Age: 27
Job Title: Manager of Community Impact, Alberta Blue Cross
Ever since she was little, Rebecca Nedelec was inspired by her parents’ work with their own charity, Sustainable East Africa Education & Development Society. Years later, Nedelec’s bright but probing nature finds its creative outlet through her podcast, Nuance of Impact, that focuses on conversations about make-or-break moments of social change.
Now 27, she has chased opportunities to pursue positive change in her community, and followed a corporate philosophy of social purpose. She credits her parents — her mother is a teacher from Ethiopia and her dad is a social worker — for instilling those values.
She pinpoints one particular job — working at Ronald McDonald House, which provides residence to the families of sick children who are in town for treatment — as a strong influence on her outlook.
Through the company she founded in 2013, Purpose Collective, she worked with her first client, Glow Juicery, to create a program that allowed children and families from Ronald McDonald House to access nutritional outlets.
“It became more than the juice. It became about the time families spend together. That’s what being a purpose-driven company is about — understanding how your product and service creates impact in people’s lives, and those moments for people where they feel impacted by your product or service.”
Today, Nedelec oversees the administration of funds for social benefit through the Alberta Blue Cross.
She was drawn to the company in part due to its community-focused culture, and the Hearts of Blue charity.
“It’s an employee-led charity and it’s been around for over 20 years. It’s really employees being the change they wish to see in the world,” she says. “I was ready to support embedding social purpose into a company over a longer period of time.”
This article appears in the November 2020 issue of Edify
