Advisory Council

Lauren Bell

Lauren Bell has both witnessed and upheld the value of mentorship, education, philanthropy, and volunteerism. These are the bolsters that she leans on and wilfully extends with open arms, particularly in the case of University of Calgary and the Institute for the Humanities. A graduate of the University of Manitoba, Bell had an active Interior Design practice in residential and commercial design.   Passionate about the arts, healthcare, advocacy, education, women and children, Lauren has held Board positions at Canadian Hadassah-WIZO, the AHS Healthy Communities Development Council, March of the Living, Hospice Calgary, and the Calgary Reference panel for the Arts before joining the University of Calgary Senate and the Calgary Cancer Centre Campaign Cabinet. Seeing the impact education and community wide engagement has on the value of a society, her ambition is to share the inspiring work and research that happens at the University of Calgary with the citizens of our fair city. Building deeper connections by exposing the pursuit of knowledge, innovation and their inspiring impact with a wider community drives Lauren’s interest in the Calgary Institute of the Humanities.

Ronald B. Bond

Ronald B. Bond is a professor emeritus of English and has served in many roles at the University of Calgary, including Provost and Vice-President (Academic). He was also a fellow at the CIH in 1983-84. After retiring in 2006, he served for two terms as Chair of the Campus Alberta Quality Council, an 11-person expert panel responsible for advising the Minister of Advanced Education in Alberta on the academic acceptability of proposals for degrees from colleges, technical institutes and universities. He has also served on the Calgary-based Board of Directors of the Honens International Piano Competition, widely acknowledged to be one of the world’s finest musical competitions and festivals. He is principal of Ronald B. Bond Consulting, which specializes in the post-secondary educational environment. Clients include governments, technical institutes, colleges and universities, both in Alberta and in other jurisdictions. Recent clients include Yukon College, the Alberta College of Art and Design, and Dalhousie University-University of King’s College.

Heather A. Bourne

Heather A. Bourne was born in Nova Scotia and attended Mount Allison University graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1969. Her early career was in HR with a major bank. The family moved multiple times in the eighties and nineties both within Canada and in Europe. Early on Heather discovered the way to settle most quickly was to get involved in the community. For the past 17 years Honens has been her primary focus. Prior to her retirement in 2017 she had been a Director, Chairman of the Board and Interim President. In 2012 Heather received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work with Honens.

Chris Dovey

Chris Dovey has over 30 years experience in luxury men's clothing. He is also board chair and actor with Stage Left, a company devoted to socially conscious theatre. An amateur artist, Chris recently completed a mural project for the Calgary Horticultural Society. Chris has a passionate interest in furthering the goals of the public art initiative of the City of Calgary.

David M. Holub

David M. Holub, B.Sc., J.D., LL.M. is a lawyer, mediator and conflict resolution trainer who received his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Calgary. David obtained his legal education from Osgoode Hall Law School and his Masters Degree from the London School of Economics where he specialized in mediation.Since his call to the Alberta bar in 1989 with the law firm of Code Hunter, David’s practice has focused on providing legal advice to energy companies. A volunteer with the Calgary Stampede for over 28 years, David has assisted the Western Showcase Art Auction, Blacksmith and Downtown Attractions committees. He has also worked with the Leighton Foundation, Better Business Bureau Dispute Settlement Centre, Community Mediation Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, Calgary Food Bank, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, Calgary Regional Arts Foundation, and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

Amanda Koyama

Amanda Koyama has spent the majority of her professional career in the non-profit sector, with a focus on access and engagement.  Amanda and has a strong record in balancing stakeholder expectations, mobilizing resources and building effective teams. As an accomplished communicator, strategic thinker, and collaborative decision maker, Amanda is often solicited to provide Board and Committee leadership in varying community networks. Some of her engagements include: The Calgary Foundation, Calgary 2012, and Slow Food Calgary.  Amanda has worked with Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) in a number of different roles since 2004. Committed to enhancing cultural responsiveness in service delivery to newcomers, Amanda currently serves as the Manager of the Family and Children Services division of CCIS.

Naomi Potter

Naomi Potter is the Director/Curator of Esker Foundation in Calgary. Over the last sixteen years she developed numerous curatorial, artist, and residency projects in Canada and Central and Eastern Europe. From 2009-2011, she was curator of Walter Phillips Gallery at In 2003, Potter was awarded a year-long Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst (DAAD) artist residency in Istanbul, and from 2003 to 2007 was co-director of the international artist residency program at CESTA in the Czech Republic. In 2015 she was a guest of both the Australian Arts Council and British Council International Curatorial Visit programs. Potter holds a BFA from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and an MFA in sculpture from Concordia University, Montreal.

Nancy Tousley

Nancy Tousley is a senior art critic, arts journalist and independent curator, who received the Governor General’s Award for Media and Visual Arts for outstanding contribution in 2011. As art critic of the Calgary Herald, she was a fulltime journalist for more than 30 years. As a freelance, she has written reviews, interviews and feature articles that have appeared in magazines such as Artscanada, Vanguard, Parachute, Border Crossings, and Canadian Art since the mid 1970s, in print and more recently online. Her essays on artists have appeared in more than 30 public art gallery and museum catalogues and books. She has been a contributing editor to Canadian Art magazine since 1986.