Vivacity Team

lena sootsDirectorIn addition to being the Director of Vivacity, Lena holds a position as Changemaker-in-Residence with the Institute for Community Prosperity and is a faculty member in Social Innovation at MRU.  She has been working for over 1… — **lena soots**
**Director**
In addition to being the Director of Vivacity, Lena holds a position as Changemaker-in-Residence with the Institute for Community Prosperity and is a faculty member in Social Innovation at MRU. She has been working for over 15 years with local government, academic institutions and community organizations at the intersection of sustainability and social innovation with a focus on creating programs and projects that foster inter-institutional collaboration and transformative learning.
Lena brings her experience as founding team member and Program Manager of CityStudio Vancouver - an award-winning innovation hub that brings university students together with the City to co-create solutions for a more livable, joyful and sustainable city. Lena was also a member of the City of Vancouver’s Greenest City Steering Committee and is an Associate with the Centre for Sustainable Community Development at Simon Fraser University.

catherine Pearl, PHD                                                              Assista… — **catherine Pearl, PHD** **Assistant Professor, Social Innovation**
Catherine is Mount Royal’s first tenure track professor of social innovation. Prior to joining academia, Catherine spent almost twenty years in the private sector; in corporate planning, finance and marketing. She has also spent considerable time volunteering and consulting to the nonprofit sector. Her experience is wide as well as deep as she was the President and CEO of a Calgary-based registered charity that operated a social enterprise.
Catherine is passionate about teaching, curriculum design and experiential learning and over the past two years has been involved in course design and ‘test driving’ many of MRU’s new course offerings in social innovation.
As part of the Vivacity team, Catherine is helping to shepherd the first cohort of Civic Innovation students who have been tasked with “reimagining Calgary’s downtown core”.

Anna Johnson
Engagement & Outreach Coordinator

Anna is a Recent graduate from Mount Royal University's BBA program where she focused on social innovation and nonprofit studies.

While in university, Anna supported Enactus Mount Royal as VP of Project Development where she was involved in financial literacy and community development projects. Prior to working for the Institute for Community Prosperity, Anna worked for Creating Value Inc, a social-purpose consultancy that works with organizations that are creating positive social, environmental, and/or cultural change.

Living in service to others is Anna’s lifelong commitment - she currently serves on the stewardship committee of Calgary Can, is a friendly-visitor to isolated seniors, and is always eager to collaborate in ways that support the work of fellow changemakers.

Nicole MacDougall
Brand Design Manager

NICOLE IS A RECENT ALUMNI OF MOUNT ROYAL UNIVERSITY'S BBA PROGRAM WITH A MAJOR IN MARKETING. NICOLE'S PASSION FOR MARKETING FOCUSED ON TELLING MEANINGFUL STORIES AND BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RELATIONSHIPS.

NICOLE IS THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF DESIGN4CHANGE, A BOUTIQUE MARKETING AGENCY RUN BY STUDENTS AND RECENT ALUMNI TO GIVE STUDENTS MEANINGFUL WORK EXPERIENCE. IN ADDITION, SHE IS THE Brand Design Manager FOR VIVACITY, OVERSEEING THE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND DOCUMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM.

NICOLE IS A MEMBER OF THE CALGARY CHAMBER OF VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS (CCVO), AN ADVOCATE FOR CHANGEMAKERs, an active member and volunteer of the Parkdale Community association and lifelong 4her.

patricia DERBYSHIRE                                                       Academic advisorPatricia  is the fa… — **patricia DERBYSHIRE** **Academic advisor**
Patricia is the faculty champion that introduced social innovation impact projects in 2012, at that time the CleanTech Challenge, followed by the Making Waves Challenge, and as of last year, Vivacity.
Patti is a catalyst, community organizer and business leader in Calgary’s creative economy. In both her professional practice and in her current role as Chair & Associate Professor – Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation at Mount Royal University’s Bissett School of Business, she draws upon her eclectic professional career in broadcasting, design, cultural marketing, start-up ventures, and music industry management to build rich and engaging brand strategies. She is a Top 40 Under 40 Alumni (1998 & 2000) and was a judge for Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2012.

james stauch
Strategic advisor

James is the Director of the Insitute for Community Prosperity at Mount Royal University (MRU), which connects students and citizens to learning opportunities and research to lead transformative change in their communities.

James has served as a foundation program manager, executive and consultant with nearly two decades of experience working in the field of philanthropy. He has guided or advised on programs that support the emergence of community leadership and sound community investment practice. An urban and community planner by training, James has worked extensively with communities in the Arctic and Far North, with the non-profit sector in the Calgary and Greater Toronto regions, as well as with Aboriginal communities and organizations across Canada. .

Tyler Massie
24-Hour Challenge coordinator

Since graduating from Mount Royal University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration (marketing major), Tyler has been an active member of our community and advocate of student success through mentorship, diversification of industry through entrepreneurship, and enterprising solutions through social innovation.

Tyler whole-heartedly believes that challenges are opportunities, that we are better together than apart, and that balanced disruption is necessary to foster innovation.

For the past three years Tyler has initiated, managed, and led the 24 Hour event.