Voting for AthletesCAN’s Board of Directors is now open! AthletesCAN has three (3) total positions up for election this year; two (2) Director positions each with 3-year terms and one (1) Director position with a 2-year term.
The election period runs from 9:00am ET, Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025 to 8:00pm ET on Tuesday, September 30th, 2025 . All members of AthletesCAN as of 11:59pm ET on Saturday, September 7th, 2025 are eligible to vote for up to two (2) candidates.
The newly-elected directors will be announced at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday, October 5th, 2025 at the AthletesCAN Forum in Calgary, Alberta.
2025-26 AthletesCAN Board of Directors Candidates
Tristan Burgoyne (He/Him)
Sport: Field Hockey
Primary Place of Residence: British Columbia
Athlete Status: Recently Retired Senior National Team Athlete for less than 8 years
Bio : Tristan Burgoyne represented Canada as a goalie on the national field hockey team. He graduated with honours from the UBC Sauder School of Business and then started his career in TELUS’ Marketing Development Program, gaining expertise in strategy and growth. Tristan then served as Chief Operating Officer at Oat Couture Oatmeal Café, where he led the growth and operation. He has since founded his own company, Podium Mind, working closely with national team athletes to support the development of youth athletes across Canada. He is passionate about creating positive sports experiences for athletes at all levels.
Why do you wish to represent the voice of Canada’s senior national team athletes as a member of AthletesCAN’s Board of Directors? I am a recently retired field hockey senior national team athlete and I was really fortunate in my career that I also got to spend a lot of time developing my professional career. I’m so excited by the opportunity to take everything I’ve learned professionally in business and apply it to AthletesCAN Board of Directors if I am elected. I started my career at Telus and jumped to being a Chief Operating Officer after that and have been building my own company in the sport space working with senior national team athletes. I’ve absolutely loved being able to contribute to a positive sport environment in Canada and that’s what really excites me about the opportunity to be on the AthletesCAN Board of Directors. I hope to be able to take the skill set that I built as a business leader and apply it when it comes to driving awareness and driving for important changes that have a positive impact on Canadian senior national team athletes.
What is your vision for AthletesCAN and how do you feel you’d contribute as a Board member? My vision when it comes to being a part of the AthletesCAN Board of Directors is to support a world-class advocacy that already exists but be able to support it adapting in a fast-paced changing environment today and ensuring that we’re driving forward positive change for our senior national team athletes. I was really fortunate to start my career at Telus in a High Performance Marketing program where I learned a really strong skill set in creating and executing on strategy that drove positive change. I then went from there to being a restaurant Chief Operating Officer and had to take that same skill set and apply it in a resource constrained environment. Over my career, I’ve been in business, and I felt a strong kind of skill set and the opportunity to apply it to the AthletesCAN Board of Directors and support our national team is something that I’m really excited about.
Grace Dafoe (She/Her)
Sport: Skeleton
Primary Place of Residence: Alberta
Athlete Status: Current Senior National Team Member
Bio: Grace is a Canadian skeleton athlete who has proudly represented Canada internationally since 2014. Retiring from competition in January 2026, she is eager to give back to Canadian sport and strengthen athlete representation. Grace is passionate about community and works full-time for the non-profit Classroom Champions, supporting athlete-to-teacher connections that inspire students across North America. A lifelong advocate for sport, she brings a collaborative mindset and is committed to amplifying athlete voices and helping shape a stronger, more inclusive sport system as a member of the AthleteCAN board.
Why do you wish to represent the voice of Canada’s senior national team athletes as a member of AthletesCAN’s Board of Directors? I’m interested in joining the AthletesCAN Board of Directors because I want to be a part of the next generation of sport and help make an impact because I know sport has changed my life and I want to help give back to the next generation and shape the Canadian sport system moving forward.
What is your vision for AthletesCAN and how do you feel you’d contribute as a Board member: I spent the last 14 years navigating ice going down an ice track and am approaching retirement in the upcoming few months and I would love to join the AthletesCAN board so I can help be an advocate for sport and help move sport forward from a different lens and different perspective. I’m deeply passionate and I’m a hard worker and would love to join your board and just be a part of having a seat at the table in advancing sport in Canada and making things easier for the next generation.
Mollie Jepsen (She/Her/Hers)
Sport: Para-Alpine Skiing
Primary Place of Residence: British Columbia
Athlete Status: Current Senior National Team Member
Bio: My name is Mollie Jepsen! I am a 6 time Paralympic Medalist and two time Paralympic Champion from the PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games. I am currently working towards the Milano Cortina Paralympic Games this coming March. I hold a Bachelors degree in arts and science, majoring in sport science. I enjoy competing at the highest levels and becoming the best version of myself as well as pursuing excellence in academic and professional spaces.
Why do you wish to represent the voice of Canada’s senior national team athletes as a member of AthletesCAN’s Board of Directors? I am a current competing para alpine skier and I have been for the last 10 years, and I represented Canada at the Beijing and Pyeongchang Paralympic Games and I’m pursuing the Milano Cortina Games. I’ve had a lot of experience, both good and bad, in sport and I really believe in an athlete-centered and focused support system. I’m pursuing a spot on the AthletesCAN to hopefully help out these voices be heard and build a better future for athletes
What is your vision for AthletesCAN and how do you feel you’d contribute as a Board member: I have had lots of experience in seeing first hand the struggles that athletes go through, and all of the good, and I’m pursuing a spot on the AthletesCAN Board of Directors to help ensure we are creating an athlete centered and focused system so that all athletes voices can be heard. I think the most important thing is that we create a space where athletes are heard and seen,and we create a better future for everyone moving forward. With all my experience I’m hoping that I can bring that to the table. I think I also have a very unique experience coming from a paralympic and able body side of sport that I’ve competed in both most of my life.
