Our Board of Directors
Jessica Olstad | Executive Director
Jessica is the heart and soul of the Love for Lewiston Foundation. She is the founder and inspires everyone around her to give with passion and purpose. After the loss of her son Lewiston, she rallied the community to raise awareness and funding for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Jessica was instrumental in successfully advocating for the Alberta government to include SMA newborn prescreening in routine newborn screening.
Jessica is the Executive Director for the foundation in addition to a Speaker, Online Retailer, Author, Life Coach and Mentor for small business owners. Jessica’s expertise in social media marketing, sales, event planning and business development has helped the foundation raise over $1,200,000 since its inception.
Jessica was nominated by the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and awarded the Doc Seaman Individual Philanthropist award in 2021.
Jason Cirankewitch | Board Member
Jason has been a part of the Love for Lewiston Foundation since its inception in 2017. He has worn many hats for the foundation from founding Board Member, to the compliance officer to Chief Party Officer. Jason is an incredible asset to the Board and you can thank Jason for your tax receipts too! Jason led the charge and undertook the time-intensive CRA Registered Charity application process. Jason has extensive finance, sales leadership, strategic planning, and business development knowledge. Jason holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Haskayne School of Business and is currently acting as Treasurer and Board Member for the Foundation.
Ronnie Olstad | Board Member
Ronnie is a born and raised Calgarian and proud to have spent his entire life in this great city. He is a small business owner and partner in a Franchise company 98 Food Co, a local Calgary business, which franchises over several provinces and provides locals with great food and drink. Brands under the banner include Chachis’s Sandwiches, Hula Poke, Dirtbelly and Deville Coffee. Ronnie is most famously known for being Swayzie, Lewiston and Hollis’ loving father, and husband to Jessica. As the backbone of the foundation, he is a strong supporter of his wife’s crazy ideas, working quietly in the background to ensure their success. He has a love for the Miami Dolphins, San Jose Sharks and Oakland A’s. Family time is the most important thing to him and he enjoys quiet weekends at home BBQing and making the yard beautiful. Ronnie is Lewiston’s number one fan and leading the charge with newborn screening in Alberta. As a lover of sports and physical activity, he initiated the LFL Golf Tournament, raising funds to honour his son, giving hope to those who need it, and bringing greater awareness to SMA, all of which are changing the landscape of SMA.
Kara Claypool | Board Member
Kara is honoured to be the newest member of the Love for Lewiston Foundation Board of Directors. Kara currently leads finance, technology, and human resources teams at Travel Alberta in the capacity of Vice President, Finance & Corporate Operations. Kara, a CMA-designated leader has built her career working with entrepreneurial-minded, Alberta-based companies with a strong growth vision and has been integral in aligning team efforts to achieve the company’s overall strategic objectives with an emphasis on financial management, strong governance, and operational excellence. Kara was humbled to be named one of Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 and one of Alberta’s Top 10 Rising Stars Under 40. Enjoying time with her family and new puppy, Penny, and embracing experiences under the mantra of “YOLO” or “you only live once” have led Kara and her family to bust a move as much as possible. She very much resonates with LFL Foundation’s core values to choose movement, bring joy and spread love and is grateful to have the opportunity to do so as a new addition to the Board.
Kyle Glover | Board Member
Kyle is excited to be a Board Member of the Love for Lewiston Foundation. Kyle is first and foremost a husband and a father of three, but also a Chartered Accountant who articled at KPMG. After several years in financial reporting for Petronas Canada, a Fortune Global 500 Company, he now serves as a Senior Planning Analyst coordinating and communicating financial forecasting. Newer to the world of entrepreneurship, having started Etched YYC, he enjoys the positive impacts of operating a business on those around him. Kyle believes in giving his Time, Talent & Treasure to his community and is excited about the opportunity to do this in partnership with the Foundation. As a true conservative accountant, he is motivated to help the Foundation achieve stability and longevity ensuring Lewiston’s legacy lives on.