Careers in Motion: Rebecca Alty, BCS’07

In our series, Careers in Motion, we bring you interviews with alumni who are innovators, thought leaders and experts in their field. But this was a first — an interview with a mayor, a 35-year-old who’s currently running Yellowknife.

Meet Rebecca Alty, BCS’07, who returned to her hometown after completing her studies in communications at UCalgary. Although she’d served on Yellowknife’s city council for six years, Alty decided to run for mayor in 2018 so that she could “advance the issues that are important to Yellowknifers and make City Hall the best it can be.” Sure, it may sound like a political platitude, but she’s the real deal and is so passionate about Yellowknife that she writes in an email that everyone — at least once in their lifetime — should visit the northern city: “Whether it’s in the winter to see the northern lights while enjoying a live band in the Snow Castle, or if it’s in the summer when we have 24-hour daylight, you can go fishing or swimming or golfing at midnight . . . it should be on everyone’s bucket list.”

What are the top three  lessons you learned at UCalgary?

(1) In doing so many group projects, I learned to appreciate that a variety of perspectives can make your final product better. (2) Exercise. During the busy times, I’d feel like I should skip the gym and study more, but taking those breaks always meant that I went back and studied harder because I had re-energized myself and my head was ready to learn again. (3) Don’t ignore bulletin boards — they’re always filled with really interesting events and activities. I met some neat people, learned some interesting things and got to experience some incredible opportunities as a result of reading those on campus.

What are the top three skills you need for your job right now? 

What I need to be able to do is listen to people and really understand their problem (because it’s not always what they say it is), try to find common ground when people may seem like they have opposing views, and problem-solve (what’s the current issue, what does success look like and how can we get there?).

What do you wish you knew more about? 

I wish I could speak one of the Indigenous languages in the Yellowknife area fluently. I’ve been taking some Tlicho lessons, but I feel that I have a long way to go before I’m fluent.

What keeps you up at night? 

Delivering on our core services while also managing programs/services that are being downloaded on us from other orders of government, and the growing expectations from residents that the City be involved in more and more things outside of our core mandate. Trying to get it all done with our limited number of staff and budget is a challenge.

What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation? 

Tips and advice on campaigning for those considering running for election. I get asked to speak on that topic a lot.

What’s something you’ve been meaning to try, but just haven’t gotten around to? 

I wouldn’t really classify it as “something to try,” but I really want to go to every continent, and the last one that I need to visit is Antarctica. It looks stunning and peaceful, but expensive to visit, so I have to save up a bit more.