Elisa joined ECF’s Board of Directors in June 2020. As a second-generation Canadian, Elisa heard countless stories from her grandma and parents about how community support helps pave the road to a bright future for new immigrants. Elisa understands firsthand the importance of how charitable work impacts people in all stages of life. Having received generous community support herself, Elisa aims to give back so that those in need will always be able to access the aid they require. What better way to do that than to be a part of an organization who understands the importance of sustainable and long-term funding for the charitable sector?

Elisa is a CA, CPA by profession. She holds various leadership positions in finance, audit, risk management, and sustainability reporting. She has committee and board experience with the U of A, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, Allen Gray Continuing Care Centre, and Edmonton Women in Finance.

During her spare time, Elisa enjoys travelling, reading, yoga, and recreating favorite dishes for her loved ones.

Leon Zupan is a retired energy executive with a 30-year career with Enbridge, serving as their Chief Operating Officer with oversight of a workforce of 3500 employees in Operations, Engineering, Integrity. Leon's career has taken him to Sarnia, Ontario, Calgary and Houston but he was happy to retire in Edmonton.

His industry leadership includes leading the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association and the Alberta Chamber of Resources and locally served as Campaign Chair and Board member for the United Way. He is Chair of the Art Gallery of Alberta Board.

Leon and his wife Vonnie love to travel and spend time with their three children and four granddaughters.

Melissa is excited to join ECF as Board Secretary. In her professional life, she is a partner with Miller Thomson LLP and is a member of the Financial Services, Real Estate and Social Impact Groups. Her practice is focused on banking and secured finance, commercial real estate, land development, corporate/commercial transactions and assisting non-profit organizations throughout Alberta and Canada. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys travelling, participating in her book club and spending quality time with her family and friends.

Kwaku Adu is passionate about uplifting marginalized individuals and alleviating poverty in our communities. Having worked front line with at-risk youth, he has a deep appreciation of how donors’ funds significantly fuel positive change.

In his professional life, Kwaku is a lawyer in the areas of litigation, estate planning and personal injury. He also serves as a tribunal adjudicator for various colleges governed under Alberta’s Health Professions Act.

Kwaku holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Justice Studies from the University of Regina and JD Law Degree from the University of Saskatchewan.

Kwaku is passionate about volunteering for causes involving at-risk children / youth in care. He enjoys travelling as well as Afro-Latin music and dance.

Linda Banister is the former President of Banister Research & Consulting Inc., a firm providing full-service market research and program evaluation / performance measurement services to hundreds of clients in Alberta and across Canada. During her career that spanned over three decades, Linda won numerous awards and was inducted as a Fellow of two professional associations. Linda is a certified director and currently sits on several boards.

Linda has a newfound love of dogs and while she doesn’t have one of her own, a favorite pastime is walking the pups of friends and family.

Jonathan Chia is the president of Gratum Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that provides executive advisory services to small- and medium-sized businesses. Bringing a wealth of industry expertise and a deep passion for community building, Jonathan is known for his financial and strategic acumen, his ability to apply pragmatic solutions to complex problems and the pride he takes in his work. Having spent more than 20 years in a variety of senior executive roles at publicly traded and private companies, Jonathan was previously the CFO of Matrikon Inc., an Edmonton-based industrial IT company. He was also the CFO of Melcor Developments Ltd., a publicly traded real estate developer and Melcor REIT, a real estate investment trust and extension of Melcor Developments Ltd.

A lifelong Edmontonian, Jonathan is also a devoted Oilers fan and a golf enthusiast. Jonathan and his wife have two children, who keep them fully occupied on the weekends at local hockey arenas and pools.

Leanne Krawchuk is a distinguished member at Dentons Canada LLP's Corporate group and serves as the Co-Lead, Edmonton Corporate Practice Group. She holds positions on the Dentons Canada LLP National Board and Audit Committee. With expertise in Construction, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and Securities she advises on multi-million dollar complex transactions.

Recognized for her excellence, Leanne has received numerous awards, including: The Best Lawyers in Canada, Lawyer of the Year, The Legal 500, Lexpert Special Edition. Actively engaged in the community, Leanne serves as a director of the Edmonton Community Foundation and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. In her leisure, Leanne enjoys music, reading books and working out.

Fil Ksiazkiewicz is Senior Portfolio Manager, Private Assets at the TELUS Pension Plans, where he has worked for 12 years. Prior to this, Fil was the Lead Economist & Strategist at AIMCo and an Economist at Moody's Analytics in Philadelphia.

Fil holds an M.A. in Economics from the University of Alberta. He is an avid weightlifter, having co-founded the University of Alberta Powerlifting Association in 1999.

Sam Narayan has over 20 years of experience in Business and Real Estate. Today, his focus is on companies EVER Real Estate Developments as Partner & President, and RE/MAX Excellence and RE/MAX Excellence Commercial Division as Owner/Associate Broker.

Sam is the Founder and President of the EVER Excellence Foundation, a Director of NAIOP Edmonton Chapter Leadership, is an active member of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, the International Council of Shopping Centers, a former director of the Better Business Bureau, and other Commercial memberships.

In his free time, Sam enjoys golfing, travelling, and spending quality time with his family.

Jai has more than 35 years experience managing Pension and Endowment assets. He managed $3 billion in financial assets as the President and the CEO of the University of British Columbia Investment management Trust. Prior to that, Jai was the Chief Investment Officer of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation managing $70 billion in financial assets.

Jai holds degrees in Engineering and Business Administration from the University of Alberta. He also holds CFA and ICD.D designations. Jai is serving on a number of Boards and Investment Advisory Committees. Jai likes to listens to Indian music and socially play game of bridge.

Gail Stepanik-Keber is a board member, former c-suite executive, business advisor, coach and entrepreneur. Gail loves the cooperative business model after spending 21 years at Servus Credit Union in key leadership positions. She is the founder of Triniti Solutions Inc, a niche consultancy focusing on purpose for business and for individuals.

Gail is also a board member of Travel Alberta, WJS Canada, Fort Edmonton Management Company and Cashco Financial. Gail has a business degree from the UofA and a masters in leadership from Royal Roads University. Gail lives with her husband, daughter, and many furry and feathery friends on a farm in Parkland County, Alberta.

Drew has over 30 years of experience leading finance and accounting groups in the private and public sectors. Drew recently completed over a decade as the CFO of the Law Society of Alberta.

Drew has served on the boards of the Certified Management Accountants of Alberta, Goodwill Industries Alberta, Windmill Microlending, Carbon Management Canada Research Institutes, and the Alberta Law Foundation.

In retirement, Drew focuses his time on giving back to the Edmonton and Alberta communities and keeping fit.

Sherilyn Trompetter is the Principal and Co-Founder of MT Consulting Group.

She is a compassionate and authentic professional who has worked in various themes of diversity, equity and inclusion for over two decades. Sherilyn brings a trauma-informed approach to consulting organizations and coaching individuals and groups.

Sherilyn has extensive community service and volunteer experience. She co-founded ACT Alberta: the Action Coalition on human Trafficking, the leading research-based and outcome-focused human trafficking organization in Alberta. She has a passion for multiculturalism, social justice and community service and has over 15 years of board experience.