Session Descriptions & Presenter Bios

Surviving To Thriving: A Guide To Self Health

The chain reaction of events ignited by 2020 are impacting our lives, bodies, and minds. Fatigue, brain fog, unexplained symptoms, and illness are impacting performance and SAFETY in the workplace and reshaping our lives at home. Join Sylvia and learn how to reactivate your resilience and move from surviving to thriving!

In this presentation, you will walk away with:

·        An understanding of how stress affects the mind and body, especially chronic stress

·        Specific tools to move from survival into thriving, not just personally but also in the workplace

·        Practical solutions to deal with the three universal triggers of stress, to help participants not only mitigate challenges but also to PREVENT future challenges, at home and work

Sylvia Marusyk

Sylvia Marusyk is everything you never knew you wanted in a public speaker. The owner and innovative mind behind MindBody Works Inc; a Canadian company focusing on creating and maintaining health and wellness in the workplace, Sylvia is fun, sassy and passionate about safety & health. As an Occupational Therapist with over 30 years of experience and expertise in the field of health and safety, she emphasizes that prevention is the key to creating happy, healthy individuals, employees and businesses. The former host of the ‘Happy Hour with Sylvia!’ radio show, international keynote speaker, “activational” mentor, author, and industry expert has proven that the way we look at corporate health, safety and wellness is due for a change of perspective; and Sylvia is leading the charge. Her entertaining presentations focus on a proactive approach to building healthy lives and workplaces. Through the use of humor and her incredibly dynamic presentation style, Sylvia leaves audiences laughing, learning and going home with the tools and confidence to change their lives for the better.

Title – Harnessing Weather Forecasting & Technology for Winter Operations

This presentation will explore the critical role of weather forecasting in optimizing winter operations. The latest advancements in weather technology will be discussed, highlighting how artificial intelligence is transforming forecasting accuracy and efficiency. Learn about the latest  solutions and gain insights into the future of weather forecasting for winter operations.

Scott Kehler

Scott Kehler is the President and Chief Scientist of Weatherlogics, a private meteorology firm based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Scott holds a Master’s degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Manitoba. He has a passion for both research and operational meteorology. At Weatherlogics, he is involved in numerous research and development projects and contributes to forecasting high-impact weather events.

Title – Connecting Communications: Building Trust with Your Snow Operations

Discover best practices to integrate your winter snow operations with your communications and engagement strategies to build transparency and trust with staff and residents. Learn how to:

·        Create a comprehensive team and process that allows your agency’s communications and operations to be more flexible and responsive to the changing needs of each weather event and residents’ service expectations.

·        Align all agency snow operations and communications objectives and practices.

·        Discover how to leverage media relationships during your most challenging times to build credibility and authenticity with the public.

·        Review various communications and engagement channels, including social, web and digital advertising to reach your target audiences.

·        Identify ways to get creative with your community engagement opportunities with limited budget and staff.

Case Study with City of Saint Paul – The 2022-2023 snow season, the City of Saint Paul experienced it’s third snowiest season on record with more 90.3″ of snow – almost double the yearly snowfall average. Saint Paul Public Works, which is responsible for the City’s winter maintenance of more than 1,800 lane miles, had 44 winter events, declared seven Snow Emergencies, and instituted a one-sided parking ban.

Lisa Hiebert

Lisa Hiebert’s passion is working with mission-driven organizations to build strong relationships that can connect people, programs, and organizations together to strengthen our communities. With more than 25 years of communications experience building teams and leading the marketing and engagement strategies for nonprofit and local government organizations, Lisa currently serves on the senior leadership team for the City of Saint Paul Public Works Department as the Communications and Public Services Manager.

Lisa has strong local and national work experience with iconic inclusive-centered associations such as Girl Scouts and Better Business Bureau, as well as held volunteer board leadership roles with several organizations that support learning and community building for people of all ages and abilities, including Junior Achievement, Minnesota PRSA, Saint Paul Jaycees, Red Cross, and the City of Apple Valley Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee. Lisa is a nationally accredited public relations professional with the Public Relations Society of America and a member of the Minnesota Association of Government Communicators.

Julie Dooly

Julie Dooley is a skilled and seasoned creative communicator with more than 20 years’ experience in journalism, public affairs, media relations, and strategy development. She holds a double degree-diploma in Journalism and Rhetoric/Cultural Studies as well as certifications in public participation and crisis management.

