Darren Brewer – City of Cranbrook
BIO: Darren Brewer, Ec.D, CEDP.BC. is the Economic Development Officer for the City of Cranbrook, where he leads the award-winning Choose Cranbrook economic development program. Since joining the City in 2019, he has worked to strengthen Cranbrook’s economic resilience through investment attraction, business retention and expansion, tourism development, industrial land planning, workforce initiatives, and regional collaboration. Darren serves as the Chair of the Economic Developers Professional Network (EDPN) Steering Committee and is a frequent speaker at provincial, national, and regional conference son economic development, investment attraction, regional collaboration, and community readiness.
STRATEGIC CONTRIBUTION: My strategic contribution is grounded in a unique combination of economic development expertise, municipal governance experience, and private-sector leadership. As a certified Economic Developer through both the EDAC and the BCEDA, I bring a strong understanding of governance, public administration, policy development stakeholder engagement, and municipal decision-making process.
Nicole Bruce – Venture Kamloops
BIO: I am an economic development executive, serial entrepreneur and program leader with more than nine years of direct economic development experience and 15 years of prior private-sector experience in entrepreneurship, commercial banking and corporate growth.
For the past nine years, I have served as Economic Development Manager with Venture Kamloops and in the most recent two years, I have also regularly assumed the role of Acting Executive Director. This has provided the opportunity to contribute to organizational strategy and operational decision-making, working directly with the Board of Directors, and helping guide priorities, partnerships, financial management and organizational risk.
My role has given me experience in launching and managing economic development programs to support business acceleration, investment attraction, entrepreneurship, workforce development and innovation. I have experience securing funding, managing budgets, establishing performance measures and leading complex initiatives involving government, industry, educational institutions, Indigenous partners and community organizations.
Before joining Venture Kamloops, I founded, grew and sold three small businesses, worked in small and medium sized enterprise business banker with RBC, and served as a regional acquisition manager for a national healthcare company. These experiences provide practical insight into business financing, growth, acquisitions and entrepreneurship.
I hold an MBA, a Bachelor of Commerce and the University of Waterloo Economic Development Certificate. I have completed all educational requirements for the Ec.D. designation, with only the qualifying examination remaining.
STRATEGIC CONTRIBUTION: I would bring a combination of executive leadership, practical economic development expertise, formal governance experience and strategic execution to EDAC’s 2026–2028 Strategic Plan.
I have contributed to the development of two Venture Kamloops strategic plans and am actively involved in translating organizational priorities into programs, partnerships, budgets, performance measures and measurable outcomes. Through my work as Economic Development Manager and Acting Executive Director, I collaborate directly with the Board of Directors and regularly assess strategic, financial, operational and reputational risks. My governance experience includes service on the Kamloops Food Policy Council Board of Directors and several committees, including the Community Futures Thompson Country Loan Committee and City of Kamloops neighborhood planning committees. I understand fiduciary responsibility, confidentiality, ethical decision-making, conflict-of-interest requirements and the distinction between governance and operations.
As a Board member, I would bring sound judgment, financial literacy, constructive challenge, consensus-building skills and a disciplined focus on implementation, accountability and long-term member value.
Francesco Calazzo – Southeast Regional Services Commission – Economic Development
BIO: Francesco Calazzo is General Manager of Economic Development at the Southeast Regional Service Commission, where he leads a multidisciplinary regional economic development portfolio serving more than 236,000 residents across 12 municipalities and one rural district. He oversees investment attraction, entrepreneurship, workforce development, immigration, business intelligence, strategic planning, and regional partnerships while managing a multi-million-dollar budget and reporting to a governing Board.
With more than 25 years of executive leadership experience across Europe and North America, Francesco has built a career advancing policy innovation, institutional development, and cross-border collaboration. Since working for the Southeast Regional Service Commission, he has led transformative initiatives including the development of Vision 2035, a regional foresight strategy, and helped position Southeast New Brunswick as an internationally recognized leader in place-based economic development through partnerships with the OECD and the successful bid to host the 2026 EDAC National Conference.
Fluent in English, French, and Italian, Francesco brings extensive experience in governance, stakeholder engagement, and strategic leadership, with a proven ability to align governments, industry, and communities around long-term economic growth and resilience. He is passionate about strengthening the economic development profession through collaboration, innovation, and the exchange of ideas across jurisdictions.
STRATEGIC CONTRIBUTION: I would bring more than 25 years of executive leadership experience spanning economic development, public policy, governance, and international collaboration across Europe and North America.
My experience includes leading organizational transformation following regional amalgamation, overseeing complex multi-stakeholder initiatives, managing significant public resources, and reporting to a governing Board. I have extensive experience building partnerships across municipal, provincial, federal, academic, private sector, and international organizations, including the OECD.
