Women United

Salma Lakhani was installed as Alberta’s 19th Lieutenant Governor on August 26, 2020. Her longstanding service as a community leader and volunteer has been guided by her deep commitment to the values of pluralism and inclusion and her dedication to championing those who face barriers in life.

Salma Lakhani was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda. She is a proud Ismaili Muslim who inherited her devotion to giving back from her parents, Abdul and Malek Rajabali, who were active members of their community. A keen student with a deep-seated love of education, Salma attended the Aga Khan School in Kampala before pursuing post-secondary studies at the University of Manchester in England. Her life took an unforeseen and dramatic turn during a summer visit home to Kampala in 1971, when Idi Amin took over the country in a violent coup. Salma’s parents pressed her to return immediately to England, travelling on her Ugandan passport. The following year, Amin created a major international humanitarian crisis by expelling the country’s entire Asian minority population. Salma’s family was stripped of virtually everything and she was stranded in England with no funds to continue her education and no valid passport. She had become a stateless person.

Salma had 2 saving graces that sustained her through this challenging time. First, she had the love and support of her fellow exile and future husband, Zaheer Lakhani. The couple also learned that their tuition would be covered by the British government, allowing Salma to complete her Honours degree in Clinical Biochemistry and Zaheer to graduate in Medicine from the University of Leeds. The couple married in Leeds in 1977. That year, the University of Alberta accepted Zaheer’s application to continue his postgraduate studies in Edmonton and the Lakhanis began writing a new chapter in Canada.

Dr. Lakhani went on to establish himself as a cardiologist while Salma helped to manage his practice and operated a business focused on early childhood education, which developed out of her innate affinity for teaching. She also began looking for opportunities to give back and to help those in need to thrive. She became one of the first mentors in NorQuest College’s Youth in Transition program, providing invaluable guidance for students with English as a second language, and she was a founding member of the College’s 1000 Women: A Million Possibilities movement. Salma has also shared her skills, energy and passion for service with the Lois Hole Hospital for Women, Kids Kottage, Sorrentino’s Compassion House, the Alberta Cancer Board, the Zebra Foundation and Aga Khan Foundation Canada. She has further demonstrated her commitment to pluralism and fostering diversity through her work as a board member of the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. During a year’s sabbatical in the late 1990s, while Dr. Lakhani helped set up cardiac services at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Her Honour volunteered at 2 of the city’s schools and with local women’s charity groups.

Lieutenant Governor Lakhani has received the Alberta Centennial Medal, the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta). NorQuest College awarded her an Honorary Diploma in Community Services Leadership in 2019. Upon her installation as Alberta’s vice-regal representative, she became a Member and the Chancellor of the Alberta Order of Excellence. Her Honour is Vice-Prior of the St. John Council for Alberta and a Dame of the Order of St. John. She received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta in 2021 and a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow Award in 2022.

Their Honours make their home in Edmonton. Their family includes daughter Safia Lakhani, daughter Soraya Lakhani, son-in-law Zain Velji and grandson Sufyan.

Jerilynn Daniels is the Regional Director, Community Marketing and Citizenship for RBC, Alberta and Territories. In 2006 after more than 12 years in not-for-profit, Jerilynn made the move back to the corporate world. She now works at her dream job, fulfilling her love of community with the desire to work in a corporate environment. Jerilynn is responsible for Community Investments, Sponsorships, Marketing and the RBC Olympian Program for RBC in Alberta and Territories.

A passionate community supporter, Jerilynn serves on the Board of Non-Profit Chamber, is a member of the advisory council for the Haskayne School of Business and an advisory member to Dress for Success Calgary.

In 2010, Jerilynn was the recipient of the Hazel Gillespie Community Investment Leadership Award, the first Community Investment professional to receive the award after Hazel herself. In 2012 she received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in community locally and internationally, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022 and the King Charles III Coronation medal in 2025. In October 2024 she was named as one of 17 outstanding Canadians in Corporate Social Impact by Future of Good.

Heather Campbell is an energy professional with a diverse, three decades long energy career in a full range of energy industries. With her focus on energy transition, sustainability, and inclusion, she currently serves as an independent adviser for Rev Innovations as they aim to expand low-carbon, low-cost energy solutions.

Ms. Campbell is an engaged, lifelong community volunteer, actively sharing her talents, resources, and time by participating and often leading a purposely diverse range of organizations. Ms. Campbell is a board director with Calgary’s performing arts centre Arts Commons and is a member of the Advisory Council for Western Engineering, her alma mater.

She is an advisory council member of the B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (BC CICE), and an advisory board member of the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). She is the former co-chair of Alberta’s Anti-Racism Advisory Council, a former Commissioner with the Calgary Police Commission, and has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, the Calgary Black Chambers Black Achievement Award in Energy, and the 2024 Harry Jerome Decade Leader Award.

Pam Krause is the President and CEO of the Centre for Sexuality. She has been with the agency since 2001, taking on the leadership role in 2004. An advocate and activist on issues related to women’s equality and social justice, Pam has worked and volunteered in the Calgary non-profit community for 30 years. She became active in the 2SLGBTQ+ rights movement in the early 1990’s and continues to be a strong advocate for her community.

Under Pam’s leadership, the Centre for Sexuality has grown and today is the only non-profit organization in our community that provides comprehensive sexual health programs and services to people across the lifespan. The Centre is recognized for innovation in implementing programs that have meaningful results for the populations they serve.

Pam’s leadership has been recognized by being named a Global Television Woman of Vision, and she is a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and Queens’ Platinum Jubilee Medal for her community service. In 2017 Pam was named as one of 150 Calgary women who have impacted Calgary over the past 150 years by the YW Calgary She Who Dares initiative. Pam served on the Board of Governors at the University of Calgary from 2018-2021.

Pam has a wealth of experience in leadership, governance and social innovation and is a strong advocate in our community.

Lindsay Morgan is a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and longtime supporter of United Way of Calgary and Area. With an 18-year career in the oil and gas industry, she was recognized with the Young Women in Energy Award for her leadership in advancing women in the energy sector and her philanthropic contributions through workplace campaigns.

Lindsay has served on the Wellspring Alberta Board of Directors, where she was a director and chair of the Resource Development Committee. In 2023, she transitioned into entrepreneurship, founding Vitality BioMed, a leading holistic medical clinic in Calgary that provides integrative, root-cause-focused healthcare.

Passionate about community impact, Lindsay is dedicated to supporting Calgary’s most vulnerable populations and fostering meaningful change in the city she calls home.

Connie has been with United Way since 2007 and has worked in multiple areas of the resource development team before becoming vice president. Connie leads a team that is responsible for many levels and layers of philanthropy, from small individual donations, corporate contributions and large, transformational gifts. Through her leadership the Resource Development team work strategically to steward relationships in the Calgary business and philanthropic communities.

Connie enjoys helping employees advance their careers and is proud to be a part of an organization that is fosters growth and opportunities for its employees. Connie is proud to be a part of an organization that has so many strong women working to better Calgary.

Connie is from a small town outside of Calgary which has shaped her belief in the importance of community.