Our Leadership
Our leadership is accountable to our membership and our partners, and are responsible for the governance and management of the Calgary Innovation Coalition. They represent a broad cross-section of Calgary’s innovation ecosystem, and our board of directors include innovation entrepreneurs, technology founders, and educators.
The Calgary Innovation Coalition and our members have the experience and expertise to help you build the future.
Meet our Staff
Meet our directors
COMMUNITY INITIATIVES COMMITTEE
Technology Development Advisor
DIRECTOR
Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives, Partnerships and Engagement
ADVISOR
Director, Economic, Research & Strategy
Meet our Staff
Advisory Board:
COMMUNITY INITIATIVES COMMITTEE
Technology Development Advisor
Committee Members:
Meet our Directors
Meet our Staff
Paisley Churchill
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Paisley Churchill has spent her career at the intersection of economic development, consulting, and tech, helping organizations turn ambitious ideas into real-world impact. She was part of the founding team that launched the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund, allocating its first $20M in funding to drive local innovation. Since then, she’s worked with hundreds of startups and scaling businesses, helping them navigate the innovation ecosystem, funding, business strategy, and product development.
Most recently, she worked as Program Manager at Digital Alberta, supporting Alberta’s digital media and tech industries. Through her consulting work, Paisley has helps non-technical founders bridge the gap between business and tech, saving them from expensive mistakes and unnecessary frustration. She’s also helped to secure almost $2M in funding for organizations across multiple sectors.
At her core, Paisley is passionate about building things that matter, supporting founders, and driving innovation. Whether it’s through funding, product development, or strategy, she’s dedicated to strengthening the innovation ecosystem.
When she’s not working, you’ll probably find her training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, where she’s learned a thing or two about strategy, resilience, and not panicking under pressure - all of which have come in handy in business. She also spends as much time as possible with her two dogs, who remind her that sometimes, the best ideas come from stepping away and going for a walk.
Homa Sadid
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Homa Sadid is the Program Coordinator for the Calgary Innovation Coalition. With a Master of Management from the Haskayne School of Business, she combines strong leadership and analytical skills to drive projects forward. In her previous roles, she has supported bridging the gap between healthcare and technology, working to improve healthcare accessibility and equity.
She’s passionate about building collaborative relationships that fuel innovation and create real change. Committed to giving back, Homa’s volunteer work highlights her dedication to improving community well-being. As a lifelong learner with a curious mindset, Homa is always eager to expand her knowledge and take on new challenges.
Meet our Directors
Jamie McInnis, M.ED, PMP
BOARD
Jamie received her Master’s in educational policy from the University of Alberta.
She is experienced in working with private, non-profit, Indigenous and government organizations to fund research and product development to address challenges identified by partners.
With over 17 years of experience in research portfolio management and securing over $74M in funding for research execution, Jamie is skilled in working closely with partners to change narratives. Her work facilitates industry and stakeholder relations, team formation, and change management and guides the development of impactful contributions.
With over 77,000 square feet of lab space and $55M of supporting infrastructure, Jamie is leading the ARIS scientific, technical and research administration teams in developing novel, impactful solutions that diversify our economy, train tomorrow’s technical experts and provide students unique experiences working side-by-side with partners.
These shared learning experiences focus on emerging technologies and applications in Clean Energy, Green Building Solutions, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing and Unmanned Heavy Lift Aerial Vehicles.
David Yiptong
BOARD, GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
Technology development, commercialization and community engagement have been at the heart of David’s recent work. He has worked with hundreds of technology startups and entrepreneurs, helping them build their businesses and connecting them with resources and support in the community. Their successes are what drives David’s passion for the sector in Calgary and Alberta.
David brings a wide range of experience having worked in startups, large corporations, and not-for-profits, in industries ranging from manufacturing, energy, and telecommunications. He continues to volunteer to coach students and entrepreneurs through various programs in Calgary.
Shane Pegg
BOARD, COMMUNITY INITIATIVES COMMITTEE
Shane thrives in connecting, serving and celebrating entrepreneurs and community leaders. He spent two decades in the Kitchener-Waterloo innovation ecosystem before a startup acquisition brought him to Cochrane in 2019. He’s held various roles working in and with startups, scaleups, large companies and incubators and is currently the Program Manager of Cochrane’s Startup Incubator. He is a founding Board member of Innovate Cochrane and enjoys all sorts of outdoor adventures and sporting activities alongside his wife and 3 children.
Simon Raby, Ph.D
BOARD CHAIR
Simon is a respected Professor of Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal University in Calgary, known for his exceptional contributions to the field of innovation, business growth and scaling. He is the Founder of Growth Compass, a cutting-edge center of excellence that provides evidence-based insights and intelligence on business growth strategies to businesses of all sizes.
As the Creative Director for Growth Catalyst, Simon leads an executive education program that helps CEOs and senior leadership teams develop and execute innovative growth strategies. Simon is also an accomplished author, widely recognized for his popular works on the drivers of scaling up, innovation and growth. He expertly distills the latest evidence into best practice guides for leaders, making his work internationally renowned for its quality and innovation.
