Digital Alberta Board Elected
Digital Alberta board member Michelle Sklar was elected president of the organization on April 19th, 2011 at the Annual General Meeting held at Calgary Technologies, Inc. Michelle Sklar is an active Canadian technologist and is the first woman to be elected to the position of president for the strategic industry body. Along with the appointment of Ms. Sklar, three new Board members were elected as well as two Executive board positions to better recognize Alberta’s rapidly expanding digital sector.
Ms. Sklar is the European Director of Marketing & Public Relations for Calgary based Poynt Corporation and will preside in the position for a two-year term beginning immediately. Two of the newly elected board members are located in Edmonton and will represent the industry initiatives taking place in central and northern Alberta. The 
new Edmonton based members are Owen Brierley, Executive Director of Guru Digital Arts College and Lisa Hagen a well-known entrepreneur in the digital and interactive media sector. The final new board member is Steve Buors, SVP of Digital Media Strategy and Product Development for Post Media Inc.
The new board members join existing members, Gert-Jan de Vlugt, Global Content Manager, Smart Technologies as Treasurer and Alex Gault, VP Product Development and Client Services, MoboVivo, as Secretary who will serve in Executive position for the next two years. Former President Larry Jacques will remain on to serve as Past President.
Talking about her appointment as President Michelle Sklar commented, “This past year was an important time for Alberta’s digital industry and it is with much gratitude that we thank the board, lead by Larry Jacques as President and Jo-Anne Douthwaite as Executive Administrator, for their leadership and dedication. I couldn’t be more enthusiastic to work with such a knowledgeable and passionate team and am looking forward to the next two years. Moving forward, the board plans to work hard to increase our member services, further our professional development initiatives, and showcase Alberta’s industry talent globally.”
2011-2012 Digital Alberta Board:
Michelle Sklar – President (Poynt Corporation)
Adam Goetz – VP South (Suitcase Interactive)
Logan Foster – VP North (Max Gaming Technologies)
Alex Gault – Secretary (MoboVivo)
Gert -Jan de Vlugt – Treasurer (Smart Technologies)
Roger Kondrat – Director (West 17 Media)
Harry Ludwig – Director (Macleod Dixon LLP)
Kurtis Lesick – Director
Lisa Hagen – Director (Gyst Works)
Owen Brierley – Director (Guru Digital Arts College)
Steve Buors – Director (Post Media Inc)
Larry Jacques – Past President (ITSportsnet)
Jo-Anne Douthwaite continues to act as the Executive Administrator and Kevin Dahl with Calgary Technologies Inc. continues to act as an ex-officio director.
The first initiative for the new board is the upcoming 2011 Digital Alberta Awards (formerly known as the mediaFRESH awards), which take place at Hotel Arts in Calgary on Monday June 6th, 2011 from 6-9 pm. The awards program is designed to recognize leaders in innovation, creativity and the evolving digital media sector in Alberta. This year we have 17 categories to include companies that may not traditionally be considered in the realm of digital media, but have pioneered much advancement both nationally and globally. Digital Alberta is thrilled to recognize “Best in Breed” in Alberta based companies. Nominations for the 2011 Digital Alberta Awards are now open for submissions.
