A Y
B E S T F OR CL O S I N G T H E N EXT B IG D E A L

The Steakhouse Burger with fries
at Modern Steak.

M A JOR T OM
OPE N 11 A.M., TUE SDAY TO F RIDAY; CL O S ED MO N D AY
BEST F OR W O W ING O UT-O F -TOW N CL I EN T S

P

erched 40 storeys above the bustle of
Stephen Avenue, Major Tom continues
to be one of Calgary’s most talked-about
new restaurants. Warm golds and emerald
greens exude a sense of uptown glam and
offer a sleek mid-century foreground to the impressive backdrop of concrete and glass office towers.
For a high-stakes client lunch, you’ve picked the
perfect setting. Major Tom first greeted diners in
July 2021, but it was a few more months before
daytime dining was available to the business crowd.
In October of that year, lunch service debuted,
but with only half the space and tables available.
“There was so much demand for lunch right off the
bat,” says Concorde Entertainment Group regional
manager Brittany Thompson, who is also opening

92

walls, light leather upholstery and a
lunch menu full of quick, but substantial plates. The beloved Alberta beef
burger is as delicious as it is wellpriced at $19, while a quintessential
wedge salad, enlivened with feta,
crispy pickled onions and everything
bagel spice, sneaks in under $15. Serious diners can go for the main menu
featuring a selection of A5 Wagyu
beef, tomahawk steaks and a seafood
platter packed with king crab legs
and lobster tails. Deere says the wine
list has been increasingly popular in
this back-from-COVID period; from a
light 2019 Joseph Drouhin for $62 to
a full-bodied 2005 Château Margaux
for $3,548, there’s something for every
lunch scenario. “People are spending
a little more time together and a little
more money on the wine,” says Deere.
“We’re seeing the connections being
made again.”
100 8 Ave. S.E., 403-244-3600,
modernsteak.ca

Barbarella Bar on the main floor of the same building this month. “It was just a matter of building
our team.” As the staff and waitlist grew, so did the
capacity. Today, the whole restaurant is typically
packed for lunch, serving more than 200 people.
The all-day menu offers classic plates, including
baked Pacific halibut and steak frites, but its real
strength is in creating a sense of celebration with
a family meal. Here’s how we’d do it: begin with a
dozen oysters, followed by a single crispy hen egg
hors d’oeuvres for each diner. Next, glazed snow
peas with chili, parmesan and garlic offer a fresh,
full-flavoured burst, before moving onto plates of
bone-in striploin, Marsala mushrooms and fries
with garlic aioli. Be sure to peruse the wine selection: Sommelier Brad Royale’s list is one of this
city’s most enjoyable reads. The description for the
2020 Elena Walch Lagrein, for example: “Warm
blueberry muffins with a cold can of root beer. It’s
like you’re eight years old again.”
40th Floor, Stephen Avenue Place, 700 2 St. S.W.,
majortombar.ca
november 2022

B U R G E R P H OTO CO U RT E SY O F M O D E R N ST E A K , M A J O R TO M P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

M

odern Steak and its owner,
Stephen Deere, are at the
heart of the city’s daytime
dining scene. The Calgaryborn proprietor has had a
restaurant in the core since 2002 and
has survived every bust since. “When
COVID closures happened and I laid
everyone off, I closed the office door
and had a good, hard cry,” says Deere.
“I take my responsibilities seriously:
my ranchers, my suppliers, my staff —
this is how they pay their bills and
feed their families.” He turned around
three days later and started Modern
Burger, selling 10,000 takeout burgers in less than three months, which
enabled him to hire back some staff,
work with suppliers and show up for
his loyal customer base.
Today, it’s back to bricks-andmortar business as usual inside the
Stephen Avenue restaurant that offers
a contemporary take on a steak house,
complete with exposed sandstone

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avenuecalgary.com

93

Pan-fried chicken salad with
beurre blanc (front) and beef
stroganoff at Hy’s.

5 M O R E LU NC H
SPOTS W E LOV E
CACT US CLU B CA F E
Open at 11 a.m., Monday to Friday
You’d be hard pressed to find someone in the downtown
core who hasn’t been for lunch at Cactus Club. Guests
appreciate the upscale chain restaurant for its consistency and upbeat atmosphere; flavourful dishes such
as ceviche, truffle fries and chef Rob Feenie’s tuna stack
don’t hurt either.
178, 317 7 Ave. S.W., 403-454-9399, cactusclubcafe.com
SUK I YAK I HO U S E
Open for lunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday to Friday
Sukiyaki House serves some of the city’s best sushi.
Reservations are a must as diners flock for the lunchtime
bento box featuring spicy prawns, vegetable tempura,
and a fresh assortment of sushi and makimono rolls. If
you’re imbibing, check out the impressive sake selection
or go for an ume negroni or yuzu gimlet.
130, 207 9 Ave. S.W., 403-263-3003, sukiyakihouse.com

OP EN 11 A.M., MO NDAY TO FRI D AY
BEST FOR TO AS TING A HARD-E A RN ED D EAL

t

he hustle of Stephen Avenue moves
quickly past Hy’s picture windows,
while, inside the dining room, dark
walls, high ceilings and service staff
in boxy jackets offer a sophisticated
familiarity — this is one of the city’s
most beloved steak houses. Established
by Alberta’s own Hy Aisenstat in 1955, Hy’s has
been around so long that the staff are intimately
acquainted with many of the city’s key players.
“They are like family to us,” says general manager Barb Steen. “We are seeing a lot more of our
regulars — not just for special occasions, but once
or twice a week.” Longtime employees enable Hy’s
to make special accommodations for its regular
clientele, Steen says, while also making first-timers
feel equally welcome. “If we see [a regular’s] name
on the lunch books and we know they prefer the

94

lounge, they get the lounge; whatever they like,
we make it work.” Daytime diners settle into their
reserved-in-advance spots for the classics, including jumbo shrimp cocktail, baked French onion
soup and escargot, available on both the lunch and
dinner menus. Favourite lunch-only plates include
the pan-fried chicken salad and creamy, tender beef
stroganoff. And there are new vegetarian offerings,
too, including the organic vegan bowl with tender
pieces of eggplant, okra and yam served in a rich
coconut cream sauce topped with crisp lotus chips
and mango chutney. No matter what you order as a
main, there’s one dish that’s a must: regulars claim
some of the more important deals in the city have
been finalized over Hy’s famous cheese toast, which
has been on the menu since the beginning.
At The Core, 8th Avenue and 3rd Street S.W.,
403-663-3363, hyssteakhouse.com

