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Kimberly Lyall was born and raised in Lethbridge,
Alberta, Canada, a city of approximately 70,000
people. Her parents divorced when she was 6
years old, and the years that followed brought
a multitude of challenges with remarriages,
another divorce, and numerous family pressures.
Kimberly lived below the poverty line for much
of her childhood, babysitting at every opportunity
to earn money to purchase her own necessities.
Kimberly became withdrawn, depressed, and eventually
contemplated suicide in her teens. She felt
very alone, unconfident, trapped and not understood.
She wanted more out of life. She believed she
was meant for more, but didn't know how to get
there.
Kimberly's life changed dramatically the year
she turned 18 years old after she was chosen
to go on a Lions Club sponsored youth exchange
to England for 7 weeks. While in England she
learned firsthand the power of people volunteering
in their community, and how every person had
the potential to make a difference. Following
that experience, she became a member of the
Lions Club, and actively promoted and coordinated
the youth exchange program for many years.
Kimberly also became an instructor, and eventually
the co-director, of the Lions Youth Exchange
Leadership Camp held annually in Waterton Lakes
National Park, Alberta. This camp is the only
of its kind in the world, and is an intensive
one-week program focused on building community
and instilling leadership into students from
around the world. Kimberly played a fundamental
role in the growth of prestige of the camp through
the leadership programming she developed, and
her high personal involvement with the students.
Kimberly's many experiences working with youth
from around the world to develop leadership
skills, and discussing solutions to world issues,
have greatly affected her own development. The
experiences at this camp are shared in most
of Kimberly's presentations.
As a young adult Kimberly was forced to sever
ties with her family. Kimberly took her newfound
freedom as an opportunity to live her life fully,
and has never looked back. From that point,
Kimberly became a highly respected community
volunteer, her contributions recognized with
a number of honours. Kimberly began her successful
professional career as a Youth Entrepreneurship
Development Officer, and is currently the General
Manager of the oldest tourism bureau in Alberta.
She also has a talent agent based in Calgary
representing her for work in television and
film.
Kimberly continues to co-direct the Leadership
Camp, working with students from 15 to 20 countries
each year. Kimberly has spoken to well over
50,000 people at schools, conferences and special
events across North America. In addition, Kimberly
is the Alberta Celebrate Canada Committee representative
for Southwest Alberta, and is a director of
the Lethbridge and District YWCA. In 2003, she
was one of only 10 women in Canada chosen to
represent Canada at the World YWCA Council held
in Brisbane, Australia. At this conference Kimberly
presented a workshop on developing self-esteem
in young women, and also wrote and presented
a resolution on women's reproductive rights
that was passed unanimously by the assembly
(an almost unheard of feat). Kimberly worked
for two years on a national task force for the
YWCA of Canada assisting in the creation of
a youth engagement tool kit, published for YWCA's
across Canada. This piece has caught attention
of YWCA's around the world, and is being studied
for its insight into recruiting youth involvement
in the volunteer sector.
A sample of recent speaking engagements:
- 2004 Alberta Student Leadership Conference
- 2003 Canadian Student Leadership Conference
- 2003 Manitoba Student Leadership Conference
- 2003 Montana Skills USA Conference
- 2003 Montana Family, Career and Community
Leaders of America Conference
- 2003 YWCA World Conference
- 2003 YWCA of Lethbridge Young Girl, Savvy
Woman Conference
- 2002 Southern Alberta Interschool Athletic
Council Student Leadership Conference
- 2002 Saskatchewan District 5 Lions Clubs
Motivational Day
- 2002 YWCA of Lethbridge Young Girl, Savvy
Woman Conference
- Lions Leadership Institute 2000
- Tools for 2000 Youth Initiatives Symposium
- Generation E: New Economy Awareness for
Youth Seminar
- Rediscovery Camps International - Boundary
Breaking
- Athabasca University - Bachelor of Business
Administration Program
- Lethbridge Community College - Business
Administration Diploma
- Winston Churchill High School
- YWCA Young Woman of Distinction 2000
- Lions Clubs International President's Certificate
of Appreciation
- Lions Foundation of Canada Fellowship
- Canada Day Youth Award
- Model & Talent Search Canada - "Talent
of the Year" & "TV Commercial
Winner" 2001
- YWCA of/du Canada National Youth Engagement
Task Force
- YWCA of Lethbridge & District, Director
- Lions Clubs International, Youth Exchange
Program Coordinator
- Lethbridge Coulee Lions Club
- Alberta Celebrate Canada Committee, Southwest
Alberta Representative
- Lethbridge Celebrate Canada Committee
- Alberta International Airshow, Ground Crew
- Southern Alberta Japanese United Church,
Treasurer
- Heart & Stroke Foundation, Canvasser
- Kidney Foundation, Canvasser
- Diabetes Association, Canvasser
- Lung Association, Canvasser
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