Alberta boards deserve a director who understands digital risk.
I'm Chris Gilbert, of Sherwood Park, Alberta. I'm seeking a board director or advisory seat with an Alberta nonprofit, charity, or faith-based organization — one where governance of technology, data, and communications is a real responsibility rather than an afterthought.
Four things I can be genuinely useful for.
Not a generalist seat-filler. These are the areas where I can ask the question nobody else in the room thinks to ask.
Digital and data risk oversight
Most boards cannot tell whether their website, donor data, and email are actually protected, or who holds the keys. I can read the evidence, ask for the right assurances, and translate technical exposure into plain risk language the whole board can vote on.
Communications and reputation
Twenty-eight years of building the public face of organizations — websites, brand, PR, campaigns. I can give oversight on how an organization presents itself, and on whether its messaging matches what it actually delivers.
Operating and financial literacy
I've run a service business end to end: quoting, delivery, invoicing, collections, finance, operations. I read a budget and a statement of operations as an operator, not as a spectator, and I know what an unrealistic plan looks like before it fails.
Nonprofit and faith-sector fluency
I've served nonprofits, charities, churches, and heritage organizations as a vendor for years, including free website builds through the Charter Charity Program. I understand how volunteer boards actually make decisions — and how much gets done by a very small number of tired people.
I have the calendar to serve properly, not just to attend.
- Time is genuinely available. I've moved into Halftime — a semi-retirement after running Growth Catalysts full time. I am financially independent and not looking for a board seat to find clients.
- Committee work, not just meetings. Governance, risk, technology, or communications committees. I would rather do the reading and the follow-up than sit quietly through a quarterly agenda.
- Prepared, in writing, in advance. Materials read before the meeting, questions submitted ahead where that helps the chair, and a clear record of what I committed to.
- Conflict of interest handled openly. I will not solicit or accept paid work from an organization whose board I sit on. If a technology decision touches my own field, I declare it and recuse.
- Alberta-based and present. Sherwood Park, serving the Edmonton metropolitan region and Alberta more broadly. In-person attendance is realistic for me.
Twenty-eight years of building the thing, then supporting it.
I've been building websites and supporting the people who run them since 1998 — twenty-eight years. Along the way: an Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design from Fanshawe College, an Honours Diploma in Sales and Marketing from Westervelt College, brand ambassador and merchandiser work representing Apple, Amazon, Google, HP, and Epson, and nearly a decade in telecom alongside the web work.
Today that work runs through Growth Catalysts, a one-person studio in Sherwood Park serving nonprofits, trades, faith communities, authors, and small businesses across Alberta.
Outside the studio I'm a former Rotarian, and my wife and I help run a food bank depot through Freedom Centre Church. I'm also a thirty-year childhood cancer survivor, which is a large part of why I'd rather spend this stage of my working life on organizations that exist to help people.
Where I'm candid: I have not yet sat as a director on a governing board. What I have is twenty-eight years of working alongside boards as a trusted vendor — watching how they decide, where they get poor information, and which risks they routinely under-weight.
I'm looking for my first seat, and I'd rather say that plainly than pad a biography. What I can promise a nominating committee is preparation, candour, and a director who reads the whole package.
Mission-sector organizations I've actually worked for.
Live work, not a portfolio of mock-ups. Each of these is a nonprofit, charity, heritage, or mission-driven client.
If your board is recruiting, let's have a conversation.
Happy to send a one-page biography, provide references, or meet with a nominating committee. No obligation, and no sales pitch — I'm not looking for clients.