Meet our team
Our team is ready and happy to support you on your entrepreneurial journey.
Chantelle Ball
Marketing Coordinator
Chantelle has a diploma in Digital Communication and Media specializing in Media Production and Advertising as well as a Bachelors of Arts in Professional Communication.
After graduating from college, Chantelle worked as a practicum student at the Lethbridge Alzheimer’s Society which was a life changing experience for her. During her internship, Chantelle saw communications work in a new light. She got to experience the side of communications that brings people together and can be used to make a change in the community. This passion to be involved with organizations that support their communities is what drew Chantelle to the Women Entrepreneurs-in-STEM program.
Chantelle believes her creative side is her strongest asset and she loves to nourish her creativity through fashion, travel, photography and dance. When she’s not studying for her latest degree, she can be found in the dog park with her Golden Retriever named Rey.
Jenny Bourne
Project Team Senior Coordinator, BA, B.Ed, MA
Jenny comes to the Women Entrepreneurs-in-STEM program with over 25 years of experience working in diverse communities and organisations both across Canada and internationally.
Having worked in public schools in Ontario and Nunavik, and in instructional and managerial roles in colleges and universities in South Korea, Kazakhstan and China internationally, and in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta domestically, Jenny has developed a passion for community organisation and serving students/clients that may have difficulties accessing the same opportunities as their peers.
Jenny has cherished her many life-enhancing experiences working and volunteering in various provinces and countries, supporting women and other marginalised groups as they strive to achieve their goals, and is thrilled to continue to do so in beautiful Southern Alberta. In her free time Jenny loves to travel, hike, do yoga, read, garden and frolic with her menagerie of animals.
Suzanne Ebelher
Project Team Lead, CMC, CPHR, MBA
Suzanne brings over 20 years of experience supporting entrepreneurs across Alberta through start up and acceleration coaching. She has a strong understanding of supports available for Alberta entrepreneurs and loves to dive deep to source strategic solutions for clients.
Emerging technology is just one more way to support and advance business, hence her excitement to join the team! Suzanne works collaboratively with her clients to help facilitate decision making and business improvements by providing the necessary support documentation, policies, processes, tools and plans in order to achieve their desired goals and vision of success.
Before her career in management consulting, Suzanne grew up in Medicine Hat, AB, fueling her passion for supporting entrepreneurs in rural and remote settings. In her spare time. she volunteers with Cochrane Humane Society and CPHR Alberta, she loves to garden, golf and is a newbie beekeeper.
Paloma Navarro
Client Intake Coordinator
Paloma comes to Women Entrepreneurs-in-STEM program with over 20 years of success in North and South America working with entrepreneurs and participating in multiple community economic development projects and programs from the design to implementation of initiatives to enhance the development and wellbeing of individuals, businesses and communities.
Paloma is originally from Chile and has a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, a Master in Computer Arts & Communications, and a Diploma in Implementation of Quality Management Systems. Being fluent in both English and Spanish has enabled her to expand her support for entrepreneurs.
In her journey to date, she has embraced several ventures like tourism operator, restaurant owner and management consulting & training endeavors, experiences that have helped her to understand and be on the client side. Having worked as an Economic Development Officer in rural Southern Alberta, and as Self-employment Program Lead Facilitator at Momentum Calgary, Paloma has developed a passion working with entrepreneurs helping and supporting them to succeed.
Anna Virtanen
Accounting and Administrative Coordinator
Anna brings the Women Entrepreneurs-in-STEM Program several years of experience in administrative and customer service-focused positions in both Canada and internationally.
Anna is originally from Finland, where she studied and graduated with a Master of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration with a specialization in Accounting.
Having experience collaborating closely with project managers and upper level executives providing administrative support and managing other office activities, Anna is dedicated to enhancing the team’s productivity and improving its operations.
Anna is very organized and detail oriented. In addition to being a numbers person, she is passionate about corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Anna is thrilled to join the team as she has always wanted to be part of an organization that is making a positive impact on people and businesses. In her free time, Anna enjoys traveling, hiking, baking and spending time with her dog Leo.
Business Advisors
Wunmi Akinlosotu
The Blooming Hub
Areas of Expertise:
• Strategic Planning & Development
• Entrepreneur Development
• Cross-Cultural Transition Coaching
Wunmi has a passion for empowering women through entrepreneurship. She has supported female entrepreneurs from diverse cultures and industries, both locally and internationally. She has a wealth of experience working in start-ups for profit, non-profits and now a co-operative.
