Please join us in welcoming our new Development Manager, Angela McIntyre!

Water has a way of bringing people together. It connects landscapes, communities, and stories, often in ways we don’t fully see until we stop and pay attention. That sense of connection is what drew me to this role, and what I’m excited to explore as I step into my position as Development Manager with the Oldman Watershed Council (OWC).

My career has taken me across Alberta and across sectors, but it’s always come back to storytelling, community-building, and non-profit work. After studying Cinema, Television, Stage and Radio at SAIT, one of my first jobs was travelling around Alberta promoting Country 105. It was a crash course in storytelling, community, and how to get people’s attention, in the best way possible.

That work evolved into travelling across the province with the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association, bringing stories to life during Read Alberta Magazines Month with events that brought together people you wouldn’t normally see in the same room: arm wrestling champions, chefs, hoop dancers, and farmers, all connected through story. That experience led me into the non-profit world through literary festivals, where I learned how to build community, and just as importantly, how to find the funding and volunteers to support it. Through all of it, storytelling has been the thread that ties my work together.

I continued that work as Fund Development and Marketing Manager at the Confederation Park 55+ Activity Centre, where I focused on building relationships and growing community support. I later studied Non-Profit Management at Mount Royal University, further grounding my work in strong organizational and fundraising practices. It was through these experiences that I saw how powerful it can be when people feel a sense of belonging, and how much can be accomplished when you give them a meaningful way to contribute. My conservation work deepened as Executive Director of Calgary Climate Hub, where I focused on championing nature-based solutions, practical, community driven approaches like urban forests and local climate action.

I’ve also had the good fortune of spending some time fly fishing, though I consider myself a perpetual beginner. I fish for two reasons: fish tend to live in beautiful places, and if you’re standing in a river holding a fly rod, you don’t look nearly as strange as you might otherwise. It’s a humbling pastime, and a good reminder that these ecosystems are worth protecting, whether you’re catching anything or not.

In this role, I’m looking forward to meeting people across the watershed and learning what this place means to them. There is history here that I want to better understand, and relationships I’m eager to build. Fund development, to me, is really about connection, understanding what people care about and helping them see how they can be part of something that matters. If you see me at an event, please come say hello. Or send me an email, give me a call, even write me a letter, I truly am open for business. I’d love to hear what you value about this watershed and why it’s worth protecting.

I’m incredibly excited to be part of the OWC. The work already being done, the strength of the community, and the dedication of volunteers gives me something that feels increasingly rare: a sense of hope. Because when people come together around real solutions, it not only makes a difference, it helps us all sleep a little better at night. And it means that generations to come will still be able to stand in these rivers, take in their beauty, and maybe, just maybe, catch a fish, or, if they’re anything like me, mostly just enjoy the view while not catching one at all.