Our Working Circle volunteer team
Colin Jackson
Having retired after a career in the performing arts and broadcasting, Colin Jackson volunteers in support of education, poverty relief, and community building organizations. He admires the wisdom of First Nations author, Thomas King, who says that "we are the stories we tell."
As a proud Calgarian, Colin wants to be part of revealing, then telling, a story of our city as a place of deep connectivity, remarkable kindness, and selfless compassion.
Read Colin’s hope for the future of Calgary in Civic Imagination: A conversation with Calgarians about the future of our city from Avenue Magazine’s Sept/Oct 2026 issue.
Jason Grelowski
Jason Grelowski is a business executive and entrepreneur, with over 20 years’ worth of experience advising and leading organizations. He assists corporations and businesses, in both the private and public sectors, to re-invent and re-position themselves to be stronger and more effective. As a native Albertan and proud Calgarian, he has lived and enjoyed cities across Canada and has developed a strong commitment to his community and the arts.
Jason is a creative thinker and strategist, with an infectious passion and positive outlook. He is committed to Calgary On Purpose’s desire for positive dialogue, supplemented by fact-based policy discussions.
Andrew Ing
Coming soon.
Brenda Kenny
Brenda Kenny brings extensive experience in sustainability, innovation, energy and environment. Her work and leadership has spanned government, industry, civil society, and academia. For Brenda, the intersections, gaps and “creative collisions” are what matter most in times of crisis and conflict. Her career has navigated those gaps seeking to connect people and ideas toward innovative solutions and deeper trust.
She sees as crucial the many new ways of engaging and seeing our city and our world, and draws inspiration from thoughtful citizens such as Parker Palmer, understanding “By the tragic gap I mean the gap between the hard realities around us and what we know is possible — not because we wish it were so, but because we’ve seen it with our own eyes.”
Julie Barton
Julie Barton is an advocate for art, artists and art making. She has had a career as an educator and has been a fierce advocate for arts education. Her work has been instrumental in imagining and designing the arts as a core subject offered in the education system at the local and provincial levels.
She passionately believes the arts should not only be recognized as a valuable discipline in its own right, but also that the arts should be seen as a way to build and share intellectual, social, and emotional understanding. Julie looks to encourage the creative and innovative competencies that are in demand in society, and believes they should be part of every student’s learning experience. Her view is that all schools should have trained arts teachers, and that knowing our Calgary artists and where we can connect with them is vital.
Julie thinks arts partnerships have the potential to interrupt routine, challenge tradition, strengthen skills, and offer a way to share our voice, and is continuously looking for opportunities to network, align, collaborate, and connect within the arts.
Kelli Stevens
Kelli Stevens is a social impact connector, non-profit capacity builder, communicator, philanthropy leader, community development facilitator, and Registered Social Worker.
Her career interests have followed two complementary paths: corporate communications and community development. Prior to working with Haskayne School of Business on social impact, she held a leadership role at a corporate foundation that developed partnerships and granting programs across Canada. She has also managed a youth gang prevention project that involved several community stakeholders working with a researcher in the University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work.
Above all, Kelli takes a systems-level view of most issues. She supports and facilitates people from multiple sectors working together to solve some of the complex challenges of the 21st century and the current "polycrisis".
Priscille Bukasa
Priscille Bukasa is a Calgary-based spoken word artist and writer who draws inspiration from her roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo and infuses her work with the richness of her upbringing and culture. With over 14 years of captivating performances, Priscille's dynamic presence has graced diverse stages, from conferences to marketing campaigns.
As a teaching artist, she leads poetry workshops across all grade levels and serves as an art facilitator at Werklund Centre (formerly Arts Commons). Priscille is also a former member of the Cultural Instigator, supporting artists in fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion through impactful projects confronting social issues.
William Lawrence
Coming soon.
Gail Garden
Coming soon.
Kimberley McNeil
Coming soon.
Tee Griffin
Coming soon.
Past volunteers and contributors
Thanks to the many folk who have contributed to Calgary on Purpose over the years, including artists and past team members mentioned below.
Micky Ahn
Sangwook (Micky) Ahn is a lifelong learner with a passion for community-building, environmental action, and public engagement. With a background in ecological research and a knack for saying yes to “just one more project,”
Micky has juggled many roles, from launching sustainability initiatives to mentoring students and running hands-on workshops for learners of all ages. He’s especially interested in helping bridge the gap between knowledge and action, making complex ideas more approachable, and supporting others in becoming more engaged citizens. Whether hiking sand dunes to photograph horses, catching snails in stormwater ponds, wrangling spreadsheets, or teaching people about insects, he’s always looking for new ways to learn and connect with the world around him.
Vanessa Cunningham
Vanessa has called Moh’kinstsis (Calgary) home for more than 25 years. Although she has lived and worked across Canada, she feels most connected to Calgary’s landscapes and diverse communities.
She has a background in environmental and social sciences and is passionate about community initiatives. Vanessa has worked on projects focused on food insecurity in postsecondary institutions, sustainable home construction in Oaxaca, Mexico, co-management of fish and marine mammals in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (NWT), and multimedia production of the telling of rural Ontarian stories.
Wherever Vanessa goes, she brings curiosity. She is committed to creating a world that is compassionate and kind, and is excited to be a part of a movement that encompasses these qualities.
Evan Spencer
Evan is the City Councillor for Ward 12 and a lifelong community builder committed to helping Calgarians connect with purpose. With a background in volunteer leadership, he has spent over a decade shaping local neighbourhoods through grassroots initiatives like the Abundant Community project and through local community associations.
His collaborative approach and community experiences inform his work on Council, where he advocates for policies that empower residents, strengthen local connections, and build a more resilient, caring Calgary.