U & ME
Open at 9 a.m., Monday to Friday
Just a block from The Bow tower sits one of Calgary’s
most infamous late-night Chinese food restaurants
(IYKYK). During the week, daytime diners can enjoy dim
sum deals like the lunch for four: seven dishes for $48,
with steamed shrimp dumplings, garlic spareribs and
steamed BBQ pork buns all on offer.
201, 233 Centre St. S.W., 403-264-5988,
uandme-restaurant.com
FI RST ST REE T M A RK E T
Open at 7 a.m., Monday to Friday
Trading reservations for variety and a more relaxed
atmosphere, this food hall in the Beltline entices the
corporate set out of the core with options that include
Actually Pretty Good pizza, Indian street food by Saffron
Street and tacos from Moose and Poncho, which was
formerly hidden away in a small space in Chinatown.
1327 1 St. S.W., fsmyyc.com
november 2022

P H OTO BY J A R E D SYC H

H Y ’S ST E AK HOUSE
AND C O C K TAIL B AR

ROSE GARDEN T HA I RESTA U RA NT
Open for lunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday to Friday
A staple on Stephen Avenue for more than 15 years, Rose
Garden’s lunch buffet is filled with all the favourites:
crispy fried spring rolls, shrimp salad rolls with fresh
mint, a myriad of creamy, colourful curries with crunchy
vegetables and, of course, Pad Thai. Lunch service is
packed, so it’s best to get there early.
112 8 Ave. S.W., 403-264-1988, rosegardenthai.ca

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@LACTALISCANADAFOODSERVICE

avenuecalgary.com

95

Scan the QR Code to see
how our communities
come to life, or visit us at:

P H OTO G R A P H BY T K T K T K

G E N E S I S L A N D.CO M

96

november 2022

P H OTO G R A P H BY T K T K T K

Dining

avenuecalgary.com

97

D EC OR

BY VALERIE BERENYI PHOTOGRAPHY BY HAYDEN PATTULLO AND DAMON HAYES COUTURE

room
for
two
A N I N N OVAT I V E I N N E R- C I T Y B U I L D P R OV I D E S T W O H O M E S
F O R T W O C O U P L E S AT T W O D I F F E R E N T S TA G E S I N L I F E .

magine a house that transitions with you as you age.
In this house, there’s no need to downsize as your
space requirements shrink. You simply stay on the
main floor where everything is easily accessible.
Should you need help, part of the house becomes
a suite for a caregiver. Family members live right
behind you for additional support.
The house is beautiful, flooded with natural
light — helpful for aging eyes — with spots to
display life’s mementos and lots of plants. Cork
flooring is easy on tender feet and joints. The doors
and hallways are wide enough for walking aids,
98

and a gently sloping front walkway
accommodates wheelchairs and
strollers, alike.
This is no soft-focus fantasy of
aging. It’s the fully realized, modern,
3,000-square-foot, three-bedroom,
three-and-a-half-bathroom house
that Dr. Joseph Dort, Sr., and Dr. Leslie
Dort had built in Bridgeland — along
with an 800-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom laneway house
owned and occupied by their son, Joe

Dort, Jr., and his partner, Tanya Puka.
Named the “Sr/Jr House” by Studio
North, the Calgary design/build firm
that took the project from initial
sketches to final finishes, the pair of
houses is intended to fit the current,
very active lifestyles of two generations, and then adapt to whatever
comes next.
“The [senior] house is flexible for
when their bodies might not be,” says
Damon Hayes Couture, Studio North’s
creative director and lead designer on
the innovative project.
The “senior” Dorts recently retired
after long careers as respected medical professionals; Leslie as a dentist
and researcher who focused on sleepdisordered breathing, and Joseph as
a head and neck surgeon. The couple
owned a house in West Hillhurst, but
were contemplating how they might
live in the future. They drew inspiranovember 2022

O PP OS I T E PAG E
Grain elevator meets
coastal cabin: The exterior
of the senior house features steel and cedar.
C LO C K W I S E
F ROM TO P L E F T
In the senior house,
exposed fir beams
overhead add warmth and
intimacy in the entryway
and kitchen.
The senior house’s solarium, adjacent to the dining
room, captures sunshine
to provide passive heating
in the winter months.
The junior laneway house
has given this Bridgeland
back alley a major glow up.
avenuecalgary.com

tion from watching Leslie’s parents
successfully age in place — moving
from a rambling two-storey into a
single-level home.
“We were also excited by the opportunity to do something creative
with Joe and Tanya and to move into
an inner-city neighbourhood close to
our other son, daughter-in-law and
grandsons,” Joseph says. “It’s a pretty
sweet combination, and Bridgeland is
a fun, interesting and walkable place
to live.”
Around the same time, Joe and
Tanya, the 30-something “junior”
couple, were outgrowing their
rental apartment in Mission. But
Joe, a trained chef and now regional
manager of Calgary restaurants Model
Milk, Pigeonhole and Major Tom; and
Tanya, a brand strategist who runs
her own company, Marrow Studio;
couldn’t find anything to buy within

their budget that would give them
more space or a better quality of life.
So, when Joseph and Leslie nabbed
an old house in Bridgeland, and contacted Studio North about building a
new age-in-place home on the property, and the studio suggested putting
a small laneway house on the same
lot, Joe and Tanya were intrigued.
“We’re unconventional, not whitepicket-fence people,” says Tanya,
referring to herself, Joe and their dog
(they currently have no plans for
kids). Here was an opportunity to create a smartly designed place of their
own and make their housing dollars
go further by splitting costs with Joe’s
parents. It required having many frank
conversations about caring for aging
parents, as well as seeking legal guidance around what happens if, say, a
couple splits up, which led to signing
a co-habitation agreement because a
99

THI S PAG E
( SR H O U S E )
Clockwise from top: The
light-filled kitchen and dining
area is a hosting haven; in the
ensuite bathroom, the vanity is
adaptable to provide wheelchair

100

clearance; a custom bed with
filleted corners eliminates sharp
edges in the main bedroom.

OPPOSITE
( J R H OUSE)
Clockwise from top left: A spa-

cious, well-equipped kitchen is
the heart of the laneway house;
the second-level solarium is a
year-round hangout space; functional millwork creates a canvas
for the homeowners’ belongings
in the living room.

