December, 2009 – October, 2010 (On Leave Of Absence)
Policy Analyst
Government of Manitoba, Department of Labour & Immigration
Working with the Disability Issues Office and Research, Legislation and Policy Division, both under the Department of Labour & Immigration, my responsibilities are to prepare advisory notes on emerging issues; conduct research in areas of interest to persons with disabilities; evaluate policies from other jurisdictions for applicability in Manitoba; provide consultation advice to initiatives for persons with disabilities; and sometimes take calls from persons with disabilities or family about difficult personal situations. When needed, my services are utilized on non-disability related matters.
January, 2007 – June, 2008 (Term Contracts)
Coordinator – “First Nations, Métis and Inuit” Aboriginal Student Conference and Safe Youth Project
Seven Oaks Parents in Support of Aboriginal Education in partnership with the Seven Oaks School Division
Successfully organized both a middle-years student conference and a high school student conference designed to provide a cross section of Aboriginal life in Manitoba. The events concluded with a feast and cultural celebration. The Safe Youth Project involved organizing workshops for parents and activities for teenagers to understand the negative affects of drugs, gangs and sexual exploitation.
October 2002 – October 2006
School Board Trustee Seven Oaks School Division
Elected as a School Board Trustee, entrusted to deliver a public education to students from four to 21 years old, I have four years experience of working on overall plans, determining policies, participating on many internal committees, conducting employee relations/negotiations, approving budgets, mediating problems presented by parents and students, performing community relations activities, meeting with senior government officials, and working with numerous organizations concerned with the education of students in the public system.
2004 – 2006 Elected by trustees as Co-chairperson of the Negotiations Committee, responsible for the Seven Oaks Para-Professional Association employees, which necessitated managing issues facing the Association employees, becoming competent with regard to knowledge of Manitoba labour laws, and working on various aspects of the collective agreement between the Association and Board. Acted as Board spokesperson and coordinator with the Superintendent.
2004 – 2006 Elected by trustees as a member of the Seven Oaks Teachers’ Association (SOTA) Board Liaison Committee, where I participated in ongoing educational discussions with teachers, school administrators, superintendents, and trustees. Issues included reviewing policies on teacher employment performance problems, teacher’s health, and discussions regarding the difficulties and best practices in the promotion of inclusive education for all.
2002 – 2006 Elected by trustees as a member of the SOSD Policy Review Committee, (Chairperson in 2002 and 2003). During this term, my responsibilities encompassed updating the SOSD Policy Manual, refreshing existing policies, and reviewing new policies referred to it by the Board and other committees. Support staff included superintendents, treasurer and employees expert in various areas of the SOSD’s operations.
2002 – 2005 Elected by trustees as the Board representative on the SOSD Education Leave Committee, hearing proposals and making determinations on educational leave for teachers’ professional development purposes. (This role was my most interesting and encouraging about the future of education in the Seven Oaks School division.)
2002 – 2003 Elected by trustees as a member of the Seven Oaks Teacher’s Association Negotiations Committee where I provided input into the contract negotiations with the teachers’ bargaining group.
Additional activities:
Instrumental in a review of the Public Schools Act and its regulations to determine appropriate education measures for students, and to determine the role and ability of the school division in the disposal of land and buildings.
As a result of active involvement with the Manitoba Association of Schoolboard Trustees (MAST), I was appointed as the MAST representative on the Department of Citizenship and Youth, Student Services’ “Inclusive Education Review Committee” which considered issues surrounding the provision of education to students with disabilities.
Dealt with numerous questions during formal SOSD Board meetings from the management team – including dealing with financial questions using my strong financial report preparation skills, and excellent understanding of accounting systems.
January – March 2005 (Term Contract)
Assistant Executive Director
Disabled Peoples’ International
Managed various aspects of the accounting system, operational communications, staff supervision, general planning and report writing. Coordinated accessibility services for World Council members attending the United Nations meetings on disability human rights issues.
1995 – 2004
Owner/Operator
Info Equity Inc.
Founded Info Equity Inc., a company that provided services which contributed to the ability of persons with disabilities to live independently, including alternate formats of print information, computer services with adaptive equipment, and plans for accessible streets and facilities. A select list of accomplishments follow:
Conducted accessibility consultations/audits in regard to the physical environment eg. PortageScape and the Core Area of Winnipeg.
Provided computer training and consulting to individuals, the Canadian Disability Rights Council, the Independent Living Resource Centre, and the CNIB on a range of issues including setting up accounting systems, evaluating Internet Web pages, creating databases, and the procurement of and training in individualized computer systems for individuals requiring adaptive equipment.
1990 – 1994
Accounting/Computer Coordinator
Independent Living Resource Centre
Hired right after completing my college diploma, (Business Administration 1990) I worked as the accountant/financial manager along with the Executive Director. Given my computer capabilities, I soon became the computer “go to” person in the organization. Funding proposals and funding negotiations were part of the funding side duties I worked on.
Successful in creating an MS-DOS, Accpac computerized accounting system comprised of 3 ledgers, 30 cost centres and approximately 800 accounts for the ILRC’s $2M budget which enabled expert generation of numerous reports for various funding agencies and management.
Prepared budgets for the main operations of the ILRC and assisted program and project staff in preparing budgets for individualized housing/independent living brokerage contracts.
Instrumental in assisting the bookkeeper to efficiently utilize accounting software, prepare month-end entries and balance the accounting system.
Converted the organization’s pension plan to a group registered retirement savings plan.
In charge of providing computer support to the organization staff and writing proposals for computer equipment purchase.
1981 – 1984
Custodian
Winnipeg School Division
Retired after permanently losing my eyesight. My main occupation was cleaning, and monitoring low pressure boilers was a minor component. School security also fell under my job description at various schools during my time with the Division.
1980 – 1981
Store Clerk at Neil Ave. & Watt St.
7-Eleven Inc. (previously Southland Corporation)
Working as the 11:00 pm to 7:00 am clerk, I was commended for cleaning up the store, organizing the cooller and storage inventory, and getting rid of a chronic overage / shortage in the shift cash statements. With my management training from McDonalds, I was able to easily learn 7-Eleven systems and manage a store.
1978 – 1980
Painter & Dry Wall Installer
Langford Painting & Decorating; and Various Contractors
At Langford Painting & Decorating, We painted hundreds of rental units all over Winnipeg. My dry wall experience started with sanding taped dry wall joints, and I worked up to installing the gyprock board. My painting experience also involved exterior preparation and painting with sole proprietors such as Sam Wolfe and Ernie Kovacs.
1975 – 1978
Manager Trainee at Main and Kingsbury
McDonald’s Canada
Starting out working in the evening after high school classes, I worked my way up to a manager trainee position working full time and more. The manager training at McDonald’s is really extensive and second to no other “on the job” training program. My experience here would assist my honours education at Red River Community College, some 10 years later.
1974 – 1975
Maintenance Worker
Winnipeg and State Window & Building Cleaning
At 14 years old, to earn spending money, I worked for the same business my father worked for. My work involved cleaning and sweeping store fronts; washing ink off the walls in the Winnipeg Free Press press room; and periodic cleaning of an architect’s building on Burnell in the evening.