Meet The Team (Part 2)
Wood Buffalo ready to host Arctic Winter Games.
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The Wood Buffalo 2023 Arctic Winter Games operates with a passionate full-time staff who work hand-in-hand with the board of Directors and volunteer chairs to ensure participants and spectators have an unforgettable Games experience.
Meet the Board
Paul Thorkelsson
RMWB Representative
RMWB CAO Paul Thorkelsson is an accomplished senior leader with operational, management, and planning expertise. He has a depth of public sector experience, including leadership, governance, fiscal responsibility, policy, among many other areas. Throughout his career, he has championed diversity and equity in government service delivery within organizations and the community. He understands the significance of strong relationships with Indigenous Communities and community partners and is proud to serve as a board member of the Wood Buffalo 2023 Arctic Winter Games.
Greg Tolson
Director of Information Technology
Greg was born in Manitoba and raised in Eastern Ontario. He went on to spend 13 years in the military working and living all over Canada.
Immediately after leaving the military, Greg was hired by Tridon Communications in 1999. He is currently the VP of Operations for Tridon Communications in Fort McMurray and a partner in the company.
Greg is no stranger to multi-sport Games as he also sat on the 2018 Alberta Winter Games Board of Directors as the Director of Communication.
Don Wilson
AWGIC, Alberta Gov’t Representative, Ex-Officio
Don is presently the Director, Multisport Games for Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation branch within the Ministry of Culture.
Previous positions included: Chief Executive Officer for Bobsleigh CANADA Skeleton. Director of Athletics at the University of Calgary, General Manager of Swim Alberta, Director of Sport, Recreation & Culture for Fort McMurray and a professional swim coach.
Over the past 40 years, he has been involved in sport at all levels, participating at the provincial level, coaching at the national level and an administrator at three Olympics. He has a Bachelor of Physical Education and a Master of Human Kinetics (Biomechanics). Don is married to Kim and has two adult children, Sarah and Connor.
Jerry George
SPAR Representative, Ex-Officio
Jerry George is a Sport Consultant with the Government of Alberta working in the Ministry of Culture for the Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Branch. He provides support to the 2023 Host Society Board and staff as an ex-officio member of the Board. Jerry brings a vast experience in multisport Games having been part of Team Alberta Mission Staff for all Arctic Winter Games, Western Canada Summer Games and Canada Games since 2007. Jerry served as Chef or Assistant Chef de Mission for Team Alberta North at each Arctic Winter Games from 2008 – 2018.
Kendrick Cardinal
Council Liaison
Councillor Cardinal is originally from Big Point and lives in Fort Chipewyan where he serves as Ward 2 councillor for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo covering Fort Fitzgerald, Fort McKay and Fort Chipewyan.
Councillor Cardinal is also President of the Fort Chipewyan Métis Association. He has previously served two terms with the board, one as Vice President and one as a Director of the Board. During his term as President, Cardinal is committed to completing the Association’s credible assertion, through the Alberta Government’s Métis credible assertion process, to ensure the rights of the Fort Chipewyan Métis people are recognized and protected. He is also committed to completing the Association’s Elder care centre and cultural centre.
Councillor Cardinal believes in maintaining traditional Métis values, ceremonies and land-based ways of living.
Dennis Fraser
RMWB Representative
As Director of the Indigenous and Rural Relations (IRR) Department with the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Dennis Fraser brings with him a varied background in public Service. Having spent 28 years with the RCMP on a Provincial, National and International level, Dennis gained a deep understanding of the importance of developing and nurturing positive relationships to empower change. He was deployed for a year on a peacekeeping mission with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to Afghanistan. This deployment exposed Dennis to a much broader view of Reconciliation and collaboration. It is the goal of the IRR Department, under the leadership and guidance of Director, Dennis Fraser, to drive initiatives that lead to meaningful Indigenous engagement and support Reconciliation in the region.