Calgary lot cannot be subdivided.
Agreements in place, demolition
of the old Bridgeland house and
construction of the new ones began at
the end of 2019. By the spring of 2021,
both houses were move-in ready.
Both houses look inviting from the
street, their exteriors a mix of prairie
grain elevator and West Coast cabin.
Joseph and Leslie, originally from
Ontario, moved to Calgary in the
early 1990s and spent lots of time on
Vancouver Island. The new houses
reflect both regions, says Joseph, with
open space and the use of simple and
natural materials, including galvanized steel on the roof and upper
siding, and cedar on the lower.
Inside the senior house, a generous
entry has a built-in bench and clutterbusting cupboards, all custom Baltic
birch millwork. The pale millwork,
white penny tile, white perforated
screen and muted colours — punctuated by colourful art — are used
throughout. Aging in place doesn’t
have to mean living in a sterile or
hospital-like setting, Hayes Couture
says: “You need to feel alive and good
about where you live; it’s great when
it’s elegant and beautiful.”
Sunlight streams into the vaulted
dining and living areas while exposed
structural fir beams lend a cozy, intimate feeling to the expansive kitchen
and its massive island. Large cabinet
pulls allow easy grabbing, bright finishes create high contrast for declin-

ing vision and extra width allows for
future wheelchair mobility.
Behind the kitchen, the main
bedroom, ensuite bathroom, closets
and laundry area are seamlessly
integrated for aging in place. The bed
frame, custom-made by Studio North,
has rounded corners to eliminate
sharp edges. A water closet and
separate shower with folding seat are
wheelchair accessible, while a cabinet
under the vanity can be removed to
allow wheelchair clearance.
There’s provision for an elevator
should their mobility decrease, but
Leslie and Joseph are currently enjoying the entire house. The upper floor
has two offices — hers on a perforated
floor above the entrance, with views
all round — plus another bedroom for
guests, or future caregiver quarters.
The lower level is an open music
space where the couple indulges their
love of flamenco; Joseph plays guitar,
while Leslie sings and dances. There’s
a small gym that both households use,
and a utility room with a large battery
for the home’s solar system. Both the
senior and junior houses are energy
efficient, with passive ventilation and
particular attention paid to insulation
and waterproofing the basement.
One of the most life-giving features
is an external solarium, as Leslie is a
passionate gardener. “I want to grow
as much as possible to sustain us,” she
says. “There are figs, limes, herbs and
bay leaves, with more to come.”

november 2022

DE COR

HOW TO AGE
IN PLACE
Damon Hayes Couture, Studio
North’s creative director, offers 10
strategies to future-proof a home, all
from the Bridgeland senior house.
Create comfort Recycled cork flooring
is a soft, comfortable material that
absorbs impact, “great for the joints as
you age,” says Hayes Couture.

The junior house also has a solarium, with a restrained riot of thriving
plants. Joe and Tanya use the space
for reading, doing yoga and being surrounded by green year-round.
Their laneway home is a marvel of
light, space and efficiency. The front
entrance has banks of sleek storage,
with doors hiding the laundry, heating and cooling machinery. Open
stairs lead up to Tanya’s office, a tidy,
airy perch. Up from there, the main
level has a spacious, chef-worthy
kitchen — all Baltic birch cabinetry,
no pulls — with an island that can be
extended to seat nine people. It’s great
for entertaining, but Tanya has hosted
clients and run training sessions
there, too.
The adjoining living area, which Joe
describes as an “opium-den crashpad,” features a low-slung Togo velvet
sectional, a curated display wall of
albums, plants and art, and a ladder
to the vaulted listening loft that holds
Joe’s extensive record collection and
sound system.
A tranquil inner courtyard —
dubbed the “Dortyard” by Hayes
Couture — separates the two houses
and provides more opportunities for
tending native plants and fruit trees.
Here, the senior and junior Dorts can
be alone, casually bump into one another or get together for barbecues.
Here, their lives will increasingly
intertwine, as they put down roots
and age in place.
avenuecalgary.com

Add places for rest Place a bench at
the entrance where you can put on
and take off shoes and coats; and one
outside as a spot to rest briefly.
Build in adaptability The cabinet in
the main bathroom’s vanity can be
removed to allow a wheelchair to roll
up to the countertop and sink.
Think about accessibility A gentle
entryway ramp allows access for
wheelchairs or other mobility aids.
Make way Four-foot-wide hallways
and three-foot-wide doors throughout allow for easy movement.
Green it up Solariums provide space
for plants to grow year-round and are
a buffer between inside and outside.
Plan for hobbies Have a space to “explore what makes you, you” — in the
senior house, this translates as a music
area and flamenco stage.
Display memories Millwork shelves
and niches display collectibles. “It’s
important to remind yourself where
you’ve been,” Hayes Couture says.
Light the way Ample light everywhere, including hallways, helps with
declining vision.
Celebrate family A central courtyard
provides a gathering space where the
family can spend time together.

101

Discover the Okanagan’s
winter playground
Join us for Western Canada’s
largest winter carnival.
vernonwintercarnival.com

#ExploreVernon

102

november 2022

M OUNTA I NS

A Mother’s Love at Nightfall, giclée by Jason Carter.

GUIDE TO

WINTER
IN THE

I M A G E C O U R T E S Y O F C A R T E R - R YA N G A L L E R Y

MOUNTAINS
Don’t huddle at home this winter.
Instead, head for the hills and embark
on an amazing adventure. Here are
just some of the many ways to
enjoy the snowiest season in our
beautiful backyard.

avenuecalgary.com

the art of

JA SON CARTER
With clean lines and vivid colours, Indigenous artist Jason Carter’s
paintings are iconic throughout the Bow Valley — and beyond.
Originally from Little Red River Cree Nation on Treaty 8 land, Carter
now owns and operates the Carter-Ryan Gallery in Canmore and
Banff with partner and frequent artistic collaborator Bridget Ryan,
a theatre artist, who uses the Canmore space as a performance venue. Carter is
also known for creating sculptures in soapstone, alabaster and chlorite, and for his
public-art installations in the region. “What I hope people get from the work is a
sense of joy, a sense of place and a sense of wonder,” he says. “Where I draw a lot of
my inspiration from is the beauty of the Bow Valley. Surrounding yourself with beauty
and inspiration is paramount to your creativity.” —Jacqueline Louie
The Carter-Ryan Gallery is at 705 Main St. in Canmore and 229 Bear St. in Banff.
For winter operating hours and event information, visit carter-ryan.com
103

BY GABRIELLE CLEVEL AND

Cross-country ski trails in Bragg Creek, Alta.