Marianne Bell
NextGen PM Coaching & Consulting Inc.
Areas of Expertise:
• Strategy Design & Implementation
• Business Plan & Case Development
• IT Project Planning
Marianne is a leadership coach, business analyst & project management professional that helps executives implement technology clients value. A new entrepreneur herself, she is passionate about helping women turn their dream of having a business they love into reality.
Sheila Carruthers
Management Consultant
Areas of Expertise:
• Social Entrepreneurship
• Business Strategies & Plans
• Multi-Channel Communication
Sheila’s expertise is in social enterprise having worked on thousands of innovative initiatives leveraging capacity in people, community economies, and protecting our planet via the circular economy. She helps clients find strategic solutions by integrating sustainability, social purpose, and business culture into business plans.
Chandra Deaust
Avail - Engagement Partner
Areas of Expertise:
• Business Strategy
• Problem Solving
• Competitive Advantage Facilitation
Chandra is an engagement partner for several organizations in Southern Alberta, including entrepreneurial start-ups, mature businesses, non-profit organizations and public sector. She is a strong supporter of women in business and coaches several women in senior roles at Avail.
Keri Drennan
Impact Leader
Areas of Expertise:
• Defining personal brand
• Group leadership
• Understands the value in individual motivation & communication style
Keri is a professional engineer & believes everyone deserves to work in a trusting, respectful culture that includes maximizing business goals while having fun. She wants to make a difference in this world by focusing on the areas she is most passionate: transforming leaders & engaging teams.
Cassie Ducharme
Avail - Business Advisor
Areas of Expertise:
• Problem Solving
• Accounting Requirements
• Strategic Planning Facilitation
Cassie has been with Avail for over 8 years, and is the manager of the Pincher Creek office. Cassie is one of the founders and current chair of the Pincher Creek women in business group and a strong supporter of women in business throughout Alberta.
Shauna Frederick
Frederick OTG
Areas of Expertise:
• Budget, cash & financial modelling
• Creating key performance metrics
• Explaining your financials, in words you understand
Shauna has helped entrepreneurs better understand their financial reports and stop assessing business success solely through the number in their bank account. She does this by offering a customizable CFO role and becoming a strategic advisor to the business.
Jenn Kalegaric
Avail - Finance & Tax Advisor
Areas of Expertise:
• Yearend Requirements
• Tax Filing
• Financial Statement Preparation & Understanding
Jenn is a manager at Avail and is responsible for the yearend financial statement and tax preparation of several clients. Jenn’s financial and tax experience is a valuable resource as entrepreneurs learn the financial side of operating a business.
Koleya Karringten
Koleya Consulting Corp.
Areas of Expertise:
• Commercialization of New Technology
• Industry Connections
• Business & Marketing Coaching
Koleya has successfully developed ground-breaking cleantech solutions for multiple industry sectors, including aerospace and Oil & Gas. She is the Executive Director of the Canadian Blockchain Consortium and co-founder/board member of the Canadian Blockchain Association for Women.
Linnden King
Urban Cowgirl & Company
Areas of Expertise:
• Start-Ups
• Digital Marketing
• E-Commerce
Linnden is the Owner of Urban Cowgirl & Company Inc., a direct-to-consumer Canadian made apparel brand. She is passionate about helping other entrepreneurs with their business growth, transitioning from brick & mortar to the world online, and pivoting in the face of adversity. Linnden also loves to help entrepreneurs obtain the skills and confidence to crush it on social media!
Christy Lane
Areas of Expertise:
• B2B Sales
• Digital health, Data science, Insuretech
• Commercializing health & data analytics technology
Dr. Christy Lane is an entrepreneur, former CEO, and scientist with expertise in digital health, data science, and insurance. She is the founder of Vivametrica and the Stanford Wearable Health Lab. Christy has been recognized as Calgary Top 40 Under 40, Trailblazer in STEM, and Top Female Founder of Insuretech.
