Alberta Ballet Board

Heather Rae obtained her Bachelor of Laws, Ll.B. degree from Dalhousie University and was appointed to the Alberta Bar in 1985, spending her early career as a civil litigator with MacLeod Dixon, now Norton Rose.

For more than 20 years Heather has been actively involved in the charitable sector in Alberta as President of HRJ Consulting Ltd., a grants management company providing consulting services to private philanthropic donors. In January 2013 she was a recipient of the Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her organization’s results-based approach.

Heather has had a life-long love of dance in all its forms and is excited to be involved with the Alberta Ballet as a Board Member.

Jana Neal is Chief Executive Officer of a prominent family office in Calgary where she has worked since 2001. With a focus on optimizing wealth for current and future generations, Jana’s main responsibilities are strategic initiatives and overall management of the family office. 

In addition to her career and continuing as an Alberta Ballet Director and Treasurer, Jana is a Director of Alberta Ballet Foundation and has many other affiliations to support her daughter. 

Jana was also a Director and Treasurer of Pro Bono Law Laberta for 10 years. Jana became a Chartered Accountant after earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Distinction from the University of Alberta. She rounded out her education by obtaining her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Calgary. After articling and before joining the family office, Jana worked in real estate development with Brookfield Properties.

Heather was first elected in 2008 as Member of the Legislative Assembly for Edmonton Glenora and proudly served until 2015. Heather served as Minister of Human Services, Culture and Service Alberta.

Throughout this time, her appointments included Treasury Board, Agenda & Priorities, Operations Committees and Deputy Government House Leader.

As a writer, and community connector, Heather is a published writer with op-ed columns for Post Media Network and other publications. Her advocacy work with non-profits includes crisis communication and reputation management.

Current volunteer posts are Director positions at Alberta Ballet, Varscona Theatre, Events Edmonton (Taste of Edmonton) and the Norwood Capital Campaign Cabinet. Additional commitments include participating in the Mentorship program at Peter Lougheed College and an advisory role with ParityYEG, focusing on gender parity. As a dedicated volunteer and community activist, Heather’s past involvements include Executive positions on a Community League, Parent Council, Ukrainian Dance School, political boards, and Non-Profits.

Heather holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Alberta. Early in her public service career she worked as a writer for Premier’s Peter Lougheed and Don Getty.

Frank Molnar has been a member of the Board of Directors of Alberta Ballet since 1993 and has served as Vice- President, Legal Affairs and as Corporate Secretary since 1995.

Besides his involvement with the Ballet, Frank is a partner with Field LLP’s Labour and Employment Group. His practice focuses on labour, employment, human rights, and education law. Frank has appeared as counsel before all Alberta and Federal Courts and has represented clients in numerous labour arbitrations, labour board hearings and human rights tribunal hearings.

Frank was appointed to the bar in 1986. He is a contributing author to "Remedies in Labour, Employment and Human Rights Law" (Carswell) and has also contributed various articles for the Labour Arbitration Conference as well as presented at numerous other conferences.

Sarah Palmer is a consultant in environmental law and policy. She provides strategic advice to non-profit organizations on policy analysis, government relations, fundraising, and finding practical, collaborative solutions.

Sarah obtained her Bachelor of Laws, LL.B. degree from Dalhousie University and graduated from the Director’s Education Program with an ICD.D designation from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Currently, in addition to her role as a member of the Y2Y Council, Sarah is a Director with the Chawkers Foundation and with the Palmer Family Foundation. Sarah has served on a number of not-for-profit boards in Director, Chair, and membership roles. These include Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative; the Calgary Foundation, Arts Committee; the Environmental Law Centre; and the Calgary Institute for Humanities, Advisory Committee at the University of Calgary.

Denise Clarke is a choreographer/theatre artist working in Calgary and is the Associate Artist and a permanent member of the One Yellow Rabbit (OYR) Theatre Ensemble. The company has toured extensively notably throughout Canada and Europe and produces the annual arts festival, The High Performance Rodeo. OYR has created and produced an extensive body of original work since 1982 all of which Clarke has appeared in and staged/choreographed. She has also written and/or directed several of those productions.