The Skinnyon Nordic Skiing
During the pandemic, as socialdistancing mandates resulted in
the closure of most ski resorts, the
popularity of cross-country skiing
skyrocketed. Less expensive than alpine resort skiing, cross-country (a.k.a., XC, Nordic)
skiing proved to be a cohort-friendly and socially
distanced activity that’s also a great workout. Even
with resorts open, XC converts are continuing to hit
the trails. Kit Richmond, owner of LifeSport, a local
retailer of cross-country ski equipment and apparel,
has watched Nordic skiing spike in popularity since
2020 — by the end of last November, LifeSport had
sold out of all its entry-level cross-country ski gear.
He expects that popularity will continue to rise.
There are trails for all levels of Nordic skier in
the mountains near Calgary, particularly throughout Kananaskis Country, Bragg Creek and at the
104

Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park. You’ll also
find track-set (machine-made) trails in many of
Calgary’s urban parks and green spaces, including
North Glenmore Park, Confederation Park and at
the Shaganappi Point Golf Course.

THREE LOCAL XC SK I CLUBS
A cross-country skiing club is a great way to meet
new people and learn about new trails. Here are a
few Calgary-based clubs to consider joining.
Incorporated in 1964, Foothills Nordic Ski Club
is a full-service, not-for-profit club that delivers
programs for all ages and performance levels. Programs include ski fitness training, adult learn-to-ski
and skill-improvement, and a program for women
aged 55-plus; while memberships perks include
discounted rates at mountain lodges, waxing clinics,
club events and more.

Proclaimed an effective treatment for “cabin
fever and winter woes,” Calgary Ski Club is the
city’s oldest outdoor recreational club, providing
year-round activities and programs for all ages
and performance levels. The club offers single-day
carpool trips to the mountains and bus trips to resorts for cross-country skiing adventures, as well as
pub nights and other social events. The Calgary Ski
Club also runs the Calgary New and Used Ski Sale,
Canada’s largest ski and gear sale.
Calgary Nordic Training Group has been
around since 2008 and offers family-oriented training programs, as well as adult ski fitness classes.
There are individual annual memberships as well
as family memberships with prices based on the
number of kids in the family. This group has a focus
on training while encouraging participation in ski
loppets (recreational races).
november 2022

P H O T O B Y R O A M C R E AT I V E / T R A V E L A L B E R TA

Why this classic winter pastime is more popular than ever.

M OUNTA I NS

FI V E LOPPETS TO TRY
I F YO U WA N T TO TA K E T H I NG S TO T H E NE XT LEVEL AND E X PERIENCE
TH E E XC I TE M ENT A ND COMP E T I T I VE SP I RI T O F A CROSS -CO U NTRY SKI
RAC E , T H ESE FI VE A RE WORT H THE DRIVE .

3

Huckleberry Loppet
Offering distances up to 30 km, the
Huckleberry Loppet weekend is the
Golden Nordic Ski Club’s biggest
event of the season, with classic races on
the Saturday and skate-ski races on Sunday.
Feb. 11 and 12, 2023
goldennordicclub.ca/events

B I R K E B E I N E R P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F T H E G O V E R N M E N T O F A L B E R TA ; N I P I K A P H O T O B Y K A R I M E D I G / D E S T I N AT I O N B C

1

Nipika Toby Creek Nordic Loppet
Run in partnership with the Toby
Creek Nordic Ski Club in Invermere,
B.C., this loppet has skate-ski and
classic-ski categories. Classic distances start
at 1.5 km and extend up to 30 km, while
skate-ski races range from 1.5 km to 20 km.
The races take place at Nipika Mountain
Resort (pictured above) near Radium, B.C.
Jan. 28 and 29, 2023
nipika.com/loppet

2

Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival
The “Birkie” is Western Canada’s
premier Nordic ski event. Spanning
three days in February, this festival
hosts competitive and recreational crosscountry ski races in a range of distances,
including the namesake Birkebeiner,
which has origins in Norwegian lore.
Legend has it that, in the year 1206, with
the kingdom embroiled in civil war,
two warriors skied the infant prince of
Norway approximately 55 km to safety.
Modern Birkebeiner racers ski the same
distance with a 5.5-kilogram pack to
symbolize the weight of the child. The
first Canadian Birkebeiner took place in
1985 and it has been staged annually ever
since at Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial
Recreation Area near Edmonton.
Feb. 10 to 12, 2023
canadianbirkie.com

avenuecalgary.com

4

The Cookie Race
Foothills Nordic Ski Club hosts
Alberta’s second-longest-running
loppet, which takes place annually
at the end of February at Peter Lougheed
Provincial Park. Racers get cookies at
stations throughout, while kid racers get
candy bags after crossing the finish line.
Distances start at 0.5 km and extend up
to a marathon 42 km. Participants five
and up can register online at the Foothills
Nordic website.
Feb. 25, 2023
foothillsnordic.ca/races/cookierace

5

Lake Louise to Banff Loppet and
Relay This event dates back to 1929
and has 9.7-km and 20.3-km solo
races, plus 36-km and 72-km races
that can be done solo or as a relay team.
The 72-km distance goes from Lake Louise
to Castle Junction and back. Registration
for the 2023 event opens Dec. 1, 2022.
loppet.ca

Mtnbites
S NOW BOA R DE R S
W E LC O ME
IN THE 1980S, BANFF SUNSHINE VILLAGE WAS
THE FIRST RESORT IN CANADA TO ALLOW
SNOWBOARDING — THANKS, IN PART,
TO CALGARIANS NEIL DAFFERN AND KEN
ACHENBACH, WHO WERE PIONEERS OF
THE SPORT.

C A BI N FE V E R
WITH MORE THAN 400 INDIVIDUAL
LODGINGS AVAILABLE TO RENT, THE
TOWN OF JASPER IS THE SELF-DECLARED
CABIN CAPITAL OF CANADA.

S K AT E AWAY
IN 2014, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS
DECLARED THE 34-KM-LONG WHITEWAY ON
LAKE WINDERMERE THE “WORLD’S LONGEST
SKATING TRAIL.”

HO T ST U FF
JASPER’S MIETTE HOT SPRINGS ARE
THE HOTTEST IN THE CANADIAN ROCKIES:
NATURALLY 54°C (129°F), THE WATER IS
COOLED TO A MORE PLEASANT 40°C (104°F)
AS IT FLOWS INTO THE POOL.

LONG M AY YO U RU N
AT MORE THAN 15 KM, REVELSTOKE
MOUNTAIN RESORT’S THE LAST SPIKE IS THE
LONGEST SKI RUN IN NORTH AMERICA.

105

BY LY N DA S E A

M OUN TA I N S
MOUN

Gondolas provide a way for everyone to enjoy the
splendour of the mountains. Here are four key
experiences in the regional mountain areas.

SANSON’S
PEAK IN BANFF
NATIONAL PARK IS NAMED
FOR NORMAN SANSON, WHO,
FOR 30 YEARS, HIKED UP WEEKLY
TO REPORT ON THE WEATHER
UNTIL RETIRING IN 1945
AT THE AGE OF 84.

