“FearIsNotLove is so much more than a physical women’s shelter, and delivers a myriad of domestic violence and abuse-related services and programs.  This new name emphasizes this evolution, and allows both the community at large and most importantly, potential victims of domestic violence and abuse and those who use abuse, a better understanding of the services we provide.”

John came to Calgary in 1980 after graduating with his law degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax. He joined Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP at that time and has practiced at BDP his entire law career. He is semi-retired but maintains the role of Senior Counsel. He practices in the areas of corporate finance and financial services.

John and his wife Mary have three grown children and one grandchild. They are active in the community and are members of the Calgary Winter Club, Bearspaw Golf Club and the Desert Mountain Club (Scottsdale, Arizona). John has always been active in sports, particularly hockey and golf. When not playing games, John and Mary love to travel and have traveled extensively. In addition, John is a bit of a music geek and enjoys reading and gardening.

With more time on his hands, John has a desire to contribute back to the Calgary community and feels he has skills he can contribute to FearIsNotLove. He is delighted to have been elected to the board of directors where he is a member of the governance committee.

Jason Enns is a wealth management advisor for RBC Private Banking. With more than 28 years of experience, he works with families to ensure a formal foundation of human capital and financial strength is in place. In addition to a Bachelor degree from University of Regina, Jason holds a designation in Family Enterprise Advisory, Certified Financial Planning, and Personal Financial Planning. With a commitment to community development, years of service work include: coaching sports, service club membership, along with support of youth education.

Jason’s personal belief is that children and women are at great risk if the family dynamics breakdown. Informally, Jason has been an ambassador to the agency since 2012. His belief is that the agency plays a strong community role in preventive programs. The forward thinking and proactive solutions within the Men’s programs break the circles of abuse. This is one of many positive initiatives taken by FearIsNotLove.

Jason is Vice President of Business Banking in Calgary with the BMO Financial Group, a role he has held since 2017. Jason’s primary role at BMO is to support and develop his team to serve their customers and communities, grow their book of business while managing the overall risk profile. Jason holds a BComm from the University of Saskatchewan (2010), an MBA from Queen’s University (2016) and is a CPA, CMA. Jason’s first exposure to FearIsNotLove (originally the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter) was in 2013 as an attendee at a luncheon held at the Emergency Shelter and additionally worked on the Take a Stand Initiative as part of the Capstone for his MBA. Outside of work, you can find Jason with his family (Yun & Amelia), barbecuing / smoking meat, volunteering as a golf and hockey coach with Special Olympics and occasionally on the golf course.

Courtney is a partner at Dentons Canada LLP where she practices as a corporate/commercial lawyer and is the co-lead of the Energy Department. Her primary focus is helping clients with their corporate needs and energy-related challenges. She regularly advises clients on matters of corporate governance and strategic decision making. Courtney currently sits on the board of Rocky Mountain Liquor Inc, a TSXV publicly traded entity, and is a Trustee on the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation, where she also acts as the corporate secretary. 

Born and raised in and around the Calgary area, Courtney loves that she continues to call the city of Calgary home. 

Courtney is honored to have the opportunity to contribute to FearIsNotLove through her work on the board of directors and on the governance committee.

Darren is the Chief Executive Officer of QV Investors, an employee owned institutional and private client investment management firm.

Darren is passionate about coming to work each day to make sure clients and employees are well taken care of. He takes great care to ensure individuals are excelling in their roles and that the team is equipped to deliver on QV’s mission.

Darren has been analyzing Canadian equities for over 20 years. He began his career in Edmonton in a branch of TD Canada Trust before becoming an Associate with Canada Trust Private Investment Counsel. Before joining QV, he spent five years as a research analyst and trader with the Alberta Investment Management Corporation.

Darren has Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta.  He is also a CFA charter holder and a member of the CFA Society Calgary

Outside of work, Darren enjoys spending time with his wife, and their three children. He loves the outdoors, golfing, skiing and boating with his family. He has also volunteered in the past with the Trails West Hockey Association and Toastmasters.

Darren believes FearIsNotLove provides essential services to Calgarians and is proud to be a member of the Finance Committee and the Board of Directors.

“FearIsNotLove offers compassion and support to those who are impacted by domestic abuse, and it also offers empowerment. The services provided by this important organization provide a beacon of hope and a path to resilience with the ultimate goal of creating a community where people feel safe, supported and valued”

April is a lawyer with over 10 years’ experience and is currently an in-house legal consultant for fractional corporate clients. Her practice mainly focuses on corporate/commercial matters, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and secretarial matters. Prior to this role she has held positions with a large national law firm, industry regulatory body and a large national medical consolidation company.

April also currently holds a position on the Board of Directors for the Calgary Winter Club and sits on both Finance and Governance & Nominating Committees and is also a Director for the Baltac Community Association.

Outside of work and volunteer commitments April is mom to two busy kids (and a pooch). She loves spending time at her family’s cabin in Invermere, BC or in the mountains biking, hiking and skiing with her family. When she’s not chauffeuring to school, dance or hockey she loves fitness, travel, reading and cooking.

FearIsNotLove has long been a cause close to April’s heart. She is thrilled to be elected to the Board and contribute to this incredibly important and necessary cause in her community.

