Page 42 - Edify-Nov-Dec-2023

TRISHA
SARKER
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MACEWAN UNIVERSITY >AGE 36
Trisha Sarker’s mother first enrolled her in Bharatanatyam dance classes to help her stay
connected to her South Asian culture and heritage. Now, over 20 years later, Sarker hasn’t stopped moving.
“That skyrocketed my career path in
a way,” Sarker says. “My passion about things such as art, culture and education — and being able to share that with others — was primarily from learning to dance from my culture.”
That background in dance and edu- cation would continue to follow Sarker, whether she was teaching dance for the City of Edmonton, serving as the executive director of Fitness Industry Council of Canada or hosting a children’s TV series (Strike a Pose) about the benefits of movement. Sarker also brought her love for movement into the often-static world of academia, where she completed her dissertation on the relationship between post-secondary student success and exercise.
“I think it’s really important to be able to take different aspects of your life and combine them together,” Sarker says. “So being able to take the education aspect of teaching children, as well as being able to take that fitness aspect, and melding
it into something that creates a positive environment.” – Tom Ndekezi
Why he’s Top 40 HE MENTORS THE NEXT GENERATION OF URBAN PLANNERS TO MAKE EDMONTON A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE
STEWART FRASER
VICE PRESIDENT, COMMERCIAL, ACQUISITIONS AND ENTITLEMENTS, CANTIRO GROUP OF COMPANIES >AGE 39
42 EDify. NOVEMBER • DECEMBER.23
Stewart Fraser’s interest in real estate development and urban planning stemmed from conversations around the dinner table with his father, Duncan, a retired city planner for the City of Edmonton.
“I’m an urbanist, and what
I love about real estate is that success is very much focused on community building, and there’s a tangible asset at the end of a project.”
Fraser is especially proud of West Glenora Block, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development with exclusively local retail businesses at street level, near the corner of Stony Plain Road and 142nd Street. The area will soon be an LRT hub.
Fraser also credits his father for giving him an appreciation for what it means to be an
Edmontonian, and the importance of giving back to the community.
“My father was always doing something for others, and I really took that to heart,” Fraser says. “I believe I can contribute to positive changes that will continue to make Edmonton a phenomenal place to live.”
Fraser dedicates time to mentoring students and lead- ing advocacy projects through NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, and says that
“To transfer knowledge to
the next generation and help further other people’s careers is so important. They’ll be
the next generation of policy makers and developers, and I want to help them understand the bigger picture.”
– Breanna Mroczek
Cooper & O’Hara; Eric Beliveau
Why she’s Top 40 TRISHA SARKER PUTS MOVEMENT ON CENTRE STAGE