This year, there are four positions open; the positions have three-year terms that run from 2012-2015. You may select a maximum of four candidates only. Please note that only the first ballot submitted will be counted.

Nominated candidates are listed in alphabetical order:

Jo-Ann Ball, CHRP
Janet E. Brooks, CHRP, SHRP
Denny George, CHRP
Brenda L. Hadley, CHRP
Roger Hunter, CHRP (Ret.)
Geoff Ramey, CHRP, SHRP
Bonnie Seidman, CHRP
J. Melinda Sutcliffe, CHRP

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Jo-Ann Ball, CHRP

I am an HR practitioner with over 30 years of experience. My generalist acumen has been developed in recruitment and training on the soft side and labour Relations, Pension, Benefits and Executive Compensation on the hard side. Labour Relations was the place of greatest learning, and my skills were used. The learning was to see both sides of a point of view, a very valuable skill in HR, where the management and employee point of view must always be weighed. Negotiating skills have been used in hiring of staff, negotiating with pension and benefit suppliers and in getting different groups to see another point of view. My greatest accomplishment as a Senior HR leader was changing the culture of the division after a nine month strike; in this situation I inherited a culture that was very toxic, no trust from either side or a willingness to do so. Over the next few years, trust was built, and a very collaborative, give and take organization developed. This environment has endured for over 15 years, 10 years of which was after I left the division.

For the past fifteen years I have lead a multi-national HR group that started with four divisions in two countries and now has fourteen divisions in four countries on three continents. My greatest accomplishment as an HR leader, in this newly created and growing role, was to integrate each new division into the corporate entity, while recognizing the differences. This was not always easy, looking for the compromise that was best for the corporation, while recognizing the individuality of our divisions. Another complexity to this role is all of the new security requirements in our industry. My goal was to find practical easy to implement solutions, for these complex security requirements; this was accomplished through involvement of interested groups within the organization.

With respect to Thought Leadership, what do you think the future focus of the Association should be?

The focus of the Association for the future should be two fold. One being to ensure that current and practical training is available for members at all levels of the profession. The world of work is fast changing and new knowledge will be required, laws are changing, demographics are changing, what are the best practices, where does the HR practitioner go for support- HRPA is their HR department. The second focus is to be the leadership organization that governments look to for guidance in drafting new legislation and I or amendment to current legislation. HRPA is well positioned to know the needs and requirements of the working society through their members.

“Going forward, HRPA needs to take bold, courageous, and decisive action to maintain its relevance and vitality.” Please discuss this statement. What bold, courageous, and decisive actions would you say HRPA needs to take at this point in time?

The world is no longer a predictable place. HRPA needs to position itself as one of those go to organizations for serious guidance on new unchartered waters. For instance, what does the world at work look like in North America, where more people will be over 55 than under the age of 30 in twenty years' time. In an age of uncertainty; how does an organization ensure it can service customers, who pay the bill and yet still meet the needs of its employees?

The issue becomes, who to lobby and how to lobby and that should be an expertise of HRPA. HRPA needs to be the Thought leader and out in front recommending the legislative changes that will be needed, drafting societal education/advertisement that may be needed to ensure that people are aware of the changes and how it will affect them.

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Janet E. Brooks, CHRP, SHRP

I have a comprehensive and deep level of expertise in the technical elements of HR garnered through time spent in all the major HR areas. This work experience coupled with significant senior leadership experience in several sectors and countries has strengthened my strategic thinking abilities, understanding of organizational dynamics and conceptual thinking skills. I have been a strong advocate for professionalism in HR and the need for practitioners to grow their skills and understanding of the organizations they work in, as that understanding provides the environment for making the best human capital decisions and creating a competitive advantage. In a knowledge economy employee engagement and superior performance is the single most critical factor to organizational effectiveness and success. The Role of the Human Resources function has changed and grown over the course of my career. From a transactional, activity-based department to the strategic human capital consultants today requires a very different skill set. The profession, by and large, has made it to the corporate decision-making table – what is it that we want to contribute? My experience in addition to my solid academic training positions me well for candidacy to the HRPA board of Directors.