Catherine Manten, Corporate Controller of Kaizen Automotive Group, has more than 25 years of progressively responsible experience in Finance, Administration and HR in multi-dealer point operations.  Catherine has led her teams through the start-up, acquisition, turnaround and growth modes.

Catherine has spent the past 17 years gaining experience in retail sales, change management, business development, financial analysis and forecasting in both Canada and the United States.

Catherine currently serves on the Board of Directors for the following:  Wings of Hope, Automobile Dealers Insurance Exchange, McDougall House as well as FearIsNotLove.

“Imagine how free we would feel & how much we could accomplish without fear.” Susan L Taylor

Connie is very grateful for the rewarding career she had with the Royal Bank Financial Group. While at RBC, Connie was given the opportunity to hone her skills in many areas including: Human Resources, Financial Planning, Branch Management, Marketing, Communications and ultimately in Wealth Management.

After leaving RBC, Connie was drawn closer to an organization with which she’d had a long-standing volunteer relationship. As a full-time team member at United Way of Calgary and Area, she was able to utilize her sales and relationship management expertise while expanding her fund development skills in her roles as Campaign Manager and later, as Director of Major Giving.

As a woman who was widowed at an early age, with a 10-year-old son to raise, Connie remains profoundly grateful for the solid foundation laid down for her by two extraordinary women. One was her grandmother who possessed great wisdom, unwavering faith, and a wicked sense of humour and the other was her mother who was a fiercely independent, successful businesswoman.

As a way of honouring the impact these women had on her life, Connie made a personal commitment early on to walk alongside the young women that were placed in her life. Part of her personal mission statement is: To support women; raise them up so that ultimately they can see themselves not just surviving but thriving. This is what drew Connie to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area, the Canadian Women’s Foundation, and SheEO.

As a previous Director with Alberta Red Cross and a founding Director & past Board Chair of the Montgomery Business Revitalization Zone, Connie is honoured to be able to utilize her previous experiences & make a contribution to an organization as INGENIOUS as FearIsNotLove.

Kristin Romeril-Khosravi is currently President and co-founder of Night Rain Ventures, a venture capital family office that provides expertise and invests in initiatives, companies and founders who have a mission to make a difference. In her role at Night Rain she founded Flores and Pine, a hospitality operation owned by the family office. She also founded Curated Life, a lifestyle curation product & services company.  She previously served as Vice President of Operations at Kaizen Automotive Group, a business that she and her family grew to a successful enterprise.

From a young age, she has always had a passion for community engagement and social responsibility.  After graduating university, when she heard about the dire situation around the world she volunteered in Romanian orphanages, and has not lost the passion for giving back since. She has acted as a judge for TD Bank’s Outstanding Community Leadership scholarship, after receiving one herself and is also actively involved with Loran Scholars Foundation. 

She has overseen the corporate social responsibility program at Kaizen, supporting organizations like Make a Wish Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, Toy Mountain, and Dress for Success amongst many others.

Kristin currently serves on boards for Careers: Next Generation, UNICEF, and FearIsNotLove.

Ryan Schneider is a professional engineer with 20 years of experience in software development and consulting including executive, technology, operations and customer/outreach roles. 

He is the former CEO of Computer Modelling Group. Ryan holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Calgary.

Ryan has served as a volunteer on and off over the past several years. He and his wife support numerous causes but many have a common theme – family, kids or food (the food bank more recently). Ryan believes that FearIsNotLove’s mandate for both prevention as well as helping families through current struggles will benefit our communities, children and families (and their families and relationships and so on) for the long-term.

Laiha is a Senior Vice President, Tax at Brookfield Properties Development and is responsible for overseeing tax structuring and compliance for the development and residential businesses in both Canada and in the U.S.  Prior to joining Brookfield Properties Development in 2012, Laiha held various tax roles in Toronto including two years with Ernst & Young’s business tax advisory practice and six years with Brookfield Asset Management’s corporate tax group. 

Laiha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance & accounting from the University of Waterloo and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.  She has served as a volunteer in numerous non-profit organizations over the years that focus on health and family wellness.  Laiha joined the Finance and Resource Development committees at FearIsNotLove’s (originally the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter) in 2022 and is honored to now serve on the FearIsNotLove Board.

A leader and innovator in programs, services, and organizational operations, Kim Ruse has built a career exemplified by excellence in scaling and growing non-profit organizations, developing strong teams, and transforming cultures. As the current CEO of FearIsNotLove, Kim more than doubled the size of the agency over eight years, building a healthy and effective team.

In each of her leadership roles within non-profit organizations over the past 20+ years, Kim has championed innovation projects that improve social conditions and systems. At FearIsNotLove, Kim spearheaded multiple innovative violence prevention programs, such as the Innovative Systems Response Project, and co-authored Shelter 2.0, a discussion paper on enhancing women’s shelters’ impact on ending violence, the Shelterlink App and Men &. 

Kim was honoured with the McKillop Award in 2011 for her commitment to the Calgary community. In 2018, she was presented with an Alberta Government Inspiration Award for her leadership and most recently in 2022, she was honoured as one of six Calgary Influential Women in Business.