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Team Connects Us

It takes a village to do what we do. Writers, instructional designers, attorneys, HR consultants, web developers, and customer support staff.

Meet the ConnectsUs core team.  And find out how we support families, kids, and environmental sustainability.

Ariane Laird

Ariane Laird

CEO & Founder

Job titles: Founder, Leader, CEO, CFO, Driver, Mascot.  But what I really am is CIO—Chief Improvement Officer. I’m always asking “How can we do this, that—anything and everything—even better?”  Then we execute. The Japanese call it Kaizen.  The team calls it 'Shiny-Object-Syndrome', or 'What-now?'.  I call it the key to better products. More 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side


Sarah Visca

Sarah Visca

Operations Manager

My favourite phrase is “Show, don’t tell”. Talk is cheap, so let’s get it done! I'm all about efficiency, structure, and clarity and I use these traits (some may call them quirks) to provide stellar customer, product, and marketing support. 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side


Melina Laird

Website & Customer Support

I take care of updating the website, newsletters, administration, IT, customer support, and partner programs. If you email or call us, chances are you'll reach me!


Bradley Higham

Bradley Higham

Marketing

I do marketing planning, strategy and execution. I'm also a man of very few words.  

Professional Side  |  Informal Side


Crysta Liew

Director, HR Programs

I love anything HR. The legislation, the best practices, reading and learning about best practices.  Which makes me the perfect person for what I do which is essentially creating, improving and updating our products and liaising with legal partners and customers. 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side


Jo Payne

Product Manager

I'm all about product:  creating and improving documents and the resource center content and flow. Which is a fancy way of saying that I do A LOT of writing!  I work on graphics, video tutorials, web copy, website administration. I'm also the language/styles and formatting police. 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side


Andrea

Andrea Levin

Product Manager

Short and sweet:  I manage the technical website development crew. I debate with Ariane about font size.  I'm the system architect and most days, the Head of the Complaints Department

Professional Side  |  Informal Side


Sue

Sue Robinson

Customer Relations Manager

I'm known as the Hub of ConnectsUs. If you want to know what's going on, I'm your go-to.  I provide customer support, website maintenance support, admin and operations support. Everyone knows that I'm the brains behind this joint and that ConnectsUs wouldn't survive without me. :) 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side


Peter Fisera (Fish)

Developer

I'm the main crew guy that Andrea manages.  And I've been with ConnectsUs since 2006.  Lots of fun - and lots of changes. I'm the guy who tracks down bugs and glitches (not that they happen often!)  Oh, and since we all work virtually, no one knows what I look like! 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side

  • “…What a great product! I cannot emphasize enough how delighted I am with it…Your work is thorough, detailed, comprehensive, thought provoking, well laid out, easy to work with, professional, and great value. Thank you and compliments on a job very well done.”

    Grant Hodgins, B.Comm | CEO, Hodgins Auctioneers Inc.

  • "...Comprehensive, well-written and creative… provided us with a new perspective on what kind of best practices we should be implementing for existing and new employees... great value with instant return on investment."

    George Reznik | Chief Operating Officer & CFO, Infowave Software

  • I just wanted to write to say that ConnectsUs HR™ for Consultants is truly a gift. I've been searching for this type of support with other service providers with no luck. The templates and Resource Center you have created are so helpful, and provide a comprehensive menu of topics, best practices and well-written content that would have taken months to create from scratch. In most cases, my clients don't want to wait long to see results. I am very thankful to have found your product that makes me look so good!

    Thank you again!

    A new and thankful customer

    Stacey Messner | Principle Consultant | staceymessner.com

  • “…We were constantly “reinventing” the wheel when it came to establishing even the most basic administrative policies, procedures and templates (we were constantly “borrowing” examples from our sister organizations).  Your product provides us with virtually everything we were looking for in one nice, neat customizable package.”

    Brenda Taillefer | Executive Assistant, Athabasca Watershed Council

  • “I love your products. You have done a truly fabulous job with your toolkits. I’ve just spent 3 hours customizing your toolkit for one of my clients, and what I’ve done already would have any senior management team ecstatic. Talk about return on investment!”

    Deborah Nicols | Principal HR Consultant, Nicols & Dymes Consulting Inc.

  • "Entirely straightforward!  Our Office Administrator basically took the templates and ran with them in a few days…professionally written using common language, and demonstrates significant and immediate value."

    Kent Toy | Director, Finance & Administration, Antarctica Systems
Testimonials Customer List