Experience

Pause and Effect

• Canada
• Design Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Founder & CEO

  • Jun 2018 - Present

  www.pauseandeffect.ca Pause and Effect is specialized in guiding organizations through the process of building more relatable, equitable and regenerative products and services. Reach out to us for design tools and workshops, consulting and evaluation, and strategic foresight (imagination work!) www.pauseandeffect.ca Pause and Effect is specialized in guiding organizations through the process of building more relatable, equitable and regenerative products and services. Reach out to us for design tools and workshops, consulting and evaluation, and strategic foresight (imagination work!)



Vancity

• Canada
• Financial Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• • Jan 2019 - Jun 2019

  In this role, I co-created Vancity's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy, with respective KPIs. Goals were centered around indigenous reconciliation, the improvement of leadership composition in terms of representation, employee experience, and inclusive product/service design. Achievements:• Conducted quantitative and qualitative data analysis to audit D&I practices and engagement using factors such as workforce and leadership composition, compensation, career progression, employee experience and sentiment, comprehension of D&I vocabulary and purpose. • Established an award winning inclusive youth internship program that provides opportunities to marginalized youth, generates valuable insight, and creates a diversified talent pipeline• Designed and implemented processes that reduced hiring bias, increased employee representation to meet labor market availability, and created compensation equity• Was co-lead for the Racial Equity Employee Resource Group, where we identified and developed a business case for Vancity to better serve members and employees of color• Established community partnerships to support state of the art facility modifications that created inclusive and accessible spaces for members and employees Show less

• • Mar 2018 - Jan 2019

  In this role, I designed, defined the release process, and coordinated all of the activities required to bring a digital bookkeeping proof of concept to market. This product had an uptake of 60 business members within 3 weeks.• Provided direction to user experience and research teams to create 4 small business/solopreneur personas and value proposition• Created and presented a business case with budgetary requirements that was approved by senior leadership• Established the product vision, user stories, product roadmap, and business requirements• Obtained and incorporated feedback from customer-facing teams to refine and improve product• Identified, interviewed, and shortlisted prospective fintech partners Show less

• • Jan 2016 - Jan 2017

  In this role, I successfully co-designed Vancity’s first mobile lending product, as an ethical alternative to payday loans (Fair & Fast loan) with an emphasis on financial literacy and credit building. Upon launch, the number of Fair & Fast loans funded online in only 5 days, surpassed those funded in-person in one month, by 22%• Conducted in-depth research on the payday lending industry and its users to identify the problem and develop user personas• Developed low and high fidelity wireframe prototypes using Invision, Photoshop and Balsamiq• Conducted 7 rounds of usability testing with over 50 end users• Authored an organizational strategy for enhancing digital literacy education through both manual and digital channels for members and staff. Show less

• • Aug 2013 - Dec 2015

  Vancity is a values-based financial cooperative, and the largest Credit Union in Canada.In this role, I provided strategic guidance to executive and senior leadership on developing and implementing their people plans in support of highly engaged, diverse and capable teams. I used a blend of quantitative and qualitative metrics to drive decision-making and evaluate outcomes.Key Achievements:• Increased employee engagement by 30% in one year in the most disengaged department of the business by improving communication across leadership, providing management coaching, and improving team dynamics.• Helped business leaders create robust development plans and succession planning during a hiring freeze, that enabled the seamless redeployment of talent across the organization.• Established the first Digital Division at Vancity, leveraging a talent strategy that enabled the recruitment team to expediently fill over 25 roles for the division within 3 weeks while remaining FTE neutral.• Developed performance and attendance management training for call-center managers which improved leadership competency and resulted in a 25% reduction of related inquiries to HR. Show less



Gateway Casinos and Entertainment Limited

• Canada
• Gambling Facilities and Casinos
• 700 & Above Employee

• HR Business Partner

  • Jan 2011 - Feb 2013

  In this generalist role, I was the one-stop-shop for executive and mid-level management for all things "people". Key achievements: • Developed training manuals and presentations (from idea, to needs analysis and design) on performance management, recruitment, and attendance monitoring, and facilitated training for 100 supervisors and managers • Represented HR department at Management Leadership Team meetings and reported on metrics and trends including employee relations issues, engagement, turnover, absenteeism and disability. • Reduced excessive use-of-force incidents in the Security Department, by 94% within 6 months, through investigation, leadership coaching, and implementing new protocol • Successfully negotiated a new collective agreement on behalf of management and resolved 100% mediations and grievances without incurring cost for legal representation Show less