Avnish Mehta completed his business Degree, with a Minor in Sociology, at the University of Western Ontario in London. Returning to Calgary after graduating, Avnish has had the opportunity to work with some of the world's largest companies where he developed an extensive financial and risk management background. Wanting more from his corporate experience, Avnish returned to his passion for business and people by providing Calgary's business community with recruitment solutions through Corporate Connections. Joining YouthInk Publications Society in 2005, Avnish wanted to be part of a grassroots organization that was committed to literacy and helping our city's future leaders. The natural fit between the needs of the organization and Avnish's ability to be a visionary has created a strong foundation of growth and stability within the organization. Currently sitting as the Chair of the organization, Avnish has helped to create a sustainable system of funding, programming and incremental growth within the organization.

Yasmeen Irani graduated with Honors from the University of Calgary with a Bachelors Degree in Business, majoring in Operations Management. Yasmeen has her PMP (Project Management Professional) certification, a designation that is internationally accepted. Yasmeen's project management expertise is in website development and project recovery. She has worked with clients such as Mercedes Benz, Hyatt, the Calgary Stampede, Talisman Energy and Jayman Master Builder.

Jamie-Dee Peterson has been a volunteer board member with YouthInk Publication Society for the past two years and has taken on the role of Secretary within the last year. Youth and literacy are a passion for her, therefore becoming involved with YouthInk Publications Society was a welcomed experience and challenge. Jamie-Dee is a teacher for the Calgary Board of Education, teaching secondary Language Arts and Social Studies at Colonel Irvine Junior High School. Currently, Jamie-Dee is on maternity leave and is cherishing spending everyday with her new baby girl.

Renée Hopfner is the Manager of the Canada Safeway Foundation. Prior to her role with Safeway she filled several roles in the non-profit community that involved the development and implementation of youth-based programs in both Calgary and Edmonton. She has volunteered her time as a member of the board for the Calgary Allied Arts Foundation and the Youth Volunteer Corps of Canada, and is currently a member of Safeway's Southern Alberta Women's Network. Renée has a BFA from the Alberta College of Art and Design and a Certificate in Corporate Community Involvement from Boston College .

Justin Patton is the Director of Business Development for the Art Gallery of Calgary. In this role, Justin is responsible for revenue generation for this not-for-profit contemporary art gallery. Formerly, Justin was the Director of Marketing and Events for the Artists of the World art gallery, a commercial gallery on 11th Avenue in South West Calgary. Justin has a degree in French Literature with a minor in English from the University of British Columbia.

In the not so recent past, Justin worked as a legal researcher for two law firms in Vancouver, and was a librarian and a volunteer English teacher in the south of France for a year. Additionally, Justin has experience writing curriculum and teaching in Taiwan and Vancouver.

Justin has attended seminars on fundraising through the Association of Fundraising Professionals here in Calgary and brings a wealth of knowledge about fundraising and grant writing to YouthInk Publications Society.

DeeAnne S. Vonde, holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Human Ecology. After teaching at Michigan State University, Cal State University Los Angeles, Chapman College, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, she moved with her husband to Alberta. In Calgary she had the opportunity to teach for the Calgary Board of Education. She received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2001 for the creation on the T.E.A.M. Leadership program. This locally developed program is approved by Alberta Education and is offered to students in many schools throughout the province. T.E.A.M Leadership is a student driven, service based class that provides students a voice in their school and community. DeeAnne has worked with students to coauthor several books on mentoring with funding from the Calgary Health Region, Health Canada, The Calgary Foundation, Social Venture Partners and Petro-Canada. She has published several articles on mentoring and leadership in professional journals. Her major role with YouthInk has been to write proposals.

Donna Wheatcroft (B.Ed.) is a Virtues Project's Master Facilitator, a program that counteracts bullying, and promotes healing in communities traumatized by violence. The Virtues Project was honoured as a model global program for families of all cultures by the United Nations. It is listed by Alberta Learning in the publication "The Heart of the Matter" as a model program that supports character and citizenship education. Donna joined YouthInk Publications Society in 2004. This year she is a member-at-large. Through Youthink, Donna has had the opportunity to put her leadership and speaking skills to good use supporting the organization, which provides dynamic in-journalism workshops to enhance literacy programs in schools and for the community.