Meet Chipalo.

I came to Winnipeg from Zambia in the late nineties, as a teenager. This city took me in, put me through school, and gave me a shot — and I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to return that.

My wife Grace and I have lived in Louis Riel School Division since 2012 and here in Ward 4 since 2015. We’re raising five kids in this division. On a given weekend you’ll find me at a dance studio, a hockey arena, a soccer pitch, a basketball court or a football field — usually more than one of them. In the summer I’m a stubborn golfer and an unapologetic food and culture explorer.

I studied at the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business and hold a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons). My working life has been business development, contract management and people leadership, alongside board work with community organisations, non-profits and charities. That’s not decoration on a campaign page. A school division runs a budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and someone at that table has to be able to read it, question it, and say plainly where the money is going.

I’ve always been drawn to leadership, and I thought about trusteeship for years before I ran. What decided it was simple: nine people set the direction for every school in this division, and I wanted Ward 4 represented at that table by someone who lives here. So I ran.

Since 2022 I’ve served Ward 4 on the Louis Riel board, on the province’s MUST Fund Committee and on the division’s Riel-Evate Endowment Fund Committee. I believe in inclusive education that gives every student psychological safety, and in equal opportunity for every child regardless of race, background or circumstance. Beyond the board I volunteer across Winnipeg — the Point Douglas Run in support of the North Point Douglas Women’s Centre, and Folklorama, which celebrates the same diversity our classrooms already have.

I’m asking for a second term to keep doing it, with the same four priorities I’ve held since the day I was elected.

My official trustee profile is on the division’s site at lrsd.net.