INNOVATIVE Innisfail
Meet the Team
A personalized Experience: Agile, Integrated, Investor-Focused.
Guided by our "Power of Place" strategy, we provide a streamlined, concierge-style experience for investors and industry leaders. We collaborate across the corridor to strengthen Innisfail’s role as a premier hub for industry and circular economy growth, ensuring your project is positioned at the centre of regional innovation.
For business or investment inquiries, contact John Powell, Economic Development Officer. John serves as your single point of contact, coordinating our full municipal team to ensure your project moves from inquiry to execution with precision, support, and speed.
John Powell
Economic Development Officer for the Town of Innisfail
Strategic Leadership. Approachable Expertise.
John Powell leads Innisfail’s initiatives in investment readiness, business support, and industrial growth with a philosophy rooted in accessibility and action. Since joining the Town in early 2024, John has built a reputation as a down-to-earth partner who values straight talk and collaborative problem-solving. He serves as the lead architect of Innisfail’s investment concierge service, offering investors a "no-surprises" path to project completion.
A proven track record of regional success with a career spanning more than 16 years, John brings an extensive background in municipal land development and strategic planning to the QEII Corridor. His experience is defined by high-stakes leadership in complex regulatory environments across Western Canada and internationally:
- Land & Economic Development Officer | City of Red Deer, AB
- Director of Economic Development & Tourism | District of Tumbler Ridge, BC
- Economic Development Coordinator | RDOS (Penticton/Okanagan Falls), BC
- Economic & Heritage Project Coordinator | Thames Strategy – Kew to Chelsea, London, UK
John’s approach is rooted in a simple belief: growth should not come at the expense of the local assets that make Innisfail home. He is deeply committed to safeguarding the unique character and recreational lifestyle that residents love, ensuring that as we grow and welcome new businesses and industry, we protect the "Innisfail feel." For John, success is about building the trusted, long-term relationships that allow local businesses to thrive and new investors to feel like part of the community fabric.
Holding a Master’s degree in Tourism Management, John leverages an expert understanding of lifestyle-driven economics to ensure industrial growth enhances, rather than displaces, the community’s soul. This unique perspective allows him to combine academic rigour with a pragmatic, down-to-earth style, making the navigation of complex land developments and regulatory processes straightforward and accessible. By blending high-level strategy with an easy-going personality, John ensures that every partner—from the local shop owner to the international investor—receives the clear communication and dedicated support needed to succeed in Innisfail.
Michelle McFadden-Loomis
Business Development Advisor, Regional Business Support Network (RBSN)
Michelle McFadden is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC-Canada), Business Coach, and Entrepreneurial Trainer with more than 20 years of experience helping entrepreneurs build profitable and sustainable businesses. She specializes in grant navigation, business planning, marketing strategy, growth navigation, and AI training that empowers owners to take confident action.
Michelle has supported hundreds of businesses across Central Alberta and is recognized with multiple awards for excellence in business development and mentorship. Her background spans financial leadership, business ownership, sales & marketing and much more, experience she now brings directly to the entrepreneurs of Innisfail through the RBSN.
About the Regional Business Support Network (RBSN)
In partnership with the Town of Innisfail, the Regional Business Support Network provides high-value business support services at absolutely no cost to local entrepreneurs. Business owners gain access to personalized one-on-one advisory sessions, strategic guidance, and navigation of funding and growth opportunities—support designed to strengthen operations and accelerate success.
As an added benefit, every participating business also receives a professional promotional video valued at over $6,000, completely free. This high-quality video is yours to keep and use across your website and social media, and is also shared through community and regional channels to help expand your visibility and reach.
RBSN makes expert business support accessible, practical, and tailored to the needs of Innisfail’s business community—ensuring local entrepreneurs have the tools and exposure they need to grow with confidence.