Professionally, I offer expertise in place-based economic development, regional competitiveness, investment attraction, workforce development, strategic planning, and evidence-informed decision making. I have also led multidisciplinary teams through periods of organizational growth and change, while mentoring emerging professionals and fostering collaborative, high-performing cultures.
As an EDAC Director, I would bring a strategic, collaborative, and outcomes-focused approach to governance. I believe in building consensus, asking thoughtful questions, and helping organizations translate ambitious ideas into practical, measurable results. I would be committed to supporting EDAC’s Strategic Plan while helping the Association continue to evolve as Canada’s leading organization for economic development professionals.
Brittany Isfeld – Town of Stonewall
BIO: Brittany Isfeld is an economic and tourism development professional with approximately 15 years of experience working with municipalities, businesses, community organizations, tourism partners, and regional stakeholders in Manitoba.
Her career has focused on turning community priorities into practical, achievable initiatives that strengthen local economies and improve quality of life. Her experience includes business development and retention, tourism development, investment attraction, downtown revitalization, grant development, community engagement, destination marketing, event development, and municipal strategic planning.
Throughout her career, Brittany has developed and implemented projects ranging from business incentive programs and tourism initiatives to accessibility improvements, community events, downtown enhancements, and programs designed to encourage local investment. In her current municipal role, she helped develop and launch the Community Revitalization Incentive Support Program (CRISP), which received the 2026 EDAM Project of the Year Award in its category.
Brittany is also actively involved in regional and professional networks and brings the perspective of someone who understands both the opportunities and challenges facing smaller municipalities and rural communities. She is passionate about collaboration, sharing best practices, and strengthening the economic development profession across Canada.
STRATEGIC CONTRIBUTION: I would bring a combination of municipal experience, economic and tourism development expertise, communications skills, community engagement experience, and practical program development to EDAC’s 2026 2028 Strategic Plan.
Having spent approximately 15 years working in economic and tourism development, I understand that strategies are only valuable when they can be translated into action. I have experience taking projects from concept through research, stakeholder engagement, funding, implementation, promotion, and evaluation. I also understand the realities economic developers face when working within municipal governance structures, including budgets, council priorities, public expectations, partnerships, and limited staff capacity.
I would bring particular strengths in rural and small-community economic development, tourism and destination development, business support programming, community revitalization, marketing and communications, stakeholder engagement, grant development, and innovative program design.
I also bring governance and committee experience through my involvement with regional and professional organizations. I am comfortable working collaboratively, asking questions, considering different perspectives, and focusing discussions on achievable outcomes.
For EDAC’s next Strategic Plan, I would be particularly interested in strengthening member engagement, expanding practical professional-development opportunities, improving the sharing of successful programs and best practices between communities, supporting the next generation of economic developers, and ensuring EDAC continues to represent the diverse realities of economic development across Canada. Most importantly, I would bring the perspective of a practitioner who is actively doing this work at the municipal level and understands both its challenges and its potential.
Schaun Goodeve – Goodeve & Associates
BIO: Schaun Goodeve is a senior economic development and planning professional with more than 25 years of experience working with municipalities, Indigenous communities, businesses, regional organizations and other public and private-sector partners across Canada and internationally. His career has spanned senior municipal leadership in 3 communities in BC and AB, private consulting and national professional services, including serving as Manager, Economic and Policy Advisory with Deloitte Canada. He is currently Principal of Goodeve & Associates, providing economic development, investment attraction, strategic planning, tourism and land economics advisory services to communities across Canada.
Schaun is a Registered Professional Planner (RPP), Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP), and was recognized as Economic Developers Alberta’s 2017 Economic Developer of the Year. Over his career, he has supported more than $1 billion in investment attraction across industrial, commercial, retail, agricultural and tourism sectors.
His governance experience spans more than two decades and includes previous service on the EDAC Board of Directors, the Economic Developers of Alberta Board, Tourism Kimberley, regional economic development organizations and the President of Kimberley & District Chamber of Commerce and Chair Downtown Business Association.
STRATEGIC CONTRIBUTION: I would bring to EDAC a combination of strategic leadership, governance experience and practical economic development expertise gained through more than 20 years working across the public, private and non-profit sectors. My experience includes municipal economic development and planning leadership, national consulting, investment attraction, business retention and expansion, tourism development, land development and organizational change.
I also bring significant governance experience, including previous service on the EDAC Board of Directors, the Economic Developers of Alberta Board, regional economic development and tourism organizations, and as President of the Kimberley & District Chamber of Commerce.
