Nancy first stepped into public life in 1992 when she was elected to the Fort McMurray Public School Board.  During her three terms in office she represented the Alberta School Boards Association to the Minister of Education on his task force to guide the direction of business involvement in education.  She was chair of Central Alberta Media Services and Director of the Public School Boards Association of Alberta.  Her terms in Fort McMurray taught Nancy to approach governance by listening, by acting and by believing that you can make change that serves your constituents. 

Every challenge Nancy meets she faces with boundless energy and a passion to succeed.  She brings a vital energy to her projects, be it a simple task at home with her children or to managing large projects and staff complements of 900 for Statistics Canada.  Rising to the challenges of developing and managing city wide writing competitions for students or building a library from scratch with no funding in a third world country, Nancy has a ‘can do’ attitude that has led to her success after success.

Nancy knows what it is to be a working mother, and to manage the changing needs of family in a busy vibrant community.  After 18 years in Fort McMurray, Nancy moved to Edmonton in 1999 and made a home in Whitemud as a single parent with two children still at home.  She understands the challenges faced by our families and women in making ends meet financially and holding a family together in tough times.  She believes that a critical role of our government is to help all kinds of families thrive and grow.  Nancy is a teacher with Edmonton Public Schools, presently teaching grade 6 and French as a Second Language at Duggan School.  Public education has always been a priority in Nancy’s career and she believes that the future of our province is ensured by a government that sees public education as a priority.

Nancy is married to Barry Cavanaugh. They are parents to Emily, a junior high student, and Katie, a nursing student at U of A. Beyond the home are their 5 older children, Tiffany, Melissa, Adam, their partners and four grandchildren in Edmonton, as well as Jessica in Toronto and Paul in Vancouver. 

Educated in Montreal, Toronto, Waterloo and London, Nancy left the east as a young woman and made her future in Alberta, an Albertan by choice. Nancy is proud to serve the people of Edmonton Whitemud and the people of Alberta, and believes passionately in making a difference.