CCVO Team

Katherine van Kooy (President and CEO)

Katherine van Kooy is a woman of substance – an energetic and dynamic leader. She has a passion for building strong organizations, along with a broad and diverse background in consulting, public policy, strategic planning and organizational change. As the founding President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (CCVO), Katherine leads an energetic team working on the cutting edge of policy and cross-sectoral issues to strengthen Calgary’s voluntary sector. Since its launch, CCVO has proven itself to be an innovative, effective organization that is making a difference in the nonprofit/voluntary sector.

Before joining CCVO in 2003, Katherine held senior public policy positions in Saskatchewan and Ontario. In addition to her municipal and provincial government experience, she taught management and public policy courses as a member of the Faculty of Administration at the University of Regina. After moving to Calgary in 1998, she established a consulting practice focused on organizational effectiveness and strategic management. Her academic credentials include an Honours BA in Political Science from the University of Waterloo, graduate studies in International Affairs from Carleton University and an MBA from Cornell University.

Married with two grown daughters, Katherine enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, cross-country skiing and golf. She plays bridge, loves to cook and indulges her passion for reading as part of a book club.

kvk@calgarycvo.org | 403-261-6655 ext 224

Michael Grogan (Vice President, Programs and Operations)

Mike has worked with nonprofit organizations for over 20 years in areas such as program development and evaluation, adult education and organizational effectiveness. Mike recently completed his Masters of Arts in Leadership degree from Royal Roads University. His enthusiasm and passion for the sector are evident in his numerous volunteer activities in community services, youth and sports organizations. Mike’s strengths in strategic planning, organizational leadership and team building will be an asset as he leads and coordinates the work of the Calgary HR Initiative.

mgrogan@calgarycvo.org | 403-261-6655 ext 227

Adriana Simon (Director, Resource Development and Membership)

Adriana leads CCVO's resource development initiatives along with membership recruitment and stewardship. For nearly 20 years, she has worked in the nonprofit sector with organizations, foundations and international aid agencies in Canada and Eastern Europe. With Bachelor degrees in Arts and Science, and certification in fundraising and events management, she brings a distinctive perspective to her role. Before joining CCVO, she was the Director of Resource Development for Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta.

asimon@calgarycvo.org | 403-261-6655 ext 231

Geoff Braun (Director, Policy and Research)

Since he began his career in the nonprofit sector in the early 90s, Geoff has gained experience within the fields of child and youth care, disability services, career development and environment. In his 15 years working with Prospect Human Services, Geoff assumed a variety of roles and responsibilities ranging from policy and accreditation to operations management. From 2003-08 he served as Prospect’s CEO and led an organizational change process that included a merger, a rebranding initiative as well as a fundamental redesign of Prospect’s disability services. More recently, Geoff completed a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Victoria and served as Green Calgary’s Interim Executive Director.

gbraun@calgarycvo.org | 403-261-6655 ext 222

Richelle Wiseman (Director, Communications)

Richelle Wiseman has over twenty years of experience as a communications professional in the nonprofit sector. She was one of the founders of VISION TV in 1988, and was responsible for all communications for this national, nonprofit specialty television network.  She has been a communications consultant to a variety of nonprofits, providing public relations, media relations, writing, editing, and communications audits.  As a journalist, Richelle has written for a variety Canadian newspapers and magazines.  From 2003 to 2011, she was the Executive Director for the Centre for Faith and the Media, a national nonprofit which provides resources to journalists on how to cover religion stories. Richelle has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Nyack College in New York, and an Master of Arts in Communications from Wheaton Graduate School, Illinois.

rwiseman@calgarycvo.org | 403-261-6655 ext 230

Aditya Banerjee (Policy Analyst)

Aditya has past experience in training and development, research and writing, and municipal politics. He has previously interned at the City of Houston's Mayor's Office, taught public speaking at the Harvard University Extension School and conducted workshops for the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay. Aditya earned a Masters of Arts in Organizational and Corporate Communication from Emerson College in Boston, and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Houston-Downtown.

abanerjee@calgarycvo.org | 403-261-6655 ext 228

Marilou Stegmeier (Administrative Coordinator)

Marilou is an experienced administrator from the Calgary Board of Education and the University of Alberta. Her experience in financial management, human resource administration and operations management includes the implementation of FOIPP and PeopleSoft at the University of Alberta. She also has experience in the service, retail and manufacturing industries. Marilou brings a wealth of experience in office administration and accounting to CCVO. Marilou holds a Certificate in Business Administration in Advanced Accounting from Mount Royal College.

mstegmeier@calgarycvo.org | 403-261-6655 ext 226

Jackie Coe (Workforce Initiatives Coordinator)

Jackie has over 10 years of experience in Human Resources in the nonprofit and manufacturing sectors. Her experience in the nonprofit sector as a Human Resources Manager with Immigrant Services Calgary has provided her with first hand experience and understanding of many of the Human Resources issues and challenges in the nonprofit sector. As Jackie continues to work with the CCVO, she is committed to gaining greater understanding of the Calgary nonprofit labour force and improving human resources issues in the non-profit sector. Jackie holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Family and Social Relations from the University of Guelph.

jcoe@calgarycvo.org | 403-261-6655 ext 229

Kristen Carr (Information Systems Coordinator)

Kristen has a diverse background that includes administration, sales, marketing, communications and event planning. Kristen graduated from SAIT with a diploma in Business, majoring in Marketing. An avid volunteer, she donates her time to various nonprofit organizations in the Calgary area and is looking forward to being even more deeply involved in an area of work that makes such a positive impact on our community.

kcarr@calgarycvo.org  403-261-6655 ext 225

Sapphire Lucas (Executive Assistant)

Sapphire has 20 years of Business and IT experience, both in Private and Public sectors.  She has worked extensively with numerous Fortune 500 organizations conducting everything from business systems analysis, process re-engineering and financial management services and in turn producing exceptional results for these groups. Sapphire holds a B.Sc. and CIS designation.

slucas@calgarycvo.org | 403-261-6655