Honorary Appointments

Cathy Roozen is a recognized financial and business sector leader who has served the province through her work with the Allard Foundation, through her strong contributions to the University of Alberta and through the careful guidance she has offered to numerous community and health care organizations. 

Catherine Mary Allard was born to Dr. Charles and Marguerite Allard on March 28, 1956. She was raised in Edmonton in a closely knit family that included four brothers, Cam, Chuck, Peter and Tony, and one sister, Judy. As a child, Cathy attended French immersion school and enjoyed opportunities to accompany Dr. Allard to his work at the hospital where she learned from his compassion and care for others. Sadly, Cathy lost her mother in 1974, which caused the teenager to quickly develop a maturity beyond her years.

When it came time to choose a career, Cathy knew that her future would be in business. She had clearly inherited the energy and business acumen that allowed her father to maintain a long and successful medical practice while developing extensive holdings in broadcasting, the energy sector, banking and other ventures. Cathy earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta in 1977 and then went to work in the family-owned bank, North West Trust Company, parts of which were later purchased by Canadian Western Bank. She worked her way up from duties as a front line teller to responsibilities as Vice-President of Investments.

In 1981, Cathy married business leader, Harold Roozen, whom she met while he was working for her father. A year later, Cathy Roozen moved to the family’s holding company, Cathton Holdings Ltd., where she continued in the role of VP of Investments and established a sterling reputation as a valued and sought-after voice in the business sector. She further cemented her position as a respected business leader through valued contributions as a member of the board of directors of Melcor Developments Ltd., Corus Entertainment Inc., Shaw Communications Inc. and American Bank of Commerce in Phoenix, Arizona. Cathy served as one of her father’s most trusted advisors until his passing in 1991. Her ongoing leadership led to duties as Chair of Cathton Investment Ltd. in 2009.

While tending to her business career, Cathy made equal time for serving others and began a long resume of leadership to a wide range of initiatives and causes. One of her greatest avenues of service has been through her work with the Allard Foundation, which was formed by her father in the mid 1970s as a way to give back. It is an Allard family legacy that has been making quiet but very significant contributions to the quality of life in Alberta for decades.

In 1983, Cathy became director and secretary of the Allard Foundation, where she has worked to focus community investments in health care, education, social well-being and the arts. Health facilities that have benefited from Foundation support include the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and the Lois Hole Hospital for Women. Cathy has also actively championed innovative health research through major endowments to the Caritas Hospital Foundation, the Glenrose Hospital Foundation, the U of A Faculty of Medicine Emerging Team Grant for Cancer Research and the school’s Allard Chair in Experimental Oncology.

Under Cathy’s guidance, the Foundation has supported education in Alberta and Canada with investments in a long list of institutions, including the U of A, Newman College and St. Joseph’s Seminary, Brentwood College, Red Deer College and The Telus World of Science. Students have also received the support they need to build successful careers through initiatives such as the Allard Chair in Business at Grant MacEwan University, the school’s Allard Nursing program awards and support for its Faculty of Communications. Further investments have supported the Steadward Centre at the U of A and the Dr. Charles Allard Founder Awards at NAIT.

Social well-being in Alberta communities has been fostered by Foundation investments in an expansive list of initiatives including the Edmonton Humane Society, the YMCA, WINGS (Women in Need Growing Stronger), Ronald McDonald House, Junior Achievement, the Bissell Centre, Catholic Social Services, the Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels, the Marian Centre and the Support Network. The quality of life available to Edmontonians and all Albertans has been further strengthened through the Foundation’s support of the Art Gallery of Alberta, Alberta Ballet, the Banff Centre, Citadel Theatre and the Kiwanis Music Festival.

