Guest Speakers Keynote: Leadership in Times of Change Tracey Gurton Leadership Development Consultant and Full-time Lecturer Tracey Gurton is a Leadership Development Consultant and full-time lecturer at UBC Sauder School of Business. She s been with Sauder almost 15 years and has been recognized for teaching excellence. Tracey teaches undergraduates, business executives, international delegates and MBAs. Subject areas include Leadership, Building & Managing Teams, Motivation, Managing Change, and Organizational Culture. Tracey also accepts custom engagements, delivering professional development programs to managers in private and public organizations, thereby helping companies be a better place to work. This, of course, leads to efficiencies, effectiveness, productivity, and a more positive organizational culture. International projects have taken Tracey to Asia, Australia, France, Germany, the UK, and throughout the US. Tracey was educated at SFU and UBC, and she is particularly curious about the neuroscience of behaviour. Tracey s delivery style is decidedly enthusiastic, engaging and caring as reported by participants/students. She believes that a paramount responsibility in teaching, speaking, facilitation and consulting is to bring theory to life, with practical examples and experiences.
Workshop Sessions Making Change Work Leading from the Middle Dr. Linda Duxbury Human Resources Work Life Balance Dr. Linda Duxbury is one of Canada s leading workplace health researchers and workplace demographic experts. Dr. Duxbury has influenced policy and attitudes to help create supportive work environments in both the private and public sectors. Dr. Duxbury has written hundreds of papers, articles for journals, and books, and she is the co-author of a series of Health Canada reports about work-life balance within the country. She has been published widely in both academic and practitioner literature in the areas of work-family conflict; change management; supportive work environments; stress; telework; the use and impact of office technology; and managing the new workforce. Recognized for her engaging, enthusiastic communication skills and teaching practices, Dr. Duxbury has received the Canadian Pension and Benefits National Speaker Award, the Carleton University Students Association Teaching Excellence Award, the Faculty Graduate Mentoring Award also from Carleton, and the Sprott MBA Student Society Best Teacher Award. She has also been awarded the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Award, and was recognized as one of Deloitte s Women of Influence. In 2014-15, Dr. Duxbury received the Carleton University Research Award as one of the ten best researchers at the university. Dr. Duxbury is a professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University and holds a Ph.D. in Management Sciences from the University of Waterloo. Leading With Impact Influencing Strategies to Help Achieve Your Objectives Georgina Johnson Director, Labour Relations, BCPSEA Georgina brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from many years working as a Director of Human Resources in BC school districts, as a Senior Negotiator for the Post-Secondary Employers Association, and as a Director of Labour Relations at BCPSEA. As the program lead and lead trainer of the BCPSEA HR Learning Series, Georgina has developed and delivers a wide range of professional development programs specifically tailored to practitioners and leaders in the K-12 public education sector.
Harnessing the Power of Change Ellen Pekeles, MHA Senior Vice President, Operations, Vancity Ellen Pekeles is currently the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Operations for Vancity Credit Union, including People Solutions, Facilities, and Environmental Management; and Information Technology (from 2012-2015). Vancity is Canada s largest credit union with $24 billion in assets; 520,000 members; 2,500 staff; and 59 branches. Ellen has had three previous executive positions at Vancity since she joined in November 2006: VP Community Leadership, SVP Strategy, and VP Human Resources. Prior to Vancity, Ellen was a Chief Operating Officer in Vancouver Coastal Health from 2002-2006. In that role she was responsible for the full spectrum of health care in 11 municipalities and 14 First Nations communities, leading 3500 staff. Ellen holds a BSc in Physical Therapy from the University of Toronto and an MHA from the University of Ottawa and has been a member of eight non-profit, philanthropic, public sector, and cooperative boards over the last fifteen years. Ellen is currently Board Chair of Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC), elected as a board member in 2013 with a term that expires in 2017. The Legal Landscape Issues, Trends, and the Road Ahead Graeme Norton Director, Labour Relations, BCPSEA Graeme is a lawyer who has worked in labour relations since 2005 in Ontario and BC. He has represented clients in both the public and private sectors in a wide range of labour relations matters. Graeme has significant experience with grievance management, labour arbitration, and collective bargaining. Prior to joining BCPSEA, he worked with the Health Employers Association of BC where he represented clients at labour arbitrations and mediations, and served as a member of the employer bargaining committee that successfully negotiated a five-year collective agreement with the Nurses Bargaining Association in the spring of 2016. Alissa Perry Senior Labour Relations Specialist, BCPSEA Alissa is a lawyer with over ten years of practical experience in human resources and labour relations in Alberta and BC. Prior to joining BCPSEA, Alissa worked at the Health Employers Association of BC as an Industrial Relations Specialist. In that role she successfully represented members at labour arbitrations and mediations, and provided client advice on complex health sector labour relations issues including strategic grievance management as well as collective agreement interpretation.