With respect to Thought Leadership, what do you think the future focus of the Association should be?

The future focus for the Association with respect to “Thought Leadership” needs to be providing support to members on the concrete challenges they will be facing. Challenges such as: recruitment in a seller’s market; retention in same environment; the challenge of nurturing real leadership; fixing a broken arbitration system etc. These types of challenges will be unlike any the profession has faced in the past 30 years and collective innovative thinking and leadership at HRPA will be crucial to its members who will be struggling to find solutions to these challenges.

The Board needs to ensure that it supports HR practitioners, with both education and tools, in proving their relevance. Unless an HR professional is able to deliver value to their organizations beyond the transactional elements of the function, CEO’s will stop inviting their participation and partnership. The Board needs to ensure that HRPA continue to provide applicable, accessible and relevant training/educational opportunities at costs that are reasonable. HRPA needs to provide much more robust a visible support and linkages to the regional chapters. From a members perspective there appears to be a disconnect between HRPA and local chapters. Ensuring good representation from outside the GTA validates the work being done across the province in smaller urban and rural areas. HRPA needs to continue to be a voice on legislative matters, but must narrow its focus by tackling a smaller number of issues but with greater depth. HRPA needs to harness considerable talent and energy on reviewing current practice obstacles and encouraging the kind of innovative thinking that will deliver improvements to best practices. One example would be striking a task force to examine our current arbitration system and develop a strategy to affect change to a broken system.

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Denny George, CHRP

Denny George is a results-oriented Human Resources professional with over 20 years of progressive experience in diverse industries including Banking, Retail, Automotive, Manufacturing and Not-for- profit.

Denny’s specialties include Talent Acquisition, Performance Management, Policy Development, Governance, Talent Management and Learning & Development. He is passionate about implementing “Best Practices” to any enterprise; considers it fortunate to have associated with Brands such as Citibank, Ferrari, Maserati, Land Rover, Ford & Jaguar (Global) and RBC & TD Bank Financial Group. Denny has participated at various community events, actively volunteers for Planning, Fundraising, Advocacy for new immigrant initiatives and assisting new comers with coaching & mentoring.

Besides active contribution in the areas of Talent Management, Change management, Performance management and Talent Retention; I am confident that I would complement to the Board diversity and bring valuable contribution to the table backed by my global experiences. Two areas of my focus would be:

International Chapter: Having had the opportunity to travel globally to 12 countries, I see a great opportunity for HRPA to build relationships with HR Associations in China, India, Australia, Dubai, Germany and other European countries. Data on current & future immigration trends from Stats Canada, CIC and other community partners will help us establish the countries from where foreign trained professionals are immigrating; programming and plans can be aligned for effective intake of this “global talent pool.” These initiatives would lend itself to developing HR practitioners with a “Global mind-set”. My associations with HR professionals across the world would help me build HRPA’s association with other Global HR partners.
Not -for-Profit/ Non-profit/ Charitable Sector: Over the years, the non- profit and charitable institutions have shared experiences of being treated as second-class citizens; this is primarily due to HRPA programming, fees and professional development endeavours not being aligned to charitable institution needs. The perception is that HRPA is mostly for the For-profit and private sector. I see an opportunity for advocacy and influence where I can build the bridges and establish sound relationships with this sector i.e. CIC (Federal & Provincial), Trillium Foundation, Peel Region, United Way, World Vision, Plan etc. This initiative would be backed by my work experience, community network and my involvement with community agencies as well as my active participation at the ‘Peel Newcomer Strategy Group (PNSG)’ which has strong advocacy with community partners across GTA.

With respect to Thought Leadership, what do you think the future focus of the Association should be?

