Sponsor Board

Howard Burns (Chair)

Howard joined the Sponsor Board in December 2018 as the nominee for the Alberta Federation of Police Associations (AFPA). He is a retired Calgary Police Service Sergeant, former President of the Calgary Police Association and current Executive Director for the AFPA. Howard was named to the Canadian Order of Merit of the Police Forces in 2016.

Ellen Nygaard (Vice-Chair)

Ellen was born in Alberta and has spent most of her life in the province. She has a BA in English and an MBA from the University of Alberta, and worked across Canada in her first career as a journalist. She worked as a manager for the Government of Alberta for 26 years, occupying increasingly responsible regulatory and policy positions, most recently as Executive Director of Pension Policy for Alberta Finance. Since her retirement, Ellen has been a member of three pension plan boards. She has been involved as a volunteer and board member of several community organizations over the years, including the United Way and recreational and cultural organizations. Ellen currently volunteers as an English tutor for new Canadians. In 2018, she received her designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

John Burdyny

Mike served 35 years with the Calgary Police Service, including 17 years as a Board Director for the Calgary Police Association (CPA). Upon retirement Mike was hired as the CPA’s Executive Officer. Mike has been a member of the provincial special forces stakeholders committee since its inception in 2011.

Christopher Collier

Christopher brings over 25 years of environmental and safety management experience with a strong record of success in the public sector.  Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Christopher spent the last 20 years in Australia, working with various private and public State, Territory, and Municipal organizations.  Before taking up the role as Director Environmental and Safety Management in Calgary, Canada, Christopher was the Director of the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) in Canberra, Australia.

Christopher’s career history has focused on integrated program and system development concentrating on environmental protection, public health and workplace safety.  Christopher has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering from University of New South Wales in Sydney, and a Masters in Environmental Engineering Management from University of Technology Sydney.

Jodie Graham

Jodie was appointed to the former statutory SFPB in January 2017 as a nominee of the City of Edmonton, and was subsequently appointed to the Corporate Board. In October 2019, the City of Edmonton transferred her appointment to the Sponsor Board. She is the Executive Director of the Office of Strategy Management for the Edmonton Police Service.

Antonio Simioni

Antonio is the current Executive Director of the Edmonton Police Association and a retired 35 year member of the Edmonton Police Service. The last six years of Antonio's police career was spent as the President of the Edmonton Police Association before his retirement from the EPS in 2015. During that time, he became quite involved and immersed in the governance of the SFPP Committee and worked in this role as the President of the EPA. Antonio had also been a police member with the Camrose Police Service when the SFPP was first implemented in 1979. He has therefore seen the plan's birth, its growth and its entire history to this point, right up to collecting a pension from the SFPP starting in 2015. Antonio is eager and excited to rejoin the Sponsor Board at this time and looks forward to continue working towards the longevity and sustainability of the plan for generations to come.