Board of Trustees
Wendy Beauchesne
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CALGARY/EDMONTON)
Wendy has spent the majority of her career working in the health-care sector and continues on that path in her role as Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Cancer Foundation.
Wendy joined the Foundation from STARS Air Ambulance, a helicopter ambulance service providing critical care and transport to patients across Western Canada. She initially joined STARS in 2011 to help build the program in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and eventually was named executive vice president for the STARS Foundation with a clear mandate to launch a $130 million capital campaign to purchase a new helicopter fleet for the prairies. Previous to STARS, Wendy spent a decade working within Alberta’s health authorities.
Board of Trustees
Dr. Chris Eagle
BOARD CHAIR (EDMONTON/CALGARY)
Dr. Eagle has been president and chief executive officer of both Alberta Health Services and the Calgary Health Trust. Prior to the formation of Alberta Health Services, he was president and chief operating officer of the Calgary Health Region. Dr. Eagle trained as a cardiac anesthesiologist and has a long academic career in anesthesiology, serving as a professor, and head of the Department of Anesthesia, at the University of Calgary, and chair of the Specialty Committee in Anesthesia at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is professor emeritus at the University of Calgary. Dr. Eagle has served on the boards of national, provincial and local healthcare organizations.
Barbara Munroe
VICE CHAIR, IMPACT & ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR (CALGARY)
Barb was appointed Trustee to the Alberta Cancer Foundation in June 2021.
Most recently, Barb was the executive vice-president, corporate service, and general counsel at WestJet. Her responsibilities in the corporate services area covered legal, corporate real estate, environment, fuel, government relations and regulatory compliance, working closely with WestJet’s senior leadership team and board of directors. Having been part of the team that led the introduction of two new airlines (WestJet Encore and Swoop) as well as readying the airline for international expansion with the acquisition of new Boeing Dreamliner aircraft, she retired from WestJet in March 2019, just prior to the recent privatization of the company.
Previously, Barb led the legal group at SMART technologies for eight years, departing in 2008 in the capacity of senior vice president, legal and corporate secretary. She then worked with Imperial Oil for several years in the role of assistant general counsel, upstream, with legal responsibility for conventional oil sands and offshore oil and gas projects across Canada. In 2016, Barb was recognized by Lexpert with a Women in Law Award.
Barb was elected to the Crescent Point Energy Corp. board of directors in May 2016 and, since October 2019, has served as board chair. She has volunteered her time with the United Way (Imperial Oil campaign) and Live Different Builds (home build in the Dominican Republic with WestJet). She is also a member of the newly created Calgary Cancer Centre campaign cabinet.
Catherine M. (Cathy) Allard Roozen
(EDMONTON)
Cathton Investments Ltd. is a family held investment company with interests primarily in the real estate development industry, banking, finance and communications. Cathy serves as Executive Chair and Director of Cathton Investments Ltd and Director of the Allard Foundation, whose mission is to make Edmonton and Alberta a better place with funding to advance health, education, social wellbeing and the arts.
Cathy has served on numerous boards including the Strategy Council of the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, Alberta Health Services (vice chair), Alberta Cancer Board, STARS, Covenant Health, University of Alberta and Shaw Communications. Today, Cathy remains a board member of Melcor Developments Ltd., Corus Entertainment, EPCOR and the University of Alberta Property Trust.
Cathy’s many contributions have earned her numerous recognitions. She holds the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and Alberta Centennial Medal. She has been honoured with the MacEwan University Distinguished Citizen Award, the Global Television Edmonton Woman of Vision Award and an honorary doctor of law degree from the University of Alberta. In 2013, Cathy was awarded the Alberta Order of Excellence and in 2015, the Order of Canada.
Darren Baumgardner
(SPRUCE GROVE)
Darren Baumgardner has a passion for, and a proven track record of, driving fundraising initiatives for cancer research and patient care, including the Glenn Anderson Day of Golf, the Cross Cancer Institute’s 50th anniversary celebration, Jammin for a Cure, and many other events that continue to deliver much-needed support to patients with cancer across Alberta.
