Leadership as a Relay: Fiona Jones Hands the Baton to Barbara McNeil
At the Banff Canmore Foundation, community leadership is less about a single person and more about a relay—each board chair carrying the baton with care, then passing it forward so the work can continue. Each new leader stands on the shoulders of the giants before them, building on their vision while bringing their own energy and perspective to the role.
For the past three years, Fiona Jones has guided BCF through one of the most transformative chapters in its history. Taking on the role of Chair right after the pandemic, she led with steadiness, conviction, and gave the organization resilience.
Fiona’s connection to the Bow Valley runs deeper than her boardroom leadership. After decades of coming to the Bow Valley to recreate, her family moved from Calgary to Canmore. She brought the experience and vision she honed in corporate governance and sustainability to the Banff Canmore Foundation and quickly became part of the community fabric. Whether guiding board strategy or paddling her SUP on the Valley’s lakes and rivers, Fiona has always carried a passion for building connections and nurturing the places she calls home.
“I learned quickly that a community foundation is one of the most powerful models of long-term community building,” Fiona reflects. “It allows us to support immediate needs, but also to dig deeper—to identify root causes and to back grassroots leaders with bold ideas.”
Under Fiona’s leadership, BCF refined its community grant process, produced two Vital Signs reports, and leaned into both urgent needs and systemic issues from Jasper wildfires to affordability and mental health. She strengthened governance and succession planning on the board, ensuring a strong bench that will serve the organization and community for years to come. And while she is passing the baton, Fiona is not going far—she will remain on the board as Past Chair, continuing to lend her experience and insight to the organization she has helped shape.
She is also quick to credit those who came before her. “Karen Antrobus gifted me with a strong foundation of governance,” Fiona notes. “I simply built on that. Leadership at BCF has always been about adding to the work of others, not starting from scratch.”
Fiona also made her own commitment tangible by establishing a Fund in the name of her family with Banff Canmore Foundation. For her, it was a way to model family philanthropy and create a living legacy. “By working with a community foundation, you can make a modest start on a pathway to give back to the community—one that will continue long after me.” The fund represents both her belief in BCF’s model and her deep love for the community that has become her home.
Now, Fiona passes the baton to Barbara McNeil, who has served on the board for the past four years and begins her term as Chair with equal measures of gratitude and ambition.
Barbara’s connection to philanthropy runs deep: raised in Manitoba in a family where generosity was a value lived at the dinner table, she learned early on the power of giving back. Since making Banff her home 15 years ago, she has been drawn to BCF’s grassroots energy and its unique ability to act as a connector across the Valley. A skilled mediator and facilitator, Barbara has spent her career bringing people together to solve complex problems, whether as a Chartered Mediator, Integrity Commissioner, or Tribunal Member. That same gift for connection and bridge-building is what she now brings to the BCF board.
“Fiona has done an amazing job of digging down into the way we do things and bringing order and a strong foundation,” Barbara says. “My role is to carry that forward—to extend our connection to donors and deepen our impact in the community.”
Laurie Edwards, BCF’s Executive Director, sees this transition as a moment of strength.
“Fiona’s leadership came at a time when the community needed stability, and she gave us that—along with innovation and vision,” Laurie shares. “Barbara now brings her own spark: a connector’s energy, a deep care for people, and a fresh perspective on how philanthropy can evolve. Together, they show how leadership at BCF is always additive—each person leaves us stronger.”
As Barbara looks ahead, her first priority is simple: to get out into the community, meet people face-to-face, and experience BCF’s work at ground level.
“You can read reports, but nothing compares to sitting with the people behind the programs and feeling the impact firsthand,” she says. “I want to spend my early days listening, learning, and connecting. That’s how we’ll continue to ignite the power of philanthropy here in the Bow Valley.”
With that, the relay continues. Fiona’s legacy of strong systems, bold ideas, and personal philanthropy will endure. And Barbara’s leadership promises fresh energy, deeper community connection, and new possibilities for the years ahead.