Meet our team

You’re reading this right now because you’re looking for the right expertise & advice to make your work better.

We understand how unique & important this is to you right now.

Our team of knowledgeable certified experts cares about you & provides the practical tools & advice to make work better for you and/or your organization.

We ensure the right coach & consultant fit, and are equally committed to helping you achieve your goals in our partnership & to get true value for your investment. Guaranteed.

Search for a specific team member by name, or search by keyword (ex. science, or HR) to find team members with related backgrounds.

Claire Cotton

Core Team , Leadership Team

Director of Operations

Claire is driven by a desire to inspire and develop others. She sees herself always working to better herself and her team. She’s devoted her passion for working with people to creating trusting relationships that deliver success.

Jason Parks

Core Team , Leadership Team

Vice President, Corporate Development

Jason has 20 years of proven business development expertise and believes in creating raving fans from every client experience. Coming from a background in printing and education, the balance of growing business while managing ongoing client projects comes naturally to Jason.

Drew McVeigh

Core Team , Leadership Team

Regional Director, GTA

Drew McVeigh boasts a wealth of business development experience. His expertise in business development, sales, and experience in senior-level management provides him with the ability to form a deep connection with CareerJoy’s corporate clients. Originally from Ireland, Drew studied at Queen's University, Belfast, which provided him a solid business base for the next four decades of his career spanning both Canada and the United Kingdom.  Although Drew has spent much of his management career with multinational telecommunications enterprises, he easily relates to employees at all levels in an organization. In addition to being a part of management, his varied career includes working in a small family enterprise and initiating his own entrepreneurial venture.  Drew is a former member of the British Sport Parachute Association, and has been an avid cyclist throughout his life. He has competed in several major international cycling events, breaking a collarbone at Canada's National velodrome and cycling the closed roads of the Tour de France’s mountain climbs two hours ahead of the official race.  Drew credits his varied career and his international management experience with giving him the tools to provide CareerJoy’s corporate clients with the practical advice and insight they need to engage career transition support.

Erin Patchell

Core Team , Leadership Team

Director of Government Solutions

Erin builds trusted partnerships, taking a great deal of care to understand organizational cultures, business objectives and people management scenarios in order to tailor consulting, learning, training and coaching solutions. Her highest priority is to support her client partners in the Federal and Provincial governments to build their culture from the inside out - top to bottom and bottom to top - living to their highest values, to make real business transformations happen and generate measurable bottom-line results.

Erin has more than 10 years of experience working with senior professionals including coaches, facilitators, learning designers, marketing experts and HR consultants. Her mission is to explore the best ideas, systems, methods, frameworks, tools and assessments and serve as an integrator to connect people and resources.

As a trained professional development coach, Erin is an evangelist of growth mindset and courage, and takes a special interest in service delivery excellence, curiosity, creativity, innovation & agility, organizational learning, culture change and leadership development.

Alan Kearns

Coaching , Core Team , Leadership Team

Managing Partner and Head Career Coach

Alan Kearns is a leading thought leader on all things work. Author and contributor to The National, The Globe & Mail, National Post and CBC Radio, he shares the latest trends and changes in the Canadian workplace. Voted one of the Top 40 under 40, he is the Managing Partner and Founder of CareerJoy, an award-winning national boutique HR services firm serving 500+ leading Canadian organizations including World Vision, Shopify, The United Way, Toyota and The Government of Canada.
From St. John’s to Victoria, he oversees a team of smart, wise, certified professionals offering a variety of HR services including leadership coaching, transition support, employee engagement and workshops. His team is committed to making work better for Canadian professionals and organizations. He believes in the inherent value of the individual and is committed to supporting change and igniting growth.
People made better is work made better.

Meagan Tavenier

Core Team
Meagan is a Hospitality professional with over 18 years of experience in hotels and event planning. She thrives on meaningful interactions and assisting others in achieving their personal and professional goals.

Amanda Lockhart

Core Team
Passionate about people, Amanda is as enthusiastic about the successes of her team members as about her own and,  is always there to support others when needed.  Her years of experience in operational-based roles have provided Amanda with strong knowledge in process development, project management, and systems development. A Concordia graduate in Therapeutic Recreation, Amanda is very involved in her community through both volunteer work and her seat on the board of directors for a non-profit organization.

Jaime-Lee Patrick

Core Team
An optimistic and motivated professional, Jaime-Lee brings over fifteen years of customer service experience gained in wide-ranging and exciting settings including hospitality, aviation and assisting the Board of Directors and Executive Director of Operations for the Canadian Olympic Committee. A highly-adaptable team member, she strives to support her clients through resourceful and constructive collaborations to reach their goals and achieve success. Jaime-Lee has always been driven to help people navigate through situations, both challenging and rewarding. A global citizen from her love of travel, Jaime-Lee carries an abundance of experience and enthusiasm for what the world has to offer and welcomes opportunities to share and grow with her clients and colleagues.

Kieran Davies

Core Team
Born and raised in England, Kieran is always excited for a new adventure. He has multiple years of experience in Marketing and Sales which helps reflect his outgoing personality. Meeting and helping new people is something that Kieran takes pride in.

Jessika D’Oliveira

Core Team
Jessika is a passionate individual eager to help others achieve their career goals. With her diverse educational background and over 7 years of client service experience, she knows exactly how to cater to an individuals’ needs.