Future-casting A Provincial Policy Perspective Eric J. Harris, QC Partner, Harris Workplace Law & Advocacy Eric has practised labour and employment law since 1973. He has been retained to work in a strategic capacity in a variety of different settings, and has represented clients at every level in BC and Canada. Eric is recognized as one of Canada s leading labour lawyers in The 2014 Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. Eric was selected by Best Lawyers to be Lawyer of the Year for 2015 in the area of labour and employment law in British Columbia. More than offering advice or representation in a particular area, Eric is called upon to solve unusual problems. Using his knowledge, he becomes engaged to provide new approaches and ideas that create solutions in cases which otherwise defy resolution. Exploring the World of FIPPA The Employment Environment Michael Hancock, Partner, Harris Workplace Law & Advocacy Michael acts for clients in the public and private sectors, with an emphasis on education law and labour and employment issues involving school districts. Michael represents clients in a variety of forums including proceedings before labour arbitrators, the Labour Relations Board, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, and the BC Court of Appeal. Michael has provided advice to boards of education and school district staff for over seventeen years, including time in private practice, and was General Counsel at the Vancouver School Board and for BCPSEA. He has also held roles outside the education sector, including as General Counsel and Director of Employee Relations for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).
Mental Health in the Workplace Practical Strategies to Support Awareness and Understanding Margaret Tebbutt, MA Consultant, Workplace Initiatives and Trainer, Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division Margaret frequently presents at conferences on strategic approaches to psychological health and safety in the workplace, as well as delivering workshops to help managers and union leaders develop the knowledge and skills to more effectively deal with mental health issues. As Senior Consultant to CMHA from 2005-2013, Margaret managed workplace initiatives such as Mental Health Works training, workplacebased integrated health screening and the national Bottom Line Conferences. Prior to 2005, she held positions as Senior Advisor, Executive Development for the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business; Director, Client Service Delivery with Western Economic Diversification Canada; and in Canada s foreign service at embassies abroad. Margaret graduated from the University of Montpellier (France) with a Maïtrise ès letters (MA). She completed executive training through the National Defence College, UBC Sauder School of Business, and the Canadian Centre for Executive Development. The Teacher Regulation Branch What You Need to Know Hon. Bruce Preston Commissioner, Teacher Regulation Branch Bruce previously served as a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and as a judge of the County Court of Cariboo. He presided over a wide variety of cases, including administrative, criminal, matrimonial, constitutional, tort, insolvency and contract law. Bruce served on the bench for 22 years, and on several judicial committees, before retiring in April 2010. Prior to becoming a judge, he practiced law in Prince George and Penticton. During his tenure with the BC Supreme Court, Bruce served on the Chief Justice s Advisory Committee and its successor, the Executive Committee of the Court. He was a member of the Court s Alternate Dispute Resolution and Family Law Committees and served as a member of the Chief Justice s Law Reform Advisory Committee. Following his retirement in 2010, he was appointed to act as a disciplinary authority pursuant to the Police Act of British Columbia, to review, at the request of the police complaint commissioner, the disposition of complaints of misconduct by officers of police forces in BC.
Sarvi Mirbagheri Director of Professional Conduct, Teacher Regulation Branch Sarvi joined the Teacher Regulation Branch (TRB) in 2010. Prior to her appointment as Director of Professional Conduct, she worked as an investigator with the TRB (and its predecessor, the BC College of Teachers) and as an adjudicator with WorkSafeBC. Sarvi graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science and a Juris Doctor degree.