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Meet your Alumni Council Members
Mercedes Brown (she/her)
VICE PRESIDENT, MRUAA | VICE-CHAIR, ALUMNI COUNCIL
Mercedes Brown was born in Mandeville, Manchester and grew up in the small district of Harmons in Jamaica before attending Mount Royal as an international student.
Mercedes received a General Studies Arts & Sciences Diploma from Mount Royal in 1993, a Bachelor of Nursing in 1999 and a Masters in Nursing in 2011 from the University of Calgary. She has held roles as a clinical nurse educator, an enterostomal therapy nurse, a unit and site manager and is currently a practicing nurse clinician focusing on the health care of seniors.
Mercedes has been a long-time volunteer mentor with MRU’s Harry G Schaefer Mentorship program. She also coaches her daughter’s soccer team and in 2017, after fundraising for six years, spearheaded the campaign to have a playground built at the Saddleridge School.
Mercedes is the recipient of MRU’s 2014 Outstanding Alumni Award.
Back to Alumni Association
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.
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.
Lauren Steeves
COUNCIL MEMBER
Lauren (she/her) is an experienced communications professional and is currently a Senior Marketing and Communications Strategist at the Haskayne School of Business.
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.