Jennifer Facchin

Coaching , Core Team

Certified Career Transition Coach

Jennifer is well known for her passionate and inexhaustible positive way of living and working. Her authentic ability to connect with individuals and teams combined with her tenacity and resourcefulness is integral in the transition journey. Jennifer has an extensive background in HR, recruitment, leadership development, employee engagement,  OD projects, training and facilitation, business development management, and corporate store management.  She has spent over 15 years supporting teams in private sectors while leveraging and maximizing human talent resulting in culture changes and profitable growth.  She is branded for being a change catalyst. Her strategic approach synchronized with human connectedness and mission to serve has been refreshing and has had proven results.   ICCP-1 Associate Certification

George Muenz

Coaching , Core Team
With over 40 years of experience, George is one of our senior coaches and among the most respected career and leadership coaches in Canada. George specializes in working with clients with their very personalized and individualized needs, all while focusing on real-world strategies. Known for his ability to help clients understand and articulate their capabilities, value, and potential, George is a perfect fit for the CareerJoy team. An expert in outplacement, career transition, job search, and on-site termination support - George has experience working with clients that vary from startups to leading international firms like IBM, Price Waterhouse and Motorola. In addition to this, George is very experienced in working with clients from entry-level to the C-Suite.

Credentials

CCDP (Certified Career Development Practitioner)

Personal Interests

Reading, Self-Improvement, Coaching (Work and Sports), International Affairs, Cycling (Road and Track).

Favourite Clients

Favourite Clients are the ones who thank me for the positive impact I have had on their lives and not just for the Job Search Success. I seem to do well with Senior Executives, C-Level.

Success Stories

George is excellent as a career coach - from helping with informational reviews, to resume tips, to networking, negotiating and interview help. However, what he adds above and beyond that skill set (and what was most important to me as a client), was empathy, patience and understanding for each individual's situation.  I originally met George when I parted ways with an employer that almost destroyed my confidence and spirit, not to mention my love of working in sales. I ultimately landed a job at a great company and I negotiated a salary increase from the initial offer & car allowance – I don’t think I would have been successful without George’s initial patience, guidance and just being there for me. - Eve Groth  

Darryl Nielsen

Core Team
Darryl has over 20 years of experience in guiding clients in their search to provide rewarding and results-focused experiences for their most valued assets, their team members. He is passionate about human connections and holds values that drive him to help others. Through his adoption of modern organizational tools his attention on your needs can be fulfilled and you can obtain the results you deserve. When Darryl’s not busy, focusing his attention on your company or his family, he’s volunteering his time resource on a non-profit food security organization he founded and leads.

Karen Haas

Coaching , Core Team , Resume & Branding

Career and Leadership Coach

Karen has a talent for helping clients see the value of their unique combination of skills and the possibilities those skills hold. When coaching clients and writing their resumes, Karen deciphers each client’s driving factors for success and what exactly sets them apart in their field. She is skilled at recognizing ways of leveraging accomplishments and abilities to strategically set and reach goals. By identifying things clients may have overlooked, she helps them to see how their skills can be transferable. Using an analytical approach, Karen facilitates clients in seeing the potential that may not always be obvious to themselves.

Credentials

Bachelor of Arts (Sociology - major; Criminology - concentration; Management - minor) first 5 courses of Certified Financial Planner Designation (former financial planner)

Personal Interests

Medical Research, Gardening, tutoring math; clients:

Favourite Clients

mid 40's - late 50's professionals, career change, students, identity clients, clients with a sense of humour and humility

Success Stories

"Kevin and Karen were critical players in helping me get back on my feet in such a short period of time. I wish I could work with these two forever. Even though I thought I knew how to network, Kevin taught me a lot more. Same with Karen and how to write a real resume." – Andrew Hind

Claire Dillon

Core Team
Claire has over 15 years experience in sales and brand management in the healthcare and luxury fashion industries. She is passionate about understanding her clients’ needs and takes pride in finding the best possible solution for each client. She graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a degree in Political Science and never lets an unknown word pass her by without making a note to look up the definition later.

Martin Bolduc

Coaching
Mr. Martin Bolduc was the Vice-President, Programs Branch at the Canada Border Services Agency from November 2015 to March 2020, after having served as the Vice-President of the Operations Branch since June 2013. During his tenure, he was responsible for a budget of $900 million and a workforce of approximately 10 000 employees. Prior to this, Mr. Bolduc was the Associate Vice-President of the Operations Branch, which includes about 10,000 employees located across Canada and around the world. From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Bolduc was the Director General of the Quebec Region. Mr. Bolduc started his career in the federal government as a Customs Inspector for Revenue Canada, Customs and Excise, in 1988. He was then promoted to Regional Program Officer followed by Chief of Operations at Montréal-Dorval International Airport. Mr. Bolduc has held various executive positions within the former Canada Customs and Revenue Agency and the Canada Border Services Agency in the Montréal and Ottawa areas. These positions covered a broad range of fields including programs, intelligence, contraband, tax services and corporate services. Over the course of his career, Mr. Bolduc has taken part in several international missions related to capacity building, illegal migration as well as negotiation of customs cooperation agreements. He was awarded the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal, Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal, and Peace Officer Exemplary Service Medal. Mr. Bolduc holds a Bachelor's in Economics from Concordia University and a certificate from the Public Executive Program at Queen's University School of Business. He also has completed the Senior Public Sector Leader Program offered by the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University and the Public Service Executive Leadership Program, offered by the Canada School of Public Service.

Ann Demers

Coaching
Former Executive Director, CBSA

Ann is a perfectly bilingual certified integral coach specializing in leadership and career development, executive coaching, HR consulting, and team facilitation.

She has 30+ years of experience in strategic human resource management, talent & learning development, retiring as an Executive Director (EX02) at CBSA where she provided HR services, supported and development/learning coaching to AEXDP participants and guided senior executive community (ADM/Deputy Ministers) on program principles, guidelines and administration; delivered services related to career planning, executive development & professional counselling/coaching; facilitated Action Learning Group/Peer coaching Leadership Circles; Coordinated and acted as a board member in the participant’s promotion processes (EX-2, EX-3).

Previous to that, in an executive role at DND, she Provided strategic direction on the modernization of DND’s EAP, on well-being matters with a particular focus on mental health education, and building a culture of talent development and recognition.

