Board Members
The composition of the Board is mandated by the Post-Secondary Learning Act (PSLA), as outlined in PSLA s.16(1).
Current Board Members
Board members may continue to hold office after the expiry of their term of office until they are reappointed, their successor is appointed or a period of 3 months has elapsed, whichever occurs first.
Appointment: Students' Union Member at Large
Term Start: 01-May-2023
Term End: 30-Apr-2024
Appointment: General Faculties Council
Term Start: 09-Nov-2021
Term End: 08-Nov-2024 (second term)
Appointment: Additional Member*
Term Start: 27-Sep-2022
Term End: 26-Sep-2025
*Per Section 16(3)f of the Post-secondary Learning Act
Appointment: Public
Term Start: 28-Feb-2024
Term End: 27-Feb-2027
Appointment: Graduate Students' Association
Term Start: 01-May-2023
Term End: 30-Apr-2024
Appointment: Additional Member*
Term Start: 27-Sep-2022
Term End: 26-Sep-2025
*Per Section 16(3)f of the Post-secondary Learning Act
Appointment: Additional Member*
Term Start: 27-Sep-2022
Term End: 26-Sep-2025
*Per Section 16(3)f of the Post-secondary Learning Act
External Members
External Members are members of the public who have been appointed to a Committee by the Board for their particular skills and expertise.
Daniel Adams is a retired audit partner of KPMG LLP effective September 30, 2023. Dan was the Atlantic Enterprise Leader and Halifax office managing partner for KPMG at the time of retirement in 2023. For fourteen years to 2020, Dan was the Partner in Charge for the Enterprise practice in Calgary focusing on audit and business advisory services for private companies. He was elected to partnership in 1997. Prior to these leadership appointments, Dan was the Human Resources partner in Calgary, National Chair of Campus Recruiting, member of the National KPMG Foundation, Member of the Calgary chapter of the KPMG Donation Committee.
As a born Calgarian and University of Calgary alum, Dan has worked with a wide range of private companies across all industries. He was the engagement partner for several private clients in the agriculture, aviation, oil and gas exploration and servicing, and manufacturing industries. Prior to 2007, Dan had significant experience with public companies.
From 2011 to 2017, Dan represented his KPMG Calgary partners and KPMG Canada partners on the KPMG National Board of Directors.
Dan has been the host and moderator of a number of presentations and panels as part of KPMG’s Private Company Seminar Series. In addition, Dan has been the host and moderator of a number of presentations and panels as part of KPMG’s Not for Profit Seminar Series which is held with the United Ways support. Calgary Home Builders Association, CAFÉ, Alberta Venture Fast 50 Awards, ICD, the Calgary Flames and the FEI have all asked Dan to moderate panels.
From 2005 until 2016 Dan was an active coach in soccer and basketball. He has coached community soccer and basketball for the Elbow Valley and Calwest communities respectively. Prior the coaching he spent the mid-90’s on the board of the Calgary’s Colts junior football team. Up to 2020, he was the Chair of the audit committee of the Downtown Rotary Club of Calgary. Dan was also on the Small Donations Committee at Rotary. The United Way approached Dan and asked him to be on the Finance and Audit Committee for United Way of Calgary for a three-year term that expired in 2020.
In 2020, Dan was nominated and was awarded the Institute of CPA Alberta’s Fellows of Chartered Professional Accountants for leadership, community service and service to the profession.
Kent is a Managing Director with ARC Financial Corp. and co-heads the investment team and is responsible for deal origination, structuring and execution, portfolio monitoring and exit, as well as working closely with ARC's portfolio companies on corporate strategy, risk management, strategy execution and financial matters. He is a member of ARC's Executive Committee and currently represents ARC on the board of Deltastream Energy Corporation.
Kent joined ARC in 2011 with prior experience as an engineer at a major multi-national energy company with assignments in drilling and new business development. He has a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Master of Science in Engineering from the Robert Gordon University, a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Calgary and is a Professional Engineer.
Laura retired December 31, 2021, after a successful 35-year career as a strategic Human Capital advisor and consulting actuary. Laura consulted in pensions, HR strategy, total rewards, HR communications and employee sensing, health and well-being, diversity and inclusion, workforce planning, mergers and acquisitions, and risk management. She worked closely with senior HR and Finance executives of large multinational clients to maximize value and mitigate risk through effective human capital management.
Laura has a B.A. (Honours) in Mathematics from the University of Texas. She is a fellow of both the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.
Laura is currently a member of the Risk Management and Insurance Advisory Board for the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. She is also a member of the Calgary Stampede Promotion Committee. Laura was previously the chairperson of the Human Resources Committee of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. She was also the Canadian representative on Willis Towers Watson's North American Inclusion and Diversity Council.
Dana McKechnie currently serves as Vice President, Human Resources - Learning & Capabiltiy for Suncor Energy.
Dana has more than 25 years of experience including executive appointments in Human Resources, Learning and Operations across both the Energy and Food Processing sectors.
Since 2007 at Suncor Energy Inc., Dana has held roles in enterprise Learning & Capability, Leadership, Total Rewards, HR Operations, Labour Relations, Strategic Partnering and Talent Management. He has also been a member of a variety of enterprise governance and advisory bodies including, Business Process, Leadership, and Inclusion & Diversity.