BANFF GONDOLA
The Banff Gondola zips you to the
top of Sulphur Mountain in eight
minutes in four-person cars. At
7,486 feet, you’ll find a multi-level
complex with grab-and-go, casual
sit-down and “elevated” dining options, as well as
an interpretive centre and theatre and 360-degree
rooftop observation deck with warming firepits.
From the summit complex, take the Sulphur
Mountain Boardwalk to the Cosmic Ray Station, a
former weather-reporting station, now a National
Historic Site of Canada, perched atop neighbouring
Sanson’s Peak.
The immersive multimedia Nightrise experience
is returning this winter and is a unique way to take
in the summit after sunset. Created by Montreal106

based studio Moment Factory in participation with
the Stoney Nakoda Nation, Nightrise's original
soundscapes blending voices, music and spoken
word linger in the mountain air and highlight the
Stoney language.
Other seasonal happenings include the
Gondola’s annual transformation on Nov. 20 into
the Elf Express, a winter wonderland where you can
enjoy photos with Santa, a holiday cocktail bar, ice
sculptures and more.
The Banff Gondola is wheelchair accessible, with
all levels within the summit complex accessible by
elevator. The gondola cars can accommodate most
standard-sized manual and motorized wheelchairs,
walking frames and assistance devices.
banffjaspercollection.com/attractions/banff-gondola

MOUN TAIN
GONDOLA
ADV ENTURES
1
Lake Louise Sightseeing Gondola
Lake Louise Ski Resort
Lake Louise’s gondola experience is a
14-minute cruise up to 6,850 feet, where
you can gaze out at soaring peaks and the
stunning Victoria Glacier. Note that there
are no dining, lodge or washroom facilities
at the top during the winter season.
skilouise.com/activities/winter-fun/
sightseeing-gondola

2
Golden Eagle Express Gondola
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort
This six-passenger gondola at Kicking
Horse Mountain Resort in Golden, B.C.,
transports riders to the summit in 12
minutes. At 7,700 feet atop the Purcell
Mountains, you can see views of five
national parks and visit the Eagle’s Eye
Restaurant, a stunning chalet-style room
with an incredible view. Eagle’s Eye is open
daily in the winter for lunch and après-ski,
and for dinner on Friday and Saturday
evenings. There are also two bookable
luxury suites that include a private chef,
butler and, for skiers and snowboarders, an
instructor-guide to show you around.
kickinghorseresort.com/purchase/
winter-activities

3
Jasper SkyTram
The Jasper SkyTram whisks guests up
Whistlers Mountain to a height of 7,425
feet. From there, take the Summit Trail
for 360-degree views of stunning Mount
Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian
Rockies. The SkyTram is not open during
the winter, but you can experience winterlike conditions when it opens in the spring
of 2023 by snowshoeing at the summit.
Guest can rent snowshoes at the upper
station retail store for $15.75 per pair.
jasperskytram.com/things-do/
snowshoeing
november 2022

P H OTO BY N O E L H E N D R I C K S O N

suchgreatheights

three more

M OUNTA I NS

BY GABRIELLE CLEVEL AND

M A I N P H O T O B Y K A R I M E D I G / D E S T I N AT I O N B C ; T R U F F L E P I G S P H O T O B Y M I K E H E S L A

Emerald Lake.

Surrounded by the towering peaks of
Yoho National Park, Field, B.C., is a
popular pitstop for travellers on the
Trans-Canada Highway. But many
don’t realize that there is a quaint
town (technically, an unincorporated
community) beyond the rest stop that
is worth a longer stay.
With less than 200 residents, Field
is a close-knit community, home to
ski bums and nature-lovers who are
drawn there from all across Canada.
Since childhood, I have been visiting
Field with my family and some of our
closest friends for an annual winter
holiday and, over the years, have
come to appreciate it as a true skier’s
paradise.
Just a 20-minute drive from Lake
Louise Ski Resort, Field is an ideal
base camp for those wanting to avoid
the crowds in Banff and Canmore.
The primary lodgings and restaurant
in town is the Truffle Pigs Bistro &
Lodge (motto: “Dig in! Pig out”). The
bistro is open year-round and offers a
hearty menu that includes the Big Rig
Burger (a 7-oz. patty of ground Angus

Truffle Pigs Bistro.

avenuecalgary.com

FieldDays
Just across the Alberta-B.C. border in Yoho National Park,
the community of Field flies under the radar, but for intrepid
winter adventurers, it’s pretty close to paradise.
beef, topped with bacon, onion rings
and blueberry barbecue sauce), P.E.I.
mussels, and the “Hard to Handle”
bison donair. When done pigging out
at the bistro, the bar and lounge are
a relaxed environment to enjoy B.C.
craft beers, shafts and Caesars.
On the other side of the highway
from the Field townsite is the luxurious Emerald Lake Lodge. Part of the
Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts
portfolio, this idyllic, chalet-style
property is located on the shores of

Emerald Lake, where you can find
great cross-country ski trails during
the winter season.
The area around Field is also wellknown for its backcountry skiing.
Mount Field in the Little Yoho Valley is
a popular touring area for moderateto-expert-level big-mountain skiers,
with 1,500 metres elevation gain from
parking lot to summit. Along with a
lovely, long ski descent, Little Yoho
offers a beautiful 360-degree view of
surrounding mountains (though poor

visibility and strong winds on Mount
Field are common occurances). Ross
Lake is another popular backcountry
circuit in the area. The descent from
the summit to the Great Divide (an
old highway that is now a groomed
trail) is a smooth path suitable for ski
touring beginners.
If skiing is not your thing, Field also
has family-friendly hikes and trails
nearby, including the stunning Wapta
Falls trail, open for snowshoeing and
sightseeing throughout the winter.
107

MOUN TA I N S

BY JODY ROBBINS

Winter Warmers
There’s no need to hibernate this season, not when the cocktail scene in the nearby
mountains is so spirited. These cozy concoctions will ensure you warm up to winter.