  Ancienne Directrice exécutive à l’ASFC

Ann est coach intégral certifiée parfaitement bilingue, spécialisée dans le développement du leadership et de carrière, le coaching exécutif, la consultation en RH et la facilitation d'équipe.

Elle a plus de 30 ans d'expérience dans la gestion stratégique des ressources humaines, le développement des talents et de l'apprentissage. Elle a pris sa retraite en tant que Directrice exécutive (EX02) à l'ASFC où elle a fourni des services de RH, soutenu et encadré le développement/apprentissage des participants au PPACS et guidé la communauté des cadres supérieurs (SMA/Sous-ministres) sur les principes, les lignes directrices et l'administration du programme; elle a fourni des services liés à la planification de carrière, au développement des cadres et au conseil/coaching professionnel; elle a animé des groupes d'apprentissage par l'action et des cercles de leadership de coaching par les pairs; elle a coordonné et agi en tant que membre du conseil dans les processus de promotion des participants (EX-2, EX-3).

Auparavant, dans un rôle de cadre au MDN, elle a fourni une orientation stratégique sur la modernisation du PAE du MDN, sur les questions de bien-être, avec un accent particulier sur l'éducation en matière de santé mentale, et sur la création d'une culture de développement et de reconnaissance des talents.

Sally Thornton

Coaching
Sally Thornton is a former Assistant Deputy Minister in the federal public service with strong leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills.  She has 30 years of experience, including work in both central agency and line departments.  She is results-oriented and believes that the best way to achieve results is to invest in people – individuals, teams and at the organizational level. Sally retired from the Public Service in 2020, with extensive experience in expenditure management, strategic policy and planning, operations and human resources.  She is a seasoned executive, with a focus on collaborative approaches to complex problems, including organizational change, program and project delivery, operations, risk and change management.  Her most recent focus is on resilience in the workplace, particularly in a pandemic and post-pandemic world, including enhancing well-being; establishing an effective virtual presence, and leveraging appreciative inquiry and the power of positive change. Since retirement, Sally has been spending more time on her hobbies – painting and sculpting - and has continued to maintain her network in the federal government and enhance her facilitation, coaching and mentoring skills.   Sally Thornton est une ancienne sous-ministre adjointe de la fonction publique fédérale, dotée de solides compétences en matière de leadership, de relations interpersonnelles et de communication.  Elle a 30 ans d'expérience, notamment dans des organismes centraux et des ministères responsables.  Elle est axée sur les résultats et croit que la meilleure façon d'obtenir des résultats est d'investir dans les gens - les individus, les équipes et au niveau organisationnel. Sally a pris sa retraite de la fonction publique en 2020, avec une vaste expérience en gestion des dépenses, en politique et planification stratégiques, en opérations et en ressources humaines.  C'est un cadre chevronné, qui privilégie les approches collaboratives pour résoudre des problèmes complexes, notamment en matière de changement organisationnel, d'exécution de programmes et de projets, d'opérations, de gestion des risques et du changement.  Elle s'intéresse plus récemment à la résilience en milieu de travail, en particulier dans un monde pandémique et post-pandémique, notamment en améliorant le bien-être, en établissant une présence virtuelle efficace et en tirant parti de l'enquête appréciative et du pouvoir du changement positif. Depuis qu'elle est à la retraite, Sally consacre plus de temps à ses passe-temps - la peinture et la sculpture - et continue à entretenir son réseau au sein du gouvernement fédéral et à améliorer ses compétences en matière d'animation, de coaching et de mentorat.

Julien Lafreniere

Resume & Branding
Holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and avid writer since I can remember, I had already produced a number of papers, including a novel and various articles, when I got the opportunity of making my debut as a Resume Writer at a world-renowned organization. Soon after, my skills and dedication to consistently surpass customers’ expectations allowed me to get noticed and be promoted as a Senior Resume Writer and Language Expert (English and French) for the Canadian region. Since 2019, I have the pleasure of contributing to CareerJoy’s continued success as a Translator and Certified Resume & Branding Coach. Passionate about meeting new people, I take pride in building close rapport with my clients to understand their unique backgrounds and desires, helping them confidently attack the job market with high-quality, tailored documents.

Gurpreet Dara

Coaching

Certified Transition Coach

With over 15 years of experience, Gurpreet brings expertise and credentials by working in Coaching, Human Resources, Career Development and Vocational Rehabilitation fields. She has successfully worked for Corporate, Government, and Not-for-profit sectors before joining Careerjoy. Gurpreet’s strengths include incorporating adult learning principles and experiential learning aspect to coaching. Her sincere desire to help gives a confidence boost which helps the clients move towards a bright and successful way. She has been recommended by many clients for receiving individualized support and care.

Credentials

Bachelor of Arts Certified Career Development Practitioner Post-Diploma in Human Resources Management Registered Myers Briggs Practitioner

Personal Interests

Staying active, Deepening human relationships, Travel, Cooking, and Watching Comedy shows

Favourite Clients

Clients who are open to learning and engaging. Clients who see life as a journey and would like to be more self-aware. Helped clients from school going to entry-level jobs, mid-level to management level in every sector.

Charlie Guy

Coaching

Senior Career and Leadership Coach

Charlie is a Human Resources professional (CHRE) with over 40 years experience in senior and executive leadership roles extending across a variety of sectors from telecommunication to not for profit.
He has a strong sense of commitment to personal values of integrity, excellence, and continuous improvement. He has cultivated a solid reputation for mentoring and coaching young leaders up to C-suite executives. His coaching has focussed on team building, leadership development and career transition.  