Today, Julie spends her days managing all aspects of communications for the City of Winnipeg’s Public Works Department including media and stakeholder relations, editorial development and oversight, campaign management, and strategic planning. Her portfolio includes snow clearing and streets maintenance, transportation management, engineering and capital projects, parks, urban forestry, and insect control. She works hard to increase awareness of the department’s activities and move the needle on how Winnipeggers perceive public works services and programs.

Winter Weather in the Prairies and the ECCC Warning program

What brings the weather to Manitoba and the Canadian Prairies in the winter?  What are the systems that affect the region and what phenomena do they cause?  How does Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) try to inform the public about what’s coming and how is that changing in the near future?  How can you stay safe in extreme weather?  Natalie Hasell, Warning Preparedness Meteorologist with ECCC, will try to answer these questions in her short presentation.  Come say hello too!

Natalie Hasell

Natalie Hasell has been the ECCC Warning Preparedness Meteorologist in Winnipeg for over a decade.  In this time, with her team in Client Services, she has worked closely with the emergency and disaster management community and fostered relationships based on trust, open communication, and reliability.  Natalie also does a lot of work with the media, where she has been described as a straight talker as well.  Be it through briefings, notifications, social media posts, interviews or training sessions, Natalie hopes to continue helping people make informed decisions and know what to do before, during, and after high impact weather events.

Title – Fleet Management – Panel Discussion

Marty Bender

Presently the Manager of Fleet Maintenance Services for Winnipeg Fleet Management Agency; responsible for the overall leadership of 79 employees, and the management of two vehicle maintenance and repair facilities along with one fabrication/manufacturing shop. Started a Fleet Management Industry career in the summer of June 2003 with a stores department entry-level position with the Province of Manitoba’s Highways Department. From 2007 to September 2016 was the Materials Manager with the Province of Manitoba’s Vehicle and Equipment Management Agency (VEMA). In the Fall of 2016, joined the Winnipeg Fleet Management Agency (WFMA) as their Supervisor of Stores, and then in early May 2022 became the Manager of Fleet Maintenance Services.

Dale Braun

Fleet Maintenance Manager for the City of Saskatoon (and Acting Fleet Manager) with more than 15 years fleet management and supervisory experience. Over 35 years total experience in the fields of powered mobile equipment and automotive repair and maintenance. Currently serving as the only Canadian representative on the American Public Works Association Certified Public Fleet Professional Certification Council, appointed as Council Chair in 2023. Appointed as the CPFP representative to the APWA Certification Commission in 2023. Appointed as the Commission Chairperson in 2024, term starting in September. Member of the Canadian Association of Municipal Fleet Managers.

PART 2: Surviving to Thriving Breakout Session

In part two, we do a deep dive into practical skills and tools to settle the nervous system, return to a state of rest, restore and find the calm in chaos. We will focus on physical, cognitive and emotional tools to deal with the effects of stress for ourselves, our workplaces, and our families.

Sylvia Marusyk

Authority, Leadership, and the Tyranny of Consensus

Common teachings and organizational policies regarding authority have resulted in the diminished effectiveness of leaders. Ironically, these incorrect approaches create more problems than they solve, and cause the opposite of what we want from leaders. A rational approach to the issue of authority will be proposed.

Linton Sellen

An experienced leader and trainer of leaders, Linton Sellen has won awards for leadership, presentation skills, and training ability. He received his postsecondary education from the Faculty of Management and the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba. He was selected to represent the Faculty of Law in national moot court competition, receiving the highest individual score on the undefeated U of M team.

After receiving his Call to the Bar, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Linton’s leadership was ranked 1st out of 110 candidates on the demanding officers’ leadership course, as selected by his peers and by his superiors. He was commissioned as an officer. He earned his pilot wings, and was awarded the highest military pilot instructional category. He was put in charge of training and evaluating other Air Force pilots and instructors, and authored a manual for training military pilots. As the head of pilot training at an operational squadron, he was responsible for teaching crew commanders how to lead their teams on operational missions.

Linton has been active for decades in many volunteer leadership roles in the community. He has coached teams in 5 different competitive sports, including many championship teams. Linton has acquired years of first hand practical experience as a manager, coach, leader, and leadership consultant.

For the last 25 years, Linton has conducted on-sight and classroom training of managers and supervisors and provided leadership consultation to businesses and other organizations. These organizations come from dozens of different sectors and industries, the private and public sectors, and range from very large corporations to small businesses.