Smoked Apricot Toddy
from Rundle Bar at
Fairmont Banff Springs
Bourbon’s classic notes dance
with the bright flavours of
apricot liqueur in this hot
toddy adaptation. A base of
Lapsang Souchong tea is cut
by a citrusy bite of lemon,
while a few dashes of peach
bitters tie this luxurious
libation together.
405 Spray Ave., Banff,
fairmont.com/banff-springs

Afterburner from The
Chimney Corner at
Banff Sunshine Village
Après-ski gets amped up with
this hot sipper named after the
notorious mogul-riddled black
diamond run on Goat’s Eye
Mountain. This herbaceous hot
chocolate throws it back to the
Alps, with the addition of green
chartreuse and Fernet-Branca,
an aperitif originally marketed
as an Italian medicinal product.
Paired with the sweet and
comforting nature of cocoa, it’ll
kick you into high gear.
skibanff.com
108

Wild Blackberry Mule from
Wild Life Distillery in Canmore
The perfect pick-me-up on a
frosty day, this more-ish mule is
best thrown back during a fresh
snowfall. Juniper and spice have
made everything nice in this
winter warmer splashed with
Wild Life’s seasonal pink
blackberry gin. Plum notes from
the gin are highlighted by fresh
ginger and a zingy mule syrup.
Its lip-smacking teeter-totter
of spicy and sweet is sure to
keep your taste buds tingling.
160, 105 Bow Meadows Cres.,
Canmore, wildlifedistillery.ca

Chili Chai Hot Chocolate
from Nourish Bistro in Banff
Those looking for a buzz
without the blurry lines of
alcohol will find it along Banff
and Lake Louise’s Hot
Chocolate Trail. Infused with
dark-chocolate almond milk,
cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and
chili-chai tea, Nourish Bistro’s
Chili Chai Hot Chocolate is a
virtuous vegan concoction,
polished off with coconut
whipped cream and dark
chocolate shavings.
110, 211 Bear St., Banff,
nourishbistro.com

Silent Sister from Bluebird
Restaurant and Lobby
Bar in Banff
Though low in alcohol, Silent
Sister’s flavour profile reads like a
classic Old Fashioned. Caramel
rooibos tea from Jolene’s Tea
House and the drink’s single
spirit, Clynelish 14, a Highland
single malt whisky, are further
enhanced by chocolate bitters,
oleo saccharum (a sugared oil
made with oranges) and
garnishes of sage and nutmeg.
218 Lynx St., Banff,
banffcollective.com/
bluebird-restaurant

Three Sisters from
Lake Louise Ski Resort
Carefully layered in three parts,
this riff on an Irish coffee pays
homage to the iconic peaks it’s
named after. The smoky
undertone from Eau Claire
Distillery’s rye whisky and a
shot of espresso highlights the
sweetness of maple syrup and
rich cream floating atop the
boozy beverage. It’s a creamy
creation that’ll give you the
courage to brave the frosty
elements.
skilouise.com

november 2022

P H OTOS CO U RT ESY O F FA I R M O N T BA N F F S P R I N G S ; M A RY N S I M R A K ; N O U R I S H B I ST RO

Becky With the Good Hair
from 4296 in Canmore
There’s nothing basic about
this drink inspired by
Beyonce’s self-empowerment
single “Sorry.” A tableside hot
infusion brewed before your
eyes, Becky With the Good
Hair tastes as good as she
looks, morphing into a pretty
periwinkle shade thanks to
the addition of butterfly pea
flowers. Spiked with the
mellowing effects of honeyed
Poli Miele (a grappa-based
liqueur) and Park Distillery
Glacier Rye, you’ll be in a
more forgiving mood after
imbibing, trust.
626 8 St., Unit 3, Canmore,
fourtwoninesix.ca

BY DOMINIQUE LAMBERTON

M OUNTA I NS

three more
MARK YOUR
CALENDAR (AND SAVE

MOUN TAIN

ROOM) FOR THE NEXT
EDITION OF DEVOUR! THE

FOOD AND DRINK

CANADIAN ROCKIES, TAKING

F E S T I VA L S

PLACE MARCH 31 TO

D E V O U R ! P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F F A I R M O N T J A S P E R PA R K L O D G E ; B A N F F C R A F T B E E R F E S T I V A L P H O T O B Y N O E L H E N D R I C K S O N

APRIL 2, 2023.

Food,Film,Fun
Taking in the Devour! festival at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.
At Devour! The
Canadian Rockies
Food Film Festival,
held at Fairmont
Jasper Park Lodge (JPL), the eating begins shortly after checking in and continues through
the entire weekend, with short
films, workshops and self-guided
mountain pursuits along the way.
The festival, one of the JPL’s
signature events, is an offshoot
of Wolfville, Nova Scotia’s
Devour! The Food Film Fest, an
event founded by chef Michael
Howell and Lia Rinaldo in 2009.
That festival is held annually in
October, however, throughout
the year, Devour! hosts satellite events around the world to
promote the Nova Scotia festival,
connect a community of chefs
and, ultimately, change the way
people look at the world of food
through film.
avenuecalgary.com

Devour! The Canadian Rockies
is the largest of these satellite
events. The 2022 edition kicked
off with a Cabin Crawl, taking
festivalgoers inside a selection of
the JPL’s Signature Cabins, from
the rustic Viewpoint Cabin to
the sleeker Stanley Thompson
Cabin. Inside each, participating
guest chefs cooked up an exclusive menu, such as a Bahamian
feast with snow crab claws and
conch fritters by Howell (on top
of running Devour!, he’s the
consulting executive chef at The
Green Turtle Club in Abaco,
Bahamas).
The following day brought
the annual Chili Smackdown
(a Rocky Mountain twist on the
Nova Scotia festival’s signature
Chowder Smackdown), where
guests taste iterations of the comfort dish made by the chefs and
vote on their favourite.

The star event is the Devour!
Gala Dinner — a multi-course
meal where each is paired with a
short, food-related film. All chefs
select a film ahead of the festival
and must create a dish that connects to it in some way. At the
2022 festival, the dessert course
by Andrea Ouellet and Tricia
Sullivan from Edmonton’s
Duchess Bake Shop was a
snowball-inspired meringue with
a walnut crumb base and birch
cream cheese mousse filling, to
go along with the film Gustav, The
Snow Chef, an eccentric parody
about a chef who cooks with
snow. In addition to resembling
Gustav’s beloved ingredient, the
dish also mirrored the layer of
snow and ice still covering Lac
Beauvert in mid-March.
That’s the thing: Just don’t
forget to look up, and get out, in
between all the devouring.

