1. How long have you been in the city you live in and what brought you there?
I’ve been in Calgary since 2018. I packed my little apartment and my cat and drove across the prairie provinces towards a new adventure. I moved here to manage Client Success and Operations for a tech startup, a SaaS platform that helped companies put their charity dollars in their customers' hands to choose where it goes. I was drawn to Calgary’s technology and innovation community and wanted to be a part of it. Once I got a taste, Calgary was stuck with me.
2. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Winnipeg (yes, yes, I know, you're sorry)! All of my family is still there and I visit often, although I consider Calgary home now!
3. What field of study/practice did you pursue?
I have a degree in International Development Studies, and a diploma in Communications with a major in journalism. I started my career as a journalist, but transitioned into Marketing & Communications fairly shortly after I graduated and technology disrupted the print journalism industry. I started working in tech marketing in 2018.
4. What are your hobbies/interests?
I have recently been learning to play the guitar! I was gifted my late-father-in-law’s 1960s Gibson and it’s the first guitar I ever picked up and made sound half decent. I just brought home an early 2000s Martin Dreadnought and have been so excited to play her. I take lessons at Bowtown music and it’s 30 minutes of my week that I can focus on learning something new and not thinking about work! Outside of music, I read a lot – I love reading non-fiction, or historical fiction, and I’m an avid gardener and plant collector!
5. Tell us something fun/interesting not many people at work know about you!
I have twin brothers who just turned 15 and we’re 18 years apart. Being a big sister is my most favourite thing in the whole world and I always look forward to my visits with them!
6. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?
Berlin! It’s been on my bucket list for years and I really want to go and take in the arts and culture there. And eat the food. I’ve heard the street food is to die for. I’m lucky enough to get the perks of having a pilot for a partner, and he just recently got hired on as a First Officer with Air Canada – we'll certainly be taking advantage of those flight benefits over the years to come!
7. If you could have dinner with one person living or dead who would it be?
Oooooh, this is a hard one. There are so many people I’d love to have dinner with and being a former journalist, curiousity and inquisitiveness is one of my strongest traits … I love getting to know people. If I had to pick just one though, I think it would be Christie Blatchford. If I had to pick a favourite writer/journalist, I think it would be her and I think it would be so incredible to hear the stories of her travels and the people she’s met. I read her book, Fifteen Days when I was in College and wanted to be just like her.
8. If you had to eat one thing and one thing only for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Perogies, easily. I am a good Ukrainian girl and proud of it.
9. What are you passionate about?
Building authentic and meaningful relationships. Making someone smile every day. Leaving people/places and things better than I found them.
10. What are some things you’ve accomplished/are proud of?
In 2017, I got a grant to open my own art gallery space. Within 6 weeks I had broken 1000 followers on Instagram and was making enough money from sales and space bookings to pay my rent. At my soft opening, there were 300 people who came through the door. One of my girlfriends walked into the space and squealed, “DANI, YOUR NAME IS ON THE F*KIN DOOR”. So yeah, I think that’s one of my proudest career accomplishment. That said, I’ve had the opportunity to do some pretty cool things over the course of my career that have made me proud, including planning an event for the Duchess of Cambridge, and running point on all of the communications materials for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s “Going Home Star: A Story of Truth and Reconciliation” and working with Indigenous Elders and residential school survivors to make sure their stories were told accurately and sensitively.
11. If you could achieve one thing in the next five years (big goal) what would it be?
I want to get my MBA!
12. What brought you to Arcurve?
I was introduced to Arcurve through a Marketing Agency in Calgary who I was a preferred vendor for for years. Arcurve was looking for help with some of their Marketing efforts and one of my colleagues there introduced me to Stuart and Jay (two of the founders). We had a few meetings and I took on some contract work to do some writing and content development. After a couple of months of doing that, getting to know the guys and the rest of the team, I was confident Arcurve was somewhere I needed to be full-time because of the incredible culture… and was fortunate that they also wanted to add me to the team. The rest is history, as they say.
13. What about Arcurve makes you want to stay? (Does it challenge you, help you grow in your role?)
All of the things! The people here are amazing and the support you get from your team, your colleagues and just all Arcurvians is unmatched from any other organization I’ve ever worked at. There’s so much opportunity for growth and learning and I love being part of a growing industry. I’m also a big fan of how charitable we are and our mission to make things better is one that aligns with my own personal values and beliefs!
