Jennifer Kapala

Title: Acting General Manager, People, Innovation & Collaboration Services 

Career history: Jennifer joined The City of Calgary in 2007. She holds 20 years of experience in complex public‑sector environments. She has delivered large-scale transformation, supported evolving workplace cultures, and helped shape organizational direction across municipal and provincial governments.

Throughout her career, Jennifer has helped organizations turn ambitious vision into real-world results. Jennifer is known for identifying what isn’t working and imagining what could be. She partners closely with senior leaders to align around bold priorities and translate strategy into meaningful, sustained change.

Jennifer holds an Executive MBA from Queen’s University and a Certified Human Resources Professional designation, as well as several certifications in consensus building, change management, and business continuity planning. She is the recipient of an Individual HR Excellence Award from Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of Alberta for exceptional leadership, innovation, and commitment to the profession.

Areas of focus: Jennifer turns strategy into action across people, performance, and culture. Her work has helped modernize people practices, strengthen organizational performance, and build high‑trust, high‑accountability teams. Her expertise spans people strategy, culture and transformation, equity and belonging, leadership development, talent strategy, employee experience, and restorative workplace practices.

Leadership philosophy: Jennifer’s leadership style is collaborative and transparent, grounded in a transformative, people‑first approach and the belief that great workplaces don’t happen by accident.

As a woman executive in public service, she is passionate about creating inclusive environments where diverse talent can lead, grow, and make real impact. Above all, she believes that when people thrive, organizations do too.