Brenda Lamash

HR Generalist

Brenda entered the Human Resources field in 2006 and has experience in a variety of industries including hospitality, tourism, gaming, mining and hi-tech across BC, Alberta and Yukon Territory.

Prior to 2006, Brenda held management positions that included performing multiple facets of human resources. It was because of this experience that she decided to pursue a career in HR as she felt this was the area she could contribute to the most.

Over the past six years Brenda has done contract and consulting work which involved several HR start-ups, new property openings and working with First Nations.

Brenda has been a traveller for most of her life visiting 13 different countries and has many more on her list. She loves throwing dinner parties for her friends and family, doing yoga and getting out and enjoying all that Vancouver has to offer!

Steven Santana

Accountant

Steven joined this amazing team in early summer 2009 and, working together with Tom Arnould, creates assists and guides Jouta in their financial storytelling needs. He has also had the opportunity to provide accounting related insights for various projects along the way when needed. It’s has been a fantastic and eventful few years with the team and he is looking forward to more action in the “Mozzo”! (Jouta’s name for “the hub” – an area in the office where many of the team members work, and one in which they often gather together for exciting announcements, events or Monday morning scrums.)

He uses the term financial storytelling as he believes it’s what he truly does when organizing and communicating financial information, with a little bit a Mojo!

Outside of the numbers, Steven is a passionate lawnbowler and a member of our very own Canadian Lawn Bowls Team. He has had the opportunity to represent Canada at various international events, past, present and future! Check out www.ilawnbowl.com or www.westvanlbc.ca for information about his adventures with lawn bowls.

Working with Jouta has been a fantastic growing experience both professionally and personally for Steven, and he looks forward to what the future has to bring for all of the team! In his own words, “We are a fantastic team and looking to provide any organization with our expertise as needed.”

Brodie Maedel

Chief Security Officer

Brodie comes to Jouta with several months of field training in Edmonton where he crafted and honed his skills in the area of Security. Although Brodie is undersized relative to his peers he makes up for it with motivation, guts, determination and a unique ability to be at your feet without ever knowing he is even in the vicinity. This skill has been a real asset to his success as Chief Security Officer for Jouta.

In his spare time, Brodie enjoys running on the Beach at English Bay terrorizing the seagulls.

Olivia Bevan

Marketing Manager

Olivia comes to Jouta with a varied background in marketing, writing and editing, and is well-positioned to lead Jouta’s marketing. From writing press releases, to blogging, branding and tradeshows, she’s a jack-of-all-trades and loves keeping busy.

She originally hails from northern England and was only meant to be in Vancouver for six months; it was the first stop on a round-the-world tour. Years later, she’s no further around the world but has fallen hard for the city and is now a permanent resident, satisfied with exploring the world on side trips.

She mixes a passion for writing, with kickboxing, hiking and learning the exciting art of becoming a chocolatier. When not juggling all this, she is a contributor to Edible Vancouver and the Vancouver Observer. Life is certainly busy, but she wouldn’t want it any other way.

Emiline Willson

HR Administrator

With over 10 years of management experience in multiple industries, including retail and food and beverage, Emiline brings valuable, hands-on, in-field experience. Emiline understands the incredible importance of engaged employees and is able to highlight people’s strengths by recognizing what motivates them. Certified in Situational Leadership, she has what it takes to successfully deal with any task, circumstance or challenge that comes her way. The Jouta team benefits greatly from her energy, unique perspectives and strong ability to create efficiencies.

Emiline spends her free time knitting, taking photography day trips, or relaxing in the sun, all the while spending time with her husband and baby (Bubbi the Schipoo).

Cecylia Piwowarczyk

HR Generalist

Cecylia adds some additional European flair to the Jouta team and brings with her eight years of HR experience spanning multiple industries including public, private and non-profit with three years in recruiting.

She excels in all areas of people skills and loves to create situations in which everyone’s a winner! Other areas in which she shines include problem solving, managerial coaching, attendance management, and program development and implementation.

In her personal time she enjoys the outdoors and travelling. You will sometimes find her on the Salsa dance floor and often on the local mountains hiking or snowboarding.

Chantal deMontigny

Senior HR Generalist

With a high-degree of curiosity and a view of life from an interesting lens, Chantal is most comfortable finding possibilities and solutions to seemingly impossible problems. Being a qualified CHRP, Chantal also brings a heart-warming level of genuineness and compassion to both the team at Jouta and to all of our clients.

