Bilal Ansari

Bilal Ansari is an emerging Human Resource leader, pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) Degree at the Asper School of Business. He is heavily involved at the school and in various HR and leadership roles. Bilal currently serves as the President of the University of Manitoba Human Resources Association (UMHRA), where he provides strategic direction to an executive team of nine students that impacts a members base of almost 50 students majoring in HR. As president, he works with various stakeholders, such as CPHR Manitoba, the faculty at the Asper School and HR professionals in the business community. He is responsible for building relationships between these key groups and the UMHRA members. This year, Bilal has brought forth a number of initiatives to improve the association, including and increase in social media presence, partnership with the labour studies association, organizing more events and providing networking opportunities for students. 
Bilal wants to create more awareness about Human Resources among his male peers and help eradicate the stigma associated with HR. Also, Bilal intends to pursue the CPHR designation and believes his ideal job would highlight his capacity as a leader to influence and uplift people to become a better version of themselves.

Jillian Daien 

Jillian is a student in the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business, completing her Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree with a double major in Human Resources Management and Marketing. Through her work at The North West Company, she has gained experience in multiple areas within the field of Human Resources including performing full-cycle recruitment, running the Co-op student work program, contributing to the development of Standard Operating Procedures and assisting in policy writing and cataloguing. In her current role as the Human Resources Coordinator with the Commerce Students’ Association, she has implemented several new initiatives to create the greatest benefit for her fellow council members. Upon graduation, Jillian plans to pursue the Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR) designation.

Anya Djuric 

Anya Djuric is a third-year student in the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business majoring in Human Resources and Accounting. Through her involvement in the Co-op program, she has gained experience in recruitment, onboarding, research, and HRIS. Anya became interested in HR because of her love for interacting with and helping others. Her passion for HR continues to grow, so she joined the University of Manitoba Human Resource Association (UMHRA) to share this passion with her peers. As a member of the executive team, she participates in planning and executing various events to educate her peers about the field, while also managing the finances for the team as the Director of Finance. She has seen the positive results of effective Human Resources from working in HR through the Asper Co-op program, and she looks forward to being able to continue making a difference in the lives of employees.

Isha Neufeld, CPHR  

Isha is a Human Resources Business Partner at eCom Customer Care. Her approachability, leadership style and efforts in creating a culture of care are truly brought forward and accepted by employees of eCom. Her accomplishments at eCom include the development of 360-degree evaluations, implementation of lunch and learns, creation of new resources for mental health support and wellness initiatives, administration of Happiness Surveys, and redevelopment of the onboarding process. Isha sits on the Board for Reaching Equality Employment Services and focuses on enhancing recruitment and hiring methods of employers across the city to become more inclusive. She is dedicated to continuous learning, obtaining her CPHR designation as well as SHRM-SCP Designation and focused on improving herself for the betterment of the company and fellow employees.

Sonia Sharma, CPHR Candidate 

Sonia is the Manager, Human Resources at Western Glove Works. Prior to accepting this position, she was an Executive Recruiter at Harris Leadership Strategies and spent time working for the 2017 Canada Summer Games and at KPMG LLP. Having an accounting background allows Sonia to apply quantitative analysis about the critical role employees play in the financial success or failure of a company. Outside of working hours, Sonia gives her time back to the HR community through mentoring the University of Manitoba Human Resources Association (UMHRA) Executive team, being an active member of the Young Associates, acting as a guest interviewer for Asper School of Business MBA students, being a panelist at The University of Winnipeg Ignite conference, and mentoring at Big Brothers and Big Sisters. She truly believes in giving back while leading forward. Her ability to connect and build meaningful relationships with everyone she comes in contact with is a skill that often takes years to develop among professionals, but it seems to come naturally to her.

Serena Traa, CPHR Candidate 

Serena is a Human Resources Generalist at CPA Manitoba. She demonstrates professionalism and integrity in her day-to-day work while continuously striving to improve the HR function. Of her many accomplishments in her short time with CPA Manitoba, one that stands out is the continued development of an inspirational and intentional culture. When the merger of the accounting profession occurred in Manitoba, three organizations with extremely different cultures formed one new organization. When Serena joined the Human Resources team she helped to stabilize the culture and held staff accountable to build ONE culture. As chair of the Culture Club, Serena has used lunch and learns and other communication tools to engage staff and build culture. Serena exemplifies a desire for continued improvement in all facets of her work and also in her personal life. She recently helped establish the Community Roots Resource Centre in North Kildonan, as a member of the Steering and Fund Development Committees. Serena has a passion for helping others and uses her knowledge and experience in Human Resources to advance the resource centre.

Anu Baldner, CPHR

Anu is the newly appointed Director - Talent and Culture at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. In her previous role as the Director of Human Resource at Roquette Canada Ltd., Anu was employee number 11 in the Roquette Canada team and was tasked with building the HR function from the bottom up. She formulated the Human Resources strategy in alignment with Roquette's vision of being a leader in plant-based solutions. Due to Anu's leadership, Roquette has been successful in being recognized as a top employer in Manitoba and a Top Employer in Canada for recent grads. The company has built a successful brand and become an employer of choice for potential employees, which is huge given the fact that the company is new to Canada. Anu’s leadership has helped build a positive, progressive culture of growth and productivity at Roquette.