Credentials

Certified Human Resources Executive (CHRE)-HRPA Graduate of Rotman’s Advanced Program in Human Resources Management
Arrow Executive Leadership Program
Bachelor of Arts-History & Geography
Bachelor of Adult Education
 

Personal Interests

Reading
Sports, especially playing golf and pickleball
Coaching Women’s Slo-Pitch baseball
SPN Umpire
 

Delia Noel

Coaching
Special Counsellor by trade, Organizational change and development consultant by profession.
28 years in the helping and social services field working with youth and families in crisis. Over 15 years of presenting various workshops and professional seminars.
My purpose in life is to help change the world, one person at a time.  I aspire to do this by supporting people to have a safe space to question their own beliefs and how those beliefs allow them to navigate the world they live in.

Paula Connolly

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

For 20+ years, Paula has helped clients improve their individual and business outcomes. Her deep understanding of workplace challenges and how to achieve results comes from years of designing and presenting customized training programs for businesses and government.   Paula’s expertise in human resources training and coaching for government clients has seen her lead hundreds of training sessions. She applies adult learning principles and knows the best results occur when participation and questions are encouraged. Paula is adept at adjusting her approach to suit each group’s specific needs, giving participants opportunities to reflect, challenge, discuss and experience new ideas and skills to enhance their growth and learning.    As a Career Coach, Paula has had great success helping clients plan their careers, improve their resumes and prepare for government interviews.    Originally from Prince Edward Island, Paula dabbles in oil painting and is an avid sports fan.    Paula’s training and coaching successes include:
  • Designed and delivered 50+ Career Planning seminars for provincial government’s Administrative Professionals Learning and Development Program including career coaching for over 500 participants
  • Provided career training and coaching to clients experiencing downsizing or restructuring: Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Pan/Para Pan American Games Secretariat, CIRNAC, Ministry of Community and Social Services
  • Provided individual coaching to 30+ government managers to prepare for executive positions
  • Designed and developed courseware for over 40 classroom and on-line training workshops on diverse topics

Professional Designations:

  • Bachelor of Business Administration, Acadia University
  • Certificates in Adult Education and Professional Courseware Design
  • EQ-I 2.0 and EQ 360 Certification
  • Personality Dimensions® Certification

Cynthia Dennis

Resume & Branding

Resume Coach

Cynthia's passion for Human Resources has guided her to devote her career to helping people and companies collaborate and succeed together. Her multidisciplinary career has led her to focus across many of the HR specialities including recruitment, training, organizational development, resume writing and career coaching.
With over 20 years of expertise and a degree in Labour-Management Relations, Cynthia has the ability to understand an organization's needs and expectations and transform them into a successful recruitment strategy. On the employee side, she has a proven track record of providing insightful career guidance including professional resume writing to help clients take the meaningful steps towards their next career.
Cynthia enjoys meeting and partnering with clients to create a unique story based on their individual experiences and niches.

Debora Dekok

Coaching , Resume & Branding

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Debora has been a Resume Coach with CareerJoy since 2005 and is also one of CareerJoy’s Biographical Career Report (BCR) analysts. In this role she gets to know her clients’ most satisfying life accomplishments and analyzes those accomplishments to uncover common threads to propel their career direction forward. Throughout her career in journalism, Debora enjoyed getting to the core of a story by gathering information and retelling the story in an easily understood way. At CareerJoy, she does the same with resumes. Debora hones in on a client’s unique skills and experiences, and reframes them with clarity and precision, creating a clear, concise and readable resume so employers can easily understand a client’s career highlights at a glance.

Professional designations

  • Technical Writer Graduate Certificate
  • Advanced Resume Development certification from the Career Professionals of Canada
  • Photojournalism Diploma
  • Bachelor of Arts in English and Sociology
  • Certified Biographical Career Report Analyst

Personal Interests

running, creating art

Favourite Clients

mid-high management in any industry

Garen Jemian

Coaching
Garen's background has more than 15 years as an employee, as an employer, and as a manager, so he has the varied experience to help clients through different lenses. This wide perspective along with deep listening skills and empathy allows Garen to collaborate with clients to drive results and bring success. Garen’s strengths include leadership coaching, and he often finds himself connecting with clients in the tech/internet industry. Garen has also provided corporate coaching for organizations, seeing successes such as reduced turnover and a drop in absenteeism and sick days.

Credentials

  • Accredited trainer by the Government of Quebec in leadership development, in accordance with the Act To Promote Workforce Skills Development and Recognition.
  • University training in Professional and Personal Coaching in accordance with the ICF (PPCC)
  • University training in Team Effectiveness Coaching
  • Quebec Government Accreditation for organizational training (2018)
  • Authored book called “Happy People Work Harder” (2018)
  • Achieved PCC level certification requirements (2018) (500+ billable hours)
  • TEDx Headliner/Speaker "Motivation Beyond Money" (2017, shared the stage with the Honorable Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire)

Personal Interests

Understanding human behaviour, mastering the art of coaching, deepening relationships.

Favourite Clients

open to learning and growing, they don't take themselves too seriously and they are able to relinquish some control to create room for the unexpected.

Success stories

“When I first contacted Garen, I wasn't sure what to expect. After years of struggling with the growing pains of adulthood, I was left with crippling anxiety and I was desperate for a change. With his help I was able to prioritize my goals and make the positive changes needed in my life in order to achieve them. What was most remarkable about my experience with Garen was that while I reached out to him for answers, he never gave them to me. Instead, he guided me to better understanding the issues I was struggling with, how to cope with them and most of all, how to address them so that in the future the only person I'll seek for help is myself.” - Samantha T. / Personal Banking Advisor

Greg Zador

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Greg’s coaching and leadership style has been developed from his extensive partnership- and consensus-building and organizational experiences, both nation-wide and internationally. Greg’s professional background includes partnering with representatives from business, community and education sectors, as well as government agencies, to provide the support they need to succeed. Greg has a deep personal commitment to community sustainability, with roots in international and community development. Greg’s strengths lie in his deep understanding of how to mentor and motivate clients so they can thrive within their unique situations.   An expert strategist, planner, team leader and negotiator, he delivers concrete results. Clients appreciate having a trainer and coach who can draw from motivational team-building skills, staff support and conflict management to collaborate on achieving their leadership goals.

