Thank you
Father in Heaven for Cathy Olesen and the years of service to Sherwood Park in
many capacities and now as MLA. I pray
you will give her your grace and wisdom as she meets with constituents. I ask you to bless her and her husband and
children. Fill her with a new passion as
she serves, I ask in Jesus name.
Cathy Olesen was elected as the Member of the Legislative
Assembly for Sherwood Park on April 23, 2012. She is the Chair of the Standing
Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing, a member
of the Standing Committee on Private Bills and the Standing Committee on
Alberta´s Economic Future and serves on the board of directors for Climate
Change Central. Ms. Olesen is also currently a member of the results-based
budgeting challenge panel for municipalities and regional planning, and more
recently she was appointed to the MLA implementation team working on the review
and implementation of the retail market review recommendations to strengthen
Alberta´s retail electricity market.
Amongst western Canada´s
earliest pioneers, Ms. Olesen´s McPhail ancestors came to what was then the
Hudson´s Bay land grant, known as Rupert´s Land, to work in the fur trade well
before Confederation.
Ms. Olesen was born in
Winnipeg. She attended the University of Manitoba, receiving a bachelor of arts
in political science and economics in 1981. The following year Ms. Olesen moved
to Alberta, where she worked in environmental planning with the Energy
Resources Conservation Board for five years. She was also a stay-at-home mother
for seven years. During this time she also cultivated her painting and
volunteer work and was appointed as a public member of the Strathcona
Subdivision and Development Appeal Board in 1992.
Ms. Olesen served as Strathcona
county councillor in 1995 in urban and rural ward 4. First-term accomplishments
included the establishment of Alberta´s Industrial Heartland Association, a
co-operative association of four municipalities united to promote industrial
development and stimulus within the capital region.
Ms. Olesen repeated her success
in 1998, when through a plebiscite she championed the building of Millenium
Place, the first recreational complex of its size in western Canada. Ms. Olesen
was acclaimed councillor in 2001.
Ms. Olesen contested the
mayor´s chair in 2004 and was re-elected in 2007. During Ms. Olesen´s six years
as mayor, from 2004 to 2010, Strathcona county attracted substantial industrial
and residential development: a new seniors´ lodge, miles of trails, the
Ardrossan arena expansion, the new county library complex, the redevelopment of
Broadmoor Arena and Clubhouse and the approval of the new Bethel fire station
and training facility.
In addition to her role as
mayor, Ms. Olesen has served on a wide range of boards and associations. She
has served as vice-chair of the Capital Region Board, vice-chair of Alberta´s
Industrial Heartland Association, director with the Capital Region Wastewater
Commission, director of the Telus Community Board and president of the Trans
Canada Yellowhead Highway Association. She is also a member of the Alberta
Arbitration and Mediation Society.
Ms. Olesen is married to Rex
Adam, and together they are proud parents of four accomplished adults.
July 11, 2013
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