About Us

Ingrid is a dynamic educator with over 25 years’ experience in the Edmonton Public School system, with 15 years in high-profile leadership roles including principal of the largest performing arts school in Western Canada. Ingrid holds a Masters of Education degree from the University of Alberta and is committed to her own lifetime learning.

A proud member of the Rotary Club of Edmonton West since 2006, Ingrid was honored to serve her District as Governor in 2018-2019. During her Governor year, several new clubs were chartered, the Yukon territory was transitioned into D5370 and Ingrid’s peace initiative to reach Global Peacebuilder status was realized.  As Chair of the District Peacebuilder Committee, a Peace video was produced to launch a new Positive Peace Club initiative using a peacebuilder lens.  Ingrid is passionate about promoting peace education and peace poles in local communities. She is currently serving as Director on a number of Boards including the Waterton - Glacier International Peace Park Association.

As Coordinator of the Regional Rotary Foundation Resource Team for Zone 28,  Ingrid is confident that working closely with District and Club leadership teams, The Rotary Foundation’s mission will be fulfilled.

Ingrid supports the Rotary Foundation as a Major Donor, a multiple Paul Harris fellow, Paul Harris and Bequest Society member, and Benefactor.

From a personal perspective, Ingrid was born in Germany and resides in Edmonton with her partner, Clive. She is the proud parent of fraternal twins: Christopher, the president of an international machine and manufacturing company in Edmonton, and Kirsten, vice president of strategic marketing for a large corporation, based in Houston.

In addition to Rotary events and projects, Ingrid enjoys time with her family, traveling, hiking trails in the Rocky Mountains of Canmore, attending the symphony and theatre, Argentine tango, reading and mindfulness meditation.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ingridneitsch/

Born and raised in Durango, Mexico, Guiscela’s life began in a household built by a family of architects. Just like her parents, Guiscela had the architectural spirit in her blood and began to build her own life at a very young age. Wishing to build her own foundation with experience and perspective, Guiscela started to travel. She would spend her summers in Los Angeles with her aunt, uncle and cousins, perfecting her English and preparing herself to travel beyond her continent. At the age of 16, Guiscela took part in a Rotary exchange program and had the opportunity to live in Germany and make it her new home for a year. Immediately immersing herself in the language, culture and family that was willing to teach her, Guiscela thrived in her new German environment, learning the language and gaining many new skills that would eventually open up the world up to her.

She then decided to spend a year in Paris, working as an au pair, learning French and exploring her palat by enjoying French cuisine, wine and cheese. Once she returned from France, Guiscela wanted to finish her studies in Public Relations at the University of Guadalajara, where she met her best friend and had many influential experiences; not only academic, but socially and culturally as well.

After her travels and endeavors, Guiscela decided to return to her hometown of Durango and spend a few years there, using her newly gained travel experiences and academic knowledge to work as a teacher, making a difference in her home town and taking the opportunity to enjoy her family. However, that instinctual zest for life and experiences continued to flow through her veins, and eventually Guiscela wanted some more experiences, the kind of experiences that she knew could only be achieved by new adventures, in new countries. She then decided to move to Canada, where she became a citizen, met her husband, ran for municipal office, built a family, and where she has been a proud member of the Edmonton community since 2012.

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/guiscela/

 Born in India, grew up in Qatar and moved to Canada in 1996. Mother of three kids daughter Kiran, son Sahil and Sameer. Proud mother of these exceptional kids, they are thriving in all walks of life!!
Member of Rotary Club of Edmonton Whyte Avenue serving on committees and co-chair of Service Committee.
Former Campaign chair of Lloydminster District United Way and have served on many different organizations volunteering time such as Rendell Park School, Parents as Partners executive member. Member and office bearer on Ahmadiya Muslim Women’s Organization Lloydminster.
Proud to be part of this community and always out there to helping people, trying to make a difference in people’s lives. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/arshi-mirza-a19aa841/

After learning and teaching for over 3 decades in the classroom, Linda Connor continues to learn and work as the Social Studies Consultant for Manitoba Education. In addition to co-authoring the grade 11 Canadian history textbook, Shaping Canada, Linda has contributed to the grade 7 social studies textbook, The World Today, and the grade 9 civics textbook, Canada in the Contemporary World. Linda was on the Manitoba Social Studies Steering Committee and curriculum development teams for grades 7, 9 and 11 Social Studies. She is also the Provincial Coordinator for UNESCO Schools Network, which is committed to creating a culture of peace within and beyond the classroom, and is part of the Speaker’s Bureau for the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, and co-edits the journal for Manitoba Social Studies educators. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-connor-4199a590/

Rick joined the Rotary Club of Calgary Fish Creek in April 2007 and was club President in 2009-2010. Other club activities included the Stay in School program, Membership Chair from 2014-2016 and is currently the Youth Service Director. At the District level, Rick is the past Chair of the District Youth Exchange and Learning & Development Committees. In 2017-2018, Rick was the District 5360 Governor. , Beyond the District, Rick was a North American Youth Exchange Network (NAYEN) board member representing all of the independent Canadian Districts participating in Rotary’s Youth Exchange program. Rick also keeps active by volunteering weekly at the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank. 

Rick is married to Pat and they have two daughters, Laura and Katherine, all of whom are also active volunteers.

  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-istead-63a5b07/