Paul H.J. Cormier B.A., M.A., C.P.F., Chairman of the Board and Vice President Research and Development

Paul is RANA’s resident expert in the interventions required in to bring about culture changes. With broad experience in the public and private sector, Paul has consulted with client organizations in the full continuum of management practices from strategic and operational planning, communications strategies, information management, through project management, to executive development and conflict resolution. He has also worked extensively in the design and development of Risk Based Decision Making and general Safety Management System learning programs. Paul is a skilled trainer and facilitator, the designer of the Process Integration Model for organizational effectiveness and the developer of 25 different intervention and training workshops, including RANA's flagship workshop "Facilitation: Process, Techniques and Logistics".

Cameron Fraser C.D., C.P.F., Vice President of Learning Services

Cameron was among the first Facilitators in North America to have his skills recognized by the International Association of Facilitators with its Certified Professional Facilitator designation and has over 25 years experience in executive development, management, leadership of teams, strategic, business and project planning, process improvement, decision-making, collaborative problem-solving and the delivery of training in both the public and private sectors. Cameron's expertise and dedication have enabled him to build a solid RANA clientele in both North America and Europe. He has provided facilitation skills training to thousands of individuals, many of whom have followed on to become Certified Professional Facilitators themselves. Cameron is RANA’s primary client interface for Transport Canada Civil Aviation and Eurocontrol in addition to working with RANA's Safety Management Team focusing on Risk Based Decision Making and Facilitation Skills for Hawker Beechcraft.

Donald C. Loken, B.A., M.B.A., C.P.F., Vice President of Government Services

Don is a Certified Professional Facilitator, with over 26 years experience at the Senior Management and Executive levels in the public and volunteer sectors. This includes extensive management in policy development and assessment; strategic, business and operational planning; organizational structure; governance; regulatory issues; and has provided process consulting and training services to a wide variety of clients in the public and private sector over a period of 15 years. Don is an experienced trainer and facilitator, and is a teacher/coach in the area of executive development and human resource motivation. His public sector accomplishments have included steering through legislative processes in Federal and Provincial legislation, and appearances before Standing Committees and Cabinet Committees.

Ronald J. Desroches, B.A., B.Sc., M.A., C.P.F., Vice President of Intervention Services

Ron has 20 years of public sector experience at both the national and regional levels and over 16 years of private sector experience with RANA International. He is a Certified Professional Facilitator, meeting the stringent certification requirement of the International Association of Facilitators. He is an accomplished mediator and has extensive experience in training as well as in leading strategic, change and risk management, stakeholder consultations, program evaluation, conflict resolution, modeling, mentoring and coaching, team building and project management exercises. Ron is a well known resource in planning circles and is equally proficient in both official languages and has a working knowledge of Spanish.

Suzanne Laplante, B.A., C.P.F., Senior Affiliate

Suzanne is a Certified Professional Facilitator with over 15 years experience in organizational design and development, mainly in the fields of executive mentoring and team coaching, team building, strategic and operational planning, stakeholders’ consultation, human resources management strategies, conflict resolution.  She is also a skilled trainer and has developed tailored training programs and delivered them to her diverse clientele.  Suzanne’s expertise has benefited organizations and teams from the public and private sectors, small and large organizations across Canada.   She also provides coaching and mediation services to family businesses involved in the succession planning process. She is fluently bilingual.

Laura Lea McPherson, B.A., C.P.F., Senior Affiliate

Laura is an International Association of Facilitators (IAF) Certified Professional Facilitator and has over 15 years experience in the areas of facilitation, coaching, management, strategic, business and project planning, process improvement, decision-making, stake holder consultation/sessions, facilitated mediation and the delivery of training in both the public and private sectors.  In addition she has been involved in the organization of management teams to develop logical and creative work plans for the best approaches to issues and solutions of problems.  This has meant working closely with members of these organizations to extract from them the information and expertise necessary to focus on the existing situation and identify the possibility for, and implications of, change.  Laura has conducted both small and large group facilitation, achieving the specified objectives.

Larry Arpaia, MEd, C.P.F., Senior Affiliate 

Larry has over 25 years of experience in the public sector with Social Service, Health and Education portfolios. As a senior administrator Larry emphasized building a team focus through team building, modelling, mentoring and coaching. As a Professional Facilitator Larry has been involved with Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, Conflict Resolution, Mediation and Training that emphasized supportive approaches to innovative learning. Larry has had success collaborating with individuals, working with small teams and facilitating large groups.

Ron Andrews, C.P.F., Senior Affiliate

Ron is a senior consultant with more than 25 years of experience in corporate management with Canada’s Federal Housing Agency, and over 10 years as a facilitator/trainer affiliate with RANA. He has an extensive background in communications, marketing and strategic planning, risk management, conflict management and the competencies of emotional intelligence. He holds a degree in philosophy; is a certified professional facilitator (CPF) and has a certificate in Community Based Conflict Resolution (Third Party Neutral) from the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution. Ron has provided intervention, facilitation and training to most major Federal Departments, Crown Corporations and Agencies.  Ron’s dynamic leadership and mentoring skills have helped his clients achieve results, positioning them for success and making him an award-winning leader for excellence in community service.

