Meet Our Board

​Yegor Korchemagin was the founding President of the original Taking Strides Calgary organization in 2016. Yegor’s leadership has grown through the creation and development of the Taking Strides programming in Calgary, and he continues to be actively involved in the progression of the Taking Strides mission as a director on the Board of Directors. Outside of Taking Strides, Yegor is a resident physician in the Post-Graduate Medical Education program at the University of Calgary.

Philip Surmanowicz was a founding executive integral in the initial creation of Taking Strides. Since then, he has been involved in the development of the Calgary dry-land and aquatic programs and is expanding Taking Strides into Edmonton. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Philip is interested in facilitating and guiding future expansion projects to better serve special needs youth across Canada.

Reid Collins joined Taking Strides Calgary as a volunteer in the Aquatics program’s first iteration, and was indispensable in the program’s early growth. Reid later became a Communications executive before taking on the role of the Director of Aquatics Programming until late 2019. Currently, he serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Taking Strides Children’s Foundation liaising between the Board of Directors and the Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver student chapters. He has extensive experience in the biotech sphere and quality improvement realm of healthcare implementation delivery, and hopes to use this knowledge in supporting the needs of the special needs community in Alberta and beyond. Reid is currently a medical student in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

Aspen Lillywhite joined Taking Strides Calgary in 2017 as a general volunteer with the Aquatics program. She went on to serve as the Director of Aquatics, Founder and Director of Rhythm & Strength, and then President. She now serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Taking Strides Children’s Foundation working closely with our Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver programs to refine programming, train executives and broaden the Taking Strides community. Aspen values direct involvement with the Taking Strides community and also continues her work on the ground as a general volunteer with the children on a weekly basis. She is currently a medical student in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

David Yang is the Chairman of the Board of Directors who began his involvement with Taking Strides as a general volunteer for the Taking Strides Calgary chapter in 2016. During his time with Taking Strides Calgary, David served as a Jr. Executive, then Volunteer Relations Officer, and Vice President for the chapter. David has served as the Chief Executive Officer for the Taking Strides Children’s Foundation where he has helped expand the organization to communities in Edmonton, Lethbridge, and Vancouver. Outside of Taking Strides, David is pursuing full-time studies in the Leaders in Medicine program at the University of Calgary with a goal of continuing to advocate for his community in his future career as a physician.

Greg Tapuska is a member of the Board of Directors of the Taking Strides Children’s Foundation and currently serves as the Treasurer and Chair of the Audit Committee. He is a Chartered Accountant, having completed his CA Articling hours with Deloitte LLP in Calgary and passed the 2014 UFE. Prior to obtaining his CA, he graduated from the Haskayne School of Business. He is currently a Specialist at Enbridge Inc. in the Canadian Gas Transmission group.