Calgary

Thank You! Over 50 women participated in the launch event of the CanWIT Chapter at the Calgary Petroleum Club on Feb. 27^th with Keynote Speaker Michelle Sklar, President of Digital Alberta. If you missed the event, Sklar provided entertaining and engaging insight on her own experiences within the tech sector. She highlighted the particularly creative aspect of the industry and the benefits of entrepreneurship.

Our Calgary Chapter Chair, Michele Taylor also spoke about her journey in tech as an entrepreneur in enterprise architecture and advisory. Michele's journey made us laugh and nod our heads in agreement. CanWIT’s CEO and Chair, Dr. Catherine Boivie, and Executive Director, Emily Boucher, attended the launch to offer support and guidance from CanWIT National.

The Calgary Chapter’s Executive Committee each led a roundtable discussion with participants to gather input on what the community is looking for in Calgary. The common themes we heard were:

- Opportunities for learning – targeted, focused learning such as how to network and building your personal brand

- Going beyond networking – opportunities for speaking engagements and coaching

- Sharing successes – would like to hear more women telling their story

- Staying current with the rapid pace of change in technology

- The age of specialization and how this impacts careers in tech

- Different flavours of mentoring – beyond 1-on-1 to mentoring groups (see the Mentorship Circle that the Toronto chapter hosts)

- How to take your career to the next step – CIO, CTO, staying technical while moving ahead

Impactful programs that are relevant to the community are essential to the success of the Calgary Chapter going forward. To run chapter events and ensure they are valuable to the broad spectrum of women in the community, becoming a member of CanWIT is critical. Our goal in the Calgary chapter is to fund these events as much as possible using local corporate sponsors and membership fees to drive our growth.

View this slidedeck for a great overview of CanWIT Calgary!

Join our LinkedIn group to receive news, updates, network and take part in the latest CanWIT Calgary discussions. Follow us on twitter @CanWIT too!

What’s next? Join us on Thursday, April 25^th.

Our April event in Calgary is scheduled for Thursday, April 25^th from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the Petroleum Club. A common theme from the roundtables at the kickoff event was learning opportunities and networking. On Thursday, April 25 one of our local members, Carol Fink, will facilitate a session on professional networking and communication for the introverts and extroverts in the room. See more about Carol’s session online when you register.

Please contact our Calgary Executive team at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Calgary Executive

Chair: Michele Taylor - 403 287 8714

Vice President & Corporate Calgary Liaison: Kelly Hill - 403 804 4240

Vice President, Finance, and Director, CanWIT National Mentorship Sub-Committee: Leonie Tyler

Vice President Marketing: Laurie Desautels

Vice President & Liaison Human Resources Industry: Sheila MacLean - 403 410 3823