Corinne Tessier is President of Affirming Workplace Solutions Inc, who specialize in innovative management practices and workplace systems..  She helps organizations create affirming, productive workplaces that attract great employees, keep them, and keep them on track.

Corinne is a former Executive Director for Alberta Women’s Enterprise Initiative, where she launched and built a successful organization that responded to over 15,000 women planning for,and running businesses.  She has made her home in the business community as an accountant, controller, manager, consultant, facilitator, and business educator, and has expanded internationally with work in Indonesia.  In addition, she has started and operated four small businesses of her own.

As a leader and manager, Corinne has brought productivity and profitability to numerous organizations over the last three decades.  Her innovative and effective practices led to her being nominated twice for Ernst and Young’s ‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award’, and being featured in 1999 as one of ‘Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People’ by Alberta Venture Magazine.  But her most treasured recognition is a silver cup from the first group of staff she ever managed, with ‘Boss of the Year’ engraved on it.

She holds a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation and a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Calgary.  In 2003 she received the honorary designation of Fellow of the Society of Management Accountants of Canada (FCMA).  She currently serves as a founding board member for the Immigrant Access Fund Society, and mentors young entrepreneurs.  She has a long history of volunteering in the community. 

The skills she is most noted for are: developing business systems and processes that support people in their work, building organizational structures that lay the foundation for growth, facilitating strategic initiatives, managing finances, and training.  Corinne believes true organizational success and sustainability happen when leaders show they ‘believe in people’, and is currently writing a book called ‘Redeeming the Workplace’.

Robert Toews is an operations specialist with over twenty-five years of experience in the resource, aviation, and aero medical industries. His passion for good analysis, integration, efficiency and worker wellness enables him to design business and technical systems that work at every level. Robert's exceptional ability to understand and simplify complexity helps transform challenging problems into effective solutions.

Robert has a Master' Degree in Planning and Environmental Design and holds the highest Air Transport Pilot (ATPL) certifications for airplanes and helicopters. He has completed executive seminars with the Banff School of Management and received advanced training in facilitation, risk management, and safety and wellness systems.

Robert is a specialist in operational risk management. He helps businesses assess risk through the CAE Q850 process. Once identified, risk to business and personnel is eliminated or mitigated through advanced Quality Management processes and customized operating procedures. Robert also is a dynamic educator who motivates leaders and staff to optimize operational effectiveness through Team Resource Management (TRM) seminars.