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Meet your Alumni Council Members
Lauren Steeves (she/her)
COUNCIL MEMBER
A strong advocate and proud alumna of Mount Royal University (MRU), Lauren is a Senior Marketing and Communications Strategist at the Haskayne School of Business. Previous to her role at the University of Calgary, Lauren was an account manager for North Strategic, one of Canada’s leading public relations and digital marketing agencies. In her role, she developed tailored national and regional communication programs for some of Canada’s most notable consumer and retail brands including Cadillac Fairview, Sobeys Inc., Sleep Country Canada, Air New Zealand, Air Transat, and Auxly Cannabis Group. She has previously worked at Press + Post, The Ace Class and the Alberta Energy Regulator.
In 2019 Lauren received a silver Canadian Marketing Association Award in the Cannabis Marketing Award category for outstanding media relations., and as a student was the recipient of several awards and scholarships including the BP Canada Communications Award, the CPRS Calgary Legacy Scholarship and the MRU Public Relations Alumni Scholarship.
Since graduating in 2017, Lauren remains actively involved with MRU, serving as a regular guest lecturer and providing strategic counsel and event management support to MRU’s Public Relations 50th Anniversary.
Lauren has also served as a judge at the Enactus Canada Regional Exposition in Western Canada, and as a communications consultant for the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management’s The Judy Project — a leading executive forum uniquely designed to support women ascending into executive leadership and C-suite positions.
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Tia Hagen
PRESIDENT, MRUAA
CHAIR, ALUMNI COUNCIL
Tia (she/her) is the Director of Brand Communications at ATB Financial, leading the external communications team and the communications surrounding ATB's ESG work.
Mercedes Brown
VICE PRESIDENT, MRUAA
VICE-CHAIR, ALUMNI COUNCIL
Mercedes (she/her) is a practicing nurse clinician, a mentor in the Harry G Schaefer Mentorship program and is the 2014 recipient of an Outstanding Alumni Award.
Bunmi Afolabi
Chair, Nominating & Appointments Committee
An experienced leader and inquisitive learner, Bunmi (she/her) is currently an HR Manager at GoodMorning.com.
Eric Bennett
COUNCIL MEMBER
Eric (he/him) is an experienced financial services professional and Senior Wealth Advisor with ScotiaMcLeod/Scotia Wealth Management.
DAWN BURKE
COUNCIL MEMBER
Dawn (she/her) is a Business and Policy Planner for Parks and Open Spaces at the City of Calgary. She has had a varied career spanning industries and loves giving back to the community.
JOSHUA DAHM
COUNCIL MEMBER
Joshua (he/him) is an HR Advisor at Elk Valley Resources and is a dedicated MRU alum, mentor and advocate for student success.
Bronson Ha
COUNCIL MEMBER
Bronson is experienced in consulting in Canada and overseas and currently works as a project management analyst and public relations consultant.
Arielle Land
COUNCIL MEMBER
Arielle (she/her) is a professional with a background in strategic marketing and a track record in B2B tech, SaaS, and B2C environments.
ALEXANDRA SWISTON
COUNCIL MEMBER
Alexandra (she/her) works as an Account Manager with TEKsystems — one of the largest global IT staffing and services organizations responsible for accelerating business transformation.
MIRELA TOPCHIEVA
COUNCIL MEMBER
Mirela (she/her) is a government relations and advocacy coordinator for Cerebral Palsy Alberta. She engages stakeholders from academia, government, non-profit and the private sector.