Home Icon Social Wellbeing Advisory Committee

The Social Wellbeing Advisory Committee advises Council and Administration on City policies, strategies and service delivery in accordance with the Social Wellbeing Principles.

The Social Wellbeing Principles state that The City will:

  • Strive to provide equitable services. This includes removing barriers to access and inclusion;
  • Advance the active and shared process of Truth and Reconciliation in collaboration with the community;
  • Seek opportunities to support and grow culture in Calgary; and
  • Aim to stop social problems before they begin using a prevention approach.

The Social Wellbeing Advisory Committee's main purpose is to provide advice using an intersectional approach (meaning to consider how decisions impact people who are members of multiple, overlapping population groups) by drawing on different perspectives of its membership.

2
6
14

Board Information

2 years, maximum of 3 consecutive terms
Term expirations will be staggered to ensure an orderly transition of the new members.
Partial terms will not be counted towards the term limit.
A member may serve more than six consecutive years by a two-thirds vote of Council.

Six public members:

o Three members who have lived experience and/or in-depth knowledge of the needs of and connections to communities that have historically experienced exclusion, discrimination and oppression. Consideration will be given to those qualified applicants that fill gaps in subject matter expertise in relation to other members.
o One member with expertise in advancing gender-equity; 
o One member with expertise in social innovation or social determinants of health; and
o One member that is a faculty member of a post-secondary institution with experience advancing social equity.

Three representatives, or designates, from existing Council advisory committees with:

o One from Advisory Committee on Accessibility; 
o One from Anti-Racism Action Committee;
o One from Calgary Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee.

Four representatives, or designates, from existing Administration committees with:

o One from Calgary Local Immigration Partnership Immigrant Advisory Table;
o One from Cultural Leadership Council;
o One from Family & Community Support Services Calgary Forum; and
o One from Older Adult Advisory Table.

One non-voting member of Administration: the director of Community Strategies or designate.

3rd Wednesday of each month from 5-7pm (excluding July and August).
10 meetings per year, September to June.
Municipal building or Alberta Trade Centre
All meetings will have a hybrid option. 

Greater than 50 per cent of voting members, that is, seven members

Internal – Advisory

Must be Resident of Calgary and at least 18 years of age.

The six positions for public members are filled through the City Clerk's Annual Recruitment Campaign.

The seven positions for representatives of committees are filled by nominations by those committees to represent their interest on the Social Wellbeing Advisory Committee.

Courtney Rivas | Issue Strategist | Courtney.Rivas@calgary.ca

Jennifer MacSween

Strategy Liaison

Jennifer.MacSween@calgary.ca

Will report annually to the Community Development Committee and may provide ongoing communication by memo to Council and the Executive Leadership Team as deemed necessary by the Chair and Administration.

TIME REQUIREMENT
For Members:
     o    10 hours/year on agenda preparation (e.g., reviewing provided materials to prepare for meetings).
     o    20 hours/year in meetings (e.g., 10 – two-hour monthly meetings).
For the Chair and/or Vice-Chair:
     o    5 – 10 hours/year for email correspondence and agenda preparation.

Name Position Term Start Term End Status Appointed By
Alcaraz, Nellie Representative, Anti-Racism Action Committee 15 Jan 2021 31 Oct 2025 Active
Armes, Carol Representative, Advisory Committee on Accessibility 27 Feb 2024 31 Oct 2024 Active
Bhaloo-Shivji, Danisha Public Member 28 Oct 2019 31 Oct 2025 Active
Bowen-Eyre, Joy Representative from Family and Community Support Services Calgary Forum l Vice Chair 24 Oct 2023 31 Oct 2025 Active
Colizza, Kate Public Member 24 Oct 2023 31 Oct 2025 Active
Craig, Lissa Representative, Cultural Leadership Council 24 Oct 2023 31 Oct 2025 Active
Hemraj, Jena Public Member, Chair 31 Oct 2022 31 Oct 2024 Active
Murphy, Anna Public Member 24 Oct 2023 31 Oct 2025 Active
Olabiyi, Olayemi Public Member 24 Oct 2023 31 Oct 2025 Active
Pasolli, Cori Public Member 31 Oct 2022 31 Oct 2024 Active
Thakor, Uma Representative, Calgary Local Immigration Partnership Immigrant Advisory Table 26 Jul 2022 31 Oct 2025 Active
Thind, Gurcharan Representative, Older Adult Advisory Table 24 Oct 2023 31 Oct 2025 Active
Twoyoungmen, Elissa Representative, Calgary Aboriginal Urban Affairs Committee 27 Feb 2024 31 Oct 2024 Active
Wedderburn, Ashley Administration Member 24 Oct 2023 31 Oct 2025 Active