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 - 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.
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 – Neil Wallace
Neil was elected to the Board in 2019. He is a designated accountant with experience in the oil and gas industry.
He has served in a wide variety of roles in his 30-year career including financial analyst, operations controller, and senior management. Neil’s most recent industry role was as Managing Director of Vermilion Energy’s Business Unit in the Netherlands from 2011-2015. He returned to Canada in 2016 to provide care support for an aging parent.
Neil has a degree in Geology from the University of Saskatchewan and a degree in Accounting from the University of Calgary.
Neil grew up on a family farm in Saskatchewan and enjoys spending time out in the country helping friends and family with their farming operations.
Director - 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.
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.