From 1997-2019 Clarke was the Director of the OYR Summer Lab Intensive, a training opportunity which welcomed a broad range of established and emerging artists from all over the world. Today she directs the Beautiful Young Artists program which provides training and mentoring while introducing emerging local artists to the OYR stage.

Clarke also works as a freelance choreographer and director. She has choreographed for Theatre Calgary, Citadel Theatre, the Canadian Opera Company Shaw Festival and Canadian Stage and directed several productions outside of her OYR work.

Clarke is the recipient of numerous awards including the Lieutenant Governor General Distinguished Artist Award and The Calgary Mayor’s Distinguished Artist Award. She was appointed as a Member to the Order of Canada and also recognized by the University of Calgary with an Honorary Doctorate. In 2018 Denise wrote and launched The Big Secret Book, An Intense Guide to Creating Performance Theatre.

Lawrence has worked tirelessly for the Urban Indigenous community for 23 years both as a Program Developer and Executive Director, including many Aboriginal Friendship Centres across Western Canada, the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver, and the Métis Nation of Alberta. Lawrence was certified in the Advanced Certificate in Performing Arts Management course at Capilano University in 2000. Lawrence has recently joined Phoenix Energy Services as their Director of Indigenous Relations.

As a dancer, Lawrence received numerous awards and scholarships in Classical Ballet and has trained at professional schools such as the Alberta Ballet School, Vancouver Goh Ballet, and the National Ballet School under the guidance of Alain Pauzé, Choo Chiat Goh, Lin Yee Goh, and Glenn Gilmour. In his schooling he had the opportunity to dance in France, China, Russia, United States and Canada. As a teacher he has coached International Classical Ballet competitors and was the Ballet coach for the 2006 Olympic Figure Skating team that competed in Torino under Joanne McLeod. His most recent activity was as an adjudicator for the Hnatyshyn Foundation Ballet Awards in 2012 before focusing on his work in Urban Aboriginal organizations and serving his community.

Wendy Gnenz is a Partner with MNP Digital in Edmonton who focuses on providing digital transformation services to clients. Wendy has extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of technology strategy development, innovation and continuous improvement utilizing digital tools and technologies, and designing and implementing creative solutions to business problems.

In her previous role as CIO at the City of Edmonton, she has hands on experience helping organizations understand the value and application of data and information using practical strategies and plans.

Wendy has exceptional skills in working with executive and senior management to collaboratively develop a vision, define agile implementation paths and effectively manage the challenges associated with innovation and change. Her enthusiasm for her career is evident through the accolades received from global and national organizations but most importantly from the team members that she leads.

Wendy’s passion for the Arts started early in her career – she has worked with numerous Arts organizations in Alberta in a variety of capacities: the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Edmonton Art Gallery, and the Edmonton Opera. While attaining her Bachelor of Commerce degree, she also studied Art History.

Wendy currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for ABC Headstart; she joined their Board in January 2020.

Alyssa Kim acts as legal counsel for Finning Canada, a division of Finning International Inc. Before joining Finning, Alyssa had private practice in general corporate commercial work, focusing on public, and private mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and corporate finance at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, and Bennett Jones LLP. In law school, Alyssa was the President of the Law Students' Association, an executive member of the Articling Committee and worked as a Dean's Research Assistant. Additionally, Alyssa represented the University of Alberta at the Wilson Moot 2018 with her team, where they won First Place Overall and she placed as a Top Ten Oralist in Canada.

Prior to her legal career, Alyssa trained as a professional ballet dancer with Canada's National Ballet School and the School of American Ballet in New York, NY and was offered positions with various prestigious programs including the Royal Ballet School in London, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, and Miami City Ballet. She was also the recipient of the Chautauqua Institution Young Choreographer's Award and numerous Alberta Foundation for the Arts grants. Alyssa remains passionate about dance and the arts in Alberta and looks forward to working with Alberta Ballet.

