Faculty

Alison Anderson was working as a Business Development Officer at Community Futures when she saw a need in the market for a cost-effective way to help business owners find buyers. She founded a company called SuccessionMatching.com and has worked with thousands of business and farm owners on their succession plans and business transitions.  

In 2013, CBC Saskatchewan named Alison one of the Top 40 under 40 shaping the future of the province. In partnership with a number of private and public sector organizations, SuccessionMatching has launched a community-driven approach to business succession in a number of towns, cities, and regions across Canada.  

Bill Falconer is an experienced financial institution employee with over 42 years in the finance profession, with over 22 years in a chartered bank and over 19 years with Valley Credit Union in Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.  

His plethora of achievements and accreditations include a BBA from the University of New Brunswick, Certified Financial Planner, Certified Human Resources Professional, Fellow of the Institute on Canadian Bankers, and Fellow of Credit Union Institute of Canada. Bill retired in 2014 as Vice President of Organizational Development at Valley Credit Union where he supervised eight branches and a Credential Financial Strategies unit. In retirement, he works in landscaping and snow removal. He and his wife Carol now reside in Cambridge (Hespeler), Ontario. 

Chantelle Mamone has over 15 years of banking experience and is currently Director & Team Lead, Commercial Services at Meridian Credit Union. Chantelle holds an MBA from Niagara University and a post graduate certificate in Human Resources from Niagara College. In addition to her day job Chantelle is a professor at Niagara College and facilitates with CCUA Education. In her spare time Chantelle enjoys spending time with her family and travelling. 

Chris Swan, CPA, CGA, MBA, CEC, is a Chartered Professional Accountant, has her MBA from Royal Roads University, and is a Certified Executive Coach with over 25 years’ experience of corporate accounting and finance experience.  Until recently, she was working with Encompass Credit Union as VP Finance & Risk.  As an educator, Chris enjoys sharing the breadth of her knowledge and experience and likes to make complicated finance concepts understandable to help her students succeed. 

Claudiu Popa is the CEO of Datarisk Canada and Informatica Security Corporation. He is an expert on risk management, personal information protection, and data security strategy. For over 25 years, he has been an active participant in the development of standards, systems and methods to improve cybersecurity education and protect information assets.  He is the author of four books including The Canadian Cyberfraud Handbook: A Professional Reference, as well as  the co-founder of the KnowledgeFlow Foundation, a Canadian non-profit organization with the unique objective of bringing children, families and communities in touch with cybersafety techniques. Through public speaking, media appearances and editorials, Claudiu remains an ardent supporter of Canadian corporate innovation and technology competitiveness in the global economy. 

Dale Boisclair, CTP, is a training and education consultant providing facilitation and curriculum design and development support to CCUA for close to 20 years. He is a Certified Training Practitioner with the Institute for Performance and Learning and a certified eLearning curriculum designer with the Association for Talent Development. Dale’s experience is plenty with his roles as a senior credit adjudicator and retail credit manager for a major BC credit union, and in his spare time he can often be found on his motorcycle somewhere in the mountains of Mexico. 

Ed Sarnecki, B.Sc., MBA, has over 40 years of governance experience as an advisor, facilitator, practitioner, CEO, and Director, primarily with credit unions but also with selected co-operative and not-for-profit organizations. As a facilitator with CCUA Education since 2004, Ed has developed course content on balanced scorecard, board development, CEO performance planning and evaluation, human resources planning, and merger planning and evaluation. Ed has further augmented his background and experience as an international advisor in leading the first governance missions in support of the emerging credit union system in Malawi. 

Fay Booker, FCPA-FCA, C.Dir., CIA, CRMA, Acc.Dir., FCIS, has a foundation as a trusted advisor that comes from 30 years of experience in accounting, consulting, and financial services. Her previous positions include partnerships at two International Accounting & Consulting Firms and senior positions at two banks. Currently, Fay is the managing partner of Booker & Associates and is an advisor to credit unions with her expert-level knowledge in corporate governance and enterprise risk management. Accreditations that Fay has earned include Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FPCA), Chartered Director (C.Dir.), and Certified Risk Management Assurance (CRMA). Fay has been recognized as an expert in corporate governance by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. 

Fazila Moosa is the founder of PrivaTech Consulting and is a privacy and information security consultant, lawyer, and trainer. She has a unique blend of legal training, IT consulting, records management experience, and has serviced both the public and private sectors. She holds degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and Law from the University of Toronto. Fazila has acted as a senior advisor for the Business Secretariat of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and is an official training partner of the International Association of Privacy Professionals. 

