Meet the Board

Growing up in a household where thinking about the needs of others was role modelled to Jan by her parents, Peggy and John Robbins. From an early age she volunteered in a variety of places including the local hospital and with community groups. As an adult, she continued to volunteer on different boards in the small, rural community where she lived in, in Alberta. She was always curious about how people lived, what made them content in their lives and what challenges they had or had overcome. While helping her husband raise three children, dogs, cats and horses as well as saskatoons, she completed her undergraduate degree in Sociology. Shortly afterwards, she was hired as an Addictions Counselor working with youth (primarily) and adults with Addictions (formerly AADAC) and Mental Health. Jan obtained a Master’s degree in Health Promotion and worked as an Addiction Counselling Instructor at Medicine Hat College for 18 months. When she became a board member of the Harrison-Cooper Foundation in 2003, she was interested in ensuring that the legacy left by her mother was honoured through the continuation of the HCF.

Helping was a way of life on the Charo farm, where Elizabeth grew up. The entire family all pitched in to complete tasks. Elizabeth was always aware of the philanthropic nature of her grandparents and parents. During university, she joined the HCF board and has learned about the various ways an organization can make a difference in the world. Elizabeth completed a degree in anthropology and spent time traveling, working, and learning about life. After going back to university, she became more interested in education and reaching out to women and children in the field of education and small business (micro-loans). Elizabeth is currently teaching, raising two children, helping run an equine adventure business, and enjoys reading, paddling, hiking,and spending time in the mountains. She plans to continue to invest time and energy in the HCF.

Growing up, Jacqueline always saw and was taught the value of giving back to the community around us and in a broader sense, the world. Watching the charitable activities of her grandmother Peggy Robbins, her mother Jan Chant, and others as she grew up strongly motivated her to be a part of the Harrison Cooper Foundation. In the early years of HCF’s giving, she was growing up and exploring the world through travel, obtaining her first degree in business, and otherwise learning about life. As she grew older, she obtained a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and moved to working with horses through running equine-assisted programs focused on communication for couples dealing with PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Having been on the board since 2009 she strives to bring her varied educational background as well as volunteer and work experiences to the table to ensure the work of HCF matches its mission, value and vision statements.

Brent grew up in Edmonton Alberta and from a young age was engaged in helping out his local community. He volunteered through his teen years with a local youth group and summer camps to help foster the growth of others and inadvertently himself. Brent is an avid outdoorsman having been through many excursions into the untamed trails of the Rockies and has fond memories of being on relatives’ farms in the area. Being that the seed of “helping others” was firmly planted and developed into wanting to do more, Brent found a wonderful opportunity to make real impacts on so many peoples lives through the Harrison Cooper Foundation.