Hope Walls is one of the co-founders and current President of Rare Earth Outreach's Board of Directors. She has been a professional photographer and educator for over two decades and is also the co-creator of Rare Earth's The Shooting Range: A Photography Challenge event. She worked in the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors before accepting a position with a large research group at the University of Alberta. Since joining in 2006, she has expanded her role from Office Support Staff to Administration, Safety, and EDI Coordinator.

Ms. Walls has extensive experience with the development and delivery of educational and outreach programming. In addition to teaching photography and photography-related business courses from 2007 - 2016, she has been an invited presenter at events hosted by the University of Alberta and the United Nations Association of Canada, developed a photography and blogging program for an organisation providing counselling and residential services to youth at risk, presented at remote (rural and First Nations) schools across Alberta for career days, and has organised countless workshops, retreats, and gatherings for photographers. Most recently, Ms. Walls has played an instrumental part in implementing EDI strategies within her research group at the University of Alberta. Inspired by this (and having to decide what to do with her degree) Ms. Walls is in the process of establishing a consulting company called imagine EDI and pursuing her designation as a Certified Canadian Inclusion Professional™ from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion.

Ms. Walls has extensive volunteer experience, beginning with being a theatre dork and outdoor education camp counsellor in her teens and extending to over three decades of being an active participant and coordinator at various theatre, music, and visual arts festivals throughout Central and Northern Alberta.

Despite conflicted views of meritocratic value systems, Ms. Walls is addicted to being a student. By Spring of 2023 she will add BA (Sociology) to her designation as an Arts Administration Professional (Grant MacEwan, 1996; now Arts and Cultural Management Major). She embraces the prospect of failure as motivation for always learning, and is therefore perhaps foolishly contemplating a Masters during which she would develop a statistical measurement tool for social sciences, but has promised herself and her family she will only do so after after taking a couple of years off to camp, kayak, ride her bike, complete renovations on her converted prison bus, catch up on some creative writing and photography projects, and walk 1000 kms across Spain.

In addition to being one of the co-creators and the Host of Rare Earth Outreach’s flagship event The Shooting Range: A Photography Challenge, Ms. Lang is currently lending her expertise to the Board as the Nominee Director. Ms. Lang's early career saw her spend over a decade working in retail management with multi-million dollar corporations where she gained skills and experience with purchasing, pricing, stock control and logistics, budget management, analysis and reporting, human resources scheduling and management, marketing, merchandising, and sales planning, and (of course!) customer service. 

These business management skills were invaluable when, in 2009, Ms. Lang made a decision to shift careers and establish a professional photography company (Billie Lang Photography) in order to accommodate the growing demands of her young family. She re-entered the workforce in 2016, accepting a part-time position with an accounting firm where she has been able to put her skills and experience to use as an Office Administrator, while continuing to grow her photography business.

A skilled communicator, Ms. Lang possesses a limitless capacity for active listening, problem-solving, encouragement, and team-building. She is focussed, detail-oriented, and committed to connecting with people and building strong interpersonal relationships, which often happens on one of her many spontaneous road trips wherein she asks, "Who's free today?" and heads off to explore the world with her camera and a colleague or friend. 

Ms. Lang brings her creativity, marketing know-how, and financial expertise to the Board, and continues enriching her skills by participating in local, national, and international professional development courses, conferences, and workshops. When she's not focussed on her family, friends, and career, you will find Ms. Lang accumulating trivia knowledge or re-watching every episode of Star Trek ever.

A creative professional already sporting the titles "singer, songwriter, and actor," Ms. Oosterveld added "photographer" to her resume when she organically established her photography company, Right as Rayne, after competing on Season One of The Shooting Range: A Photography Challenge. Ms. Oosterveld served as a volunteer for The Shooting Range on Season Two and has been a part of the vision for building Rare Earth Outreach since before its incorporation.

