Agri-business Consultant specializing in applied economic analysis
Work experience with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (Viterra), AAFC, First Nations University of Canada, University of Saskatchewan, Farm Credit Canada

Professional Engineer in Electrical. Experienced in teaching project management and planning and other electrical and instrumentation academic subjects. Practising professional in oil and gas projects in last 10 years. Studying towards completion of LLB.

HEATHER GRAY
CONSULTING ~ SPEAKING ~ TRAINING

Heather has a 20 year background in law enforcement, serving in street patrol in a high crime urban area, becoming the first female hostage/crisis negotiator at her agency working with the tactical team, is a forensic child interviewer and investigator in an integrated child abuse unit.

Of course there are myriad other special assignments in her career, such as an overhaul of the entire service delivery model and operational projects such as murder for hire cases. She’s been the recipient of several commendations for bravery and for going above and beyond and for being calm under pressure.

After leaving policing, Heather sought out and subsequently trained with Gavin de Becker, the world renowned pioneer in the field of threat assessment and all manner of violence (workplace, interpersonal/family, bullying/harassment and stalking). Heather also served on Gavin de Becker’s faculty at the Advanced Threat Assessment Academy in California.

Heather has served and guided numerous corporate, organizational and individual clients through dangerous, high risk situations that required careful assessment and case management on an hour to hour or day to day basis. In some of those situations,
there was a need to pull in the entities required to form a multidisciplinary team, so as develop appropriate strategies for the situation to ensure the safety of all involved parties. Those have been highly successful and provided safe outcomes for all involved.

Additionally, Heather develops policies/procedures and reporting processes for clients so that all are up to date and compliant with relevant legislative requirements and that all pieces work together thus limiting vulnerability from litigation.

Heather has created customized curriculum specifically for corporate training needs in nearly every industry and sector and for all types of respectful workplace topics along with all manner of workplace violence issues ~ workplace violence, bullying and harassment, abuse of power, stalking and interpersonal violence, working alone and whistleblower protection.

Recently, psychopathy in the workplace programming has been added to the offerings. This is in response to the outing of the deleterious effects that faulty hiring practices through the ‘80’s and ‘90’s have contributed to poisoned and toxic workplaces where whole populations of targets have been harmed. Further, there’s now a triple generation of these faulty hiring practices, along with the related succession planning, that is showing that this phenomenon must be rectified. To do less leaves employees at risk of significant harm and organizations left vulnerable to failing to respond and open to litigation.

Heather is also a popular conference speaker where she delivers presentations on her own compelling personal stories, drawn from her first experiences becoming a police officer at a time when there were very few in Canada, and on through a career marked by tremendous highs of satisfaction for making real differences in so many ways. But, with that, comes many disturbing stories of what goes on behind the scenes. Her take on these is riveting and one that attendees will not soon forget.

She relives the impactful stories about the bare truth of how her life in policing and the violence brought by a corrupt organization destroyed all the gains made over 20 years. Following on, she explores how that debilitating abuse by her police family then bled over into her private family life and how it seeped into every aspect of her life and that of her extended family. The toll is immeasurable. At one point Heather and her son were relegated to homelessness as a direct result of illegal and immoral undertakings of those in power who were out to destroy her and even her young son. It’s the most twisted and compelling of stories.

Those are the basics. The reality and the stories you’ll hear are significantly compelling. Like nothing you’ve ever heard before.

Heather also brings to the speaking stage her expertise. She is available for engaging and enlightening presentations for any type of conference and for any group. Heather is mindful of the audience and thus carves her presentations accordingly. Often a keynote can be accompanied by a breakout session to address a particular issue with a smaller group for deeper focus.

Amanda is a passionate educator from the Thunderchild First nation. She is of Cree, Dutch and English ancestry. She specializes in Aboriginal Awareness Education, Diversity Training and Leadership Training. She is an experienced and engaging facilitator, conference presenter and motivational speaker with an extensive knowledge base and a quick wit! When she is not working (which happens from time to time) Amanda loves to travel to parts unknown with her husband

Gary Gora has an MBA in Educational Management as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science. He provides expertise in the areas of client support and curriculum development to both national and international clients. Gary has spent more than 20 years of his career in management and training, 10 years of which were spent in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He is certified in all of the Franklin Covey leadership training series.