Specific areas where I believe I can contribute to EDAC’s strategic priorities include membership growth and engagement, professional development, organizational sustainability, partnerships and sponsorships, and strengthening EDAC’s national profile and value proposition. I also bring an entrepreneurial perspective from building and operating consulting businesses, combined with an understanding of the realities facing economic development practitioners working within municipalities and smaller communities.
Above all, I would bring a practical, collaborative and results-oriented approach to the Board and support to staff, with a focus on turning strategic priorities into initiatives that provide tangible value to EDAC members.
Bruce Livingstone – City of Abbotsford
BIO: I have been working in the economic development field for the past 15 years, first at the City of Maple Ridge and more recently as the Senior Manager, Economic Development for the City of Abbotsford. I completed the Economic Development Certification Program at the University of Waterloo in 2017 and received my Ec.D accreditation in 2021.
My current portfolio at the City of Abbotsford includes business attraction, business retention and expansion, film, and corporate partnerships. Abbotsford has a population of approximately 175,000 and is the fifth largest city in BC. The city boasts a diversified local economy with pronounced strengths in agriculture, aerospace, manufacturing, construction, and transportation. Abbotsford is home to an international airport, the main campus of the University of the Fraser Valley and provides regional services for the Fraser Valley including the Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, a provincial courthouse, and major entertainment venues including Rogers Forum and TradeX.
I’m a strong proponent of business retention and expansion, with a focus on helping existing businesses to grow and thrive. Our department arranges and conducts annual surveys of the business community, business walks, and monthly Business Spotlight tours for mayor and Council to selected businesses in the community. I’ve also worked on a number of regional partnership initiatives including the Fraser Valley Alliance, Invest North Fraser, the Abbotsford Economic Development Table, and the Indigenous Business Working Group. Two recent examples include developing a strong working partnership with the Abbotsford Chamber to co host our annual Manufacturing Tour and agricultural tour and working with Community Futures South Fraser to develop AbbyFresh, an agri-tourism initiative that supports farm gate sales.
STRATEGIC CONTRIBUTION: I have specific experience in the following areas:
- Developed and implemented Business Retention and Expansion strategies in two communities
- Community and Business Engagement strategies including sectoral tours, business surveys, sectoral roundtables, Maor and Council business visitation programs, and business-centric events
- Developing and implementing marketing and communication strategies
- First Nations relationships (Indigenous Business Working Group)
- Film Industry: attraction, impact management, community relations
- Developing and managing a Corporate Partnerships program for sponsorship of City programs.
- Regional Partnerships that have included Fraser Valley Alliance (with Chilliwack, Maple Ridge, Mission and Langley Township), Invest North Fraser (Maple Ridge, Mission and Pitt Meadows), Abbotsford Economic Development Table (Chamber, local First Nations, Sto:lo Community Futures, Downtown Business Association, Community Futures South Fraser, BDC, Tourism and others)
- Helped draft Municipal policies, program and bylaws
Brenda Otto (Incumbant) – Town of Stony Plain
BIO: Brenda Otto is the General Manager of Strategic Services and member of the Senior Leadership Team with the Town of Stony Plain in Alberta, where she drives strategic initiatives aimed at fostering economic growth and community vibrancy. With over 20 years of experience in economic development, tourism and public policy, Brenda has a distinguished record of strategic planning and strengthening business development services and community placemaking, including receiving the EDAC Award in 2018 for the Stony Plain E-Newsletter. Prior to serving Stony Plain for the past 15 years, she was the Community Development Officer in the Eastern Ontario municipality of Trent Hills in Campbellford. In addition to her role in municipal government, Brenda is committed to supporting organizations that elevate public service. For the past two years Brenda has served as a Director at Large on the EDAC Board, providing leadership and guidance for the economic development profession. She also served for 4 years on the Safe and Healthy Communities Committee with Alberta Municipalities, the association that represent and advocates for over 300 urban municipalities, and for 4 years as Director of Volunteer Recognition for the Project Management Institute Chapter for Northern Alberta. Brenda holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Calgary. She has also earned Certified Economic Developer from the Economic Development Association of Canada in 2009 and Project Management Professional from the Project Management Institute in 2018. In 2025, Brenda completed the National Advanced Certificate in Local Authority Administration from the University of Alberta. Brenda is passionate about the opportunity to continue to advance the economic development profession in serving EDAC colleagues on the Board.
Strategic Contribution:
- Certified Economic Development professional since 2009.
- Governance leadership and support as a Director at Large on the EDAC Board 2024 – to date.
- Bylaw and policy development in municipal government and as a volunteer, at the local, regional, provincial and
- national scale.
- Committee participation and contribution to EDAC – conference and award committee 2025 and 2026.
- Established economic development relationships across the country.
- Strategic planning training and professional experience.
- Government relations training and professional experience.
