The Parks Foundation Calgary has begun the search for a new CEO, after long-time leader of the civic partner Sheila Taylor announced that she would be leaving at the end of the summer.
Taylor, who joined the foundation eight years ago during a period of financial turbulence, led Parks Foundation into a series of sustainable successes across the city and to the highest level of donations in the foundation’s history.
“I feel like it’s both the right time for me and for the foundation. I think that changes of leadership are healthy for an organization, and I’ve seen the Parks Foundation through a lot of change,” said Taylor.
“We tripled in size as an organization, changed our focus to one around equity and supporting communities in need, and have really seen it flourish. I’m tremendously proud of the work, but at the same time, I felt like the next chapter of the Parks Foundation was someone else’s to write, and for me personally, I’ve always been somebody who moved through their career and enjoyed a new challenge.”
Taylor, who previously chaired the Calgary Public Board of Education as an elected trustee and who ran as a Wildrose candidate in Calgary-West, said that her decision to leave Parks was not her deciding to run for office.
“I was a voice that became recognized, you could say, I heading off, actually, back to my roots in the energy sector. I’m taking over as Director of Government Affairs with Cenovus,” she said.
“I’m excited about that national scope at a great organization. So I’m looking forward to that change. But I will think of the Parks Foundation as my family. I’ll miss them and look back on these times really fondly.”
She said that there was a hope that the board would be able to find a new CEO by the end of the summer, but if not, there would be an interim CEO appointed.
“I’ve always loved working with elected people because they’re relationship people. I think that a really important job of any civic partner is having those relationships and focusing on them, and it’s about helping, but also about sometimes being helped. So, I do think that will be critical for anybody that steps into the role,” Taylor said.
She said the continued working relationship with the City of Calgary and serving community partners would continue to strengthen Calgary.
“We’re in our 40th year at the Parks Foundation, so that’s exciting. The city’s been a partner all along the way. We do more and more projects with the city every year, various kinds of partnerships, whereas, whether it’s funding or just working together, like some of the downtown projects,” Taylor said.
“So, there’ll be more of that in the future, but that city relationship is always going to be really essential.”