Gary has established a track record of proven partnerships with major commercial, government, and military organizations. He is a respected consultant, curriculum developer and trainer by all levels of management. He has a broad understanding of training and professional development issues, which when combined with his extensive business acumen, makes for a very valuable asset to any leadership team. His personal motivation springs from the sincere belief that every worker, from CEO to entry-level can make a uniquely valuable contribution to his or her organization.

Brian is an expert level facilitator, trainer, leadership coach and consultant with over 25 years experience assisting his clients achieve their business and career goals. His specialty is helping leaders and their teams craft new business plans that take them to the next level of performance, as well as change their habits to ones that drive that business plan. His clients include Syncrude, Cenovus Energy, Enbridge Pipelines, Evonik, Bigstone Cree, Parks Canada, Extendicare (Canada), Government of Alberta, PWGSC, Agrium and many more.

He is the author of Lead People…Manage Things: Master the Five Key Facets of High Performance Leadership. This book describes The FACET Leadership Model, a practical five step process for achieving success as a leader. A workshop is also available.

Here’s what people are saying about Brian and The FACET Leadership Model…

“Brian Ward issues a challenge to readers who desire to be great leaders â�� honestly answer Brian’s five critical questions and you’ll learn a whole lot about yourself and your leadership focus”

– Sandi L. Humphrey, CAE, Editor, Association Magazine

“What a refreshing new voice…! Many talk the concept of leading people, but few actually give the many different facets and their explanations of how to lead people.”

– Danielle M. Wilson, Physician Center Manager, Newark, Ohio, USA

“When I learned to do these things effectively, things took a real turn for the better. My reputation in the field I work in got a major boost. I started developing programs for disadvantaged youth (currently up and working) and I started to get offers for promotions.

I have to say that when I found The FACET Leadership Model I did not know where to turn. I was drifting and struggling to put pieces together. I am now very confident that I can accomplish about anything I undertake.

The big difference is that I now have a system to work. A system that works. I recommend this program to all. Get involved. You have nothing to lose but bad habits. What you have to gain is a proven system that works. Thanks and best wishes”

– Roger W. Noe, State of Kentucky, Central Region Mental Health

Shona Welsh, BA, MCEd, CHRL
Award-winning speaker Shona Welsh holds a Master’s degree in Workplace Learning and is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL). The winner of numerous Toastmasters International speech contests, Shona placed second at the World Semi-Finals of Public Speaking in 1998 and has gone on to develop and deliver thousands of keynote speeches, workshops, seminars and classes since then in public speaking, leadership, and communications. Her experience in the political arena includes speech writing and presentation coaching for federal and provincial elected officials, as well as campaign speech writing for numerous candidates. Shona is the award-winning author of five books and numerous articles on training, leadership, and communications, and has held senior executive positions responsible for training and leadership development in numerous organizations along with teaching roles at colleges and universities.

Years of adult education and training experience in the areas of Sales, Business, Productivity, Personal Development and General Insurance.

My experience is both from books and hands on. In 1993, I became a journeyman boilermaker. After that I went to college and completed my adult education and vocational instructor programs. Since 2000, I have created and taught several business and trade related courses. The government has taught me how to complete one on one evaluations and my experience allows me to prepare and teach the required material. In 2006, I completed the BLUE seal in Alberta which qualifies me for trade management. My years of teaching have shown me a weakness in the college teaching system with First nations people. To fill the void I created 6 courses which include 4 trade related and 2 professional courses. The trade related courses start at the pre-trade level and end with a construction supervisor program. The professional courses include a vocational instructor and entrepreneurship program. It’s my goal to be able to equip people no matter where they are in life.

Served with Canadian Armed Forces

Member of the RCMP

Bachelor of Arts in Criminology

Master of Business Administration

PhD in Business specializing in Criminal Justice