Board of Directors
Executive Director – Gerry McCallum
Gerry has served as the Executive Director of FAIM since January 2016. Previously, he served as the Manager of Employment & Day Services in High River since March 2002. Prior to joining FAIM, Gerry worked at a large agency in Calgary, also supporting individuals with developmental disabilities.
He’s seen significant growth of the society over the years, and realizes FAIM’s fortunate to have many strong connections within the four towns in which the society offers support. Strathmore, Okotoks, High River and Airdrie are different communities, but Gerry believes they all share in the great qualities of rural Alberta living, which have proven beneficial to offering supports to individuals with developmental disabilities.
Gerry and his family have resided in High River since 1987, and enjoy the peacefulness that comes with small-town Alberta.
Gerry has always had a passion for improving the lives of people with developmental disabilities, and finds this work very rewarding.
President - Bob MacDougall
Bob was elected to the Board in 2012. He is a professional engineer with over 30 years of domestic and international oil and gas operations and senior executive management experience.
Bob was appointed to Parex Resources Board of Directors in 2016, where he acts as Chairman of Reserves and Operations Committee and is a member of the Compensation and HR Committee. He was also appointed Director of TransGlobe Energy in 2014 where he acts as Chairman of the Reserves, Health, Safety, Environment and Social Responsibility Committee.
He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Vermillion Energy from 2004 until his retirement in 2012, where he led the company’s operating business both in Canada and internationally. Prior to joining Vermillion, he served as General Manager of Production and Operations for Chevron in Canada.
Bob has an Engineering Diploma from Saint Francis Xavier University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering (with distinction) from Technical University of Nova Scotia. He has three grown children and two grandchildren, and currently resides in High River, Alberta.
Vice President - Mark Lebere
Mark was elected to the Board in October 2023. He recently retired and moved to Alberta after a 35 year career with the Government of Saskatchewan with the Department of Social Services. In his time with Government Mark served individuals with intellectual disabilities in various roles, starting out as a recreation therapist and ending as Director of Outreach and Prevention Services. Mark played a lead role in the closure of Valley View Centre and the development of a safety net program for the province.
Mark currently lives in Okotoks with his wife Lorene, they love the community and especially enjoy being close to their children and grandchildren.
Mark currently provides respite to one FAIM client and is thankful that he can still be involved in supporting individuals.
Marks’s interests include traveling, playing tennis and badminton, hiking and enjoying our beautiful province.
Secretary - Heather Goode
Heather was elected to the Board in 2019. Prior to her retirement in 2014, she was a high school teacher in High River and Okotoks for 37 years. Her main areas of teaching included Food Studies, Fashion Studies, and Career and Life Management. She also was the primary organizer of grade 12 graduation ceremonies at both Foothills Composite High School and Highwood High School.
She also served on the Highwood Kindergarten Board in 1995/96.
Heather is married with two sons, a daughter-in-law, and one grandson. Her youngest son is a client of FAIM. She is enjoying retirement, with activities such as travel, cooking, sewing and reading, all of which keep her quite busy.
Treasurer – David P Stark
David was elected to the Board in 2021. He has been on the Board twice, the first time for 8 years with a three year break. He is excited to be back.
David is a lawyer living in Calgary, with a practice focused on mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). He also facilitates courses on ADR, with this work taking him throughout Western Canada.
David is a single parent with two children, a daughter and a son. His son has been a client at FAIM since 2006. David sits on the Board because it allows him to give back to an organization that has given so much to him and his son, and he is passionate about protecting the interests of a vulnerable segment of the population.
David’s other interests involve reading, weightlifting, voice, piano, tandem biking with his son, and teaching Tai Chi, Kung Fu and Yoga.
Director - Ken Robertson
Ken was elected to the Board in 2019. He has worked in the forestry industry for 41 years, having retired in 2005. He has volunteered extensively for numerous organizations, including as an auxiliary RCMP constable, as a director of the Child Development Centre in Williams Lake, BC, as a director and chairman of the BC Forestry Association, as a director of Share BC, and as a volunteer forestry advisor.
