As Regional President for Alberta and the Territories, Jeff Boyd has overall responsibility for RBC’s Personal & Commercial Banking Businesses in the region.
With RBC for over 20 years, Mr. Boyd has progressed through a variety of positions including senior management roles in both Retail and Commercial Banking and National Sales Strategy.
Mr. Boyd is an active and dedicated community leader, including his involvement on the Board of the National Music Centre, Advisory Boards for The Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at The Haskayne School of Business and the University of Alberta Business School and, most recently, a newly appointed Board Member with the Calgary Homeless Foundation.
A leader who is committed to helping local communities prosper, Jeff is an advocate for the power of communities and the impact caring people can have, particularly regarding the critical social issues Calgary’s most vulnerable populations face. It is for these reasons that Jeff is honoured to serve as a member of the CHF Board and help address the critical shortage of affordable housing in our community.
In a recent interview with Jeff, he shared his passion for his community, his initial introduction to the homeless serving sector and what he hopes to accomplish with the CHF Board over the next year.
What inspired you to begin serving on the CHF Board?
I got exposure to the work of the foundation when RBC made a million dollar gift to the RESOLVE Campaign. Through that, I gained more and more knowledge around the work of the Campaign and really liked the concept of nine organizations all working collaboratively towards that goal of ending homelessness. In our business, it’s all about collaboration. I was introduced to the idea of a Plan to End Homelessness in Calgary. It’s a pretty audacious goal that attracts a lot of attention and I like audacious goals. That, in turn, led me to the Calgary Homeless Foundation where I was asked to be a Board Member.
In light of other potential social issues you could be a part of, what made you choose to put your time into the issue of homelessness?
We’ve got a 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness and it’s an incredible goal. From my own experience of having a really good, stable home, I know that that’s important for our society to have a solid foundation, a solid home. A lot of stuff starts foundationally with a good home and you can see that when we talk about the Housing First approach. When you start to understand Housing First and the philosophy and the research behind it, you can see all of the direct impacts in has in health, crime prevention, employment, reduced reliance on government. Everything connects back to having a home, having a solid foundation.
What do you hope to see CHF accomplish in the next three years?
I hope to see us accomplish a lot more of the same. There’s a lot going on the community, in the sector in terms of pulling together to achieve our goals. I hope to see CHF continue to deliver more leadership and to keep moving towards finding innovative solutions.
You’ve been a part of multiple boards over the years. What has made you so passionate about volunteering and helping communities prosper?
I would say a good solid upbringing. I was brought up with the value that you give people a hand up when they need it. I’ve been extremely fortunate in my life and with my family and I feel a responsibility to pay it forward. And truly, being a part of something like this, I get more in personal satisfaction than I think that I will ever be able to give. I get a lot more back than I put in.
