Walter Hossli will join existing members Jill Andres and Pat Letizia – in providing a bridge between academia and the community.  This position is supported by Momentum, a Community Economic Development (CED) approach that offers hope and opportunity to people living in poverty in Calgary. 

Walter is best known as the the founding CEO of Momentum, where he still serves as Director Emeritus.  He is among the foremost thinkers and practitioners in Canada on community economic development.  In his role at the Institute, Walter will offer advisory support, student mentorship and other contributions to Institute scholarship and programming, particularly those focused on leadership development.  Walter is also keen to serve as a guest speaker, which he has done previously in Catherine Pearl’s and Leah Hamilton’s classes.  He will work 1 day a week at the Institute over the course of the next 2 years.

Walter took Momentum from a start-up to an award-winning organization with 20 programs and 4000 participants per year. After 15 years in the private sector, he studied social work before entering the community sector.  Walter serves in a number of volunteer capacities and has played key roles with several large collaborative or sector initiatives. For example, since 2003 he has been an integral part of Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC), an organization dedicated to sustainable poverty reduction through the involvement of broad citizen and sector participation.  VCC has succeeded in elevating the City’s role in addressing poverty. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Calgary Foundation since 2010 and, as of 2015, on the Board of the Canadian CED Network. He wrote “Competition in the Voluntary Sector: the Case of Community Based Trainers in Alberta” published by the Muttart Foundation.  In addition to his leadership work in Canada, Walter regularly volunteers his time and knowledge abroad in Africa and Central America.  In 2011, Health Nexus and 3M Canada recognized Walter as a finalist for the 3M Health Leadership Award, acknowledging outstanding community leaders across the country who have enhanced their community through dedicated contribution and inspiring change.