The future focus of the Association should be to equip HR practitioners at all levels with skills and knowledge to be effective “Business Partners” in their circle of influence. Senior & Middle-management HR folks have to be trusted advisors to key stakeholders including the CEO & Senior Management team and ensure that they have a seat at the decision-making table. HRPA’s future programming and professional development initiatives should cater to the need of equipping HR practitioners to map out HR Strategy to the Business Strategy. The professional development initiatives should provide knowledge acquisition and up-skilling in the areas of change management, talent management, succession planning, employee engagement and talent retention. This thought leadership has to reflect across sectors and academia & educational institutions. The HR curriculum has to reflect practical application of relevant HR concepts and its impact to the bottom-line contribution and influence on stakeholders.

HRPA has to play a significant role in the development of the HR function across Canadian business enterprises; some steps are detailed below:

Regulating the HR profession: Continuing work in the areas of regulating the “profession” especially in areas where risk cannot be overlooked i.e. Human rights, discrimination, non-compliance on legislation.
Relationship Building: HRPA has to develop a strong liaison with the academia and educational institutions to have active advocacy in shaping HR curriculum at post-secondary, undergraduate and post graduate levels.
International Chapters: In the era of Globalization, mergers and acquisitions, HRPA has to evolve itself into a Global institution with strong advocacy on “Best Practices” across N.American partners and Global partners.
HR Trends: Develop strong relationships with the Global Consulting World (i.e. Boston Consulting Group, Hewitt Associates, Hay Group, KPMG ) to ensure that their programming and professional development is aligned to global best practices

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Brenda L. Hadley, CHRP

I am a Certified Human Resource Professional and HR Advisor at the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit coming to Public Health from Children’s Mental Health. I became a member of the Barrie Chapter in 2003 and joined the Conference Committee, was elected to the Board in 2004 and am currently Past President. I have participated in Chapter Presidents meetings, the Strategic Planning Retreat in March 2011 and am a member of the Governance Task Force.

I have a strong commitment to the not for profit sector having been a charter member of Big Sisters Association of Orillia becoming Past President, including Vice President of Big Sisters of Ontario and returning to the Board of Big Sisters of Orillia during a period of agency transition. I am also Past President of the Green Haven Shelter for Women and Children.

My work positions have provided me with many opportunities to demonstrate Leadership, Integrity, Relationship Building, Listening, Understanding and Responding, Information Seeking and Flexibility, Resiliency and Resourcefulness regularly, especially as an HR lead through two organizational mergers. Change Management was also a crucial competency to have during these challenging times.

In addition to and including the above, my volunteer board positions allowed me to demonstrate and gain experience in Leadership, Relationship Building, Governance, Financial Management and Strategic Alliances and Partnerships locally, regionally and provincially.

With respect to Thought Leadership, what do you think the future focus of the Association should be?

I believe the focus of HRPA should be more strategic than tactical. There has been tremendous growth in the HR profession, chapters and the provincial office (board & staff). There is still some development and guidance that is needed such as consistency of board governance across all chapters while respecting the need for some independence.

HRPA should be providing to the membership the tools to enhance and built competencies in order to compete in the future workforce. This can be done through educational courses, seminars etc. and also to support the local chapter boards in the area of governance. By providing these tools and opportunities the bar is raised for all. I support regulation of the HR profession and value the work that resulted in Bill 138. I see this as raising the standard for all HR professionals and protecting the public in the process. Regulation of the profession will require the Provincial office to increase their regulatory role which supports the professionals and the public.

HRPA needs to continue the work that was started on Bill 138, work with the provincial board and the local chapters on Board governance and to continue to develop various levels of certification i.e. CHRP, SHRM.

From a regulatory position HRPA needs to continue to make the tough decision as it has done in 2011.

I believe that HRPA needs to ensure that the upcoming generation of HR professionals has the business and HR competencies that will be required. With each generation we need to review and assess the competencies required and be ready and willing to meet the need that arises.

Prior to HRPA become a Global HR leader we need to ensure that our own members and chapters have the tools and skills required to meet the future challenges.

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Roger Hunter, CHRP (Ret.)