Simon holds both a master’s and a doctorate degree, which he earned while working full time to help companies scale up. Additionally, he is a qualified coach and facilitator, bringing an added dimension of expertise to his work with businesses and leaders.
Bilal Rasool
BOARD
Bilal's career has been focused on commercializing technologies and helping startups build and scale their businesses. In his current roles as Interim Director, Founder Success at Platform Calgary and Co-Director of the Alberta Catalyzer program, Bilal adopts learnings from years of program development and startup engagement to build best-in-class experiences for early-stage founders in order to help them propel their businesses forward.
Prior to his current role, Bilal led partnerships at Platform Calgary, held several roles supporting research technologies at Innovate Calgary, advised energy and cleantech companies through the Kinetica Ventures Energy Technology Accelerator and was involved in corporate innovation initiatives across a wide array of industries, spanning energy, telecommunications and agriculture.
Bilal holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an MBA degree from the University of Calgary.
Kate Klopovich, MBA
DIRECTOR
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Inês Bartilotti
DIRECTOR
Born analog but thriving in the digital age, Inês Bartilotti bridges the classic and the modern with ease. Fluent in three languages (and learning a fourth), she has worked across six countries, shaping industries, institutions, and communities through strategy, partnerships, and cross-sector collaboration. Her global experience and cultural fluency inform a unique ability to connect ideas, people, and systems.
As Senior Director of New Ventures at Innovate Calgary, Inês plays a key role in advancing the Calgary innovation ecosystem. She supports early-stage ventures through a systems-thinking approach—helping founders navigate complexity, identify strategic opportunities, and bring impactful solutions to life. Her work strengthens innovation pipelines, fosters cross-sector partnerships, and contributes to a more inclusive and resilient economic landscape.
Rather than specializing in one area, Inês embraces breadth. With a background in medicine and an executive MBA, she blends scientific insight with business acumen. Her curiosity about human behavior, ability to simplify complexity, and commitment to evidence-based decision-making define her work—whether she’s shaping policy, building innovation ecosystems, or mentoring the next generation of changemakers.
Melanie McDonald
DIRECTOR
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Meet our Past Directors
Michael Kerr
Director
Alberta Innovates
LinkedIn
Andrew Browne
Court Ellingson
Kari Gordon
Nima Najand, Ph.D
Director, Life Sciences Innovation Hub
Jennifer Jensen
Vanessa Gagnon
Brigitte Legault
BOARD CHAIR COMMUNITY INITIATIVES COMMITTEE
Haley Jabusch
Brenda Beckedorf
Zak Biggs
Jaret Hargreaves
Director, Economic, Research & Strategy
ADVISOR
DIRECTOR
Vice-President, Strategic Initiatives, Partnerships and Engagement
Advisory Board:
Stephan Zuberec
ADVISOR
Shane thrives in connecting, serving and celebrating entrepreneurs and community leaders. He spent two decades in the Kitchener-Waterloo innovation ecosystem before a startup acquisition brought him to Cochrane in 2019. He’s held various roles working in and with startups, scaleups, large companies and incubators and is currently the Program Manager of Cochrane’s Startup Incubator. He is a founding Board member of Innovate Cochrane and enjoys all sorts of outdoor adventures and sporting activities alongside his wife and 3 children.
Committee Members:
Pej Ghanipour
COMMUNITY INITIATIVES COMMITTEE
Pej brings over two decades of experience in technology commercialization, spanning from venture capital analysis to co-founding and successfully exiting a tech startup. Currently serving as a Technology Development Advisor (TDA) at Alberta Innovates, he mentors a portfolio of 140 startups in Calgary.
Previously, Pej managed intellectual property commercialization at Innovate Calgary and oversaw two startup accelerator programs. He also held leadership roles at Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) and the University of Lethbridge.
Pej holds a BSc (Hons.) in Physics and Astronomy and a MASc in Computer and Electrical Engineering from UBC.
Kim Caves
GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
Kim Caves is an Advisor with Alberta Innovates and has a rich history in the digital transformation journey from the beginning. Her most recent role was as an account executive selling enterprise cybersecurity software. Today she works with small and medium businesses helping with their business development strategies, particularly good sales practices.
Emmanuel Oluwatosin
GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
Emmanuel is a Certified Leanstack, Certified Startup Coach, and the founder of Startupcourt, a non-profit organization dedicated to working with black and new immigrants to conceptualize and establish new business ventures. He possesses a remarkable track record in effectively formulating real-time business and product strategies and translating them into impactful actions, ensuring operational excellence and achieving significant financial results.
Emmanuel holds the belief that many startups face failure due to entrepreneurs investing time and resources in building the wrong products or services. Consequently, he actively collaborates with individuals and businesses to implement Continuous Innovation principles and establish an effective innovation process. As a first-generation immigrant, Emmanuel is deeply passionate about technologies, startups, and creating opportunities for underserved demographics.
Advisory Board:
Committee Members:
