Board of Directors
Glori Meldrum B.Comm.
Founder & Chair
Founding Little Warriors has been a life long dream for Glori Meldrum – she just didn't know it. Her “Ah-Ha” moment occurred nearly 24 years after being abused. Glori had a dream to do something to help prevent child sexual abuse, and Little Warriors is the realization of that dream.
Glori is a successful entrepreneur, and it is her business knowledge, strong vision, and willingness to take risks and dedication to self-improvement that makes Glori an asset to the Little Warriors Board of Directors.
In addition to being a Little Warrior herself, Glori is a business owner, mother, wife and philanthropist. She owns and operates a successful advertising agency and web development company. Glori is also involved in a number of projects for local not-for-profit organizations including The Good Samaritan Society, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
In 2005 Glori became the first female president of the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) of Edmonton and has been honoured with a YWCA Women of Distinction Award. She was also named a finalist in the Best Entrepreneur – Service Businesses – Up to 100 Employees category in the 2005 Stevie Awards for Women. In 2008, Glori received a Global Edmonton Women of Vision award for the month of April, and most recently was named as a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 Awards in the Social Entrepreneur category.
Gary Meldrum
Director
A graduate of Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Commerce, Gary brings his knowledge of the business world and his deep understanding of process to his Secretary Board position. Gary’s sharp mind and keen business sense have been honed throughout his career and involvement with organizations such as g[squared], as well as his experience managing trafik interactive and barking dog photography inc.
Like many photographers, Gary sees the world and everything in it a little bit differently. He sees the story and the message in every situation. With a deep understanding of the advertising world, the importance of image and the impact of messaging, Gary’s importance to Little Warriors has extended far beyond the positions that he has held.
Dwayne Pohranychny
Treasurer
An active member of the community and passionate golf fan, Dwayne has more than 15 years accounting experience. After receiving his accounting diploma from Grant MacEwan College, Dwayne went on to complete his degree by earning a Bachelor of Management degree from the University of Lethbridge. Today, Dwayne is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. He also adds to his credits a former instructor position at the University of Alberta where he taught introductory accounting courses in the Canadian Institute of Retailing and Services Program.
Dwayne has also held a number of Board positions throughout his career including Treasurer and a member of the Board of Directors for the Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta and sitting on the Grant MacEwan College Accounting and Strategic Measurement Advisory Board. As well, Dwayne currently presides as the Finance Chair for the Entrepreneurs Organization – Edmonton Chapter, a position that he has held since July 2004. For the past four years, Dwayne has screened and reviewed business plans for the Venture Prize business plans contest, which is a joint venture between the University of Alberta and the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation that awards $170,000 in prizes each year.
When not watching or playing golf or dealing with numbers, Dwayne spends his time with his wonderful wife and two young sons.
Karyn Decore
Director of Fund Development
Karyn's entrepreneurial spirit, dedication, educational background, innovation and community involvement has distinguished her as a leader in the resort hospitality industry.
Her first experience in the hotel industry began years ago at the age of 12, working at her family’s hotel business in Jasper. Karyn graduated from the University of Alberta in 1987 with a degree in law. She practiced in the family law firm of Decore and Company and later joined the firm of Duncan and Craig.
Karyn assumed the role of President of Decore Hotels in 1991 and expanded her family's holdings with the purchase of Castle Mountain Chalets in 1999. She was directly involved as a management consultant in the re-design, renovations and management of the Juniper Hotel, one of Banff's best boutique hotels and the operations of the Château Jasper Hotel during the period of time that it was owned by Decore Hotels.
In addition to her role on the Little Warriors board of Directors, she is a member of the Law Society of Alberta, Young Presidents Organization, Alberta Enterprise Group Director of Little Potato Company, and Director of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.
Lewis Cardinal
Director
Lewis Cardinal is Wood Cree from Northern Alberta, Canada. Major accomplishments include 2007 recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation Award for Public Service and recipient of the Alberta Centennial Medal for his work in the areas of Human Rights and Diversity. Lewis is also Chair of the Board of Directors for Aboriginal Voices Radio (AVR) Canada’s first and only national Aboriginal radio network, Founder and President of the Indigenous Media Institute of Canada, Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Commission on Human Rights Chair and of the Global Indigenous Dialogue, an international gathering of Indigenous peoples. His background includes a PhD Candidate in Education at the University of Alberta and he is the Owner of Cardinal Strategic Communications, a consulting firm.
Ron Helmhold CA, ICD.D
Director
Ron Helmhold is a Chartered Accountant with significant experience in both public practice and private industry. Ron articled with KPMG Chartered Accountants following which he left public practice to work in an executive capacity within a number of industries including health care, biotechnology and insurance. In Ron’s current role as the Chief Financial Officer of the Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board, he guides the organization’s financial strategies including oversight of a $6 billion investment portfolio and $1 billion annual operating budget.