In prior roles, spanning over a decade in the Food Processing sector, Dana held senior manufacturing positions that included accountabilities for Production, Maintenance, Capital Projects, Distribution, HR and General Management of diverse and perishable product lines.
A Certified HR Professional (CHRP), Dana has a Bachelor of Management degree from the University of Lethbridge.
Dana is active in boards and advisory committees including, the Agilus Work Solutions Executive Council, the Conference Board Council of HR Executives and is a past member of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers workforce advisory group. Also active as a community member on the University of Calgary Human Resource & Governance Committee; served as president and board member of a Homeowners Society as well as a Leader with the United Way.
Glenn McNamara has more than 40 years of oil and gas exploration and production experience in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. He received his MBA from the University of Calgary in 1988 and his B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from the University of Alberta in 1978. Mr. McNamara currently serves as a director of Whitecap Resources Inc. and Parex Resources Ltd.
Mr. McNamara is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta and a past Governor of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. From 2010 to 2016, he was CEO of Petromanas Energy, an internationally focused small-cap company exploring with Shell in Albania. From 2005 to 2010, he was the President of BG Canada and responsible for all aspects of BG Canada’s business, including Western/Northern Canada and Alaska. Prior to that, Mr. McNamara held several senior executive positions with ExxonMobil, ExxonMobil Canada, and Mobil Oil Canada, including President of ExxonMobil Canada West from 2000 to 2004. In addition, he has served as the Chairman of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.
Zita Mulligan is a finance and accounting professional with over 40 years experience in a variety of industries including helicopter sales, leasing and maintenance (2010 – 2022), mining (2007 – 2010) and family holdings (2000 – 2007). Zita is a Chartered Professional Accountant (1987) with an EMBA from University of Western Ontario (1999) and most recently completed the Institute of Corporate Directors Designation (2023).
Zita retired from full time work in 2022 and is currently keeping herself professionally engaged through volunteer positions.
Sameera Sereda is a partner with Caldwell, a leading retained executive search firm. A former practicing lawyer and highly sought-after speaker, author, and strategic advisor, Sameera has combined her skills, expertise, and her extensive knowledge of the legal and business community to become the legal recruiter of choice in the Canadian market.
Sameera is deeply committed to building a diverse and inclusive legal profession. Her greatest expertise is in providing creative and innovative talent management solutions to law firms and legal departments while focusing on building strong long-term relationships with both clients and candidates. Sameera’s charismatic and approachable style, as well as her commitment to a strong ethical framework, contributes to her status as a trusted advisor and mentor.
Sameera has dedicated much of her career to nurturing and promoting women lawyers. She is the chair of Women in Law Leadership, a Canada not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the celebration, education, and advancement of women lawyers, and the co-founder of the Women in Law Leadership (WILL) Awards. She is deeply passionate about giving back to the community as evidenced by her many years of volunteering with the Canadian Bar Association, the Alberta Lawyers’ Assistance Society, the Association of Women Lawyers, and the Federal Judicial Advisory Committee for Alberta.
Sameera holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University, a Public Relations Diploma from Mount Royal University, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Calgary and was called to the Law Society of Alberta.
Sameera has taught various courses in business law, business communications, and effective writing, and has facilitated numerous workshops in the areas of media training, strategic planning, and marketing. Sameera is a qualified diversity trainer and administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory, as well as certified to deliver conflict resolution training.
Allison is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Invico Capital Corporation and has over 25 years of experience in corporate finance in both private equity and financial advisory services. She is a registered Portfolio Manager (PM) and has been actively involved in the assessment of investments, ongoing regulatory compliance and accounting on behalf of the Invico managed investment offerings. In 2021, Allison was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women and a Top 100 Award winner in the BMO Entrepreneurs category by the Women's Executive Network (WXN) and was the proud recipient of the Wealth Professional Female Executive of the Year Award at the 2019 Women in Wealth Management Awards.
Chad Van Norman is a registered portfolio manager and manages relationships for institutional and private wealth clients in Canada and the United States.
Chad's prior experience includes General Manager of Investments for ATB Financial, where he was responsible for establishing and managing the investment planning group. Chad has also worked with Merrill Lynch Investment Management and Canada Trust.
Chad is a member of the Management Advisory Council at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and is on the Calgary Stampede Parade Committee. He is an active member of his community and has coached numerous ringette, soccer & hockey teams over the past decade.
Teresa is on a mission to turn her dad’s oilpatch into her daughter’s energy garden. This has driven her contribution to shaping the energy garden in Canada, helping to plant and nurture the molecules, electrons, technologies, policies and workforce that will drive our energy transition. Teresa believes in thinking big, having fun and that the intersection of creativity and technology will be the ultimate transformational force in our society.
Coming from a family where both her parents and all of her siblings are engineers, it was genetically predetermined that Teresa would graduate with an engineering degree; after which she started her career with Shell. Since then, Teresa has worked across projects, commercial, development, maintenance, operations and HSSE before working with LNG Canada in the role of Vice President, Corporate Affairs. LNG Canada, and her role there, are an incredible platform for Teresa to live her mission as we move to lower carbon molecules and partner with the people of BC to transform the workforce that delivers those molecules.