Roger Hunter has served on the Board for four years and is now running to serve a final three year term. While on the Board, he has been actively involved with the Professional Regulations & Standards Committee; the Complaints, Investigations, & Discipline Committee; and Task Forces which developed the current Rules of Professional Conduct and the proposed Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario Act. This last year he has served as the Chair of the Complaints and Investigations Committee, which was separated from the Discipline Committee.

Semi-retired, he teaches within the Human Resources Program at Trent University. Prior to that he established and owned a successful Human Resources Consulting Business with four full-time employees before having to sell it due to a significant illness. He has experienced a varied career encompassing HR in hi-tech manufacturing, government funded programs, and post-secondary teaching, all in addition to the consulting business where he provided both Human Resources and Occupational Health & Safety Consulting Services.

His key to having been successful in each of these occupations was to develop a strategic plan of action and keeping it in mind as the primary goal when challenges came along to add interest to the day.

Well-schooled in Business Skills, Business & Contract Law, Business Accounting, Technical Writing, and Board Governance he has demonstrated having learned and applied them well.

He is an analytical person, not easily swayed by emotion, with an eye for detail with the desire of solving issues before they arise as a problem. He prefers a democratic style of leadership allowing each person to express a view point while not forgetting that it is still his responsibility as the leader, to make the final decisions. He believes in allowing people to work to their own talents, procedures, and making their own decisions within a defined set of goals. When having been previously elected to the Chair of many Boards and Committees, he likes first to identify a recognized and published set of Rules of Conduct under which the group can function. With the agreement of everyone, the members can proceed in an orderly and efficient manner.

He is committed to open communications amongst The Chapters, The Board, and The Staff as a vital component for the success of HRPA.

Roger Hunter has the time, the passion, the skills, and the vision. Therefore he respectfully requests your support for a second term.

With respect to Thought Leadership, what do you think the future focus of the Association should be?

There is no doubt in my mind that the Human Resources Research Institute (HRRI) is central to all of the various streams of information and learning within Thought Leadership. It has to be a continuing goal of HRPA to market and strengthen the Institute.

The return on HRRI will be the learning of new practices, discovering & understanding trends, raising the profile of Human Resources as an integral part of the business unit, and provoking thoughtful discussions on topics surrounding Human Resources. Members will be able to apply the information learned through the various mechanisms to their quest to be more efficient at work.

The primary focus should be doing whatever it takes to get the new Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario Act through the government approval process. It is a bold step but it will be the foundation for the recognition and stability of the profession in the future, along with the Act’s role of protecting the interests of the public.

Running a very close second is increasing membership. A strong Membership emphasizes recognition of the profession. A weak membership means that people within the profession don’t hold the Association in high esteem.

Thirdly, ensuring the strengths and competency of the Chapters is vital. The Chapters provide the insight to all the varied communities across Ontario and at the community level they have a strong influence on how the profession is perceived. A Chapter must function with strong governance otherwise the Association will not achieve the respect it deserves within the Community.

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Geoff Ramey, CHRP, SHRP

As the HR leader at my present company, I am responsible for all HR governance, strategy and HR service delivery through an HR team at our operations. I manage short-term HR objectives and long-term HR vision. In my short time at my most recent company, I have grown the employee headcount tenfold while the company opened new operations and began production. I was responsible for building core elements such as a salary and bonus structure, a benefits plan, a program and policy framework, a DC pension plan and legal compliance with Bill 168 as well as recently, the AODA. I am responsible for long term workforce planning, succession planning, recruitment strategy and envisioning competitive challenges the business will face internally and externally over the next several years. In my most current position, I report directly to the CEO and interface with the Board of Directors HR & Compensation Committee several times a year. I am responsible for leadership and employee development and mentorship of the HR team.

In my most current position and past related positions, I am and have been responsible for the Service Delivery of Human Resources. For me, this has been a key focus I bring to organizations: the perfect balance of HR as a member of and advisor to the Executive Team with the ability to be an integrated and trusted service provider to employees. In my career, I have been able to successfully advocate for employees while operating within the parameters of acting in the best interest of the Corporation as well. I am most frequently able to demonstrate this through my influence in program and policy design. I have created leading programs that have successfully attracted, engaged and retained key employees.

