Grande Peace Niso Regional Advisory Council

Donna Buchinski was born and raised in northern Alberta. She has been the mayor of the Town of Falher for 11 years and served on the town council since 1997. Donna brings a diverse range of knowledge from her experiences on various boards and committees, including senior and family affordable housing, physician recruitment and retention, ambulance service and family community and social services. 

Donna was also appointed to the first Peace Health Advisory Council that the province established in 2009 and served for six years. Since retiring, she has focused on giving back to her community and region. 

Jackie Clayton has been a Grande Prairie resident since 1999. She was first elected to city council in 2013 and then elected as mayor in October 2021. Jackie is an engaged community volunteer, a past-president of the Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce and has been a proud Rotarian since 2001. 

Jackie is an entrepreneur whose professional career has included many roles in marketing and public relations. She is business-minded and future-focused, believing you can only expect a community to give you as much as you are willing to give it.

Born and raised in Grande Prairie, Cody Beairsto has been a professional engineer for the past 15 years. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a bachelor of science in civil engineering in 2005. Cody is part owner of an engineering and survey company that serves clients and employs people across Alberta. 

He has been very active in his community, region and the province through various volunteer and appointed board positions. Cody enjoys any opportunity to increase the quality of life for friends, family, colleagues and residents of Alberta.

Hugo has practised general internal medicine in Grande Prairie for 25 years. He has served in medical leadership and advised on medical matters at various levels, including at the teaching clinic of the new medical school. 

He also collaborates with colleagues at the University of Alberta, where he is clinical associate professor. Both he and his wife Arlene continue to be active in the community where they have raised their family.

Marc Boychuk is passionate about ending homelessness and identifying programs to accomplish this. He has first-hand knowledge of what is most needed in his community for the housed and unsheltered. Marc is continually learning about the issues vulnerable populations face and adapting to new solutions. 

In 2021, Marc became a town councillor and recognized early interventions will help address the root causes that overlap between those experiencing homelessness and rural crime. Marc sits on the Alberta health, Aboriginal interagency, restorative justice, poverty reduction and RCMP advisory committees. He is also a patient advisor and advocate for those struggling with mental health without supports. 

Stan Burkholder has been a lifelong resident, past reeve and councillor of the Municipal District of Fairview. He is the current chair of the Fairview Health Complex Foundation and has served on the board for the last 25 years. 

As a community and regional supporter, Stan enjoys sitting on local, provincial and national boards to provide support, advice and governance from his years as a businessman in Fairview and industry trainer across Canada. He believes a healthy board can be an effective part of the work of being a healthier village.

Kirsten Clark is an experienced educator with over a decade in the field. A graduate of the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia, Kirsten has taught at the kindergarten to Grade 12 and post-secondary levels. Kirsten was born and raised in Beaverlodge and is now raising her own children there. 

She is passionate about rural access to quality education and health care and is active in her community volunteering on several boards. Kirsten enjoys connecting with people through the power of story and stresses the importance of finding thoughtful solutions that tackle the root of the problem at hand.

Jeff Johnston serves as the chief administrative officer for the Town of Beaverlodge. As chief administrative officer and director for the Mountview Health Limited Partnership, Jeff has been integral in replacing the Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital through an innovative, collaborative public-private partnership delivery model. 

Jeff’s passion for rural health care has allowed him to be an advocate for his community and region through project, administrative and board experience. Born in Calgary, he has called the Grande Prairie region home for the past 23 years. Outside his professional roles, Jeff is a dedicated family man who enjoys life in the Peace Country with his wife and their four children.

Clayton McOuat was born in High Level and grew up learning traditional Métis skills like trapping, fishing and hunting. After graduating high school, he moved to the Grande Prairie region, where he has lived since. Clayton has worked in the retail, agriculture, and oil and gas sectors. 

He and his wife live on an acreage near Wembley and are expecting their first child. His personal experiences navigating the health care system without a regular family doctor, along with strong family ties to Alberta Health Services, provide him with a practical, community-based perspective.

Daine Montgomery has been a realtor since 2005. He started his career in Grande Prairie then worked in Calgary for five years before returning home to settle in Grande Prairie in 2011. Daine is one of the few realtors born and raised in the city and knows the area well. 

He has also been involved with Building Blocks Day Care and the local Business Networking and Innovation meetings as a vice-president.

Dr. Felix Odaibo is a pediatrician and neonatologist in Grande Prairie. He was appointed northern zonal clinical director of child health and has served as director of the neonatal intensive care unit and head of pediatrics. 

Felix has also been involved with medical students, family medicine and the pediatric residency training program. He was elected a councillor of the College of Physicians in both Manitoba and Alberta. Felix is passionate about pediatric care and has participated in medical missions to Mexico, Kenya and Nigeria.

Vanessa Sheane is a lifelong resident of northwest Alberta. Vanessa is the current president and chief executive officer at Northwestern Polytechnic, where she has also worked as vice-president academic, dean, nursing instructor and registered nurse. She is a proud Rotarian and volunteer with the Sunrise Rotary Club of Grande Prairie. 

Vanessa graduated from the University of Alberta’s faculty of nursing and holds a PhD in nursing from the University of Victoria. She enjoys finding solutions from a system-level perspective for the betterment of the community.