Tim Woods, Partner
Tim Woods has worked in political and public process communications for over twenty five years. Tim has taken senior communications positions with trade associations and an Ottawa-based research institute. He formed his own communication consultancy in the 1990's, working for trade associations, unions, companies, not-for-profit organizations and government agencies.
More recently, Tim played a leadership role in dialogue and deliberation initiatives sponsored by the Toronto Financial Services Alliance and another by the Workplace Partners Panel. In 2006, Tim became a founding Director in the Canadian Community for Dialogue and Deliberation. He has a Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement certificate from the Fielding Graduate University of California, and a Bachelor of Arts degree, majors in Economics and History, from Carleton University.
Lynelle Spring, Partner
In her 15 years as a public sector executive Lynelle Spring gained valuable experience in strategic communications and change management. She was a direct report to five Deputy Ministers, and led significant change management projects at the national, provincial and organizational levels. Her strategic abilities were honed through leadership positions with high profile initiatives such as BC's 2010 Olympic Bid and the pan-Canadian Service Canada pilot project.
Since opening her consulting practice in 2001, Lynelle has served clients in government, trade associations and research institutes in both Canada and the United States, offering services in strategic communications, management and organizational change. She has also developed expertise and strong relationships in the practice of science and technology Foresight through her work with more than a dozen innovative, multi-disciplinary projects. She has authored papers and conducted research on Foresight methods and practices for the Prime Minister's Advisory Council on Science and Technology and the Office of the National Science Advisor.
Lynelle's interest in working to engage groups and organizations in meaningful dialogue and creative problem solving has been strengthened by training in the Challenge Dialogue method as well as studies with the Fielding Institute in Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement. She has a Sociology degree from Carleton University.
Rhonda Hunter, CMA, Senior Associate
Rhonda Hunter brings a financial, human resource and business perspective to the Deliberation Network. She is an experienced change-management leader, specializing in leading management teams in public and non-profit sectors through positive organizational transitions. Transition projects include organizational leadership in the downsizing of the Ministry of Small Business, Tourism and Culture by 30%; designing and implementing the transfer of 30 provincial heritage sites to the community for third-party management; design and delivery of Retirement Transition and focus group workshops for the Ministry of Community Development; and organizational design and financial analysis for organizational changes to Barkerville.ca, British Columbia's premiere heritage tourism site.
Rhonda is also a specialist in building strategic partnerships — between Ministries for cost-effective shared service delivery, between unions and management where adversarial positions are set aside in favor of solutions with common benefit, and between governments and third-party delivery agents. In 2010, she developed and delivered a "Managing Strategic Partnerships" workshop for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Ms. Hunter holds a professional Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation and has a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Diploma in Public Administration from the University of Victoria. She served as the Treasurer, Vice-Chair and Chair of the Certified Management Accountants of British Columbia, and as a national board member of the Certified Management Accountants of Canada. In November 2010, Rhonda was recognized as a Fellow of the Management Accountants of Canada in recognition of service to the Society, the profession and the community.
Monica Pohlmann, Senior Associate
Monica is a sustainability strategist and facilitator with a passion for the role of dialogue and deliberation in enhancing community and organizational sustainability. Monica brings big picture thinking and a belief in the power of dialogue to every challenge and has enjoyed diverse roles in the public and not-for-profit sectors in Calgary and elsewhere in North America.
Working for The City of Calgary for a decade as an Urban Planner, Environmental Policy Analyst and most recently as Leader, Collaboration and Strategy with ImagineCalgary — a 100-year urban sustainability vision and 30 year strategy for Calgary that engaged 18,000 people — she honed her skills in designing and delivering public engagement processes.
Also an active community volunteer, she co-founded Sustainable Calgary, and co-designed and facilitated events that educated and engaged over 2000 citizens in the development of sustainability indicators for Calgary.
Monica recently formed her own consultancy offering services in facilitation, community consultation, strategic planning and sustainability. Recent initiatives include design and delivery of a community consultation process for Calgary Learns and a dialogue session between business and environmental non-governmental organizations for the Pembina Institute.
Monica is an adjunct professor in the University of Calgary's Faculty of Environmental Design, has a Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement certificate from Fielding Graduate University, a Bachelor of Science from the University of Guelph, a Master of Environmental Design from the University of Calgary and is a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners.
Mitchell Temkin, Senior Associate
Mitchell brings more than 25 years of diverse experience as a consultant and as a senior manager in both businesses and the not-for-profit sector. Since moving west from Toronto six years ago, Mitchell has worked with a growing roster of voluntary sector and commercial clients in both Victoria and on the lower mainland. He has been a volunteer with the Victoria United Way's Volunteer Leadership Development Program, and is currently the President of Leadership Victoria and a Community Advisor to the Victoria Foundation. In the past he has served on the boards of the Ontario Field Ornithologists, and the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, as well as on the Communications Advisory Committee of the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy.
Mitchell has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, from which he graduated as an Ivey Scholar. He is also qualified as a Certified Management Consultant, and sits on the management committee of the Vancouver Island chapter of the Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Canada.
Mitchell is the principal of Associatus Consulting, providing strategy, business development, and board development services to public good organizations.
Don Presant, Learning Innovation
Don Presant is President of Learning Agents, a multimedia production company with a strategic focus on e-learning, community of practice and "learning as a conversation" for the workplace. Don's expertise in adult learning is the result of 10 years experience in educational television and over 18 years in computer and Internet technologies. He has developed several successful tools and methods for peer-to-peer knowledge transfer based on storytelling and collaboration by practitioners and learners.
Gery Lemon, Communications Specialist
A member of the 2010 Olympic Bid team, Gery Lemon led external engagement and communications to 90 community committees. Writer, editor and communicator, Gery has launched initiatives with provincial and national profile. Her writing has heart and connects with people where they live. Gery has written and edited hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, dozens of editorials and columns.
Gery has worked on tripartite First Nation treaty initiatives and led a marketing team that built awareness of the pending skills shortage in B.C. trades. During a 20-year journalism career Gery was the editor of several British Columbia magazines and community newspapers and worked as a reporter on both daily and weekly newspapers. She managed several newsrooms and mentored many new reporters.
David Matthews, Web & Graphic Designer
After earning a journalism degree from Northwestern University, David Matthews began his career as a print designer for a magazine publisher in Chicago where he also wrote a monthly column (which he still authors today) and helped develop the company's first website. Three years later he started his own company, Ink Stain Design, in Barrie, Ontario, which has been creating brand identities, print campaigns and web presences for businesses throughout North America since 2002. With his unique background and skill set, David offers a complete design and marketing resource for all Deliberation Network projects.
Paul Rainville, Scenario Scripts & Actor
Paul Rainville has worked in theatre, movies, radio and television commercials. He has performed in both English and French, in corporate and government training videos and also done narration work.
An accomplished actor, Paul has taught acting, developed scripts for Foresight scenarios and understands the power of live performance to communicate complex thoughts and emotions.