Darren is a managing partner of Westbrand Group of Companies and a partner in two industrial distribution companies. He has a long history of managing private equity investments in multiple industries and has held several leadership positions in telecommunications, heavy industrial and communications. Darren is also the Volunteer Co-Chair for the Glenn Anderson Day of Golf, an annual tournament that supports cancer care and research at the Cross Cancer Institute, and the Director of the Cure Cancer Foundation. He is a Canadian Institute of Advertising Certified Advertising Agency Practitioner. He also has a diploma in marketing management from NAIT.
Max G. Chan
(CALGARY)
Max is currently the Senior Vice President, Corporate Development for Enbridge Inc. based in Calgary, with responsibilities for mergers and acquisitions, investment review and corporate growth objectives. Previously, Max was the treasurer and head of risk management for Enbridge since 2012. After being diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) in 2020, he is now grateful to be a cancer survivor due to early detection and solid medical care. This experience inspired Max to become much more actively involved in cancer care, research and fundraising, and he has been proud to be the top fundraiser the last two years in the Enbridge Tour Alberta for Cancer ride. Max holds an economics degree from the University of Calgary, and a master of business administration from Dalhousie University. In the community, Max is a senator at the University of Calgary, and has served as a board member for not-for-profit organizations including; Inn from The Cold and the Westside Recreation Society. In early 2022, Max was named one of Canada’s top 50 changemakers by Report on Business Magazine.
Kathryn (Kate) Chisholm
(EDMONTON)
Kate Chisholm recently retired from the role of senior vice-president, chief legal and sustainability officer with Capital Power, where she had been a member of the senior executive team since 2004, leading Capital Power’s legal, regulatory and compliance, environmental policy, government relations and external affairs teams, and risk management and internal audit, media and communications, and sustainability efforts.
Prior to Capital Power, Kate served as EPCOR’s senior vice-president, general counsel and corporate secretary from 2004 to 2009, and vice-president, legal and commercial for Alberta’s Transmission Administrator (now the Alberta Electric System Operator) from 1999 to 2003.
Kate obtained her bachelor of arts from Mount Allison University, her bachelor of law from the University of Alberta, and her MBA from Queen’s University. She was awarded the prestigious “Robert V.A. Jones” Lifetime Achievement Award by the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association in 2008, appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2010, named one of Canada’s Top 50 Diversity Champions by Women of Influence Magazine in 2013, named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women and given a Leadership in the Profession Award by WILL/Counsel Network/Association of Women Lawyers in 2014, and named one of Canada’s Top 50 General Counsels in 2016.
Kate currently chairs the University of Alberta Board of Governors and serves on a number of other boards and governing bodies, including the Canadian Investment Regulatory Commission and Emissions Reduction Alberta.
Rajko Dodic
(LETHBRIDGE)
Rajko is a lawyer in Lethbridge having practiced in the city for over 30 years and is presently associated with Davidson & Williams LLP. He has also served on Lethbridge City Council both as a councillor and as mayor. Rajko emigrated to Canada with his parents as a young child from the former Yugoslavia and has been proud to be a Canadian for more than 50 years. He received all of his education in Alberta and is a proud graduate of both the University of Lethbridge and the University of Alberta. Rajko believes his greatest achievements are having a wonderful spouse, two great children and three amazing grandchildren, and he looks forward to serving on the Alberta Cancer Foundation board.
John Donald
(RED DEER)
John Donald was appointed Trustee to the Alberta Cancer Foundation in June 2021. Coming from a family with a long history of charitable work in central Alberta, John knows the importance of giving back to the community in which you live and where you do business. John owned Red Deer’s John Deere Dealership for 37 years, also overseeing locations in Lethbridge, Taber, Medicine Hat and Burdett. He sold that business in 2018 and now manages more than 45 commercial properties with his father through River Valley Properties. His volunteer commitment has been extensive. John has been on the Red Deer Regional Hospital Foundation since 2008, eight of those years as chair. He also served on the Board of Trustees with Employment Canada from 1999 to 2011, volunteered with Agri-Trade Exhibition Red Deer Alberta from 2003 to 2010, and has been part of many community fundraising campaigns for central and southern Alberta. In 2019, John was named Red Deer’s citizen of the year, the fourth family member to receive the honour.