Personal Interests

I have particular interests in developing future / transitioning leaders

Favourite Clients

thoughtful, impactful, change-oriented, progressive, enlightened

Success Stories

"Greg really helped me identify where I truly wanted to be in my career - still in non-profit but not in the environment I am in now. His approach was excellent in helping me gain confidence, that even though I have been out of the job search game for over 16 years, I can still be successful. Fully utilizing LinkedIn and answering any questions I had about certain aspects on some job postings I reviewed really helped me understand what employers are looking for." – Karen Ball

Jan Kincaid

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Jan Kincaid is a Human Resources professional with over 30 years experience spanning several sectors from manufacturing to pharmaceutical to the not for profit sector.  Jan has a large variety of different areas of expertise, including: employee relations, termination pay negotiations, preparation of severance packages, public speaking, presentation skills, recruitment, HR Strategic and Ops plan development, and corporate communications.

Credentials

Graduate of U of Ts Advanced HR Management program

Personal Interests

Gardening, writing, crafting, home improvement projects, painting, entertaining, encouraging people

Favourite Clients

My favourite clients are those that are open to learning, constructive coaching and have a sense of humour in life. 

Jan Williams

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Jan is a prime example of success in the career coaching world - as head of her own successful cross-cultural training company in Europe, Jan achieved considerable success in training managers to communicate effectively in international environments. Jan's professional coaching background ranges from executive and leadership coaching to career and employment coaching. Jan’s experience includes career management/advice/identity/exploration, outplacements, career transitions, job search, on-site termination, and leadership development. Jan has experience working with clients that vary in professional status. In addition to this, Jan is experienced in dealing with almost every industry in Canada.

Professional Designations

Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching, Royal Roads Univ., Victoria, BC 2005 ICF accredited. Graduate Certificate in Instructional Design, Royal Roads Univ. Victoria, BC 2014 CELTA -Cambridge Examination Board Certificate for adult learners, Amsterdam, NL, 1995   Instructional Design For Technology Mediated Learning Royal Roads University                                 Graphic Design for Instructional Design Advanced Project Management   CELTA Cambridge University Certificate for Adult Learning  International Accredited Amsterdam, Netherlands 1997.

Personal Interests

I love cycling, hiking, skiing, sight seeing, traveling, talking with good friends over a beer or a glass of wine. By nature, I am a curious person, so I love researching and investigating.   Hobbies - I see myself as a storyteller so I'm working on a number of screenplays.  I've taken classes and really enjoy the prospects of maybe turning my stories into short TV series. I also enjoy languages.  I do speak some French, Spanish and Dutch.  I enjoy learning about new cultures and having conversations about them.  I really enjoy people and their complexities. 

Favourite Clients

My Favorite Client - I like working with highly intelligent people, both men and women.  I enjoy the way their minds work and how they see themselves in their world.  I enjoy challenging them.  I really enjoy it when they see something that they hadn't seen before.  For a number of years I taught Business at local  colleges to Korean, Japanese and Chinese students all between the ages of 20 and 30.  It was really fun!  I enjoyed learning about their culture, food, critical thinking and learning a little bit of their language.

Success Story

"I thoroughly enjoyed working with Jan. She was very engaged in my development and offered practical advice, constructive feedback and a comfortable environment for discussing personal issues. My favourite aspect of our sessions was finding the language to discuss past achievements, personal preferences and future goals. I found that, by talking through everything with Jan, I was able to unearth stories and ideas I never would have thought of on my own and practice concisely discussing them for future networking/interviews. Jan offered a great balance between leading the direction of our sessions, and also letting me direct where I would like to devote more focus. I wasn't sure what to expect as I started our program, but I left my first session feeling energized and encouraged, and that feeling remained throughout our time together." - Richard Mitchell

Judith Cane

Coaching

Finance Transition Coach

Judith has worked in the financial services industry for 27 years first as an insurance agent, then as a full service adviser and finally, since 2010, as a Money Coach. She has worked with hundreds of clients to create a clear picture of their financial situation, build a realistic spending and savings plan, implement a “Get Out of Debt and Stay There” strategy and finally help them begin to achieve their financial goals.
She has spoken on stage and in workshops across Canada and is an engaging speaker who has an ability to connect with audiences, both large and small, at a personal level. Her listeners walk away not only inspired, but also armed with practical, actionable information that they can use to achieve their financial goals and live the life they want. She has presented workshops with Industry Canada, Invest Ottawa, Enterprise Renfrew County, Canadian Medical Protective Agency, National Research Council Canada and Veritaaq.
Judith is Canada’s Money Coach and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, The Globe and Mail, Canadian Living and Chatelaine. She has a weekly segment on 1310NEWS and is seen once a month on CTV Morning Live talking about everything money so if you are up early enough, you’ll see her there.

Professional Designations

  • Human Resource Management Certificate

Kathleen McLean

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Kathleen started her coaching career following 36 years in the Public Service, the last ten of which were as a successful senior executive. Kathleen is a fluently bilingual Certified Professional Coach. She specializes in assisting clients to make effective and lasting change. Her approach is by exploring and identifying personal goals, identifying solutions to leadership challenges and setting objectives and plan to advance their careers. She brings extensive experience in most Public Service disciplines including strategic business planning and corporate reporting, finance, and human resource management. She is a dynamic, inclusive, adaptive and proactive coach and senior leader who is known to have excellent listening skills. She has a good sense of empathy, a positive outlook and an ability to motivate others.