Add to this a strategic mind, an innate enthusiastic attitude and exceptional client service, and you have the very essence of human and resources.

We love her ingenious spark, sharp sense of detail and amazing creative streak.

Chantal enjoys community involvement, expressing her inner artist and taking on life’s next adventure, unfazed and hands-on. You never know what she’ll be up to around town. Feel free to check out some of her artwork one of which has found a home in our Yaletown office!

Jennifer Biddlecombe

HR Director

Jennifer has been in the Human Resources field for over 15 years and has enjoyed working in a variety of industries including hospitality and tourism, engineering, public sector and grocery retail. Her experience includes working with companies in locations from Whistler to Washington State.

Jennifer has worked in all facets of Human Resources ranging from managing the day-to-day operations of an HR Department to partnering with senior management to set organizational strategy. She has particular expertise in the areas of performance management, employee relations, policy and procedure development, training, compensation, safety program improvement, change management and communication.

One of Jennifer’s greatest HR passions is to see companies flourish when they create and communicate an inspiring vision of their future. Shaping organizational culture and company systems to align with the vision is a recipe for success – and HR can help you get there!

Jennifer loves to sing. BK (before kids), she spent almost every spare minute singing in choirs, small groups and musical theatre productions. Now, with less free time, she can be occasionally found hanging out in a Karaoke bar while she awaits her big break on the X-Factor!

Sheri Kashman

HR Director

Offering more than fifteen years of human resources expertise in a variety of industries, Sheri brings diverse and comprehensive HR knowledge to Jouta.

Well versed in all areas of human resources from the day-to-day handling of HR operations to strategic HR partnership, Sheri’s greatest strengths lie in employee relationship building, swift knowledge acquisition, and values-aligned HR infrastructure development and implementation. She is also exceptionally organized; managing the fine details, logistics and “big picture” perspectives equally.

Sheri believes that the key to success is the alignment of employee and organizational values, along with honest, purposeful communication. In all that she does, she strives to know people as the unique individuals they are, in addition to the important roles they fulfill at work.

A true “work hard, play hard” employee, Sheri divides her time equally between her professional and personal goals. When she’s not in the office, she can be found practicing yoga, challenging herself rock climbing, seeking “flow” on her mountain bike, or exploring the mountains in search of deep backcountry snow. A passionate traveller, Sheri has accumulated over 2.5 years experiencing foreign cultures across the globe, including a year of work in Australia, adding international HR experience to her portfolio.

Jim Maedel

HR Director

Jim offers a wealth of knowledge in many areas, gained through 25 years in management. These areas include human resources, training and development, business development, call centre, marketing, and customer service.

During his career, Jim took on under-performing operations and regions and turned them around to high-performing and profitable operations in very short time periods.

Jim knows that the key to success in an organization is the level of dedication and motivation of staff. In each of his management positions Jim worked hard to create a positive and motivating work environment for his staff, which always translated positively towards the bottom line.

In his spare time Jim can be found at the rink playing hockey, cycling around the lower mainland, BBQing on his deck and participating in the annual Polar Bear swim every chilly New Year’s Day in English Bay.

Cori Maedel

Chief Executive Officer – HR Executive

Before Cori started Jouta she thought she was a solid HR Professional – now she knows she is.

She spent most of her career sitting at executive tables where she worked hard to showcase to her colleagues that HR really could be a true business partner, through actions and words.

In 2006, she decided it was time to put her money where her mouth was. It was time for her to walk her talk and truly showcase, not only to herself but to others, that her view of HR was solid. Since then, Jouta has worked in over 17 different industries with over 100 companies, ranging from 0 to 500 employees. Her solid approach and a team of talented HR Specialists has made Jouta “a best company for clients to work with!”

Cori takes the often-overwhelming subject of human resources and delivers practical and realistic tools for small- to medium-sized organizations to implement, from recruiting and retention to development and training.

In her spare time she loves adventure. From long bike rides raising money for cancer, to scaling off the side of a building raising money for children with disabilities. She is currently training for the grueling 92km Mediofondo (part of the Granfondo) in Penticton in 2013 – which might involve stopping off for a glass or two of wine red wine, along the way, of course!