we will follow Darcy’s lead and form a fund development team comprised of board and senior leaders. This initiative will develop and oversee a set of new fund development strategies. PDD Program Reforms In 2019, the newly elected UCP Government signaled its intention to reform the PDD program because its growth was considered to be unsustainable. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, the Honourable Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Community and Social Services, organized several opportunities for individuals, families and community service providers to express their views about potential reforms (e.g., modify eligibility criteria for the PDD Program). Once the pandemic hit, the Minister curtailed all in-person reform get-togethers. In addition, the Government decided not to implement PDD Program reforms during the pandemic. On behalf of the Skills Society, I want to thank Minister Sawhney for this decision. Individuals, families, advocacy organizations and community service providers had more than enough on our plates, doing our very best to make our way through the perilous pandemic while keeping all concerned safe and well. Once the pandemic has subsided, we look forward to additional opportunities to influence the direction of any future reforms.
University of Alberta Board Interns Each year, the Skills Society invites one or more students from the University of Alberta to intern with the Skills board. This year Folakemi Jolaoso and Lisa Manners joined our team. Both women jumped right in and made significant contributions to our fund development and advocacy initiatives. Thank you both very much. We’ll miss you! Thank You Skills Staff Team Last but certainly not least, the Skills board thanks our amazing senior leadership team and all of our brave and valuable staff. Your performance during the pandemic has been nothing less than remarkable. The board had front-row seats – watching your high-performance team operate day-in and day-out for an entire year without once taking your eyes off the ball. For this we are truly grateful. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Hart Chapelle, Board Chair
Welcome Two New Board Members At last year’s AGM, we introduced two new board members. Both Kate Gunn and Dr. Dianne McConnell have been everything we expected and more. I want to thank both of them for their passion, their caring natures, their inspiring energy, their deep wells of experience and their wise counsel regarding all manner of complex issues.
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