TINNA EZEKIEL

“Anytime I can get people to connect and focus on the positive things they can bring to the community is a win.”

“The best thing about YMM is the people.” That is fairly obvious from Tinna’s career which, could well be defined as caring for those who need a voice to speak for them She has packed at least two lifetimes of experience into her one life so far. Her compassion has taken her to India and Africa, working with HIV and TB victims as well as abandoned and orphaned children. Here in Fort McMurray she has worked with Girls Inc, the CMHA and the Wood Buffalo HIV/AIDS society as well as a summer counselor at the Easter Seals camp for youngsters with disabilities. Her work on the Early Child Development Mapping Project has influenced the way the community has looked at investing in children and their wellbeing and is giving social profits and the RMWB pause for thought.

The common vein through Tinna’s work is care for the community and although this passion was jump started at the other end of the world, Tinna is a born and bred McMurrayite, and proudly so. Some might see the work she does as emotionally taxing, but she doesn’t have that view. “Anytime I can get people to connect and focus on the positive things they can bring to the community is a win. I am so proud of all the people who work tirelessly in this region to do great things.”

In a community that is often unfairly judged by the amount of money that can be made in industry, Tinna Ezekiel is an example of the kinder, gentler side of the community but with a practical side to someone who has lived here all her life. When asked what she would fix in the community with a magic wand she had no hesitation. “A high speed train to Edmonton.”