Credentials

  • Certified Professional Coach
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Administration
  • NATO Defence College Graduate
  • 360 Feedback

Favourite Clients

My favourite client is someone that is willing and enthusiastic about entering into a journey of discovery together

Laurie Fenske

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Laurie’s coaching successes are rooted in her ability to lead clients to find their best solutions within themselves. Clients are drawn to Laurie’s passion and commitment for helping clients to achieve substantial improvements in their work through high-energy coaching sessions and workshop facilitation. Drawing from her extensive professional experiences, Laurie offers Individual Executive and Leadership Coaching for clients who are striving for more but need leadership guidance to reach their top goals.  She has also had great success as an Organizational Strategic coach, partnering with organizations or entrepreneurs seeking to elevate their business to the next level of success. Laurie offers customized training programs and workshops to enhance the learning and development successes of individuals or teams.

Credentials

  • Professional Certified Coach 
  • Member: International Coaching Federation
  • 2019 Nominee RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award
  • Certified McQuaig Facilitator
  • Certified Book Yourself Solid ® Coach
  • Indigenous Awareness Certified
  • Indigenous Communication & Consultation Certified

Personal Interests

Golf, gardening

Favourite Clients

mid to executive level desiring change

Success Stories

“Those whom Laurie coaches gain from not only her considerable skills, but also from her understanding of the pressures and importance of performance in business. Her leadership and coaching experience in competitive, performance-oriented business environments is a valuable and rare combination.” – T. Taylor, PBDM

Lillian Thomsen

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Lillian specializes in executive level competition preparation including identifying leadership competency gaps and opportunities for growth, interview preparation and conducting mock interviews followed by individual assessments. She has also done extensive coaching of public servants and of colleagues in the not-for-profit sector, where she is very active.  She has extensive experience facilitating retreats, change management and leadership development workshops in both the public and not-for-profit sectors and is bilingual in both official languages.

Credentials

M.A. (ABD) in Soviet History, Joint BA with full majors in both history and economics. Lean certificate (green) in healthcare

Personal Interests

Writing, the arts, healthcare and other public policy issues, including international affairs.

Favourite Clients

I enjoy both the group coaching circles and individual coaching, both "goal" focused, i.e., a job competition, or "bigger questions", such as next stages in life/career.

Lisa Pierosara

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Lisa is a senior certified professional coach, facilitator and collaborative program leader with a history of fostering transformative change, communications excellence and leadership effectiveness. After many years coaching young professionals at The Schulich School of Business and working with Canadian employers for the MBA program, she now consults as an affiliate coach with CareerJoy, among other projects with executive clients across all business sectors. Lisa walks the talk of pursuing work that “fits” and personal branding that is inspiring and relevant.

Credentials

BA French; College degree in Marketing ICF PCC (with training by both Adler & CTI) Management Effectiveness (Reddin Global) CoachingOurselves CareerLeader

Personal Interests

Cooking, home decor, photo books, fitness, downhill skiing, cycling, hiking, historical fiction, hospitality, mentorship and facilitating effective conversations, anything parenting/family related, art galleries, etc!

Favourite Clients

Smart and humble, motivated, progression-focused, reflective, grateful, learner's mindset -- from any industry, function or age-stage.

Success Stories

“Lisa was an excellent communicator and facilities the exchange of ideas very well. My sessions felt like they were brainstorming events. I have a much better understanding of what I am looking for in my career life and how career /balance should be. Having a career profession acting as your advocate is a very powerful catalyst when looking for a new direction in a persons work life. The system works. It’s effective and provides results.” – Mark G.

Lynda Peto

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

A member of the CareerJoy team since 2014 - Lynda’s personal success leads her to be an essential tool for mid-career transitions. Lynda’s coaching philosophy involves unlocking each client's potential and supporting them in developing and achieving a sense of agency in their careers. Lynda’s an expert in career management/advice/identity/exploration, outplacements, career transitions, job search, and on-site termination. In addition to being well versed in group coaching methods, and expert at working with clients of all ages and career points working in any industry in Canada. 

Credentials

  • Certified Career and Employment Coach
  • Certified Designing Your Life Coach based on the #1 New York Times Best Seller “Designing Your Life - How to Build a Well-Lived and Joyful Life” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans.
  • Certified Career Coach and Facilitator from the University of Winnipeg
  • Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education

Favourite Clients

Student, early career, mid-career  - interested in people in general and always find something interesting to share.  Most favourite clients are the motivated and are doing this work for themselves and not to please others (eg: Mom and Dad :))

Success Stories

“Working with Lynda from CareerJoy has been a very productive and helpful process. The in-depth assessments helped me identify my strengths, abilities and passions. I was then able to research careers that best utilized these traits and started charting a new career path. I was able to identify the job description that matches my skills & abilities. I learned how to write a focused resume and cover letter. The best part is that I found a job in a new industry and a new position. The process was extremely valuable to me on both a personal and a professional level. I have know for years that I needed to change my career path but I struggled to find a way out. This process gave me a job description to aim for and then I was able to construct a resume that highlighted my skills to match the needs of the employer. I am very excited about my new position, my new path and the new company.” – Sandi G.

Margaret Van Amelsvoort-Thoms

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Margaret Van Amelsvoort-Thoms is a bilingual CareerJoy Senior Leadership Facilitator. She is also a former Director General with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS).
 
After a 35 year career in the public service, of which 30 years were spent in human resources. Before her retirement, she was on assignment as the Special Advisor to the Chief Human Resources Officer. Previously, she was the Executive Director, People Management & Community Engagement at the Treasury Board Secretariat. In this role, she was responsible for supporting transformation of human resource, including the business model; facilitating strategic planning for human resources decision-making; HR community capacity-building; and she was also responsible for people management policies such as Employment Equity, Performance Management and Values and Ethics. A graduate with a BA from McMaster University, Ms. Van Amelsvoort-Thoms has worked in human resources for the public service for 30 years.
 
In 2018, she was the recipient of the Human Resources Council Michelle C. Comeau Award for Career Contribution in Human Resources in the public service.

