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Through his past and present roles David has been responsible for all aspects of financial management, reporting and forecasting. As well, his duties have included overseeing the corporate governance, risk management, internal IT, administration and legal liaison.
David has held various senior management positions, which include being an officer for both private and publicly traded companies in healthcare, IT development, land development and construction. He has successfully coordinated with Asian companies on joint ventures in construction, land development and technology projects.
Adding further breadth, David has been a senior member of a Chartered accounting firm, held positions with the department of Economic Development within the government of Alberta and has had significant experience with public markets and associated fundraising efforts, including the Canadian TSX (TSXV), United Kingdom AIM (sub of the London Stock Exchange) and Germany’s Deutsche Borse (Frankfurt Stock exchange).
Additionally, David continues to serve as a Managing Director of Indo China Development Inc., Director of a risk capital pool and several community based non-government organizations.
David has two autistic children who joined Opening Gaits in September 2021. We welcome David to the Board as role of Treasurer.
Elaine has been volunteering and supporting Opening Gaits for 5 years and we are very excited to welcome Elaine to our board. Elaine is an Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, English and Languages at Mount Royal University.
Growing up as a competitive equestrian, Alex was eager to find a way to stay involved with horses once she had to give up her horses mid-way through her university studies. In 2013, she found Opening Gaits and quickly fell in love. From 2013-2017, she was involved in various ways – an instructor, assistant instructor, Board member, and volunteer. Alex moved away to pursue her MBA in 2017 and work in various cities, and finally came back home to Calgary in 2021. The first thing she did when she returned was resume her involvement with Opening Gaits.
Alex received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management in 2018 and has been working as a strategy consultant ever since. In her “day job”, she helps clients tackle their most strategic issues, such as how to prepare for the energy transition. She’s worked in Calgary, Toronto, and Helsinki in this role.
Alex brings a combination of business strategy and project management experience, along with years of horse knowledge and a passion for brining these incredible animals into people’s lives.
Monica joined the board as a Director in January 2023. She had retired and was looking for a way to give back to the community. As a teenager, she rode and showed competitively and her love for horses has never diminished. As an adult, she enjoyed watching her daughter ride and show competitively as well. Opening Gaits was a way to not only give back to the community, but also give her an opportunity to spend time with horses. It was a win-win situation!
”We have been members of this wonderful organization for over 5 years now. Our son Charlie has been attending regular classes and we can honestly say that it’s made such a positive impact on all of us.
My son an active 9 year old boy with Down Syndrome and speech apraxia. His love of horses became apparent to us from an early age and so my search was on to find a way that he can connect with these beautiful animals.
It didn’t take long to find Opening Gaits. One conversation I knew we’d found a perfect fit for our son. These 5 plus years have had such a positive impact on not only Charlie but our entire family. Seeing how excited Charlie gets on Sunday mornings once we arrive at the stable is nothing short or heart warming. Riding has helped his balance, improved his muscle tone and coordination, his speech and most importantly we love the connection he gets to make with his horse.
The staff, instructors, volunteers, other parents and their children have become very important to us. We look forward to our mornings at the stable and connecting with these amazing souls.”
Sherri is a pilot for WestJet and has been a director for 3 years, treasurer for 1 year and has accepted being Secretary in November 2021
Volunteering has been a passion of Katie’s since she was young. As a young adult, she fell upon a therapeutic riding program on the West Coast – this blended her passion for horses and volunteer work. In 2014 Katie adopted a rescue dog and joined the St. John’s Ambulance Therapy Dog Program as a Handler and Director for their Board. Six years flew by visiting with first responders, easter seals campers, youth at risk, palliative and hospice care patients.
Katie has been a Corporate Administrator and Contracts Manager for a private consulting firm since 2015. Supporting and working alongside boards, shareholders and stakeholders, she is excited to blend her professional skill-set with her passion for animal therapy volunteering with this wonderful program.
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