Every year, Edify magazine shares it’s Top 40 Under 40 – a group of Edmontonians who are making an impact on our city. This year, five MacEwan alumni made the cut, including April MacDonald Killins. She attended MacEwan’s Theatre Arts program from 2004-2006, and is now the executive director of the ABC Head Start Society and a multidisciplinary artist.
We caught up with her recently to discuss her career, her passions and her time at MacEwan.
What moment or memory from your time at MacEwan stands out to you the most?
I remember walking into the arts campus every morning and being surrounded by creativity. I'd pass a row of musicians practicing, hear big band jazz from a classroom, then see dancers in the studios doing modern or ballet choreography, and then pass by an open classroom door of visual artists drawing or painting. That building was so alive with ideas and creative process – I was thrilled to just exist in that space and be part of it.
How did your MacEwan experience help get you to where you are now?
MacEwan sends out casting calls and job postings to alumni and one of the opportunities they shared became a major turning point for me. It was with the Royal Conservatory's Learning Through the Arts (LTTA) program. LTTA introduced me to education by placing me in schools all over Alberta to lead lesson planning, classroom activities, teacher PD and retreats for K-12 educators. I spent seven years introducing arts-based teaching methods.
After 10 years working multiple jobs simultaneously as an artist, educator, and manager, I found my way onto ABC Head Start Society's leadership team, where I was recently appointed executive director. I'm thrilled to be leading an organization that sees the capacity of every child and gives them the best head start in learning and life.
Why are you passionate about your current work?
As a neurodiverse learner myself, my experience with traditional teaching methods and school structures was sometimes challenging. I struggled in subjects that were taught with rigidity, while earning perfect or near-perfect grades in subjects that were better able to draw on my strengths to engage me. I know from experience (and from research that followed my work with LTTA) that rigid subjects like math and chemistry can be successfully taught in creative ways that hook learners and leave no one behind. I also know that getting left behind in school when you're young can make it almost impossible to catch up later. The earlier we start drawing on children's interests to engage them in learning, the better outcomes we'll see throughout their life.
What would you say has been your greatest achievement so far?
In 2021 I completed a two-year research project with Edmonton's theatre community as part of my graduate degree. Research participants included over 130 local artists and representatives from 17 different training pathways in Edmonton. The results of my research illustrated access barriers faced by artists from historically oppressed groups, on grounds such as race or ethnicity, neurodiversity, disability, gender, body diversity, orientation and other factors. This research was undertaken in partnership with the YEG Performing Arts Accessibility Ad Hoc Group, which published a list of commitments related to my findings and recommendations. As a result of this research, I've seen institutional policy and procedure changes and my findings have been used in funding applications to open up more inclusive mentorship structures in the city.Read April’s Top 40 Under 40 profile.