Noël Papadopoulos is General Counsel at the Papas Group, responsible for all legal matters of the company and the Group’s subsidiaries including commercial leasing, employment matters, civil litigation and vendor/supplier contracting. Prior to joining the Papas Group in 2019, Noël practiced with and became partner at an Edmonton based law firm focusing in the areas of employment law and litigation, intellectual property litigation and civil litigation and obtained Partnership. Noël has appeared as counsel before all levels of the Alberta and Federal Courts and has represented clients at the Alberta Human Rights Commission.

In addition to her former legal career, Noël is trained in Mediation, a Practice Manager for the Alberta Law Society’s PREP program and volunteers with the Edmonton Legal Community Foundation assisting clients with their civil litigation and employment matters.

Noёl is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s School of Business and University of Cardiff Law School. Having chosen to return to Edmonton after law school, Noёl enjoys giving back to her community and has served as a Director, Committee Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Fringe Theatre Adventures, sat on the executive of the ADR North, Young Lawyers, and Inns of Court sections of the Canadian Bar Association’s Branch, and served as a Provincial Council Member of the Canadian Bar Association’s Alberta Branch.

With a passion for the arts and a history in dance, Noël enjoys being part of the Alberta Ballet Board of Directors, being active in her children’s Parent Council, taking dance classes, practicing yoga and skiing.

Aggie is the founding principal of TIPP Consulting. She has 25+ years of experience working with large and small organizations in business, government and not-for profit sectors spanning numerous industry  segments including pharmaceuticals, life sciences, market research, food processing, banking services and retail. She has worked with entities such as AstraZeneca Canada, Alberta Health Services, BioAlberta, Boehringer Ingelheim, Government of Alberta, mHealth Solutions, and World Trade Center Edmonton, among others. Focused on personal development, she continues to seek training while running her Consulting practice. She holds an MBA and a few certifications such as CCPE, MBTI® and TypeCoach Master certification.

Aggie has served on a number of boards of not-for-profit organizations including the Ballet Edmonton (formerly Citie Ballet), Kids Help Phone, the Junior League of Edmonton, and Alberta Food Processors Association. In her tenure with the Junior League of Edmonton (JLE) she chaired the Homes for the Holidays fundraiser in its formative years and then as President, re-positioning JLE for renewal and growth after years of shrinking memberships. For part of her tenure with Citie Ballet she served as the Vice-Chair and created the first strategic plan. She also served on AHS Edmonton Zone Continuing Care Client and Family Advisory Council in its foundational years helping to develop the vision, mission, and structure. Currently Aggie serves as an Associate Chair for the NAIT Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation Program Advisory Committee and volunteers with University of Alberta Alumni Association’s ASSET Program.

Aggie has adored dance since childhood. She trained and performed with amateur dance troupes in her formative years and takes various dance classes to this day. Her other passions include travelling with her husband Ron, dog walks in Edmonton’s river valley, and sports such as volley and tennis.

Although Ellie’s career began in communications over 25 years ago with one of Canada’s leading agencies (Hill & Knowlton), she eventually made her way into government relations with GPC Communications where she provided advice and support on a variety of strategic, public policy, stakeholder and corporate positions and issues across multiple sectors. However, her true passion lay with children and education and as a result, she moved into this area with the creation of The Ssubi Foundation in 2005. While with The Ssubi Foundation, Ellie built two schools and provided educational supports (teacher salaries and supplies) to hundreds of children in Uganda.

In 2009, Ellie became the Head of School at the Montessori School of Calgary (MSofC) where she updated operational systems, maintained the AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) designation, and raised funds to build a state-of-the-art playground. She also created a Board governance structure and obtained charitable status for the MSofC, ensuring the school’s long-term viability.

Ellie currently sits on the West Island College Board (2017-2020) and is involved in multiple charities and non-profit organizations in the Calgary area. She holds a degree in Economics from the University of Calgary. Ellie is married to Carter, and they have three children, Renner, Dane, and Taryn.

Eric is a passionate supporter of dance, the visual arts, and architecture. Eric is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, as well as a registered Architect (retired). After leading the Architecture firm Toker + Associates for 15 years, and merging with a national Architecture firm in 2017, Eric started Modern Flowers Ltd with his wife in 2021, with a focus on fashion shoots, weddings, and ephemeral events. Eric has a Master’s Degree from McGill University in the History and Theory of Architecture, and Bachelor degrees from the University of Waterloo in both Architecture and in Environmental Studies. Eric has also completed an Executive Education program at Harvard Business School, and maintains an interest in both business and design.

