2015 Board Candidates

CANDIDATES FOR ELECTION TO THE FFCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 2015
ANDREW CHU
Andrew’s oldest child is completing Kindergarten at the NWE Campus
this year. Andrew holds a BSc in Computer Engineering and is
currently the operations manager, and a 10th year board member, of
a design and manufacturing company that he co-owns and co-founded.
He also is serving his 4th year on the board of a related sales and
distribution company that has national and international sales, and his
3rd year on the board of a local condominium complex comprised of
300 condo units. Andrew believes strongly in the Guiding Principles
outlined in FFCA’s Charter. Andrew believes that it is every
stakeholder’s duty and responsibility to ensure that his/her
organization is held accountable to its core values, and that all
stakeholders should strive to contribute to their organization’s mission
to the best of their abilities. He believes that education is the basis of a
civilized society and would like to advocate the advancement in common knowledge of 3 specific areas: 1)
Organizations (associations, societies, corporations, governments, etc.): Andrew believes that an intimidating
barrier to general participation and engagement is the lack of general understanding of common elements
such as visions, stakeholders, bylaws, agreements, directors, officers, committees, agendas, meetings, rules
of order, and minutes. He believes that a better understanding of the roles of these elements encourages
leadership and ethical citizenship.
2) Finances (personal, non-profit, corporate, public, etc.): Andrew believes that a better general
understanding of money, value, financial statements, financial institutions, and financial instruments, is
integral to many important decisions that contribute to building successful partnerships, relationships,
organizations, and sustainable communities.
3) Public Services (justice, health care, education, registries, infrastructure, etc.): Andrew believes that all
high school graduates should have a good understanding of how public systems of services work and how to
interact with them. He believes that a better understanding and appreciation of what is available to them will
inspire them to be strong and engaged citizens who will care deeply, think critically, act ethically, and
continue to build on these foundations for the future.
MUNIR JIVRAJ
I am delighted and honored to have my name nominated for the election
for the position of FFCA Board of Directors. My motivation to seek the FFCA
Directorship Position is driven by one of my passions - advocating
excellence in education! I firmly believe, our children's education requires a
team effort; and to achieve academic excellence, we need collaborative
Board leadership; and active engagement from our key stakeholders:
Students, Parent, Staff and the Community. These principles are well
articulated within FFCA's Mission and Vision; which we are equally aligned
to from my personal and family values and beliefs. That is why; we chose to
enroll both of our kids to FFCA.
In terms of my professional background, I have a finance and environmental
science background. I am currently the Manager of Regional Regulator
Integration Team, within Integrated Energy Company, headquartered in Calgary. I also volunteer my time as
a Board Member for the Scouts Canada’s Chinook Scout Foundation; and serve on community based
Education Boards for over past 6 years. With my combined skills from business and volunteerism in the
education side; I can help the future board in supporting our new initiatives and directions, as established in
the future strategic plans. In particular, I would like to advocate and assist in the areas of new partnership
development within education service providers, community and FFCA; and support the development of
future volunteers from the community and Parent Teams; who can then serve on our future FFCA Boards.
I seek your support in this election process, to be selected to the Board; and look forward to serving our FFCA
Families!
CINDY McGLASHAN-BEAUCAGE
Cindy was first elected to the Board in 2010 and is currently Chair.
Cindy is a passionate advocate for choice in public education, parental
partnerships and promoting our Charter on behalf of the FFCA community.
When her daughter was accepted into Kindergarten in 2008, Cindy’s
passion for volunteering and her enthusiasm with FFCA encouraged her to
become a member of School Council and the Association of School
Councils (ASC). Cindy’s commitment and connection to the FFCA
community began within the campus and has evolved to her work on the
Board over the past five years. Cindy is highly motivated to continue her
work on the Board as an advocate for the rights of all families to have a
choice in education.
Cindy sits on the Board’s Executive committee, and is involved with both the Community Relations and
Human Resources committees. Other outside volunteer work continues with the Arthritis Society and Heart
and Stroke Foundation.
Cindy strongly supports the Boards Government Relations Initiative which advocates to the Provincial
Government on behalf of FFCA and all charter schools to achieve equitable funding, to improve access to
facilities and to increase awareness of the successes and desires of charter schools. Through this initiative,
Cindy has met with current Premier Jim Prentice, Education Minister Gordon Dirks and many other MLA’s to
communicate and increase awareness of the needs of FFCA.
Cindy is committed to working together to provide the best education for our children. “I believe we are a
part of an exceptional education system that values kids above all else, that collaborates with students,
parents and teachers to achieve tremendous academic success, and provides a safe, caring community.”
Cindy is married and is a very proud mother of a 13 year old daughter, Maria that attends FFCA.
AMISH PATEL, MBA, M.FIN.
WHY I WANT TO JOIN THE FFCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
My daughter is starting FFCA pre-school this fall and I would like to
be an active participant in the school’s leadership and direction.
I have a history of working on boards that relate to both education
and children and I would like to apply my skills to benefit FFCA.
My professional and academic background can help round out an
already very strong group of board candidates.
BRIEF PERSONAL HISTORY
I am a born and raised Calgarian.
Professionally I am a Finance and Strategy professional in a leadership position with a multibillion dollar
energy and environmental services organization. I have worked in the investment banking industry for seven
years in numerous capacities and the past four years I have worked in Corporate Development where I
establish and execute strategies for the Company as well as lead mergers and acquisitions initiatives.
Education is important to me. I hold two Masters Degrees; an MBA with a focus on strategy from Queen’s
University and a Masters in Finance with a focus on management from the University of Alberta.