Brenda Hubley
(EDMONTON)
Brenda is the Chief Program Officer for Cancer Care Alberta within Alberta Health Services. Brenda is a senior health-care leader who has worked in the sector for over 20 years with extensive experience in health-care leadership, project management and strategic and operational planning in health-care service delivery. Brenda is a graduate of Dalhousie University and her clinical background is as a radiation therapist. Brenda has worked in academic and hospital environments and with provincial and national professional associations and councils including serving as vice president of the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists. Since joining the Alberta health system in 2006, Brenda has held numerous leadership positions in cancer care including operations leader for the Radiation Therapy Corridor Project, executive director community oncology and provincial practices and senior program lead for CancerControl North. Brenda is committed to a high-performing cancer program informed by research and evidence, designed in partnership with patients and families, and respectful and responsive to the diversity of the populations we serve.
Sandra Lau
INVESTMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR (EDMONTON)
Sandra Lau leads a team of investment professionals responsible for managing over $40 billion of fixed income, private placement, private mortgages and private debt and loan assets on behalf of AIMCo clients. Since joining AIMCo in 1999, she has held progressively more senior positions, most recently as executive vice president, fixed income. Lau is a member of the Executive Committee, the Management Investment Committee, and the Tactical Asset Allocation Committee. Lau holds a bachelor of commerce and a master’s degree in economics and finance from the University of Alberta and is a chartered financial analyst charterholder. She is currently a member of the Bank of Canada Canadian Fixed-Income Forum, the Bank of Canada Canadian Alternative Reference Rate Working Group, and the FTSE Canada Fixed Income Advisory Committee. Lau is Co-founder and the former co-chair of the Edmonton Women in Finance, a non-profit organization with the objective to connect, coach and advocate for women in the finance industry in Edmonton.
William ‘Billy’ Morin
(ENOCH CREE NATION)
Former Chief, William ‘Billy’ Morin (Nahtokitopi – Rides a Sacred Horse), was elected Chief by Maskêkosihk members at the age of 28 in 2015. During his time as chief, Morin provided transparency and accountability to the Nation, expanded Enoch’s economy into health care, and built bridges between Enoch and all outside communities. William was given the responsibility of speaking on behalf of seventeen First Nations with his appointment as Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six Nations for the year 2020. William’s Father, William Morin III, and grandfather, William Morin II, both lost their battles with cancer. In addition to providing an inclusive Indigenous voice, it is an honour to his family, community and all Albertans affected by cancer that William serves on the Alberta Cancer Foundation Board of Trustees.
Gelaine Pearman
Chair of the OWN.CANCER Campaign Task Force (CALGARY)
Gelaine was appointed as an Alberta Cancer Foundation Trustee in 2016. Gelaine holds a master’s degree in healthcare management from the University of Toronto, and a bachelor of science and nursing degree from the University of Calgary. With her background in health care management and nursing, she brings an in-depth working knowledge of Alberta’s health care system. Gelaine has been actively involved in a number of not-for-profit boards in Calgary, serving in board leadership positions. Gelaine served as chair at the Breast Cancer Supportive Care Foundation, an organization providing leadership in developing and delivering supportive care for individuals diagnosed with breast cancer. Gelaine brings a personal passion to Alberta Cancer Foundation’s mission of “making Alberta the leader in cancer prevention research and care.”
Shelley Powell
(CALGARY)
Shelley Powell is the Senior Vice President, exploration and production and in situ at Suncor Energy. In this role, she leads all of Suncor’s operated and non-operated in situ, and exploration and production assets in regions including northern Alberta, the East Coast of Canada, and the United Kingdom. Shelley’s organization is also responsible for coordinating Suncor’s strategic objective of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands operations by 2050. She is originally from Edmonton and grew up moving across Canada as part of a military family. More recently she spent 10 years residing in Fort McMurray and now calls Calgary home. Shelley has a bachelor of chemical engineering from the University of Ottawa and two master’s degrees, one in business administration and one in science and finance both from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Dean Ruether
(CALGARY)
Dr. Ruether is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in Oncology at the University of Calgary. He completed a Master of Science Degree followed by his MD at the University of Alberta. This was then followed by a Residency in Internal Medicine and Subspecialty Training in Oncology at the University of Calgary. Dr. Ruether worked in private practice including clinics at the Tom Baker Cancer Center from 1995 until early 2000 and subsequently joined the Tom Baker Cancer Clinic full time in 2000. He was awarded the Certified Health Executive (CHE) designation from the Canadian College of Health Leaders in 2020, reflecting his interest and professional development in health leadership.