Felicity Ronaghan has more than 25 years of experience in commercial lending, including over 20 years in credit risk management at two of Canada’s largest credit unions. Felicity has an Honours BA in French Literature and an MBA. She has presented at conferences and provided coaching to social enterprises as part of her volunteer work. Six years ago, Felicity and her family picked up and moved from Vancouver to British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley where they are loving the abundance of sunshine and a slower pace of life.  

Frank has spent most of his life in the London Ontario area. He graduated from the University of Guelph in 1982. After working in life insurance for one year he joined Libro Credit union in 1983 and has been there until his retirement in October 2018. He has served as Vice President of Credit from 1986 to 2013 and in later years had assumed the role of Vice President of Agriculture and Commercial Services.

Frank has been a leader in the Credit Union system his whole career serving on numerous boards and committees particularly in credit, and more specifically in the agriculture, commercial and collection areas. He has taught numerous credit and business development courses in credit union system and in the community, and he continues to be actively involved in leadership roles in a number of community organizations. Frank and his wife Marianne (a retired Libro veteran) live in and are very active in Strathroy, Ontario.

Julene Toews Dewis is a facilitator and HR professional who focuses on organizational and employee development. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Julene enjoyed a ten year career in the Credit Union system that included senior positions in both the retail and corporate environments.  Her most recent position was the Manager of Employee Development at a large Manitoba Credit Union where she led the development and execution of award-winning leadership and sales and service training programs.

To complement her experience, Julene completed a Bachelor of Commerce and a Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education from the University of Manitoba.

Kim Andres is a trusted advisor to Canadian credit unions and has expert-level knowledge in corporate governance, strategic planning and management, mergers and acquisitions, enterprise risk management and operational effectiveness.

Kim is the managing partner of Andres Consulting Inc., a boutique agency that is dedicated to working with Canadian credit unions to find solutions for success and driving value for each credit union and its members. Kim is also a partner with US-based Bank Solutions Group and provides leadership to the group’s international credit union operations.

Her 30+ year credit union history includes experience as the chief executive of a multi-branch credit union, senior vice-president of a regional central credit union, and the executive leader of both a national and an international consulting practice. With her knowledge, Kim has developed and implemented practical and cost-effective solutions for her client credit unions. In 2003, Kim began facilitating programs for knowledge network, and has authored and served as subject-matter expert for several advanced-level Credit Union Director Achievement (CUDA) Program courses.

Kim’s hands-on experience is complemented by strong academic accomplishments. She holds a Masters of Business (MBA) degree from Queen’s University and attended the Advanced Leadership Institute at Harvard University. Kim is a Fellow with the Credit Union Institute of Canada (FCUIC), a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), and a Certified Corporate Director (ICD.D), and a Certified Enterprise Risk Management Expert (CUERME).

Michelle Manary brings a depth and breadth of knowledge and experience in the areas of organizational effectiveness and strategic human resource management. As the owner of the Manary Group and a partner in ReframeHR, Michelle works with organizations in the areas of strategic planning and board governance, leadership development, organizational design, financial and risk management, systems analysis, stakeholder communications and human resource management. Prior to becoming an independent consultant in 2007, Michelle was a member of the executive management team at Assiniboine Credit Union, responsible for developing HR systems to align with corporate strategies. She also spent a number of years in management at a major national bank.

A life long learner, Michelle has earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Brandon University, Business Administration Diploma from Assiniboine Community College, Certificate in Human Resource Management and Certificate in Organizational Development from Queens University, and Certificate in Participative Management from the University of Manitoba. She is also a Certified Master Coach from the Behavioural Coaching Institute.

Since 2007, Michelle has developed and facilitated courses across Canada, on behalf of knowledge network.

As the President of Hawkeye Strategies Inc., Miranda hones in on three major areas that significantly contribute to the success of organizations: board governance, strategic planning and tactical planning. Her concerted focus is to help businesses align their resources effectively to achieve their vision while staying rooted in its mission and values.

Miranda has held several non-profit board appointments and has emphasized that the board’s collective role is to increase shareholder value, where value is defined in by the membership. Her vast industry experience enables her to bring best practices to the boardroom. Miranda’s affiliations are with academia, healthcare, the credit union system, and aviation to name a few. Within the credit union system, she held a Senior Manager role leading the retail sales and service teams.