I have 11 years of experience serving on boards. I have served on the board of West Island College (a Calgary
junior and senior high school that has averaged a rank of 3rd place over the past 5 years in Alberta by the
Fraser Institute). I have also served as a Director and Treasurer of a local children’s charity for 6 years. The
common theme in my board service is that I focus on education and children.
I have two children, soon to be 5 and 3 years old. My daughter starts at FFCA in the fall and my son will
hopefully follow in a few years. My kids’ future means everything to me; I am willing to pour my heart and
soul into FFCA to make it the best academic institution in the province and ensure it continues to provide a
balanced education for children. I believe that a student should graduate FFCA having both excelled in
academics and having learned to be a model citizen for our society.
SKILLS I WILL BRING TO THE BOARD
I will bring my professional expertise in strategy, business and leadership to help shape future initiatives and
help the FFCA grow in stature in the community. I will also bring my experience serving on the board of
another Calgary school.
My academic background allows me to support financial reviews and help set strategic direction.
My commitment and work ethic will ensure board initiatives are accomplished in a timely manner. My family
is committed to my role on the board, this means I will have plenty of time to give to the FFCA.
CRISTIAN RIOS
I was born IN Santa Fe, Argentina, the capital of the province with
the same name. After high school, I completed a five-year degree in
Applied Mathematics earning the title of Licenciado en Mathemática
Aplicada in 1993. After graduating I held a national scholarship for
postgraduate studies at the University of Minnesota, where I
achieved a Master’s degree in Mathematics in 1998, and Ph.D. in
mathematics in 2001. Between 2001 and 2004 I held a McKay
Postdoctoral Fellowship at McMaster University in Hamilton,
Ontario, where I met my wife, Pamela Hunnisett, currently a
teacher at the FFCA High School. Between 2004 and 2006 I held a
Dorwart Assistant Fellowship at Trinity College in Hartford, CT. I
joined the University of Calgary faculty in 2006, and in 2012 I was awarded tenure and a promotion to
Associate Professor. I have taught Mathematics continuously throughout my entire career, and have
supervised research projects for undergraduate and graduate students, I serve in several university
committees; I have published in several highly ranked peer-reviewed international journals, and have
presented in and organized several international conferences in my specialty. In 2009 I joined the Pacific
Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) steering committee. I have two children in FFCA, one in
elementary school and one in middle school, whom attended all their elementary education years to this
school system.
SHELLEY SCHROH
I have been a member of the FFCA board of Directors for the past 7
years. My work in the past 7 years has been both exciting and
challenging, in this past term the board of FFCA has accomplished
many great things but I think that being the first charter school to
receive a 15 year charter is one of the best. The work the board has
been doing on the preferred future of FFCA is very excited and I have
had the privilege of working with the focus group to complete this
task. FFCA with be better and strong from this initiative FFCA is an
amazing school and I feel honored to have my 4 boys attending in 3
of our campuses. This year my oldest will be an FFCA graduate. I have
spent many, many hours working both at home with my children or
in the schools working in the classroom. I have been the room parent
numerous time in my boys classrooms and have served on SEE school
council. I have always believed that it takes the teacher and the
parents to help a child reach his or her potential. I believe in the FFCA guiding principle that parental
partnership is needed to make this school a success, and our result speak for themselves. I am employed by
the City of Calgary and love working as a Preschool teacher.
WAYNE WEINHEIMER
Wayne is the Manager, Application Services in the Information
Technology department at Mount Royal University. He works with
multiple areas at the University to provide technology solutions to aid
their teaching and learning departments, and their administrative
business areas. Originally from Saskatchewan, Wayne has been living
in Calgary for over 19 years.
Wayne has a son attending the Southwest campus elementary
school.
Why FFCA?
I believe in the values of FFCA, especially the focus on character
development and student achievement. Also, a strong focus on respect, responsibility and integrity directly
aligns with my personal values. When our son was born, we asked several people what would be the school
for enrollment and FFCA came strongly recommended.
Why the Board?
I would like to be part of the board and collaborate with FFCA teachers and staff to aid in the development of
our students and future community members. I also want to become more involved in my son’s school and
education. As my son is nearing completion of Grade 1, I’m amazed at how quickly he has learned basic skills
such as reading, writing and math.
What Can I Bring to the Board?
I have over 20 years of experience in the Information Technology field, with the past three at Mount Royal
University (MRU). I’m currently on a number of councils and committees, and I collaborate with multiple
areas in the University to enable them to be more efficient and provide a superior learning environment.
In my work with IT, I’ve worked directly with many different areas at the University and at past companies.
By collaborating with Faculty, Finance, Human Resources, Payroll, Facilities, Security and other departments,
I have a good understanding of how all areas of an institution or company are integrated.
Previous Volunteer Experience
I’ve volunteered in the past at the Calgary Brier, the Calgary International Film Festival and the Calgary Folk
Music Festival. It has been a few years since I’ve been directly involved with an organization in a volunteer
role and I look forward to this opportunity.
PAMELA WILSON
I am passionate, driven, and committed to FFCA and
parental choice for children’s education that FFCA’s
foundation is built upon. I understand the big picture
and I am not afraid to ask difficult questions for a
different perspective. After six years of being part of
multiple FFCA School Councils, and five years as a part of
the Association of School Councils (ASC), I support the
drive and vision our FFCA Board has for continued
educational improvement, parental involvement and the
success of our children. Over the last two years, I have worked with our ASC committee on the FFCA
Community Fund and in the last year I have been involved in the “preferred Future” initiative championed by
the Board.
My daughters are both in the North Middle campus and have enjoyed their FFCA experience since
kindergarten and grade one. During the day I am a Financial Accountant and I am responsible for financial
reporting for a Calgary based company operating throughout North America.
I look forward to the opportunity to be a part of our FFCA Board to help drive educational improvement,
parental involvement, and the continued success of our children.