Clare Lovely
General Manager
Clare Lovely
General Manager
Clare Lovely is honored to step into the role of General Manager at the New Brighton Residents Association (NBRA). Her leadership experience spans over nine years at the NBRA, where she has worn many hats, including Customer Service Supervisor, Customer Service Leader, and Recreation Leader. Clare’s passion for customer service and community engagement has been a driving force throughout her career. She is thrilled to continue her journey with the NBRA, building on her experience and commitment to enhancing the New Brighton community.
Outside of her professional life, Clare enjoys exploring the great outdoors through hiking, camping, fishing, and spontaneous road trips around Alberta with her partner, Mark, and their fur-baby, Millie. When she is not outdoors, Clare enjoys reading, listening to audiobooks and podcasts, and tackling puzzles during the winter months.
Clare is excited about this new chapter as General Manager and is eager to connect with the New Brighton residents. She looks forward to contributing to the growth of a vibrant and engaged community.
Andrew Brown
Facility and Amenities Leader
Andrew Brown
Facility and Amenities Leader
Andrew Brown is one of NBRA’s newest editions fulfilling the role of Facilities and Amenities Leader and he is absolutely thrilled to join the team. Andrew has an extensive background in landscaping and construction and holds a certificate in Occupational Health and Safety from the University of New Brunswick in addition to numerous other professional accreditations including incident command system training and workplace training and assessment.
Born in the East, Andrew has spent most of his life in Calgary with the exception of a 7 year adventure to the Middle East where he and his family worked and lived in Doha, Qatar. During his tenure overseas, Andrew temporarily left industry to become a college trades instructor teaching health and safety, workplace communications, and industrial trades skills. Having developed a sincere and authentic passion for teaching and facilitation, Andrew also has an unwavering service orientation and relentlessly has a strong safety focus while conducting his work and supervision of others. Having picked up the travel bug while abroad, Andrew loves to travel to and explore new and different places; preferring to stay away from tourist heavy destinations. This includes spending a lot of time with his family in their travel trailer, where they love spending time camping in Alberta’s amazing parks and recreation areas with Maddie, the family’s adorable and loving dog.
“Four wheels move the body, Two wheels move the soul.”
― Anonymous
Jennifer Strickland
Recreation Leader
Jennifer Strickland
Recreation Leader
Jennifer joined the NBRA team in June 2017 as the Resident Activities Coordinator. She has travelled the world and built a career on customer relations including various hospitality, front-desk and administration roles in Europe and Australia.
Jennifer has diplomas in tourism, customer service and events. She thrives on working with positive, enthusiastic, and driven individuals; the core foundation of New Brighton.
Jennifer can be found keeping active with her family, enjoying a glass of wine with friends or binging on a new series. She enjoys camping & hiking with family and friends in the summer months and in the winter you can find her at a rink watching her kids play hockey and ringette. To complete Jenn’s family she has two dogs, Stella & Andy and Hazel the cat.
Jennifer is passionate about the programs she offers at the Clubhouse and is always looking to bring new options to the residents of New Brighton.
Claire Lee
Customer Service Leader
Claire Lee
Customer Service Leader
Claire joined the NBRA team in August 2024 as the Customer Service Leader. With her previous experience in administration, editing, and translating, she looks forward to bringing her expertise to the Clubhouse. She also holds a degree in Law and Society from the University of Calgary.
In her free time Claire enjoys spending time with friends, trying out new recipes, gaming, and exploring with her dog, Maru.
She looks forward to meeting and connecting with the residents of New Brighton!
“There are some flowers you only see when you take detours” - Furudate Haruichi"
Danny Markle
Special Events Coordinator
Danny Markle
Special Events Coordinator
Danny Markle joined the New Brighton Residents Association team in late 2023 taking up the role of Special Events Coordinator. Before discovering his love of customer-oriented experience roles he was in school for Computer Systems Technologies and pursues this passion on the side by customizing and building PC’s for friends and family.
Prior to moving to Calgary, he lived in London, Ontario and graduated from Fanshawe College’s Special Events Planning program. He is excited to bring his knowledge learned in school, skills learned in management positions, and leadership capabilities to the NBRA.
