Age 32
When Puneeta McBryan arrived in Edmonton from Grande Prairie in 2007 at the age of 18, she reacted to downtown Edmonton with awe and amazement.
“My very first job was in the Ticketmaster call centre in Scotia Place and I thought it was amazing, taking the train and working in this big, shiny office tower,” McBryan recalls.
“It was imprinted on me in my early days in Edmonton just how important downtown is.” From helping friend (and Top 40 alumnus) Daniel Costa open Corso 32, to posting “I HEART YEGDT” photos on Instagram almost a decade ago, McBryan wears her love for Edmonton on her sleeve no matter where she works or volunteers.
When the Downtown Business Association was looking for a new executive director in the summer of 2020, McBryan realized that the role “felt exactly like what I should be doing.”
When she got the job, she purchased a print she had been eyeing from local artist Natasia Martin that says “Show Up and Give a Shit.” During an early team-building session, she worked the phrase into the formal set of principles and commitments that the team used to guide its work.
“I learned that I do my best work when I choose pursuits and jobs that I think are going to make Edmonton a better place to live for me and my friends, and my child and his generation.”
This article appears in the November 2021 issue of Edify
