The measure of a person is often found in the impact they have in other people's lives. If that is the case, Livia is an outstanding example of how a person can be at once strong, intelligent, and proud and yet be sensitive, supportive and kind to others at the same time. If you read the comments section in this website, you will begin to learn the measure of Livia and how she touched the hearts and minds of all her friends, family and co-workers. Livia loved life, she lived it well, and we loved her for it.

Livia was born Birté Livia Friederike Stoyke in a small town in Germany . Growing up in a supportive family with two brothers and loving parents, Livia and her family moved to Canada when she was 11. To ease the apprehension of moving, she was given a horse, and her love of horses truly blossomed. At this time, young Birté decided to change her name to Livia to make it easier for Canadians to pronounce.

Over time, Livia developed her artistic talents and after working at a disabled Children's Centre in Germany for a year, decided to enroll in the University of Alberta 's Fine Arts Department. Her creativity and leadership qualities flourished as a student, and her love of art began to focus on her strongest passions, painting, graphic design, photography and sculpting. Upon graduation in the field of Visual Communications, Livia grew bold and in time, formed her own graphic design company, Cyberlynx Design Inc. Bucking trends of being a woman in a CEO role, Livia challenged herself and her co-workers to excel. Her company grew and became very successful after four years. After which, she merged with another company to form Redengine Inc.

As Creative Director of Redengine Inc. Livia truly became a leader. Her overwhelming friendliness, creativity and business smarts impressed everyone around her. This respect translated into a number of design awards for Redengine and in strong friendships with her co-workers. A love of mountain biking ensued and Livia became a strong competitor. For example, she was always proud of the moment she fell off her bike and assumed a tai-kwon do pose or of having rode in the 24 hours of Adrenalin Mountain Bike race at night time, in muddy conditions, and making great time.

Throughout this period, Livia's love of life knew no bounds and she practiced hard at tai-kwon do and kayaking, among other interests. The friendships she made were strong and her compassion and character became a lightening rod for many of us, who were attracted by her intelligence, kindness, exuberance and beauty

Although Livia's life ended at 32 in a white water kayaking accident leaving loved ones yearning for more, her legacy lives on in how she treated us. Her bravery, compassion, strength and cheerful nature helped influence many of our characters today, and in honor of her memory, we have formed this foundation to support the causes she believed in.

If you read this bio closely, you can discern the threads of her passions and causes. Her time in Germany as a child counselor for the disabled hints at her deep love of children. Livia's passion for the arts is obvious, and one of her future goals was to retire and support young artists. Livia's strong desire to support women is hinted at by her experiences as an executive in a male dominated business world, in which she encouraged other woman to break down the glass ceiling, of which she did with such grace and smarts. Her passion for the environment is echoed by her hobbies: kayaking, mountain biking and hiking. For instance, Livia hiked the West Coast Trail by herself, a grueling hike through spectacular terrain, which only reinforced her feelings of a great spiritual connection with nature.

Although this biography only paints a brief picture of Livia and does not describe all that she achieved in life, everyone at the Livia Stoyke Foundation hopes the work we do in her honor mirrors our deep respect for how she lived her life. As a result, we are passionate about what we do. Please read our programs section to learn about all the causes we support and the programs we offer.

Thank you.

In Livia's own words,

“Life is too short to be ordinary. My passion if for the extraordinary. For making all things interesting, beautiful and functional – in ways that are unique. Creating engaging experiences and solutions that people get excited about. Building creative teams that are passionate about what they're doing as I am. Those are the things that drive me.”