1
Taste for Adventure, Banff
Oct. 28 to Nov. 13, 2022
Enjoy exclusive menus at 20+ restaurants
in Banff, including eight that have opened
since 2020, like Lupo Italian Ristorante and
sushi spot Hello Sunshine.
banfflakelouise.com/tasteforadventure

2
Cornucopia, Whistler
Nov. 4 to 27, 2022
Whistler’s annual food and drink festival
celebrates 25 years with a month-long
slate of events, from intimate dinners and
drink seminars to its marquee Crush Grand
Tasting, a gala event with sampling stations
from wineries in B.C. and beyond.
whistlercornucopia.com

3
Banff Craft Beer Festival, Banff
Nov. 24 to 26, 2022
The Cave and Basin National Historic
Site — where Banff National Park was
established — is taken over by dozens
of craft breweries and distillers, as well as
local food vendors, for a weekend of
sipping and sampling.
albertabeerfestivals.com
109

ADVERTISING FEATURE

SPOTLIGHT ON
AVENUE’S TOP 40
UNDER 40 ALUMNI
These three inspiring alumni continue
to make our communities great in
Calgary and beyond
When Calgarians are recognized as one of Avenue’s
Top 40 Under 40, their achievements don’t stop.
Their expertise, hard work and determination drive
new passions and inspire new projects.
We check in with three inspiring Top 40 alumni,
including one who donates her time and expertise
to support crisis and disaster relief, one who
educates people about how to healthily address
trauma and another working to make meaningful
change and fight racism.

110 avenue November 22

ADVERTISING FEATURE

SHAILAZ DHALLA
In addition to honing her legal craft in
the regulatory field, this dedicated Top
40 Under 40 alumna gives back to her
community any way she can.
Shailaz Dhalla is part of the Top 40 Under 40
class of 2009, a recognition she earned in part for
her work as legal counsel with the Alberta Utilities

Commission — representing the AUC at hearings
and using her negotiation skills to balance the
needs of industry with those of Albertans. She
coupled her demanding career with volunteerism,
spending up to 30 hours a week giving back and
supporting groups like the Ismaili Muslim Conciliation and Arbitration Board, Alberta’s Kinship
Care Program, the Calgary Bridge Foundation
and various immigrant and refugee aid initiatives.
Since 2009, Shailaz’s professional and volunteer
work has seen further success.
In 2013, Dhalla made the shift from public to

P H OTO G R A P H BY J A R E D SYC H

“ I A M G R AT E F U L T O B E
A PA R T O F S O M A N Y
STRONG AND SUPPORTIVE
COMMUNITIES. ENDURING
RESILIENCE AND SUCCESS
C A N O N LY B E M E A S U R E D
B Y W H AT I S A C H I E V E D A S
A C O L L E C T I V E W H O L E .”

private practice when she accepted an associate
position with the law firm Lawson Lundell LLP,
working her way up to partner in 2019. As a
regulatory expert with the firm, Dhalla focuses
on energy, environmental, utility and Indigenous
law. She helps her clients navigate high stakes and
complex legal issues, with a goal to obtain major
project approvals that contribute significantly to
advancing the Alberta and Canadian economies.
Dhalla represents major players in the oil and
gas industry in her day-to-day work. In equal
measure, she remains passionate about giving
back wherever she can. This includes involvement
with student recruitment and mentoring new
lawyers who are moving up through the ranks.
“At Lawson Lundell, we strongly support mentorship initiatives that actively empower young
lawyers by building capacity and creating opportunities that will nurture and advance their legal
skills in an environment that promotes teamwork
and inclusivity,” says Dhalla.
Dhalla volunteers her time as a member of
FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance’s Board of
Directors, an international agency dedicated to
saving lives through crisis response, disaster risk
management and enabling sustainable communities. The group provides relief in Canada, as well
as Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
“Due to the range of challenges faced by
global non-profit agencies, legal acumen is highly
sought after,” says Dhalla. “When you’re fortunate
enough to cultivate a certain set of skills — for
me, those are legal skills — it’s important to
utilize your skill set to improve the quality of life
of others where you can.”
The driving factor behind all Dhalla has accomplished is her strong belief in the importance
of family, volunteerism and community. In 2009,
Dhalla said to Avenue, “The two things that have
enabled me to succeed personally and professionally are my family and the Ismaili Muslim
community, of which I am a part. Both of these
elements serve to ground me; they also provide
the motivation for me to continue to seek greater
growth and success despite any challenges along
the way.”
In the 13 years since Dhalla’s Top 40 recognition, her outlook remains the same. And, at the
heart of Dhalla’s impressive achievements, is the
pull to look beyond herself.
“I am grateful to be a part of so many strong
and supportive communities,” says Dhalla.
“Whether it’s the legal community, the Ismaili Muslim community or the greater global
community, enduring resilience and success
can only be measured by what is achieved as a
collective whole.”

TIM FOX
This Top 40 Under 40 alumnus has
continued his work in bettering
Indigenous communities while also
expanding his focus on social justice and
racial equity efforts.
When Tim Fox joined the Top 40 Under 40
class of 2019, he described seeing his role with
the Calgary Foundation as a “systems changer.”
Fox was recognized as a Top 40 Under 40 for his
dedicated work with the Calgary Foundation
in helping better its efforts with Indigenous

communities and finding ways to mobilize the
work of Truth and Reconciliation. Today, Fox
continues eliminating barriers as a systems
changer for Indigenous communities internally
and in the broader community as the Calgary
Foundation’s vice-president of Indigenous
relations and racial equity.
“I believe the work of reconciliation is for
all people, but the demographic that’s really
influenced the Truth and Reconciliation
movement has been the Indigenous population,”
says Fox. “We’re trying to reach out and expand
that scope to include more racialized communities
to work towards equitable practice.”
Since his Top 40 recognition, Fox has
continued this work while also expanding and
evolving his focus on social justice and, more

“ I B E L I E V E T H AT O N E O F T H E WAY S
T O C H A N G E A SYS T E M I S W H E N YO U
S H I F T AT T I T U D E S A N D B E L I E F S .”

recently, on racial equity. Shortly into 2021, the
Calgary Foundation conducted a racial equity
audit with the intention to identify areas within
the organization that could be problematic,
or harmful toward racialized people and
communities. Using the audit as a guiding
framework, Fox is helping the Foundation work
towards equitable practice. “Moving forward,
we must address those recommendations and
incorporate them into how we operate as an
organization so that we are truly trying to
address any systemic racism that may occur or
exist,” says Fox.
Along the way, Fox has seen a shift in other
sectors that are now finding ways to mobilize
similar work. It’s a shift Fox relates to realities
society is now witnessing. In 2021, a mass grave
of Indigenous children was found on the grounds
of a former residential school, a discovery that
rocked the world. Then in 2022, Pope Francis
visited Canada and gave a historic apology for the
role of the Catholic Church in residential schools.
Fox says that as society comes face to face with
this reality, we’re finally paying attention.
“We still have much work to do. If we want real,
significant cultural change, we’re talking about
a cultural shift that has to happen — not only
within our organization but in society overall.
So, these experiences that we’re designing and
facilitating are ongoing. They should be ongoing
for everyone,” says Fox.
While Fox intends to continue his work
with the Calgary Foundation — and finds hope
and motivation that society will experience the
significant changes needed for reconciliation,
equality, decolonization and healing — he also
acknowledges his efforts are generational.
“I’m very hopeful that there’s a new kind of
leadership emerging in the young generation who
has no patience for the status quo and is ready for
change. We just can’t be naïve to think that we’ll
experience it in our lifetime. This is generational
work,” says Fox.
Moving forward, Fox remains humbled and
grateful to be given the opportunity to facilitate
his work with the Calgary Foundation. Still, he
also hopes to see other organizations realize that
shifting systems and infrastructure requires a huge
cultural and organizational shift.
“I believe that one of the ways to change a
system is when you shift attitudes and beliefs.
Right now, there are harmful attitudes and beliefs
that exist, not only for Indigenous Peoples, but
for all racialized groups. I’m happy the Calgary
Foundation is giving me the opportunity and role
to help facilitate a systems change approach to
reconciliation and racial equity.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY THUNDER BOY PHOTOGRAPHY INC .