Michelle Horne

Coaching

Image and Branding Coach

Michelle helps her clients as an Image and Branding Coach to discover their Personal Brand statement, define their style identity and use that image to create success in personal and professional situations. Michelle has been described by clients to dig deep to help her clients define their authentic brand and style and get results. Michelle is also a professional speaker and an international trainer. She is known for her thoughtful, thorough, but always fun approach to helping clients take ownership of their authentic images.

Professional Designations

  • Certified Image Professional

Success Stories

"Michelle is a dynamic image consultant who has provided corporate training and individual services to a diverse group of clients. Her spark and enthusiasm ensure that she connects quickly with her audience." - Catherine Bell
"Michelle provides a comprehensive service that goes far beyond making sure that you look great. In fact, she doesn't even start with how you look - she first learns about you, your lifestyle and your personality. She builds on that foundation to teach you how to create an image that reflects who you are. Michelle's services gave me a better understanding of myself from a perspective that I had never really considered before. The things I learned during the process have given me great confidence as well as tools and techniques to reflect my intentions and my personality in the image I present on the outside." - Maria Ford

Richard Rochefort

Coaching

Certified Career, Executive and Leadership Coach

Richard is an expert in leadership development, management excellence and learning. He is perfectly bilingual (English and French). Richard is a certified executive coach, excellent facilitator and outstanding public speaker.
Richard is certified in the application of various psychometric assessment tools. He has extensive experience designing and facilitating innovative conferences, strategic planning sessions, executive retreats, management forums and staff general assemblies.
Through storytelling, practical examples and interactive exercises, he delivers dynamic workshops, learning sessions and keynote addresses on various topics such as leadership, teamwork, service excellence and organizational culture change. He served as a senior executive for 23 of his 35 years in the Public Service of Canada.
Retired in 2012 as Vice-President of the Canada School of Public Service, Richard was responsible for all federal public service training programs in Canada. Prior, he created the Service Canada College and served for six years as its Senior Director General. Throughout his career, he devoted relentless effort to the renewal of institutions using coaching, mentoring and learning as strategic levers to create and sustain a culture of service delivery excellence. He is currently working across Canada and internationally on reinforcing public and private institutions.

Professional Designations

  • Certified Executive Coach

Sandra Bobkin

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Sandra has more than 15 years of private and public sector experience in a variety of learning, leadership and management roles. She has fostered a powerful reputation of assisting individuals who seek to expand their influence repertoire and pursue their leadership and professional goals. Her coaching has focused on leadership and team development, effective communication, emotional intelligence, career transition/management and 360 feedback results. Sandra has had the privilege of coaching everything from Bay Street executives, to newly appointed leaders to official’s at the most senior levels of the Federal Government.

Credentials

  • Masters in Adult Education
  • Bachelors Degree in Nursing Science
  • Professional Certified Coach
  • Registered Nurse
  • ADLER Certified Professional Coach
  • Certified in EQ-i 2.0 (a psychometric tool)
  • Accredited the Professional Certified Coach Designation (PCC) through the International Coach Federation
  • Personality Dimensions Certification
  • Advance MBTI Certification
  • FIRO - B Certification

Personal Interests

Creating and experiencing art (painting, crafting and drawing), learning new skills, reading,  psychology and neuroscience, business/economics and politics

Favourite Clients

My favourite clients include mid level - senior leaders and professionals and aspiring leaders. I also really enjoy working with clients who want to increase their influencing skills/Emotional Intelligence competencies.

Success Stories

"Sandra Bobkin is a skilled and seasoned executive coach. She listens to her clients, brings constructive and thoughtful insight to discussions and assists in creating focused goals and plans. Sandra always brings enthusiastic, positive energy to her sessions, and is a pleasure to work with. She has high integrity and reliability. Sandra is very knowledgeable about career planning, resume writing, interview preparation, and network building. I have recommended her to other colleagues looking for effective executive coaching." - Laura Bhoi

Stephen Williams

Coaching

Career and Leadership Coach

Stephen Williams came to CareerJoy with a comprehensive HR background. He has more than 25 years of experience as an HR Leader specializing in Employee Development, and possesses the solid business acumen, pragmatic thinking and bottom line focus to guide leaders in gaining what they need to grow and advance their careers. In addition to leading HR and training departments, he also has extensive facilitation experience and is at his best when facilitating clients’ career transitions. His keen insights provide the crucial feedback clients need and his deep understanding of HR provides a strong support for clients seeking to re-enter workplaces or change career direction.

Credentials

Hon. Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), University of Toronto Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) Certified Human Resource Leader (CHRL) Certificate in Human Resources Management (CHRM), Humber College Certificate in Human Resource Law, Osgoode Hall Law School Co-Active Coach – CTI – Coaches Training Institute Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) Certified Human Resource Leader (CHRL) Designed & developed North American wide training initiative and Leadership Development program Developed Career Guidance program that provided structure to leadership development and succession planning Improved relationships with union business agents by actively engaging them in problem solving and managing issues with their members, resulting in reduced grievances and better bargaining results

Personal Interests

Personal interests include music (performing) gourmet cooking and wine collecting

Favourite Clients

My favouite clients are the ones who participate and are willing to do the heavy lifting and not just be "present" and expect me to do all the work.

Client testimonials

“I am glad to let you know that I have accepted a job offer from XX. I had an excellent interview with the head architects of the firm where we discussed my background and their current projects and they expressed their willing to assist me with obtaining my license. This is a great opportunity and your advice helped me a lot on this endeavor. After years of trial I feel I am getting back on track with my career in architecture. Thank you again for the great advice you provided during the coaching sessions. - SA

Tanya Smith

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

As an accredited integral leadership development coach, Ms. Smith works with individuals to develop/build their competencies in order to improve their capacity to achieve long-term excellence, self-correct and self-generate.
Her 25-year career experience spans the public and private sectors. She has worked in leadership roles in both the public sector of the Canadian Government and in private sector industry. She has worked with and supported individuals and teams in both developing and strengthening their competencies to achieve personal and corporate objectives. Tanya is bilingual and can coach in both official languages.
In addition, Ms. Smith also specializes in Personal Coaching, Leadership Coaching, Business Coaching, Career/Transitional Coaching, Mindfulness, Action Learning Facilitation, Human Resource Management, Project Management, Strategic & Business Planning and Community Engagement Planning /Corporate Social Responsibility Planning.