Lloyd Livingstone, B.A., M.A., C.P.F., Senior Affiliate

Lloyd has 12 years of practical experience helping clients across North America develop their own skills and create their own tools necessary to satisfy organizational strategy. Having been a manager himself, Lloyd offers special insight to mentor facilitative leaders at every level of an organization. Clients praise his intuitive ability to adjust the consultative process to meet their immediate and practical needs. He brings a supportive sense of respect and good humour to all group sessions. Lloyd has trained countless practitioners in effective interpersonal skills and business processes. An authority on change management, he uses various proven models to guide and motivate individuals and corporations through the challenging social and technical sides of change.

Richard Steer, C.P.F., P.M.P, Senior Affiliate 

Richard has over 15 years of corporate experience and is a specialist in project and process management.  His valuable hands-on experience drives the implementation of process excellence in a variety of environments, including Information Technology. Using facilitative processes, Richard provides effective delivery of several corporate team initiatives including, strategic thinking and visioning, project management, continuous improvement, team-building, action planning and risk management.  He is experienced in graphic recording and the method of collecting the clients’ thoughts, creating the necessary images from these thoughts and developing the final visual product through graphic facilitation. Richard is a member of the Project Management Institute as well as the International Association of Facilitators (IAF). He is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Certified Professional Facilitator.  Richard has also acquired his certificate of completion in Six Sigma Black Belt.

Denise Beaulne, Senior Affiliate

As a highly regarded training consultant and facilitator, Denise has worked 13 years in the financial services industry and another 13 years with the Federal Public Service, leading teams and a wide-range of projects throughout.  Having worked on many training projects from beginning to end, she has been directly involved in all aspects of course development, whether the topic is a technical, legislative or a soft skill matter.  Denise holds a Certificate in facilitation, graduating with high honors and is completely bilingual.  A dynamic presenter, she uses her facilitation skills to deliver training that surpasses clients’ expectations. She has delivered workshops internationally engaging diverse audiences of up to 300, and is particularly known for her ability to inspire and involve people.

Gerry Binnema, Senior Affiliate

Gerry’s aviation career included work as an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, a charter pilot, a flight instructor, an aircraft accident investigator and a Safety Officer with Transport Canada. While working at Transport Canada Gerry helped to develop training and guidance material on Safety Management Systems, and was active in promoting safety management in the industry.  Gerry has a Masters Degree in Aerospace Science, System Safety through Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.  He also studied human factors with Dr. Dekker at Lund University in Sweden. Gerry provides training and advice in the areas of human factors and the implementation of SMS.  Airport clients include the Vancouver, Abbotsford, and Terrace airports.

Sheri Hord, B.B.A., C.A., C.P.F., Senior Affiliate

Sheri has nearly 15 years blended experience in practical risk management and audit application as a Chartered Accountant, and knowledge transfer as a trainer and course content developer.  Having practiced this diversified skill set while living in Canada, England and Ireland, Sheri has a global perspective on business and sensitivity to diversity.  She has applied her audit background and training experience to establish risk management departments using Control Self-Assessment, a method that facilitates front-line staff and management to identify areas for improvement within a company.  Further facilitation experience allowed Sheri to become a Certified Professional Facilitator with the International Association of Facilitators.  She continues to help organizations achieve better outcomes in a sustainable manner.

Dr. R. Hugh Best, V.S., D.V.M., Honorary Director

Hugh, a graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College, spent four years in private practice in Manitoba before joining Agriculture Canada working in both Meat Inspection and Contagious Disease Control. Later he moved to Ottawa, Headquarters of the Health of Animals Branch where, as Associate Director of Continuing Education he was involved in the design and operation of training courses for both the Veterinarians and Technicians working in the Branch. He also lectured at training seminars for veterinarians across Canada. Following his retirement from government he joined RANA International as a facilitator, trainer, and videographer. Hugh, also an artist and cartoonist, has illustrated a great number of the RANA training manuals. Hugh has retired from the RANA ranks but still provides advice and counsel as required.

Executive and Administrative

Roger Nopper, President and Chief Executive Officer

Roger has 33 years of experience in the public and private sectors. He coordinates all aspects of the management, administration and operations of the RANA Group of Companies, fulfilling the essential functions of Executive and General Management, Human Resource Management, Financial Management and Business Development. During his career, he has consulted on numerous projects in strategic planning, operational planning, human resources management, environmental scans, risk management, stakeholder consultations, and conflict resolution, among others. Roger also manages the international liaison and partnering for the RANA Group of companies. He is a skilled bilingual (French and English) facilitator leading small and large groups to achieve results.

Paul Dobson, General Manager and Vice President of Corporate Services

Paul brought to RANA a broad range of experience in sales and service in the public and private sectors. As GM he is accountable for the smooth functioning of corporate operations, including the priority areas of information management and information technology. Paul supervises RANA’s e-learning studio and is the Materiel Manager for the company, sourcing all of RANA’s required supplies in support of ongoing and upcoming operations. Additionally, he is the point person for insuring appropriate relationship management with RANA suppliers and troubleshooting client concerns. Paul is also the operational comptroller for RANA, ensuring financial due diligence for the RANA Group.

Theresa Whalen, Vice President of Communications

Theresa has over 20 years of experience in the communications, public relations, media management, safety promotion and project management fields. With a background in both communications and Occupational Health and Safety, Theresa is able to develop a range of communications deliverables by drawing upon her extensive experience in national and international project management, community leadership, developing safety training and collateral materials, change management, contacts in all mediums of media, and creating a path for effective communications as needed. For training, Theresa believes that clear, explicit and practical learning materials provide the best knowledge, skills and motivation. Her work has been recognized with numerous national and international awards.