ADVERTISING FEATURE

ADVERTISING FEATURE

CHRISTINE GIBSON
This Top 40 Under 40 alumna is focused
on the role of trauma in mental health
and providing the necessary supports to
address it.

“ I T WA S
A DREAM
COME TRUE
TO M A R RY
SYSTEMS
THINKING,
MY WORK IN
TRAUMA AND
W R I T I N G .”

TOP

In 2011, Dr. Christine Gibson joined Avenue’s
Top 40 Under 40 class because of her effort to
eliminate the gaps in global health care and
her non-profit work with Global Familymed
Foundation, which provides scholarships to
family medicine residents in Uganda. Gibson
has since shifted her focus to local endeavours in
the community, where she quickly learned that
trauma was the underlying cause of most mental
and physical health issues.
“I think my recognition of issues around global
health and equity have made me recognize that
trauma is something that needs to be addressed
within individuals, companies, communities and
globally,” says Gibson.
Knowing that systems were so affected by
mental health, Gibson co-founded Safer Spaces

Training in 2022, which helps professionals
like teachers, doctors and entire companies
recognize the stress and trauma around them.
The organization works to create traumainformed spaces and offers modules on nonviolent
communication, psychological first aid and
diversity.
“The pandemic has been recognized as a
collective trauma, but so is the climate emergency
and inequity,” says Gibson. “Being in health care
makes it evident that it touches all of us.”
Near the beginning of the COVID-19
pandemic, Gibson began creating social media
content, “@tiktoktraumadoc,” where she shares
information about mental health matters. The
messages resonated enough to get Gibson a book
deal, and The Modern Trauma Toolkit will be out
in spring 2023. The book provides an accessible
and solution-focused look at trauma with both
an individual and system-focused lens. “It was a
dream come true to marry systems thinking, my
work in trauma and writing,” she says. Gibson is
currently working toward completing a doctorate
at Middlesex University London to further her
passion and work on the link between systems
design and trauma.
To learn more, visit linktr.ee/cgibsonmd

forty under forty

PHOTOGRAPH BY LORI ANDREWS

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Top40Under40.com

W OR K O F A RT

CURATED BY KATHERINE YLITALO

TITLE
Mosaic (Base for
Foucault’s Pendulum)

D AT E
1979

A RT I S T
Helena Hadala

MEDIA
Commercial ceramic
tiles, mortar, grout on
concrete.

SIZE
47 square metres.

L O C AT I O N
Contemporary Calgary,

Mosaic (Base for
Foucault’s Pendulum)

114

to view Mosaic is free.)

NOTES
Mosaic is part of the
City of Calgary Public Art

to demonstrate the Earth’s rotation on its axis
— which required a calibrated floor to mark
time. Based on Calgary’s latitude, a chromed
steel bob would complete a cycle every
36 hours. Hadala placed 72 small red tiles
around the circumference of the globe with
Calgary at the central pivot point to indicate
the passage of each half hour and confirm
to visitors that we live on a planet rotating in
space. Surrounding the Earth, she visualized
a cross-section view of Van Allen belts, the
doughnut-shaped bands of energized particles that ring and protect our atmosphere.
Inspired by the organic ceramic mosaics
of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, she chose
mosaic for the floor, despite the fact that
the medium was new to her. After scouring bathroom and kitchen tile showrooms
across town for square tiles in popular 1970s
earthy tones (ruby-red, rusts, browns, harvest
gold, avocado-green, lime, sandy-beige and
off-white), she smashed them in a bag with a
hammer to make irregular shapes.

Collection. Also in the
collection is the Hadala
print Counter (1982), which
will be displayed in the bus
shelter along the BRT
Orange Line at 16th
Avenue and Uxbridge
Drive N.W.

Placement of the tiles took a year and a
half, with Hadala moving out from the centre
on her hands and knees. She signed off with
“H. HADALA” along the outside wall. For the
finishing touch, she defined the tiles and integrated the tones of colours with grey grout.
Hadala is now a revered senior artist
who continues to make beautiful work. This
early mosaic is a fascinating prelude to the
paintings, drawings and prints for which she
is well-known: abstract compositions that
suggest fields of gentle energy, tinged with
ethereal soft colours.

P H O T O BY J E S S E TA M AYO

C

rescents of soft, natural colour
circulate around a bright blue
Earth in subtly shimmering
tile. Designed and created by
Helena Hadala to be the base
of Foucault’s pendulum at the
Centennial Planetarium, the
mosaic now has a second life
as a floor installation within the
raw concrete architecture of Contemporary
Calgary, the public art gallery that took over
the planetarium building in 2018.
In 1975, when she became the planetarium’s resident artist, Hadala was a recent
graduate of the University of Calgary art
department, where she had studied with
outstanding artists like Ron Spickett, Harry
Kiyooka, John Will and Noboru Sawai. Her
first task was to paint murals of galaxies.
After breaking for an art tour across
Europe, Hadala returned to her second assignment. The planetarium was planning a
display of Foucault’s pendulum — a device

701 11 St. S.W. (Gallery
requires admission; access

november 2022

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W OR K O F A RT

Wolf Willow Local Species

3:15 PM

Family enters tree cover;
enco
Child appears delighted.

3:00 PM

Leave dwelling
to participate
in “hiking.”

Daily Habits of
the Sapiens Hikeri
]
This young family of Sapiens Hikerium is on the prowl.
The child is only 2 years old. She uses play to grow strong
and independent. The abundance of greenspace in their
habitat helps keep the entire family healthy and happy.

4:00 PM
Parent s
s

P H O T O G R A P H BY T K T K T K

HOMES
FROM THE
S

MID 200
$

LiveAtWolfWillow.ca
116

january 2022