BOARD MEMBER

Adrienne is a CPA, CMA with 14 years experience as a Fractional Controller, having collaborated with a variety of small businesses that do not require a full-time controller. Her areas of specialization include financial analysis, budgeting, and treasury, with a professional background spanning diverse industries such as Oil and Gas Marketing, Midstream, Publishing, and Speaker Management. Recently, she has taken on a new challenge as a Senior Treasury Accountant in the Energy Industry.

Originally from Southern Ontario, Adrienne now considers Calgary her beloved home, where she lives with her husband and their three young adults. An active and community-oriented individual, Adrienne is a frequent participant in spin and hot yoga classes, enjoys gatherings at local coffee shops, and loves exploring the outdoors—whether it's on road trips, around campfires, or walking along the pathways of Fish Creek Park with Billy, their Bernese Mountain dog

In addition to her professional commitments, Adrienne is dedicated to community service, serving as the treasurer for various youth sports teams and activities. She is also an enthusiastic member of the Love for Lewiston board, where she is eager to leverage her financial expertise to foster positive change and impact within the community.

BOARD MEMBER

Belinda is a Child & Adolescent Mental Health Therapist, who has focused her work for nearly 25 years on helping children and families navigate mental health challenges and struggles. She has a BA with a major in Psychology, an after Diploma in Counselling and Guidance, and an MA in Counselling Psychology. Belinda worked for Alberta Health Services as a Family Counsellor on the Inpatient Mental Health Unit at the Alberta Children’s Hospital for 14 years. She also had a private practice for 8 years, where she conducted learning/cognitive assessments for children, youth, and adults; parenting assessments for Child & Family Services; and provided therapy services to children using play and the expressive arts.

Belinda was born and raised in Calgary, AB, and is proud to be a prairie girl. She has been married for almost 14 years and has 2 children. Her oldest child has Down syndrome and is a cancer survivor, so Belinda is passionate about inclusion and advocacy for children with diverse needs. She is proud to be part of Adele’s Baskets, which delivers welcome baskets and support to parents who have a newborn with Down syndrome. She was also a Board Member for the Prep Society for 6 years and served as a president, vice-president, and director. Currently, Belinda has been a standing board member of the Alberta Play Therapy Association for over 13 years, and recently joined the Love for Lewiston Board, with the goal of supporting the foundation and further giving back to the community.

Outside of her professional and volunteering pursuits, Belinda is an avid hiker and can be found on various trails throughout Alberta with friends and her family during all four seasons. She also loves to garden and will be completing her Master Gardener designation in the spring of 2025. When she isn’t hiking or gardening, Belinda enjoys gathering with friends and her extended family, going to the gym, walking her 2 dogs, and attending her children’s various extra-curricular activities.

BOARD MEMBER

Jason has been a part of the Love For Lewiston Foundation since its inception in 2017. He has worn many hats for the foundation from founding Board Member, to the compliance officer to Chief Party Officer. Jason is an incredible asset to the Board and you can thank Jason for your tax receipts too! Jason led the charge and undertook the time-intensive CRA Registered Charity application process. Jason has extensive finance, sales leadership, strategic planning, and business development knowledge. Jason holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Haskayne School of Business and is currently acting as Treasurer and Board Member for the Foundation.

BOARD MEMBER

Kara is honoured to be the newest member of the Love For Lewiston Foundation Board of Directors. Kara currently leads finance, technology, and human resources teams at Travel Alberta in the capacity of Vice President, Finance & Corporate Operations. Kara, a CMA-designated leader has built her career working with entrepreneurial-minded, Alberta-based companies with a strong growth vision and has been integral in aligning team efforts to achieve the company’s overall strategic objectives with an emphasis on financial management, strong governance, and operational excellence. Kara was humbled to be named one of Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 and one of Alberta’s Top 10 Rising Stars Under 40. Enjoying time with her family and new puppy, Penny, and embracing experiences under the mantra of “YOLO” or “you only live once” have led Kara and her family to bust a move as much as possible. She very much resonates with LFL Foundation’s core values to choose movement, bring joy and spread love and is grateful to have the opportunity to do so as a new addition to the Board.

BOARD MEMBER

Krysta is the owner and operator of the virtual assistant business Virtual Assistant YYC and brings a wealth of experience and passion to the board. Krysta’s virtual assistant business is based in Calgary and she provides multifaceted support for her diverse portfolio of entrepreneurs through their backend business needs.

She’s a devoted wife and mom to four kids outside of work. Her childhood of being raised to care for and help others gave her a deep passion to help others. Krysta has remained true to her dedication of paying it forward by giving back and staying involved with meaningful charitable causes, while also staying active with Love For Lewiston Foundation. She continues to use her energy, resources and time to better her community. Krysta remains passionate about making a difference and serving her community and helps to keep us focused on achieving the goals of our Foundation

CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jessica is the heart and soul of the Love For Lewiston Foundation. She is the founder and inspires everyone around her to give with passion and purpose. After the loss of her son Lewiston, she rallied the community to raise awareness and funding for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Jessica was instrumental in successfully advocating for the Alberta government to include SMA newborn prescreening in routine newborn screening.

Jessica is the Executive Director for the foundation in addition to a Speaker, Online Retailer, Author, Life Coach and Mentor for small business owners. Jessica’s expertise in social media marketing, sales, event planning and business development has helped the foundation raise over $2,000,000 since its inception.

Jessica was nominated by the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, awarded the Doc Seaman Individual Philanthropist award in 2021, Dr. Katie Manders Courage to Inspire Award and the Top 40 Under 40 in 2022.

CO-FOUNDER & BOARD MEMBER

Ronnie is a born and raised Calgarian and proud to have spent his entire life in this great city. He is a small business owner and partner in a Franchise company 98 Food Co, a local Calgary business, which franchises over several provinces and provides locals with great food and drink. Brands under the banner include Chachis’s Sandwiches, Hula Poke, Dirtbelly and Deville Coffee. Ronnie is most famously known for being Swayzie, Lewiston and Hollis’ loving father, and husband to Jessica. As the backbone of the foundation, he is a strong supporter of his wife’s crazy ideas, working quietly in the background to ensure their success. He has a love for the Miami Dolphins, San Jose Sharks and Oakland A’s. Family time is the most important thing to him and he enjoys quiet weekends at home BBQing and making the yard beautiful. Ronnie is Lewiston’s number one fan and leading the charge with newborn screening in Alberta. As a lover of sports and physical activity, he initiated the LFL Golf Tournament, raising funds to honour his son, giving hope to those who need it, and bringing greater awareness to SMA, all of which are changing the landscape of SMA.