I’m a Victoria-based facilitator with 17 years of experience in the education, public and nonprofit sectors. I’ve facilitated hundreds of presentations and workshops with groups of varying types and sizes, including:

-working professionals from corporate, nonprofit and government sectors
-new Canadians/immigrants
-newcomer and service clubs
-people in career transition/job-seekers
-college and university students
-professional association members

I’ve also coordinated hundreds of workshops and events as part of my professional work for my current and past employers. Currently I am an Instructional Designer with Royal Roads University’s Centre for Teaching & Educational Technologies (CTET). Most recently I was Volunteer Victoria’s Manager of Training and Outreach for a six-year period. Other past employers include the Canadian Red Cross, the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and The University of British Columbia.

My facilitation skills include being a convener and working with groups using interactive methods for brainstorming, visioning and planning purposes. My content specialties are volunteer management, event management, and adult education – both face to face and online.

My formal education includes a Master of Education with a focus in Adult Education from The University of British Columbia, a Bachelor of Arts in History with an Administration Option from Wilfrid Laurier University and certificates in volunteer management and intercultural studies from Conestoga College and UBC respectively. I am a member of the Administrators of Volunteer Resources British Columbia (AVRBC) and am the Workshop Program Chair for their upcoming 2013 provincial conference. I’ve been published with, and now am a regional representative for, the Canadian Journal of Volunteer Resources Management. I was instrumental in founding Volunteer Victoria’s Emerging Leaders Network, which I coordinated for two years and still remain a member of. I am on the UBC Victoria Leadership Council.

I’m originally from Ontario, have spent brief periods of time living in France and China, and now live in beautiful Victoria, BC with my husband and daughter.  I’ve been musing about various topics related to life, parenting and other inspirations on my personal blog, Shades of Bliss, since 2005 but now blog more regularly on this site.

(And if you’re wondering how to say my lovely double-barrelled last name, it’s pronounced “KOOGLER BLAWM”.)