Current Board - 2025

PAL Calgary was originally incorporated in 2006 by a group of incredibly energized artists, advocates, and business people. The original board members stewarded the organization through a community survey and need assessment, and obtained the organization’s charitable status. The current board is a group of energized arts workers, advocates, and leaders whose goal is to provide resources and community for arts workers.

David LeReaney is a founding member of PAL Calgary in 2004. His career as a professional actor spans 42 years and over 300 productions, on stage and screen. He is a recipient of the 1993 Best Actor and 2007 Best Narrator AMPIAS, the 2000 Harry & Martha Cohen Award (for sustained and significant contribution to Calgary theatre), and the 2010 Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor . For over 22 years, David has worked as a dialect coach working with many award winning actors in film and television productions. He is a proud Standardized Patient Trainer at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. David was recently awarded the first annual ACTRA ALBERTA Best Performance Award for his appearance in Paramount’s Billy the Kid.

Cindy McLeod has been a jazz vocalist for over 45 years in Canada and around the globe, performing and recording with Canadian jazz greats Tommy Banks, Bob Erlendson, Linton Garner, Bob Stroup, Hugh Fraser, and P.J. Perry, as well as international artists such as Keith Copeland (NY), Stephen O'Connor (US, MX), Steve York (UK, MX), Quyen Van Minh (VT), Victor Mestas (VE), and Roberto Aymes (MX). Cindy has released three full length CDs, and is a talented lyricist. A founder of the Calgary Blues Music Association (CBMA) as well as Calgary International Blues Festival. As the Producer and Artistic Director of the Calgary International Blues Festival, Cindy has created what has become one of the largest blues music festivals in Western Canada. A recognized leader in Canadian music, Cindy received the 2019 Industry Person of the Year Award for Calgary's YYC Music Awards, and in 2021, the prestigious Blues Booster of the Year from Toronto Blues Society. Cindy is host of The Blues Witness radio show, heard on Wednesdays from 6-7:00pm at CJSW Radio 90.9FM in Calgary.

Trevor Rueger has been an actor, director, writer, and dramaturg for over 30 years. As an actor he's been seen at Theatre Calgary, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Lunchbox Theatre, Sage Theatre, Vertigo Theatre, Stage West and the Garry Theatre. As a director he's worked for Sage Theatre on Heroes, Vertigo Theatre on When Girls Collide, Columbo: Prescription Murder and Columbo Takes The Rap and Lunchbox Theatre on Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets, Life After Hockey and The Complete Works of W. Shakespeare (Abridged). In 2011 he received the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Performance by An Actor in a Supporting Role. For 10 years Trevor was the chair and producer of the annual Betty Mitchell Awards recognizing excellence in Calgary Professional Theatre. Currently he is the Executive Director of Alberta Playwrights' Network a provincial organization devoted to the development of Alberta playwrights, at all stages for all stages. In his 13 years with the organization, Trevor has assisted in the development of well over 300 plays and countless playwrights. He also plays drums with local party band Hello Penguins.

Gail Kennedy has been a top Canadian motion picture makeup artist for 43 years, capturing an Emmy Award, 5 Emmy nominations, a Hollywood Makeup Artist Guild Award, a Canadian Screen Industry Award Nomination, and 8 Alberta Motion Picture Industry Awards. When not designing makeup and makeup effects for motion pictures, Gail heads up the makeup crew for The Calgary Opera, and teaches numerous industry related workshops. Gail serves as Vice President for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Motion Picture Technicians Local 212. Gail has been on the board of PAL Calgary since 2006.

Johanne Deleeuw began professional theatre career after graduating from the University of Calgary Faculty of Fine Arts in 1985. She was hired as the Resident Stage Manager for the Pleiades Theatre (later to become Vertigo Theatre). In 1989, she joined the staff of Lunchbox Theatre, as the resident Stage Manager, moving to Production Manager, Artistic Associate and finally Artistic Director, where she remained until 2005. Since that time, she has been the Executive Director of Alberta Playwrights' Network, the Administrator for the Asian Heritage Foundation of Calgary, and has worked as a free-lance Stage Manager, Dramaturg and Director for the majority of the theatre companies in Calgary. In 2016, she joined One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre as their Company Manager. She is the recipient of the 2016 Dean Ott/Debbie Bolt Award for Continued Contribution to Technical Theatre in Calgary.

Current Board - 2025

Pal Calgary