Lord God, we join together to pray for MLA Cathy Oleson
that You would connect her with people in her constituency and that she would
be aware of their needs in this growing region of Sherwood Park. We ask that things would go smoothly for her
today and solutions and answers would be found quickly for situations and
questions at hand. May she be filled
with joy today as she serves the people of Alberta. These things we pray in the Name of Jesus,
Amen.
Cathy Olesen was elected as the Member of the Legislative
Assembly for Sherwood Park on April 23, 2012.
In addition to serving as chair
of the Standing Committee on Families and Communities, Ms. Olesen is a member
of the Standing Committee on Private Bills and the Standing Committee on
Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing. She serves on the board
of directors for Climate Change Central, and is also currently a member of the
results-based budgeting challenge panel for municipalities and regional
planning. 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.
She previously served as chair
of the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and
Printing and as a member of the Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic
Future.
Among 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.
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