Wendy Barlishen, CPHR 

Wendy is the Manager, Human Resources & Occupational Health and Safety at St. Boniface Hospital. Wendy has over twenty years of Human Resources leadership experience in all HR disciplines. Wendy’s facilitative leadership style, energy and technical knowledge has enabled her to deliver on challenging projects, helping to achieve the hospital’s goal of being more patient-focused, operate more safely and efficiently to ensure sustainability. Not only does she excel in connecting with people in the hospital but also throughout the health care system to leverage services and improvements and be more effective in getting things done.

Treena Chabot, CPHR 

Treena owns the company TREE for Supervisors (Training in Retaining and Engaging Employees) where she advises organizations on the Canadian Psychological Health & Safety Standard and trains supervisors for their important roles in protecting employee mental health and promoting mental wellness. Treena is the author of MeYouQ: Life-Changing Protocols for People Leaders, which helps people live with greater peace and purpose and have better relationships at work. She comes armed with numerous best practices gained from research and from teaching at Red River College for the past 18 years.

Beth Millard-Hales, CPHR  

Beth is the Vice President, Human Resources for The North West Company. She leads a North American team focused on developing and implementing strategies that drive business results, create a positive work environment and experience for NWC employees, and increase levels of employee engagement. Beth’s exceptional leadership skills create an environment that inspires others to achieve objectives. She respectfully challenges direction, focusing on better, faster or more cost-effective ways of doing things while balancing employee wellness and engagement. She successfully navigates the drivers, barriers and key systems required to accelerate organizational objectives and skillfully negotiates adjustments to quality, quantity, resources and deadlines to meet business requirements. Beth is well-versed, versatile and embraces a broader vision of service. Beth is an acknowledged leader in her field in Europe and North America through her UK Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Registered Professional Recruiter, CPHR and SHRM-SCP designations.

Warren Sawatzky, CPHR 

Warren is the Director, Human Resources at the RBC Convention Centre. In the last 8 years of his employment, he has been central to the growth and the success of the RBC Convention Centre, first as Manager and then as Director. As a member of the executive team, he leads in knowledge on successful bargaining and building good relationships with both unions, managing effective training for the organization, and overseeing the restructuring of the organization. Warren was a key player in the $180 million expansion of the facility and the effects on employees and is currently leading the change initiative shifting the focus from a customer service culture to a guest experience culture. He is a mentor to his employees in the HR Department and is a key go-to resource to all managers, executives and the CEO.

Kevin Gill 

Kevin is the President of Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting, a company he started 12 years ago that has since expanded to Toronto, Mississauga, Vancouver and Ottawa with franchising opportunities in the United States. Kevin has involved himself greatly in Staffmax’s strategic planning, which led him to noticing a need in addressing various skills gaps. He has invested heavily in his internal staff by creating an employee development and mentorship program that enables staff to branch into Human Resources and leadership roles while succession planning is taking place giving staff the opportunity for career development. Kevin is also a huge believer in rewards & recognition. With a focus on results over metrics, staff are motivated to fulfill the company’s vision with freedom and excellent customer care. In return for this hard work, an excellent compensation structure is in place with bonuses, commissions and surprises. With the opportunity to add to their salaries and even enjoy team spa days, Kevin keeps Staffmax happy and engaged. Staffmax would not be on the rise without Kevin Gill’s commitment and belief that Human Resources Management can make a difference.

Judy Murphy, CPHR 

Judy is the President & CEO or Safety Services Manitoba, which provides training and consulting in workplace and road safety. She is also the owner of Murphy’s Executive Leadership, which provides expert guidance on the complexities of governance, strategic planning, team building and executive coaching to boards and leaders. She has over 20 years of experience in executive leadership roles, facilitating and advancing the visions for successful not-for-profits such as the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Folklorama and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Recognizing the importance of Human Resources initiatives in helping organizations be competitive, Judy has led and driven successful HR programs to create an attractive, engaged and inclusive work culture with low turnover. Judy has strived to incorporate best practices in Human Resource Management in all her roles and has endorsed, supported and championed the HR function to the overall business community.

John Stott, CPHR-Retired

John is semi-retired but continues to be a strong advocate for HR and supports workplaces with competency-based mentorship programs philanthropically or through his company stottHR. John’s 30-year HR professional career has been dedicated to making workplaces better. Starting in operations, he quickly rose to manager positions with several large retailers. John saw first-hand that success in the workplace came when the workforce was healthy and employees had the ability, confidence and inspiration to do their best. He knew then that “Treating people right is good business” and organizational leaders needed capable HR support, so in 1993 he turned his focus to Human Resources. John’s HR career progressed across several industries with companies including The North West Company, Maple Leaf Foods, Alaska Commercial Company, The Dufresne Group and Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) in the capacity of HR Manager, SR. HR Manager, Director of Human Resources or Vice President of Human Resources, including a three-year not-for-profit commitment as Director of HR for The Main Street Project.

It was with John's leadership that APTN was recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (now eight years in a row). He introduced inclusive hiring policies and holistic wellness and professional development programs, including the integration of traditional Elders and Knowledge Keepers in the EAP and Wellness Programs. He initiated a world-class competency-based mentorship program and achieved a gender workforce balance of 51% to 49% female to male ratio that averages 66% Indigenous ancestry overall.  John has participated as a mentor in CPHR Manitoba’s Professional Mentorship Program since its inception. In 2013, John received national recognition when he was recognized as only the second person in the world to meet the requirements and be awarded the International Certified Mentorship Professional status.