Ken spent most of his life in BC, but recently moved to Okotoks with his wife Judy of 51 years in 2017. He has two adult children, and two grandchildren. His daughter is currently being supported by FAIM. He and Judy enjoy walking, biking, and camping (glamping) especially with our son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, and he likes any kind of building with wood projects.
Director - Bill Wilding
Bill was elected to the Board 2010. He has an education in psychology and marketing, with a business background in sales, marketing and operations management.
He and his wife Nicole have raised a family of four boys in Okotoks, one of whom is a current client of FAIM. He firmly believes people with cognitive disabilities can become welcoming and contributing members to their communities.
Bill has participated and volunteered in numerous organizations and activities within the town of Okotoks and surrounding area. He feels that his life experiences provide him with the ability to contribute and help direct FAIM today and into the future.
Director - Samantha Smith
My son Jase is a thriving member of the Strathmore FAIM branch. Jase has Down Syndrome and has had great supports in his life and now that he is settled into adulthood I wanted to give back. When approached to join the FAIM board I was excited to start a new chapter.
I have been in the health care field for over twenty-five years. I graduated as a Physio Therapy Assistant but worked as a multi-disciplinary assistant for many years. I started my career in long term care, then moved to neurorehabilitation, working with stroke clients, coaching them to regain the skills to move home.
I then had my children and took a few years off. When I returned to the work force, I worked casually working in the community neurorehabilitation field, this time in client’s homes and communities. For the last ten years, I worked as a Speech Therapy Assistant in the schools. Our program went through provincial restructuring, and I have now returned to my multi-disciplinary roots, working with the Pediatric Community Rehabilitation team.
Director - Germaine Kolynchuk
Germaine was elected to the board in May 2024. Prior to her retirement in 2018, she was a teacher in Calgary and Airdrie for 33 years and ended her career as a diverse learning coordinating teacher. Germaine now acts as a guest teacher, often in the areas of special needs and diverse learning.
Germaine has been married to her husband, Dale Rathgeber, for the past 38 years and they have lived in Airdrie since 1987. Together they raised two children, their son Jase and their daughter Kendel. Kendel is a current client of FAIM in Airdrie.
Germaine spent the past five years envisioning, pursuing and lobbying for a site-based agency such as FAIM to move into Airdrie and she is thrilled to see this pursuit become a reality. She continues to envision many more good things to come for the special needs community in Airdrie and she looks forward to supporting FAIM as they settle into the community of Airdrie and as they continue to grow and operate in High River, Okotoks and Strathmore.
In her spare time, Germaine enjoys spending time with her family, both here and in Saskatchewan, socializing with friends and volunteering for the Airdrie Food Bank and the Rotary Festival of the Performing Arts. Golf, ice skating, walking, reading, deep diving into topics of interest and staying current on political and newsworthy events also keep Germaine busy.
Director - Richard Maloney
Richard Maloney was elected to the BOD on September 2024. He has worked in the transportation, logistics and energy services sectors for over 25-years.
Currently, Richard is the Senior Operating Officer (SOO) of Mullen Group Ltd. a TSX listed company based in Okotoks, AB. In this capacity, Richard works with the Chair and SEO on all matters related to Mullen Group’s operating businesses. In addition, Richard oversees a team of professionals dedicated to Mullen Group’s: Facilities and Equipment; Information Technology initiatives, including its ongoing digital transformation; Health, Safety and Risk Management programs; and works with the Executive team on shareholder engagements, mergers and acquisitions, along with numerous other corporate development matters. Prior to being appointed SOO, Richard held various management and leadership roles of increasing responsibility within the Mullen Group for the past 25-years.
Richard holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Royal Roads University (RRU) and also earned the Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) designation with the Insurance Institute of Canada (IIC) along with the Fellow Risk Management (FRM) designation with the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI). He has lived and made is home in Okotoks since 2004 where he and his wife have raised their 3 children.