Dr. Ruether has served as an Associate Senior Medical Director and Medical Director, Community Oncology in Cancer Care Alberta since September of 2015. In this role, his area of responsibility and area of particular interest is in Community Oncology. Together with his dyad partners and CCA leadership, the ability to provide cancer therapies outside of the tertiary programs, and closer to home for Albertans has expanded considerably. Further development of this program and capacity remains a key interest of his.
Dr. Ruether has a demonstrated record of exemplary service in education, including receipt of several teaching and preceptorship awards. He received an Alberta Health Services President’s Excellence Award for Achievement in Patient and Family Centered Care in 2019. In addition, he has had significant experience in a variety of administrative roles provincially, nationally and internationally.
Outside of work Dr. Ruether enjoys time spent with his partner and two children and can regularly be found walking at Nosehill or other parks in the city with his two dogs. He enjoys weight training, yoga, gardening and travel. His family recently welcomed their first grand daughter.
Kiren Singh
(CANMORE)
Kiren is a senior executive with more than 30 years of experience in the global energy industry with extensive experience in international corporate finance, global capital markets activities and financial risk management in private and publicly traded companies in Canada and the USA. She has a strong background in governance and serves on the board of directors for several prominent organizations, including as Chair of the Audit Committee at Pieridae Energy Inc. (PEA:TSE), and Audit and Risk Committee of Computer Modelling Group (CMG:TSE), and Travel Alberta. Previously, Kiren served as a director on the boards of Dynamic Risk Assessment Systems and Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC).
Kiren Singh has a deep personal connection to cancer care and research. After losing her mother, sister and uncle to cancer, she co-founded HaskalifeTM, a functional food company centered around the Alberta-grown haskap berry and its significant health benefits. The products are curated around the unique phytochemical profile of the haskap berry and deploy premium processing technologies to retain the maximum nutritional value. Kiren’s mission is to expand awareness of this powerful Canadian superfruit and contribute to the well-being of our community.
Kiren earned a master of business administration and a bachelor of commerce from the University of Calgary. She also holds Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Canadian Risk Management (CRM) designations, as well as the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) designation, representing a lifelong commitment to excellence in the boardroom.
Wayne Steinke
(DESERT BLUME)
Wayne Steinke is an accomplished professional engineer with a successful career at CF Industries, marked by continuous growth and leadership. He started at CF as a process engineer in 1999, after graduating with a science degree in chemical engineering with distinction from the University of Calgary.
Throughout his tenure, Wayne demonstrated a passion for plant operation and troubleshooting, gradually taking on larger roles of increasing responsibility. His dedication to people leadership and organizational development has been a hallmark of his career. Wayne skillfully managed the environment, health and Safety and production departments, showcasing his versatile skillset. With his strong background in engineering, Wayne also served as the engineering manager, overseeing capital projects, improving energy efficiency, and providing technical support for operations.
Since 2020, Wayne has been serving as the General Manager of the CF Industries Medicine Hat Complex. In this role, he has been instrumental in managing the facility’s safe, secure and compliant operations, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. His dedication to employee development and succession planning has been evident in his leadership.
Wayne joined the ACF Board to provide input from, and raise awareness of, the Medicine Hat region. Wayne lost his mom to cancer in 2015 and is proud to support the Alberta Cancer Foundation in achieving their vision of a cancer-free future.
Tom Valentine
GOVERNANCE & HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE CHAIR (CALGARY)
Practicing as a partner with Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP Tom has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, both as a barrister and as a solicitor.
Tom’s focus is on international energy projects, with a particular emphasis on gas and liquified natural gas (LNG). In 2002 and 2003, Tom and his family lived in Doha, Qatar, where Tom was senior counsel (projects) with Qatar Petroleum, the national oil and gas company for the State of Qatar. While in Qatar, Tom acted for Qatar Petroleum, as well as both Qatargas and RasGas.
Since returning to Canada, Tom has continued his work on upstream projects around the globe. He has advised both governments and project sponsors on projects in Canada (West and East Coasts), the United States, Iraq, the United Kingdom, Peru, Cyprus, Angola, Qatar, Australia, Uruguay, Nigeria, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran.
Tom also provides three and four day training seminars around the world on LNG contract law and production sharing contracts, appearing regularly in London, Dubai, Brazil, Brunei, Singapore, Seoul, Mozambique, and Algeria.