Chris was born and raised in Coaldale. After attending the University of Lethbridge and participating in the engineering transfer program, he transitioned to the University of Alberta and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. Shortly after that, he joined a small engineering consulting firm, Ready Engineering Corporation, in the Edmonton area. After spending seven years working in the power generation, specialty chemicals, coal mining and waste treatment industries around Edmonton, Chris returned to his roots, moving himself and his young and growing family back to Lethbridge to open a branch office for Ready Engineering in 2005. Building on Ready’s core as a business-focused engineering consulting firm, Chris grew the office, client-base and personnel to the point where in 2015, he handed the reigns over to an up-and-coming manager and shifted his focus to business development for the firm.

Since then, Chris has been actively working with various industries in the area, recognizing the capabilities and potential of both businesses and the technical resources here in Lethbridge. His business development work spawned a focus on promoting local, home-grown solutions to technical and engineering-related issues and prompted him to get involved with Economic Development Lethbridge.

Along with 38 years of business experience, Chris Spearman devoted 18 years (1992-2010) to serving on the Holy Spirit School Board which included two terms as Board Chair. He is a founding member of the Industrial Association of Southern Alberta, established in 1983, and during that time, he has been a vocal opponent of electrical deregulation in Alberta.

Chris has also been a member of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce since 2008 and has served on several sub-committees in that time. In addition, he served five years (2008-2013) on the University of Lethbridge Faculty of Management Advisory Committee, and since 2010, he has served as a board member for the Aboriginal Housing Society.

Sandra’s career has been centred on the human services sector, very broadly across such areas as early childhood education, services for adults and children with disabilities, mental health, elder abuse, domestic violence, residential treatment, outreach services, health care, private adoption, immigrant and refugee resettlement, and adult education, in both urban and rural settings, across the private and public sectors, in both for-profit and non-profit contexts. She has been an International Accreditation Peer Reviewer and Team Leader with the renowned Council on Accreditation of Services for Children and Families Inc., based in New York, since 2006. This work has allowed Sandra to deeply study human services systems, both private and public, within and beyond Canada and North America, in communities of greatly varying sizes and demographics. Her graduate studies were in Business Administration, and as a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Sandra has advanced training and expertise in a range of business disciplines.

Having grown up in Lethbridge, lived in Edmonton for twenty years, then returned to Lethbridge, Sandra has witnessed Lethbridge’s evolution as both a citizen, and a visitor, deeply appreciating how it compares and contrasts to a much larger Alberta urban centre. Her career in Edmonton allowed her to work closely with that city’s municipal government, police service, vast network of service agencies, and the provincial government, developing a deep understanding of many aspects of leadership and service within a growing City and Province.