In addition to her duties with the Allard Foundation, Cathy has been a tireless leader who is valued for the insightful, clear and highly organized approach she has brought to a wide range of community boards. Her list of board duties includes service as a member of the Strategy Council of the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, vice-chair of the Alberta Health Services Board, board director of STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society), co-chair of the Edmonton Music in Motion initiative and board member of the Edmonton General Hospital (Grey Nuns). Cathy sat on the U of A Board of Governors for seven years and also served as co-chair of the school’s extremely successful millennium campaign, an unprecedented fundraising effort that generated more than $200 million for the school. Cathy has further supported the hopes and needs of her fellow Albertans through personal investments in a wide range of programs and services. Cathy’s support of programs outside of the province includes investments in the University of Saskatchewan Western College of Veterinary Medicine and at Queen’s University where her projects have included a lecture hall named after Dr. Allard.

Cathy’s many contributions have earned her numerous recognitions. She holds the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and Alberta Centennial Medal and has been honoured with the MacEwan University Distinguished Citizen Award, the U of A Alumni Association Honour Award and recognition as a Global Edmonton Woman of Vision. In 2009, she received an Honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the U of A.

Cathy Roozen has always practiced a quiet brand of philanthropy and community leadership, modestly preferring to remain out of the limelight and let her actions speak for themselves. However, the impact of her efforts must not be understated. She has invested great energy and compassion in the lives of her fellow Albertans and she offers a sterling model of what it means to be a caring and engaged citizen.

Maureen Gay Bianchini was born in Edmonton on February 27, 1959, the 11th of 13 children of Albert and Lillian Bianchini. She is of Italian and Métis descent. Her parents served in the Second World War, her father with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and her mother with the Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Corps. On returning to civilian life, her father worked as a bus driver, while her mother stayed home to raise their children.

Maureen grew up in a home in Edmonton’s north end, where home movie footage showed the rumble of army trucks passing in front of her house. Both of her parents were active in veterans’ groups.

She later met and married the love of her life, Randall Purvis.

In 2011, she founded No Stone Left Alone with the support of her family and friends. Thanks to serendipitous networking, she met a young lieutenant colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces who brought 80 soldiers – including veterans fresh from Afghanistan – to NSLA’s first poppy-laying at Beechmount. A chance meeting with Alberta’s Minister of Education led her to contact two schools that sent students to take part. A friend captured the barebones proceedings on video. To Maureen’s surprise, the scene’s raw emotions put her gathering on the front pages of the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun the next day.

Maureen realized that the key to ongoing remembrance involved engaging youth in more meaningful and personal memorials. Students would truly grasp the significance of veterans’ sacrifices for Canada by learning about soldiers’ stories and then physically placing poppies on their headstones, saying the soldiers’ names aloud as they did so. The result would be a bond between students and veterans that transcended death.

Her organization’s mission was clear: safeguarding the memory of Canada’s veterans, ensuring national respect and gratitude for all Canadian men and women who have lost their lives in the service of peace at home and abroad. The simple yet powerful act of leaving no stone alone would inspire the next generation to remember those who came before and fought for their freedoms.

NSLA has also attracted interest from other countries. Requests for Maureen and her team to hold similar services have come from as far afield as South Africa and England. The organization has found a foothold in Europe, where gratitude to Canadian soldiers for their selflessness in the struggle against tyranny remains strong. NSLA expects to hold four ceremonies in France and will return to Poland this year, as well.

No Stone Left Alone continues to collaborate closely with teachers to develop children’s understanding of Canadian military history and to prepare them for the poppy laying. Maureen’s organization contracted with a consulting firm specializing in education to create an NSLA-focused lesson plan for the classroom.

Her administrative skills, a desire to share the credit and a willingness to admit that she does not have all the answers have helped NSLA grow beyond its humble origins. Today, it is an established non-profit with a small staff, a recognized fundraising campaign and the enthusiastic support of governments, militaries and dignitaries across Canada and Europe. Maureen and Randall, along with their two daughters, run the foundation. Her children and grandchildren have all contributed to NSLA.

Maureen’s dedication to NSLA has been recognized with many honours, including Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), Laurel Gold Award (2014), Global Television’s Women of Vision (2014), Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation (2015), Senate Volunteer Award (2017) and Meritorious Service Medal (2021). In 2022, Maureen received the Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta).

Maureen lives in Edmonton with her husband Randall. Their daughters Sara and Keely grew up participating in NSLA, as have their four wonderful grandchildren, Elle, Petra, Beckett and Hudson.