Tina Martens
Avail - Bookkeeping
Areas of Expertise:
• Bookkeeping Processes
• Accounting Software
• Payroll
Tina is a bookkeeping supervisor and has worked at Avail CPA for several years, gaining practical experience with yearends, bookkeeping, QuickBooks Online and Sage 50. She loves to troubleshoot clients’ bookkeeping questions and is passionate about sharing her knowledge.
Kate Miller
Avail - Human Resources
Areas of Expertise:
• HR Policies
• Company Culture
• Recruitment, Retention & Compensation
Kate will advise employers and future employers through every step of the employee lifecycle (policy creation/review, hiring, firing, retention, recruitment, compensation). She wants to help entrepreneurs ensure they create a productive and rewarding workplace with increased job satisfaction, production, and profits.
Wendy Muise
Ground Floor Labs
Areas of Expertise:
• Tech / Innovation
• Product Development
• Scale up / Growth
Wendy has been apart of a team that took a product from an idea to IPO and a $121 million market valuation. Spending the last ten years focusing on strategic practices in entrepreneurship, Wendy has worked in communities during disaster recovery supporting existing and new entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
Paloma Navarro
2291963 Alberta LTD.
Areas of Expertise:
• Business Plan Development
• Marketing Strategies & Plan
• Government Resources: Funding, learning opportunities & programs
Paloma has embraced several ventures like tourism operator, restaurant owner and management consulting & training endeavours, experiences that have helped her to understand and be on the client side. Being fluent in both English and Spanish has enabled her to expand her support for entrepreneurs.
Pauline Patenaude
Marketing Directions
Areas of Expertise:
• Growth Management
• Marketing Strategy
• Market Insight to identify new growth opportunities
Pauline is an award-winning Advisor who has worked with hundreds of companies in STEM and agri-business. She has provided Management Advisory Services to small and mid-sized businesses for the last 20 years through CMC-Canada and was the Business Growth Advisor for Alberta Women Entrepreneurs.
Shannon Pestun
Pestun Consulting Inc.
Areas of Expertise:
• Branding & Marketing
• Banking & Finance
• Business Strategy & Market Development
A former business banker, Shannon brought women’s entrepreneurship to the forefront of ATB Financial, creating & leading the bank’s first strategy for women entrepreneurs. In 2019, she was one of seven women appointed to serve on Canada’s women’s entrepreneurship strategy expert panel.
Karla Peterson
Business Advisor
Areas of Expertise:
• Strategic Development
• Alberta Innovation Eco-system
• Consumer Packaged Goods & Agriculture
Karla is passionate about working with startups and SME’s. She understands the challenges of startups and SME’s, as well as some of the other struggles that women face to succeed. Karla works with companies to understand who their customers are, develop and implement strategy, and build and grow their startup, knowing when to support and when to push.
Shohreh Roshani P. Eng.
Ursa Environment Inc.
Areas of Expertise:
• Engineering
• Business Plan Review
• Website Design & Search Engine Optimization
Shohreh (Shoren), has been CEO of an engineering company, Ursa Environment Inc., for the last 7 years. She has a great understanding of barriers that can prevent immigrant entrepreneurs from growing their business and is passionate about sharing resources and information to overcome these barriers.
Heather Stahl
Strategy Doctor
Areas of Expertise:
• Finance & Accounting
• Developing Competitive Advantage
• Business Start-up, Growth & Expansion
Heather hopes to give back to the community by strengthening local businesses. With a Bachelor of Science & education & experience as a CPA, Heather conveys a perfect combination of science and business experience to assist Women Entrepreneurs in STEM.
Norma Jean Wolfchild
Business Development Officer
Areas of Expertise:
• Business Plan Development
• Market Research
• Ideation & Validation utilizing the Business Model & Value Proposition Canvas Tool
Norma Jean Wolfchild has over 10 years experience working with entrepreneurs in her community, the Blood Tribe. She has the desire to help entrepreneurs achieve success and believes building partnerships plays a vital role in providing the best access to services to assist entrepreneurs.
Cara Wolf
Ammolite Analytx
Areas of Expertise:
• Technology Commercialization
• Growth Strategies for Scale-ups
• Cybersecurity Artificial Intelligence
Cara is a serial entrepreneur and has advised over 300 companies on the topics of innovation and digital transformation. In 2019, she was recognized as a SHEInnovator with UNWomen, TECTERRA Woman of Impact and Trailblazer STEM Universal Women’s Network.
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