Appointed to the MacEwan Board of Governors as a public member in August 2006 and re-appointed in August 2009, Oryssia Lennie served in the public sector for 35 years, 26 with the Alberta Government and 9 with the Government of Canada. Oryssia was Deputy Minister of Western Economic Diversification Canada from 1997 until her retirement from the Public Service of Canada in June, 2009.  She led a department, which brought people, ideas, and resources together in a collaborative effort to develop and diversify the western Canadian economy through improving knowledge infrastructure, accelerating technology commercialization, improving business competitiveness, and expanding access to financing.

Oryssia ‘s years of experience in public administration and public policy development in the federal and Alberta governments bring extensive governance experience to the Board through her professional background and her community involvement.  Prior to joining the federal government in 1997, she was the Deputy Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs, Government of Alberta (1990-97), where she was responsible for a broad range of issues including constitutional policy and negotiations, international trade policy, internal trade agreement negotiations, and the social union framework.

Oryssia is Vice-Chair of the MacEwan Board of Governors and has been very pleased to be a part of building MacEwan as a dynamic, progressive post-secondary institution which contributes significantly to the local and provincial economy.  She is a member of the Human Resources and Audit/Finance Committees and currently chairs the Presidential Search Committee.

Her strong commitment to public service continues in other ways as well.  She participates in numerous public sector and charitable organization boards and in these, as well as in her work, has demonstrated strong leadership, strategic planning, and policy skills.  She has received numerous awards for her accomplishments in public service and in the area of business and management, including the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal, the 2002 Lieutenant Governor's Gold Medal for Excellence in Public Service and the 1997 YMCA Women of Distinction Award.

Oryssia was appointed in November, 2009 as Vice Chair of the newly constituted Alberta Research and Innovation Authority.  She is also currently a member of the national United Way-Centraide Board of Directors.  Past professional and volunteer community affiliations include the Business Development Bank Board of Directors, the United Way of the Capital Region Board of Directors (Chair and Member), the University of Alberta Board of Governors,  (Vice-Chair and Public Member), the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Board of Governors,  and the Ronald MacDonald House Board of Directors.

A graduate of the University of Alberta in Arts (Political Science), Oryssia and her husband Malcolm have two sons, Dave and Chris.