Alka Merlin

Alka is a strategic communications leader with over 13 years of progressive experience, including five years as a senior advisor to executives. She specializes in organizational positioning, strategic planning, and executive communications, with a track record of translating complex priorities into clear, compelling narratives that support decision-making and strategic execution.

Alka joined VCC from Immigrant Services Calgary (ISC), where she led integrated communications and external relations strategies to increase brand visibility, drive service uptake, and build partnerships for ISC and Gateway, a federally funded pilot project designed to streamline services for newcomers. Before joining ISC, Alka led external communications, including reporting and media relations, which contributed to fundraising efforts that exceeded $45 million annually for United Way of Calgary and Area. Prior to immigrating to Canada in 2013, Alka provided strategic and operational guidance to organizations across multiple sectors, including real estate, where she supported the development and management of a major development project financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. 

"When I arrived in Calgary as an immigrant, my first home was a rented basement studio with a tiny window and no furniture. I had my first meal sitting on the floor, sharing a loaf of bread with a friend.

Through a mix of hard work, luck, and kindness from strangers, I managed to build a good life here. But along the way, I saw how many people never get that same chance, not because they don’t work hard, but because of systems that keep poverty in place. Those systems limit opportunities, trap people in cycles they didn’t create, and make it harder for entire communities to move forward.

That’s why I believe in pushing for a city where there is enough for all. It means more than just supporting people in crisis—it means challenging and changing the structures that create poverty, and contributing to solutions that give everyone the opportunity to thrive. This is why Vibrant Communities Calgary exists—and why I’m proud to be part of this work.

No one should have to rely on luck to live with dignity, and everyone deserves the chance to thrive. Enough for all means dignity, opportunity, and fairness for everyone who calls this city home."