Outside of work Danny can usually be found playing boardgames at one of the local stores, hiking with his partner, baking desserts for his friends, watching anime, or exploring the city.
Danny looks forward to learning all he can at the NBRA and putting on fantastic events for the community.
Craig Heisler
Maintenance Foreman & Safety Officer
Craig Heisler
Maintenance Foreman & Safety Officer
Craig Heisler joined the New Brighton Residents Associations maintenance team in September 2016. Craig has lived in Alberta since 2008, when he moved here from Nova Scotia. His love of hiking, the mountains, and staring at rocks led him to complete his Bachelors of Science in Geology at the University of Calgary. His love for having fun outdoors means that he enjoys the opportunity to maintain and improve the amenities of New Brighton while getting fresh air. When he is not working, you can find Craig watching the Blue Jays with his dog Grady or getting lost among the rocks, wherever he can find them.
“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its perseverance.” – Jim Watkins
Angelito Ponce
Full-Time Maintenance
Angelito Ponce
Full-Time Maintenance
Angelito Ponce is the Weekend Lead Maintenance at New Brighton Residents Association. He joined New Brighton Residents Association in 2016 as part timer. Previously, he worked at Cranston Residents Association but now has joined New Brighton Residents Association full time.
Angelito strives to have a “Balanced Life.” As an ex IT professional, he loves the physical aspect that comes with the work. Driving a Zamboni is a little scary but seeing the kids waving at you as you pass them by just makes heart feel glad that you are doing something that they appreciate.
When not working, he loves to play hockey, hiking, fishing, mountain biking and golfing. Sometimes he can be found at the dog park with Jaeger (mixed German shepherd and husky). While lying around and watching tv, usually with his daughter’s cats, Boo and Domo. If they are not lying around, they are causing a menace, the cats that is.
Sulay Darboe
Full-Time Maintenance
Sulay Darboe
Full-Time Maintenance
Sulayman Darboe (Sulay) was born and raised in The Gambia, which is often referred to as the "Smiling Coast of Africa". Sulay holds a bachelor's degree in Management and Public Administration from University of The Gambia.
In February 2024, Sulay moved to Calgary from The Gambia. Shortly after his arrival, in May 2024, he joined the NBRA Maintenance Team and is thrilled to be a part of the New Brighton family.
In his free time, Sulay enjoys playing soccer, going to the gym, cooking, and exploring new places around Alberta.
Nick Leszczynski
Full-Time Maintenance
Nick Leszczynski
Full-Time Maintenance
Nick joined the NBRA team in February of 2021. He is a true Calgarian being born and raised here. He did leave Calgary for 5 years to attend the University of Lethbridge. He played on the university soccer team for 4 years and moved back to Calgary after acquiring his kinesiology degree. In his free time, Nick enjoys playing soccer, hanging out with friends, and playing with his new puppy Luna.
"Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise" - Kobe Bryant
Nathen Columpsi
Part-Time Maintenance
Nathen Columpsi
Part-Time Maintenance
Nathen Columspi joined the New Brighton Residents Association Landscape Team in the summer of 2024. Nathen has transistioned to be a valuable part the New Brighton maintenance team in fall of the same year, making the switch from a seasonal roll to a permanant part time one.
Nathen enjoys the outdoors, playing soccer, listening to a variety of music and spending time with his friends and family. On his free days you can find Nathan learning about and working on cars.
Matt Macdonald
Part-Time Maintenance
Matt Macdonald
Part-Time Maintenance
Matt joined the New Brighton Residents Association team in June of 2023 as an In-Park Landscaper. He was born in Calgary and has grown up here all of his life. Matt developed his skills through many high school extracurriculars, like rugby, volleyball and track and field, this makes him a great team player but also very capable of being independent while at New Brighton. He is currently still in high school and hopes to go into chemical engineering after graduating. Matt enjoys playing pool, guitar and video games in his free time.