Credentials

University of Ottawa Certified Debriefer SCHOR 360 Feedback Integral Development Coaching Certificate Professional Certified Coach (PCC) Certified in Resiliency Coaching Action Learning/Coaching Circles Facilitator Certification Certified DiSC Communication Consultant-Assessments 24x7 LLC Certified Emotional Intelligence Consultant – Assessments 24x7 LLC  

Success Stories

“I used Tanya Smith’s services as a coach for a period of 8 months. This was a period of transition in my life in which Tanya was able to work with me in preparing me for adapting to a new phase in my life. Tanya was extremely supportive and helpful in assisting me with this period of change. Her unbiased view was one that always made me feel at ease to open up and share all my thoughts with.” – Julie Cranton, Manager, Government of Canada

Taryn Brady

Coaching

Certified Career and Leadership Coach

Taryn's love of science and technology has been a common thread throughout her career.  After her first job as field biologist with Canadian Wildlife Service she knew that working with people was more her passion than tracking elk.  As a Career Coach, Taryn helped hundreds of engineering students through the recruitment cycle in Engineering Cooperative Education (University of Alberta) with resumes, interview skills and job search while also assisting employers from across Canada with recruiting talent. Wanting to spread her wings Taryn went on to start her own business to provide strategic planning and marketing communications services for a wide range of companies and organizations – including many technology start-ups.  Years of experience guiding teams, individuals and leaders to achieve goals culminated into Taryn’s true passion – career and leadership coaching.
Now as a CareerJoy Coach, Taryn offers a wealth of experience spanning industries from government, university, research, science and technology and manufacturing to oil and gas. One thing for sure, Taryn is a cheerleader for awakening the human potential in each of us. Clients have come to know Taryn as an authentic, creative and solution-focused Career and Leadership Coach.

Professional Designations

  • Associate Certified Coach
  • Certified in Leadership Circle Profile
  • Bachelor of Science (Zoology),
  • Masters in Spiritual Science
  • Certified in Insight Seminars series
  • Leadership Edmonton Program
  • Professional Speakers training

Success Stories

"Taryn was very upbeat and helped me 'off the ledge' on more than one occasion." - Dave Bunney
“I loved the fact that [my coach and resume writer] both communicated and worked together to help me with my goal. When I met Taryn it was like talking to my friend. She had great suggestions and ideas for helping me find a job and I could tell she truly cared and was invested… I had no idea what to expect with Career Joy but to be really corny… they have made this difficult journey a joy because of their friendly helpful advice. If I had any questions, my emails were answered right then and there. I can’t give enough positive feedback. CareerJoy is lucky to have these women working for their company.” – Anne G.
“It was a very valuable experience for me. I was given tips on how to conduct myself during interviews which I appreciate. The self-evaluation that I was made to undergo helped me find my strengths and weaknesses.” – Reynald L.
“Taryn helped me stay in tune with what I needed to stay focused on and how. She offered good insight into tools to use during a career search and during the interview process. Taryn provided guidance on where to improve my CV and cover letter.” – John T.
“As someone who did not have a lot of experience applying for jobs and going through the interview process, I really found it helpful in just understanding in the process you go through in getting a job. I found the resume and cover letter to be extremely helpful, as well as the coach helping me understand a lot of the assets that I have for a company that I would not usually expect to have identified myself, leading to more confidence when applying for a job. On a personal level the main thing that I gained was self confidence, it showed me that I have something to offer the work force, and gave me the know how to go through the process of getting a job so that I am able to give myself the best shot of being successful. On a professional level, as someone who does not have a great amount of professional experience, it gave me an insight into how things will work in the future when it comes to moving up in an industry or how to weigh different options for careers as I move through my own career. I found the experience very positive, the coach was very helpful, and all the resources that come with the package are also really helpful, along with the fact that I can start to see tangible results after only 4 sessions.” – Evan J.
“Very good value for professional and personal in terms of future school investments. It was very useful in displaying my talents and abilities towards a school path.” – Taylor H.
“Excellent coaching. The ability to meet with my coach via phone, gmail, Skype & in person was quite helpful.” – Esther C.
“More confidence in applying for jobs, much-improved resume, improved interviewing skills. Coaching sessions were very helpful.” M. Coulter
“Face to face sessions were very helpful and engaging. (Tangible outcome:) Better understanding or confirmation of my strengths & confidence support. This program would benefit anyone looking for career support whether you are just starting out or whether you have been in the job force as myself for years.” - L. Drach

Victoria Miles

Coaching

HR Consultant and Employee Engagement Coach

Victoria has 25 years of experience in helping organizations shape and deliver strategies centered around the intersection of commerce, culture and community. Whether it has been through leadership roles in global brand companies, as an entrepreneur in a leading-edge corporate consultancy, or working for international and national non-profits, she has always focused on those things that will be truly transformative.
She has demonstrated her ability to build and lead dynamic teams in a range of fast-paced, and often inflexible industries, and possesses the unique combination of analytical and creative thinking. Victoria is respected for her ability to develop, manage and implement large-scale initiatives around change management, organizational dynamics and employee engagement. Her process of strategic inquiry includes expertise in creating survey tools and measurement techniques to truly evaluate engagement. Part of her work includes the design of customized, tactical approaches to helping organizations understand their culture through their people dynamics – then create tools to help them build and strengthen those relationships.