Leann Hackman-Carty has spent over thirty years encouraging community economic development, business and economic recovery, and entrepreneurship. Her leadership was recognized early on when she was invited by the U.S. Consulate to participate in the International Visitors Leadership Program with delegates from nineteen other countries.

Leann has been the CEO of Economic Developers Alberta (EDA) since 2009. In 2014, she completed a project with 11 Alberta flood impacted communities. In 2016-17, she worked with the Fort McMurray region on business and economic recovery by setting up and operating the business hotline; validating businesses for Red Cross emergency relief; and leading a 10-member economic recovery assessment team to the region. In 2019 she updated the Community Toolkit for Economic Recovery and Resiliency (Canadian Version)’ to help communities prepare for and recover from economic disruptions, and brought the Economic Disaster Resilience & Recovery workshop to Canada which is now available online through the University of Calgary.

In addition to her work at EDA, she has her own company, which is focused on community capacity building, resilience, and recovery throughout Canada, the U.S. and beyond. As the author of the “Master Your Disaster” series of guidebooks, Leann shares her practical and theoretical knowledge with individuals, businesses and communities on how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. In 2018, she received Public Safety Canada’s Emergency Management Exemplary Service Award-Resilient Communities for her work. As the Canadian President of the Institute for Sustainable Development (www.isdus.org), she works with international experts on innovative long term community recovery and resiliency programs. At the end of 2019, she launched her MYD Global YouTube Channel where she talks “all things disaster” twice a week. More recently, with COVID, she partnered with colleagues in the U.K and Hong Kong to provide quality, factory direct PPE to customers around the world, including the development of two proprietary brands.

Hackman-Carty holds bachelor’s degrees in political science / sociology and social work and has earned certificates in both marketing and economic development. She has also received numerous awards for her work in economic development and recovery. She lives with her husband, two children, and dog in Calgary. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and learning about other cultures.