Ron’s career is built on a strong foundation of expertise in finance, corporate governance, risk management, negotiations, and strategic planning. Ron is currently active on several Boards and is active as both Board member and Chair of the Audit Committee for Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, Board member of SciMed Technologies Inc, and Bentall Investment Property Fund VI. Ron participates as a member of Financial Executives International, the Institute of Corporate Directors, the Canadian Coalition of Good Governance, and is a graduate of the Stanford University Executive Program.
In his spare time Ron likes to relax at his cottage at Pigeon Lake and spend time with his wife Michele and two children Jack and Grace.
Darlene Windwick Scott
Director
Darlene Windwick Scott is an Edmonton partner at the national law firm of Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP. Her practice focuses on commercial law, real estate and lending matters and she acts regularly for many chartered banks and life insurance companies, as well as public and private corporations. Darlene has been practicing in the Edmonton area for 24 years, having graduated from the University of Alberta law school in 1984 and being admitted to the Alberta Law Society in July of 1985. She is currently the co-chair of the Institution and Finance Working Group in the Edmonton office.
Darlene contributes regularly to her profession by teaching bar admission courses and is often called upon by the Legal Education Society of Alberta to chair or speak on topics of interest to other practitioners. She has taught courses on law and legal matters both at the University of Alberta Law School and at the Faculty of Extension.
Darlene is passionate about protecting the rights of those who are unable to assist themselves. In that regard she continues to provide pro bono legal services to a non profit agency assisting women and children in abusive relationships, has volunteered in the inner city and extensively in her own community and her children’s schools.
Heather Shaw
Director
Heather Shaw is the Executive Chair of Corus Entertainment Inc. She helped establish the company as a spin-off from Shaw Communications in 1999 and has served as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Corus since that time.
In 2002, Ms. Shaw won the Consumers’ Choice Award for Calgary Business Woman of the Year. In 2001, she was listed in The Financial Post’s “Power 50” – the 50 most powerful women in Canadian business. In 1998, she was awarded a “Caldwell Partners Top 40 Under 40 Award”.
Prior to the launch of Corus Entertainment, Ms. Shaw was the President of DMX Music Canada, a digital subscription music service and Digital ADventure, a digital advertising service that included TV Listings and The Real Estate Channel.
Ms. Shaw holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, where she is currently a member of the School's Business Advisory Board. She has been a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization since 1995 and is actively involved as a Director on both corporate and not-for-profit boards.
As Executive Chair of Corus Entertainment, Ms. Shaw oversees a 10-member Board of Directors for one of Canada's leading media and entertainment companies with interests internationally. Corus is a market leader in both specialty TV and Radio and also owns Nelvana Limited, an internationally recognized producer and distributor of children’s programming and products. The Company’s other interests include music, television broadcasting and advertising services. Corus trades on both the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.
Dianne Young
Director
Dianne offers extensive knowledge and experience in values based business planning, brand management and differentiation & positioning strategies.
As President & CEO of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation for eight years, Dianne helped steward the Foundation through the completion of a successful $12 million capital campaign toward construction of a new children’s hospital. She then led the organization through a transformation from the Children’s Health Foundation, a program-based fundraiser for the Regional Child Health Program, to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, the nationally recognized fundraiser for Edmonton’s world class children’s hospital. Under her leadership, the Stollery brand became pervasive across Canada and funds raised for the Hospital grew from $900,000 to over $12 million annually. During her final year at the Foundation, Dianne developed a five year strategic plan that would see the organization raise $20 million annually by the year 2011, to support the growing needs of the Hospital.
Prior to her Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation appointment, Dianne served eleven years as Director of Community Relations for TELUS. A firm believer in the importance of both corporate and personal commitment to philanthropy, it was during her tenure at TELUS that she developed a strategic social vision for the company and established the TELUS Bright Futures Foundation to provide a clear and impactful focus for corporate giving. She also developed the first corporate volunteer program in Canada, a unique initiative that harnessed the energy of 12,000 employees to compliment financial contributions made by TELUS.
Born and educated in Edmonton, Dianne was the first Canadian to complete a corporate community relations program offered through the School of Business at Boston College. The knowledge she gained reinforced her belief that there is a symbiotic relationship between healthy communities and the commitment and involvement of the people who live in them… one simply cannot happen without the other.
Throughout her career, Dianne has helped raise close to $100 million to benefit a number of non profit organizations.
Dianne’s record of community involvement is extensive, including:
- Board Member, Centre for Social Entrepreneurship
- International Advisory Board Member - Centre For Corporate Community Relations at Boston College
- Board Member, Grant MacEwan Community College Foundation
- Board Member, Edmonton YMCA
- Founding Board Member Chair, Calgary Workplace Volunteer Council
- Canadian Director, Points of Light Foundation
- Corporate Advisor, IMAGINE Local Action Committee
- Campaign Cabinet Member, United Way Capital Region
- Board Member, David Foster Foundation - Edmonton Gala Committee
- Board Member, Duke of Edinburgh Awards
- Board Member, Miss Rodeo Canada
- Founding Board Member & Vice President, Fun Team Alberta
In October 2005, Dianne received an Alberta Centennial Medal, recognizing her outstanding service and contribution to the community. In June, 2006 she was nominated for a YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the category of Advocacy.