I work to stay at the forefront of Human Resources and follow legal, social and technological trends that affect HR. I consider myself a lifelong learner who has achieved my CHRP and SHRP. I look to give back to the HR profession and communities through my participation as a mentor within the HRPA Halton Chapter while also providing volunteer HR services to a leading Children’s Cancer Foundation. I am a member and contributor of several progressive thinking online HR leadership forums.

With respect to Thought Leadership, what do you think the future focus of the Association should be?

The Association has setup the right foundational pillars and strategic direction for member success – to improve member careers, be an association of value, and be able to influence HR policy. HR has historically been operational, however, more complex competitive global business environments are going to require company executives to tap into talent in new ways. Trends in shortened tenure will create challenges for company loyalty and retention. It’s no secret that knowledge and talent have become the new competitive advantage, HR’s future will be helping CEO’s map organizational and talent strategies to business strategies – integrating HR planning with business planning. HR professionals must be more business savvy. This is where the HRPA can continue to support members. The HRPA can build resources and tools to help members understand business, learn how to get into the trenches, analyze results, see the bottom line, and create future competitive advantage for their companies.

Corporate Executives seek results. Period. Executives look to build teams of individuals with the best skill sets, experience and knowledge based on proven deliverables. Historically, individuals with MBA’s have proven themselves strategically to businesses, CA’s, CMA’s and CGA’s have proven themselves in providing risk management and financial savings. As executives look more to HR to solve business problems through talent alignment to business strategy execution, they are looking for the same trust in their HR leaders and teams that they have traditionally found MBA’s, CA’s, CMA’s and CGA’s. HR must also be ready help fill talent voids to be left by increasing numbers of retirees. The HRPA has started preparing members to meet these challenges. The bold action required today is to step it up a notch through, support, learning, development and mentorship to early career HR professionals to prove to businesses that HR can deliver bottom line business results.

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Bonnie Seidman, CHRP

Key leadership positions require one to be innovative, resilient, strategic, adaptable and proactive. In the many roles Bonnie has undertaken, her responsibilities have expanded, grown and changed to meet the needs of the organization and its stakeholders. Throughout her career, she has earned the respect of her teams. Never content with taking anything for granted, she continually strives to build and foster relationships based on mutual trust and respect.

Bonnie has over 25 years of experience as a generalist in the areas of strategic initiatives to deliver innovative business solutions, organizational development strategies, workforce planning, coaching (mentoring) in a complex business environment, amalgamations and labour relations.

Bonnie currently holds the position as a Chief People Officer and Director of People Services and Organizational Development for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, a not-for-profit organization in Ottawa.
As Chief People Officer, Bonnie leads and develops the strategic vision and alignment of innovative Human Resources programs and services and serves as a coach for organizational effectiveness and development issues. She can be counted on for her strong work ethic and her commitment to customer service excellence.

Bonnie has served on various boards, in particular as a member of the Corporate Affairs Committee, Human Resources Compensation Committee, Executive Committee of Council at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In addition, Human Resources Advisory Board member for Gloucester Child Care Services, Chair for the Ottawa Compensation Group, Human Resources Advisory Board Member for the Municipal Electric Association and Human Resources Advisory Board Member for Vanier College and the Business Centre in Montreal for the Graduating Student Program.
Her professional accreditations include, certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP), certified Human Capital Strategist (HCS), Concordia and Queens Business alumnus. Bonnie also holds an advanced level 2 in Alternative Dispute Resolution/Mediation and an Executive Management certificate from Queens University.

Prior to joining the Royal College, Bonnie worked at Gloucester Hydro in Ottawa and in Montreal for the Weather Network/ MétéoMédia and Montreal Trust/Scotiabank in the capacity of Manager and Senior Human Resources leadership roles.

