Connected Through Sport

Join us for an inspiring panel of U of A alumni who have turned their passion for sports into dynamic careers. Hear from:

• Natasha Staniszewski, '00 BCom – Former TSN SportsCentre anchor and current media host for the Calgary Flames and Calgary Stampeders
• Alysia Rissling, '11 BSc (Kinesiology) – Former Canadian Olympic bobsledder and current Director of Business Development for the WHL and CHL
• Andrea Oh, '98 BPE – Former Pandas Varsity Athlete, community innovator, and leader in fostering collaboration and growth

Discover how their experiences in sports shaped their professional journeys and how the skills gained can drive success both within and beyond the sports industry. Attendees will also enjoy a reception following the panel discussion, where they can connect with the panelists and fellow guests.

This event is open to all alumni and their guests.

Additional info

The event is being recorded as part of the WTJ? Live: Career Stories Unplugged, an engaging series of live episode recordings of the What The Job? (WTJ?) podcast, produced by the U of A Alumni Association. WTJ? offers an authentic and unfiltered look into the professional lives and experiences of U of A alumni. Each event in the WTJ? Live series features a dynamic panel discussion on a unique topic, recorded in front of a live audience and later edited into an episode for the WTJ? podcast.

Program Schedule

5:30 PM - 6:10 PM: Doors open and appetizers

6:15 PM - 7:15 PM: Live program and panel discussion

7:15 PM - 8:00 PM: Dessert reception

8:00 PM: Event ends

Note: As the event is at the U of C Red and White Club, we are required to indicate that this event is not affiliated with nor endorsed by the University of Calgary.

Space is limited. Registration will close when the event reaches capacity or on Feb. 9, 2025.

Speaker Info

Natasha Staniszewski, '00 BCom

Natasha Staniszewski is a well-known Canadian TV personality who’s covered sports for almost 20 years. She is currently a host for Stamps and Flames TV with the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation. You might recognize her from her decade-long tenure as a SportsCentre anchor for TSN where she and co-host Kate Beirness made up the country’s first regular all-woman anchor team.

Natasha now lives in Calgary but was born and raised in Edmonton. She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta and a TV Broadcasting Diploma from NAIT. When she’s not on the golf course or watching hockey, you’ll find her baking up tasty treats in the kitchen, spending time with her nephew, or chasing sunsets.

You can follow Natasha on her social media pages at @tvnatasha.

Alysia Rissling, '11 BSc(Kinesiology)

After graduating from the University of Alberta, where she played 5 years of Pandas Basketball, with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, Alysia headed south to Calgary to give the crazy sport of bobsleigh a try. After one season as a brakemen, she took to the driving seat and progressed from the provincial program to the National team.

Alysia’s bobsleigh career highlights include multiple gold medals on the North America’s cup tour, as well as the overall points total champion in the 2014/15 season. She has a bronze medal in a World Cup race, and has finished 6th place twice at the World Championships, including 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She was part of a history-making moment that caught international headlines in 2015 when she became the first woman to ever pilot a 4 man sled in an international race with a crew of all women. She wrapped up a 10 year career in the sport in 2022 after sweeping international competition in the first full season of the Monobob event, and despite qualifying, was not selected to return to the Olympics.

Translating the business skills she developed as an athlete, she began a career as the director of National Partnerships with the Canadian Hockey League where she works with brand leaders to implement marketing strategies to 1/3 of Canadians who are WHL, OHL, and QMJHL fans. She is currently working towards a dual executive MBA with Queens and Cornell Universities and actively volunteers with organizations dedicated to youth sport such as Kidsport and Classroom Champions.

Andrea Oh, '98 BPE

As a four-time tech founder, Andrea Oh has led her teams through the rough waters of entrepreneurship to two successful exits. She has spent the last 20 years of her career creatively solving "wicked problems" in the health, fitness, and wellness industries with disruptive technologies built to scale. With a focus on social enterprise, she builds companies with a strong backbone of social responsibility by creating positive human impact using technology.

Andrea is currently the Chief Learning Officer at Savvy Knowledge, commercializing research in training and performance through the University of Calgary. Although she has held many executive roles, her greatest strength is in growing companies from 1 to 100 employees through agile operations management, strategic business development, and doing what’s necessary to cultivate the right team as it grows and scales.

Outside of her role as a career professional, she is all about community. She volunteers her time supporting several organizations, including Platform Calgary, the University of Alberta Alumni Calgary Regional Chapter, and the Alumni to Alumni Career Mentoring Program. She also loves the outdoors, spending time on the side of a mountain, cruising down the river on her paddle board, lacing up her running shoes, and getting muddy whenever she can.