Miranda completed her undergraduate degree from the University of Guelph and graduate degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her passion for business has led her to pursue an Executive MBA program through the University of Fredericton. She holds certifications in Lean methodology and Change Management. In her spare time, Miranda facilitates a community ThinkTank to engage professionals to network and learn from other industries.

Rick considers himself a Connoisseur of Life, having retired at the end of 2017 from a long career in the financial services industry.  His career spans 41 years, having held various positions in both the banking and Credit Union industries within Atlantic Canada.  The last 26.5 years were spent within the Credit Union industry in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and most recently New Brunswick, where he retired from the position of CEO of OMISTA Credit Union.

Rick holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University, an MBA in IT Management from Athabasca University, and a Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) from Athabasca University.  His doctoral dissertation was titled “Credit Union Mergers: Psychological Contracts & Organizational Trust”.  In addition, Rick is a Fellow of the Credit Union Institute (FCUIC), a graduate of the Credit Union Director Achievement (CUDA) program and a Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR).

Rick has held seats on several professional committees including Board Director of the Human Resources Association of NB, Board Director of the Co-Operative Enterprise Council of NB and Board Director/Vice Chair with League Data Limited, provider of data support services to Atlantic Credit Unions.  He has served on various Boards, including Junior Achievement, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, CPPMA and other associations.

Rhonda Taylor is the Director of Member Service for PenFinancial Credit Union and a 27 year veteran of the Credit Union industry. She leads and supports PenFinancial’s retail branch teams fostering a culture of co-operation and collaboration making sure their People, Service Commitments and Value Discipline are a consistent focus of everything they do, delivering on their brand promise.

Along with many years of experience her educational achievements include but are not limited to, a Certified Financial Planner, a Certified International Wealth Manager, Registered Retirement Consultant, Financial Management Advisor, Associate of the Institute of Canada Bankers and holder of a Master’s Degree in Leadership from the University of Guelph.

Rhonda sits on the board of directors for the Credit Union Leaders Association as their Vice Chair as well as the Niagara Fall Chamber of Commerce and is an active educator on topics including business, leadership, credit and investment/advice.

Sandra is a sought-after speaker and facilitator on the topic of leadership. She takes complex topics―such as leadership, coaching, neuroleadership and mindfulness―and explains them in a relatable way that supports leaders to lead with the brain in mind. Attendees of her sessions gain an increased understanding of how to harness the brain for improved productivity, communication, and overall well-being.

With a Masters in Leadership, a Certified Executive Coach (PCC) designation, and a Certificate in Neuroleadership, Sandra has been a driving force for increased leadership and coaching capacity within her executive role with First Credit Union, and within the national and international credit union system. She has served in the roles of COO and acting CEO at First CU¸ and earlier in her career was a recipient of both a CCUA and WOCCU young leader award.

Sandra’s passion for supporting the leadership growth of others led her to develop the eLeadership Academy™ in 2014. In addition to founding the Academy, she authored the book Your Mother Was Right: 15 Unexpected Lessons About Leadership and the Brain. Within the book she makes a strong connection between common sense offered universally by mothers, leadership in the workplace—and neuroscience.

Sherry is an exemplary facilitator, trainer, and consultant with over 30 years of experience in the credit union system. Her expertise in commercial lending and management has made her a reputable and highly regarded resource. She is extremely methodical in her teaching methods, yet passion driven, humorous, and understanding.

Sherry develops and delivers new course material in applied commercial lending and financial statement analysis. She often consults and collaborates with a number of credit unions and affiliated organizations to deliver tailor-made training programs specific to the needs of the organization.

Sherry has served on a number of boards, including the Mortgage Investment Association of British Columbia (BC), National Lenders Advisory Committee, and the Credit Counseling Society of BC. She has been involved in the success of many industry and community events, demonstrating her talent for organization and detail.

Tamara Paton is a corporate director serving on the boards of Dealnet Capital, ServoAnnex and Meridian Credit Union, where she is vice chair. Previously, she held governance roles with Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), Carson-Dellosa Publishing, the Canadian Automobile Association, and the Niagara Health System. When not serving on boards, Tamara advises leaders in digital media, e-commerce, financial services and other innovative consumer-facing sectors.

Tamara began her career at TD Securities, McKinsey & Company, and Torstar/Harlequin. She studied mathematics at the University of Waterloo and marketing at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Tamara also holds Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Director designations.