Hans has been involved in the performing arts from a young age. He combines the love of academics with acting on stage or in front of the camera. He has recently launched a film production company and is wrapping up shooting the fourth short film. Longer films often rely on grants which  is the perspective Hans will bring to both the event and his moderation for this event. Visit his website: MPM: Accent Training.

When not acting, he is directing, teaching, and raising a young family in Vancouver… he also gets dragged into moderating by his father, Frank Potter, president of SAPAA.

Tyler recently completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Alberta, with a major in Marketing and a minor in Business Economics & Law. Professionally, he has worked as a personal insurance broker with BrokerLink for nearly four years while completing his degree.

Tyler will present findings from a student group from Ontario which conducted a market scan of potential grants for SAPAA and best practices, for example, using grant management software.

With a Bachelor of Science in Human Dimensions of Environmental Management, Carolina aims to explore environmental stewardship and develop its aspects surrounding community resiliency and collaboration through the sustainability and philanthropy fields at various scales.

Carolina is a Program Coordinator with Alberta Ecotrust Foundation which distributes more than $1 million in grants annually. Carolina will answer questions that often come up when drafting an application… such as what’re some easy-to-miss mistakes, what’s a great addition to your program, and how does the selection process work?

Allen Jacobson is a Professional Musician/ Educator/ Arts Consultant with 30+ years of performance, touring, recording, festival and events history in Canada, Europe and Asia.

Community development, engagement, liaison as well as board consulting and development. He is the Director of the Flying Canoe Volant Festival – one of western Canada’s largest winter events, and produces over 50 concerts per year as Cultural Manager of La Cite francophone.
Allen has written over 100 grant applications in his career.

Anne-Marie brings two different perspectives to the panel, as an academic researcher and as a volunteer pursuing social services grants. Before retiring pre-COVID, Anne-Marie was a Research Manager with the University of Alberta and the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute. To do this work, she has contributed to multiple research grants.

For the past year, she has put this knowledge to good use by soliciting grants for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Edmonton Central Council. This group provides critical social services in the city.

Holly is a Conservation Analyst at the Miistakis Institute and a Professional Biologist with the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists. Most recently, Holly has worked with the Citizen Science Alberta Community of Practice steering committee to design and launch the CitSci Alberta Hub—a collaborative space.

Holly has experience in all aspects of the grant management lifecycle from development to final reporting. She also sits on Alberta Ecotrust Foundation’s Environmental Executive Advisory Committee, which supports the foundation’s Environmental Impact Grant program.

Melisa is a Grants Associate at Edmonton Community Foundation. She joined ECF in 2023 to assist with the discretionary grant programs. Melisa holds a Master of Science in Environmental Studies focused on community-based agriculture. Before coming to ECF, she held various positions connected to growing vibrant and resilient food systems in Edmonton and across Alberta. Melisa is passionate about enabling change guided by community wisdom and local action and finds daily joy in spending time in Edmonton’s River Valley, working on her bird and plant identification skills, and gardening.