Bob Willows has twenty-five years of private business experience in the civil construction industry throughout western Canada. Dedicated to the creation of a sustainable business for his people, the public and the environment. Committed to lifelong learning and personal development with a goal of working with Indigenous communities both personally and within his business. He enjoys the challenges of business in difficult environments, especially when solutions can be achieved through the engagement and empowerment of people.

Mr. Willows is the owner of Willows Construction (2001) Ltd., a civil earthworks company headquartered in Drayton Valley and Enoch, Alberta. Mr. Willows utilizes the most current heavy earth moving equipment, Global Positioning Systems, Machine control, and Drone survey technology. He is proud of a diverse employee base and numerous Indigenous relationships as part of the company’s strategic plan of sustainability.

Noel Xavier is the Director of Donor Services at Edmonton Community Foundation. Noel works with individual donors, families, local businesses and other charities to build endowment funds and legacy plans that provide strategic, sustainable support in our community. With over 22 years of resource development and senior management experience in the not-for-profit sector, Noel has worked with arts, social services, immigration, and health-related causes. In addition to the Alberta Ballet Board of

Directors, Noel also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation and is the past-Chair of the Edmonton Arts Council. He has also served on the Boards of the Nina Haggerty Centre, Opera NUOVA, the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP) – Edmonton Chapter, and the MacEwan University Arts and Cultural Management Advisory Committee.

Noel is originally from the greater Toronto area, but he lived in Osaka, Japan for nearly four years before settling in Edmonton in 2000. In his spare time, Noel enjoys running, hiking, camping, and gardening.

Melissa Cook is a corporate, commercial and securities lawyer focused on all matters of corporate and securities law including the areas of corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, continuous disclosure compliance and general corporate and securities compliance. Melissa also works with private companies and entrepreneurs in navigating business succession planning matters.

Through her extensive experience representing both private and publicly traded issuers, Melissa has acted on behalf of underwriters and dealers in both public and private offerings of equity and debt securities. She also assists clients with corporate governance matters and continuous disclosure compliance obligations, as well as general corporate and commercial matters. Melissa also has extensive experience in local counsel opinion work in Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon and since joining Field, has assisted with hundreds of local counsel opinions.

Having worked on transactions across a broad range of industries, Melissa provides proactive legal advice, anticipating and avoiding challenges and protecting clients from the pitfalls inherent in transactions, no matter the size of the businesses involved.

Not-for-profit Experience

- Lougheed House Conservation Society Chair, 2021 – 2022
- Lougheed House Conservation Society Vice-Chair, Chair of Governance Committee, 2016 – 2021

Before pursuing a career in law, Melissa spent four years working for one of Canada’s largest banks. In her role she gained first-hand insight into how each component of a complex organization works.

Her background in banking enables her to provide practical advice that takes into account each client’s unique corporate circumstances and brings clarity to complicated matters.

Peggy is passionate about words and ideas. She owns her own consulting company, working with companies, organizations, and individuals to facilitate conversations, address issues, clarify their purpose, and develop their unique brands.

For more than ten years, she served as Chief Reputation and Brand Officer at ATB Financial. She led a team of creative and talented people responsible for creating ATB’s story and transforming its brand in the marketplace, marketing ATB’s services and raising its profile and reputation with Albertans, expanding ATB’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, investing in sponsorships and community initiatives across the province, ensuring clear and consistent internal and external communications, and providing insights on Alberta’s economy.

Prior to joining ATB, Peggy owned and operated her own business as a strategic communications consultant and was instrumental in writing a number of provincial and national reports in finance, health, and education.

Peggy is past chair of the board for the Winspear Centre and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, chairs the board for the Edmonton Screen Industries Office, is a member of the board for the Art Gallery of

Alberta and she serves as an Executive Fellow for the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. She previously served as a member of the Advisory Board for the Children’s Wish Foundation and the Alberta Mental Health Foundation and was a founding member of the St. Albert Community Foundation.