Kayan Vanhorne
Resident Concierge
Kayan Vanhorne
Resident Concierge
Kayan Robinson Vanhorne was born and raised in a family of five in the garden parish of St. Ann, Jamaica. She is the first granddaughter in her extended family and the oldest of her siblings. Her role as a customer service representative is fueled by her love for serving others, and her enthusiasm for diversity. Kayan has more than 5 years of experience working in a customer service environment.
She holds an Associate of Science in Business Management and a Bachelor of Science in human resources management. She lives by the principle of treating others how she wants to be treated and does what she does because it gives her a lot of satisfaction to help others in whatever manner she can. In her spare time, she loved to cook traditional Jamaican jerk chicken with festivals and rice and peas for her two lovely daughters and her husband, who is a chef by profession.
Emmy Zapata
Activities Assistant
Emmy Zapata
Activities Assistant
Emmy Zapata grew up in New Brighton and spent many days at the NBRA splash park. Some of her favourite memories include building sandcastles with her mom, spraying her younger sister Sophia with water guns, and ice skating around the fire pit with her dad. Emmy grew up, and is in her final year of her undergrad at Mount Royal University, with plans to pursue an after-degree in elementary education. It is her time spent at the New Brighton Residents Association that confirmed her hopes of being a teacher. From a customer service representative, to the activities assistant and various summer roles, she has enjoyed building relationships with your little ones and looks forward to turning it into a career. In her downtime, Emmy enjoys going to the dog park, keeping up with celebrity gossip, drinking iced chai lattes, and listening to Taylor Swift.
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” - Dr. Seuss
Sophia Zapata
Customer Service Representative
Sophia Zapata
Customer Service Representative
The NBRA gave Sophia an invaluable experience when she joined the team working alongside her sister Emmy, as a camp counsellor in the Summer of 2023. Though she left that role with many wonderful memories of your children, Sophia is thrilled to join the NBRA as a Customer Service Representative and looks forward to reconnecting with many of them all year long.
Home is where the heart is, and New Brighton was home to Sophia for the first 10 years of her life. The familiarity of that very same splash park, skating rink and playground brings her right back to being a kid with sand between her toes. She will graduate High School with the Class of 2024 with plans to stay in Calgary to pursue a post secondary education, remaining close to her family, her friends and this very community.
Alexis Hardy
Customer Service Representative
Alexis Hardy
Customer Service Representative
Alexis joined the NBRA team in June of 2023 but once lived in the community of New Brighton up until she was 10 years old. Now, She is currently enrolled in Mount Royal University and is pursuing an English Literature degree in hopes to become an editor and publisher for future novelists. Before entering university, Alexis played a high level of soccer- even going onto represent the province of Alberta. Now, without the presence of sports in her life, Alexis is very determined to educate others about the stigma of mental health within high level athletes.
While not at school or work, Alexis likes to hang out with her friends, read, and listen to K-pop. Alexis also likes anything to do with art and film, so you might find her studying certain movies or paintings just for the fun of it.
Alexis is very excited and grateful to be back in her childhood community and can not wait to meet all the New Brighton Residents! She looks forward to helping and connecting to those in the community and is looking forward to her future with the NBRA.
Lauren Macdonald
Customer Service Representative
Lauren Macdonald
Customer Service Representative
Lauren Macdonald joined the New Brighton Residents Associations Customer Service team in September 2024 after being on the Landscaping team during the summer. Lauren has lived in New Brighton her entire life with her family. Her love of working with children and learning about the past has led her to studying History at Mount Royal University with plans to complete an after degree Education course. Her experience in retail and love for helping and socializing with others led her to joining the wonderful New Brighton Residents Association Customer Service team. When Lauren is not working, you can find her hanging out with friends, playing with her dogs Stevie and Bruce, or watching The Office.
Dawn Burley
Customer Service Representative
Dawn Burley
Customer Service Representative
Dawn Burley joined the New Brighton team in 2023 as a summer camp counselor and now works at the front desk as a Customer Service Representative while helping with events and programs throughout the year.
Before working at the NBRA, Dawn worked many different cooking jobs. She is currently a student at the Bow Valley College enrolled in the Disability Studies program. After graduating in the spring she hopes to work with preschoolers and kindergarteners who have developmental and physical disabilities. In her free time she loves to read, bake, and hangout with family and friends.