Leigh Goldie
AWGIC, Alberta’s Public Representative, Ex-Officio
Leigh has been involved in sports all his life. He has played, coached, officiated and organized several sports from the local to the national level. Recently retired after a forty-year teaching career at Grande Prairie Regional College in the Physical Education, Athletics and Kinesiology department, he is still active in many sport organizations. He currently serves as President of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association as well as President of Volleyball Alberta. Leigh is also a Master Coach Developer with the National Coaching Certification Program multi-sport modules. He began his association with the Arctic Winter Games as a mission staff member for Northern Alberta in the 1988 Games in Fairbanks and in subsequent Games served as a volleyball coach and again as a mission staff member. For the 2010 Arctic Winter Games, he served on the Host Committee as co-director of the Care and Comfort committee. In addition to the Arctic Winter Games, he has been involved in various capacities with the Alberta Summer and Winter Games and the Canada Winter Games.
Meet the Staff
Nicole Clow
General Manager
Nicole Clow assumed the General Manager role in September 2021. She holds a Bachelor of Kinesiology from the University of Regina with a major in Recreation and Sport Administration and has been involved in the Saskatchewan Games program for the past seventeen years. Multi-sport Games are a passion of Clow’s. She’s previously served as the Games Manager for the 2020 Saskatchewan Summer Games - Lloydminster, 2018 Saskatchewan Winter Games - North Battleford and 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games – Estevan.
Christina Baker
Program Manager, Operations
Christina joined the Wood Buffalo 2023 Arctic Winter Games team in December 2021. Born and raised in Wood Buffalo, Christina holds a Physical Education degree from the University of Alberta and brings over 15 years of experience in the sport and recreation field.
Her first Games was as an athlete at the 2002 Alberta Winter Games. Since then, she has been involved with many sporting events including Zone Chef for 2018 Alberta Winter Games and was on the mission staff for two previous Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse 2012 and Greenland 2016.
Christina is very active in the community volunteering for various events and recreation programs, she also sits on the Board of Directors for the Wood Buffalo Animal Rescue Committee. In 2015, she and her husband took part in Charity Challenge Canada raising $10,000 for the Northern Lights Health Foundation and went to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Christina stays busy raising her two young children, working out and enjoying any outdoor activity from hiking, kayaking, camping, hunting and fishing.
Eden Boutilier
Senior Manager, Marketing, Communications and Culture
Eden’s journey with the Wood Buffalo Arctic Winter Games started in 2019 coordinating the bid announcement media conference within the region and has not looked back since. She joined the Host Society in spring 2020 and enjoys sharing her creativity with the team. Eden holds a Bachelor of Public Relations and brings 10 years of marketing, communications, special-events and community recreation experience to the Games team.
Since moving to Fort McMurray in 2013, Eden has been a staple in community events serving on close to a dozen operational event committees. She can often be found volunteering for or supporting local initiatives. From strategy to concept, she has a passion for creating memorable experiences every step of the way.
Eden’s motto is “everything is figure-out-able” and believes there is a solution to every problem. She believes in teamwork, inclusion and human advocacy being recognized with various friendship and leadership awards from an early age. As a former athlete with roots in basketball, soccer, rugby, cross-country, boxing and cheerleading, Games combine Eden’s passion for sport with her creative vision and written talents.
As former beauty-queen representing Canada internationally and background actress, Eden has personal passion for the arts, large scale events, production media and global cultural exchange. Now, on her free time Eden can be found working on her mental, physical and spiritual health. A big believer in the magic of energy, she is a skilled tarot card reader, energy healer and intuitive channeler.
Erica Malchuk
Program Manager, Special Events
Erica joined the Wood Buffalo 2023 Arctic Winter Games team in May 2022 as Program Manager of Special Events. Erica holds a Communications Degree and an Advanced Diploma in Advertising. She has nine years of experience in marketing, sponsorship, and account management with another seven years in event planning.
Erica has been actively planning events in Fort McMurray since 2016. These events have ranged from comedy shows to concerts and family events. She has also volunteered as a performer for several non for profits including Waypoints and Some Other Solutions and played rugby at both a provincial and national level.
Outside of work, she keeps busy with two young children and pursues her passion for public speaking and stand-up comedy.