Peggy holds two degrees from the University of Alberta – a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Master of Arts degree in Sociology. She is also a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D). In 2013 she was awarded a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal

Justice Gregory Stirling was born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised throughout Canada, primarily in Yellowknife NWT. He is a graduate of The University of Guelph (B.A. 1981) and Dalhousie Law School (LL.B 1984). Since his call to the Alberta Bar in 1985, he has practiced with the firm of Parlee McLaws LLP in Calgary, primarily in the area of civil litigation, at all levels of court in Alberta. His professional experience has involved a wide range of commercial and construction related disputes, including complex multi-party litigation, multi-jurisdictional litigation and international arbitration. In addition, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2010.

Greg has sat on numerous Law Society Committees, including Audit and Finance, Conduct, and Governance. He was a volunteer instructor in civil litigation for the Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA) Bar Admission Course and guest instructor at Trial Advocacy. He has been a volunteer legal advisor with the QB Amicus program and has also volunteered with Pro Bono Law Civil Court Duty Counsel project. He has been a Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of Calgary Legal Guidance and Director of the Alberta Law Foundation.

Community service has been an important part of Greg’s life. He has contributed in many capacities to different non-profit organizations, including the President of Hillhurst Sunny Side Community Association, member of the Board of Directors of Scarboro United Church, Inn from the Cold, and the Red Cross.

Greg has been a long-time subscriber to the ballet and has a daughter who was a student at the Alberta Ballet School.

Melissa Padfield has 20 years experience working in higher education and currently serves as Deputy Provost (Students and Enrolment) at the University of Alberta. In her role she is responsible for holistic enrolment management and student experience for 45,000 students across three main instructional campuses. Melissa oversees all university wide services related to student experience including the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral studies, Office of the Dean of Students, Office of the Registrar and University of Alberta International. She has held various roles within student affairs and academic administration as well as roles on a number of boards and advisory committees related to higher education provincially and nationally.

Melissa works throughout North America as a speaker and facilitator focussed on leadership development in higher education. Her work centers on supporting leaders to enhance their efficacy and resiliency within contexts of extreme complexity and risk environments.

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a certificate in Globalization and Governance from the University of Alberta and a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Victoria. She also completed a Certificate in University and College Administration from the Center for Higher Education Research & Development at the University of Victoria and the Management Development Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Born and raised in Alberta, and growing up deeply connected to the performing arts and dance Melissa is passionate about supporting dance and dance education in the province.

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Peter Johnson is the Corporate Secretary and Head of Legal Counsel at Shaw Communications Inc. in Calgary, Alberta. Born and raised in Calgary, Peter enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, Erin and two children and takes every opportunity available to spend time in the mountains.
Peter has been involved with the Alberta Ballet Foundation for the past 11 years. He continues to assist in creating the future of the Alberta Ballet and looks forward to seeing its continued growth.

Heather Rae obtained her Bachelor of Laws, Ll.B. degree from Dalhousie University and was appointed to the Alberta Bar in 1985, spending her early career as a civil litigator with MacLeod Dixon, now Norton Rose.

For more than 20 years Heather has been actively involved in the charitable sector in Alberta as President of HRJ Consulting Ltd., a grants management company providing consulting services to private philanthropic donors. In January 2013 she was a recipient of the Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her organization’s results-based approach.

Heather has had a life-long love of dance in all its forms and is excited to be involved with the Alberta Ballet as a Board Member.

Jana Neal is Chief Executive Officer of SFG Investments Ltd., the operating entity of the Shaw Family Office in Calgary. She has been with the Shaw Family for 17 years. With a focus on optimizing wealth for current and future generations of the Shaw Family, Jana’s main responsibilities are strategic initiatives and overall management of the Family Office. In addition to her career and accepting the Calgary Vice-Chair position for the incoming Board, Jana is the Treasurer of Pro Bono Law Alberta and has many other affiliations to support her daughter. Jana became a Chartered Accountant after earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta. She rounded out her education by obtaining her Juris Doctor from the University of Calgary. After articling and before joining the Shaw Family in 2001, Jana worked in real estate development with Brookfield Properties.

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