Ms. Oosterveld is an established member of the arts community as a freelance visual and performance artist. A natural educator and mentor, Ms. Oosterveld is a music teacher and vocal coach who also home- and world-schools her and her husband's four children. Previous experience includes serving as a Board Member of a drama club (2011-2016), participating on her community garden planning committee, and being a performer, children's programming planner, and worship leader for the various churches she has been involved with. Additionally, her personal experiences have led her to become an advocate for open, respectful, safe discussion of everything from politics and patriarchy to the normalisation of death and grief.

Diverse life experience, interests, and passions lead to diverse skills, permitting Ms. Oosterveld to put to good use her competencies with organisation, time management, communication, and research. She is even-tempered and non-judgmental, allowing her the ability to approach every challenge with curiosity, diligence, patience, and sincerity. Her dogged dedication to and knowledge of how to partner with and "support local" for everything from the customised day-timers she uses to the clothing stores and bakeries she frequents makes her an asset to Rare Earth Outreach's commitment to supporting Canadian vendors.

While she has a BFA (Theatre) from University of Lethbridge and studied Public Relations through Grant MacEwan, Ms. Oosterveld ultimately remains a perpetual seeker of new life experiences for herself and her family. Whenever time and weather permit, you are as likely to find Ms. Oosterveld (safely!) chasing storms with her camera and her family in tow, sharing the historical and scientific wonders of new places to visit, or tending to her axolotls and petting neighbourhood cats and dogs while lamenting the fact llamas and emu are not legal backyard pets within the corporate limits of most cities and towns.

Jody Cloutier is a Bois-Brûlé Metis, and is passionate about justice according to Natural Law. Before, during, and after earning a BA in Political Science from the University of Alberta, Jody has spent almost 2 decades travelling abroad; teaching, learning, and working as a freelance journalist. In addition to working with Indigenous youth since the 1980s, Jody sits on a review board addressing Indigneous overrepresentation within the legal system. During the Pandemic, he became an LLM Candidate at University of Western Ontario Law. Jody’s program is Transformative Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction, merging both his academic knowledge and personal experience of systemic discrimination. Jody traces Colonial Settler sentiment embedded in the Canadian Constitution to its roots in order to expose and challenge inherent problems with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and the myth of the Crown’s legitimate authority in Canada.

Jody’s extensive travels have introduced him to many different cultures, peoples,  and forms of government, giving him a synchronized understanding of similar issues around the world. He has seen how the same or similar policies and laws historically used to oppress Indigenous peoples in Canada continue to affect other minorities and marginalised communities everywhere, fueling his desire to advocate for and empower people to exercise self-agency and become their own heroes. 

His teaching approach is to break down complex issues into bite-sized pieces to ensure everyone walks away with shared understanding. He is a seasoned facilitator of change and crisis management, a strong advocate for graphic novels being included as textbooks, and believes that the most equity-based means of connecting is through laughter and play, which is evident in the way he peppers the sometimes heavy information he is sharing with puns, dark and self-effacing humour, and a relentless stream of Dad jokes.

When he’s not busy with his three children, or doing research, or painting, Jody is observing and listening. He is excited to see Rare Earth Outreach grow across Canada and become a resource for peoples whose voices are not being heard.

The Treasurer is a Class A (voting) Member of Rare Earth Photographic Arts Outreach Foundation. The individual in this position is trustworthy, values transparency, holds themselves to a high level of personal and professional integrity, and is passionate about Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity. 

The Treasurer holds or is in the process of obtaining a degree or certificate in a related field and/or has two to five years of practical experience. Individuals who do not hold a degree or certificate will be considered provided they can demonstrate experience with bookkeeping and financial administration. 

Previous experience in the Photographic Arts Community and as a volunteer and/or member of a not-for-profit board is preferred but not mandatory. The Treasurer may request and/or be offered opportunities to expand their knowledge of and experience with other Board positions.

Duties include inputting and maintaining entries in accounting software, processing expense claims, pulling interim reports and presenting budget analyses as required, preparing year end financial statements for AGM, making recommendations for auditing purposes, and coordination and filing of annual tax returns.

The time commitment is estimated at 8 hours per month with additional time required during campaigns and events, at the time of the Foundation's AGM, and during year-end reporting.  

If you are interested in applying or nominating someone for this position, please submit a CV and letter of interest through this portal.