With respect to Thought Leadership, what do you think the future focus of the Association should be?

The future focus of HRPA’s Thought Leadership should be transformational, bold, responsive and progressive. I believe HRPA’s long term strategic direction should convey to its membership and other stakeholders the overwhelming sense of accountability, strong leadership, forward thinking and have the ability to train and develop tomorrow’s leaders while still strengthening today’s.

As human resources professionals, we are driven by intellectual curiosity, passion and commitment for collaborating and sharing. HRPA should be about enabling and cultivating collegial relationships as well as sharing knowledge and best practices to ensure value, relevance and vitality in the HR profession.

To continue growing, HRPA needs to broaden the availability of scholarly learning for all members and levels of expertise so as to enhance HR’s practice in the field of and to sustain the HR practitioners worth, reputation and identity with the business partners at all leadership tables.

A great Board doesn’t just happen. It takes the collective insight from dynamic people. That work begins with individuals who have vision and see things others don’t.

I firmly believe the needs and values of members cannot fall into “one size fits all”.

HRPA’s role is to be forward thinking; be at the forefront, ambassadors in the community; to assess and support needs of all members, present and future, and to convey to organizations CHRP’s value and professional standards it brings to the senior leadership table. I believe that there will always be a need to critically access value for membership and how we can best support members, deliver lifelong learning opportunities and how that is vital to the existence and growth as a whole. Lastly and most importantly, HRPA needs to be a people advocate with the desire and drive to serve and promote the needs of the profession.

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J. Melinda Sutcliffe, CHRP

Who am I?

I have over 20 years experience leading HR teams in both corporate and consulting roles. I am an expert in organizational development and effectiveness, and have broad capability across the gamut of HR functional activities. I understand business and how HR can contribute to bottom-line performance, and the challenge of influencing senior leaders. Along with extensive international experience, (Australia, NZ, India, Sri Lanka, the USA, Japan, and Canada), I have also managed HR personnel in other locations, like the UK, South Africa, and Singapore. This enables me to provide a unique perspective on international HR practices to other board members. Through my business degrees (undergraduate and MBA) I studied law, then worked for a considerable time in industrial relations, negotiating with unions, and managing disputes to tribunal level. I have managed large budgets (up to $1.2M), and worked in a highly regulated industry where corporate governance was critical in all areas of the business. I have rolled out marketing campaigns to promote a global organization as an employer of choice, working from knowledge gained in my MBA and with the in-house marketing team. I have written papers in the HR field and presented at many conferences (and continue to do so). I have been a member of SHRM since 2001, and am a chartered member of both HRPA and its Australian counterpart - AHRI. I understand credentialing and am accredited in many assessment tools.

Why vote for me?

I understand what good governance means and know I can offer members’ confidence that I will contribute to a well-run, fiscally responsible Association.

Communication needs to continue to improve and I will ensure it remains on the radar.

I believe it is in the best interest of members to enhance the value and reputation of our existing credentials. I feel I can contribute to this goal by continuing to build our relations with academic institutions and the broader community, and through working to ensure the standards of our credentials reflect the changing needs of our profession. If elected, I will work to move this agenda forward.

With respect to Thought Leadership, what do you think the future focus of the Association should be?

I believe a key focus of the Association should be promotion of the value of the CHRP and SHRP to the public at large, and what differentiates employing a member of our Association over that of an HR person who is not regulated. I also believe we should continue to improve the quality of our credentials – ensure the standard is high and addresses both the current and future needs of our members. We have made a good start on these things and more work needs to be done

The considerable change that has affected the Association over the past 12 months and the concerns of members about the direction of the Association cannot be under-estimated. Vital to our continuing relevance is demonstrating to members that a more regulated Association is a good thing. We need to continue to improve our communication and responsiveness to members needs and explain why we do things, and “what’s in it for them”. A stronger, well-recognized and desired credential will lead to higher pay and members being sort for key roles. We need to do a better job of explaining the link between regulation and a stronger credential.

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I want to