He is noted for his unique, original, yet practical insights into leadership. He has developed the Workplace Leader Course to address the issues faced by leader in the modern workplace. The concepts are relevant to leaders at every level, from front-line supervisors to senior executives. The training has earned rave reviews from leaders and organizations across Canada.

Title – Dynamic Spreading – utilizing real-time data to determine treatment amounts

It is possible today to use plow mounted sensors connected to spreader controllers to automate spreading snow and ice materials. These ongoing pilot studies will be discussed and shown in the session.  Dynamic spreading will mean materials are applied based on the condition of the roadway. Rates will vary as conditions change and are applied based on the agency’s policies and material choices. This revolutionary new process means operators can concentrate on operating the vehicle while the system applies the appropriate amount of material for the road conditions. This will result in material savings which benefits the environment and the agency. Join us to learn all about dynamic material application.

Mark DeVries

Mark serves as a Business Application Manager and winter maintenance expert for Vaisala Inc. In his role, he serves as a resource that is helping clients/agencies/etc. to improve their operations and work with them to solve problems, offer training opportunities and serve as customer support. Mark is an expert in winter maintenance operations, and chemical use including liquid programs and blending liquid deicers.  Mark also serves as a winter maintenance researcher on behalf of Vaisala. Mark joined Vaisala in 2014

Prior to joining the Vaisala team, Mark was with McHenry County Division of Transportation (retired,) for 30 years where he served as Maintenance Superintendent. Mark has presented at Snow and Ice seminars all across North America and abroad, many environmental seminars and for various Municipalities across North America and internationally Mark is also an author and has been published in every major industry Magazine, white papers and completed research for Clear Roads, NCHRP and agencies.

Kenberley Field

Kenberley Field has nearly twenty-five years of experience in business development and sales management, primarily in the winter maintenance industry. She started her career with a chemical company as the West Coast Sales Manager, providing innovative soil stabilization products, erosion, dust control, and anti-icing and deicing solutions.  She provided winter maintenance training specific to chemical usage and applications.

Two years ago, she joined Vaisala as a sales manager, offering industry-leading road weather technology, data, and forecasting used by state and local governments. She actively volunteers for Washington State APWA ROADeo and serves as a Washington Road and Street Committee board member. Kenberley resides in Cheney

Title – Winter Cycling – Panel Discussion

Mark Cohoe

A long time cycling advocate, Mark has been Executive Director of Bike Winnipeg since 2012. In his time with Bike Winnipeg, Mark has helped develop the group’s advocacy, education, and encouragement programs, and has authored numerous stakeholder submissions. Current interests include low stress bicycling and network connectivity and the application of GIS in bicycle network connectivity analysis.

Outside of Bike Winnipeg, Mark enjoys hiking and paddling in wild areas across Manitoba and Canada, and grabs every opportunity he can to take in live shows in Winnipeg’s thriving music scene.

Anders Swanson

Anders is a multimedia artist, public speaker, community organizer and one of Canada’s most well-known experts on cycling-as-transport. He has been involved in many initiatives in his home of Winnipeg, Canada and around the world, all of which focus on culture-shift. He is a founding director of both The WRENCH and Bike Winnipeg, and spent ten years as chair of Canada’s national transportation cycling organization, Vélo Canada Bikes. He now works as the executive director for a plucky little nonprofit called Winnipeg Trails. He acts as the Secretary of the Winter Cycling Federation, which hosts conferences in different winter cities throughout the northern hemisphere in February. His specialty is in communicating to the general public, mixing research data and stories to inform decision-making, and led the development of the CounterPoint and BikeWalkRoll traffic-data collection software platforms. He loves making art, films, posters, websites and maps that inspire others, and, even more, loves implementing practical real life solutions like good bike lanes or the Plain Bicycle project. Although a good portion of his adult life has revolved around advancing the cause of the bicycle, he loves all forms of human powered transport and, if you ask him, would always prefer to be in a canoe.

Title – Winter Cycling in Canada – Creating Spaces for Winter Mode Shifting and Physical Activity

Governments of all levels in Canada are investing millions of dollars each year on implementing and maintaining urban cycling networks. In the most successfully implemented projects, these networks support thousands of citizens to engage in physical activity and shift to more sustainable modes of transportation. Unfortunately, these shifts towards cycling decline significantly during the winter months. Given that much of Canada experiences several months of low temperatures and high snowfall, interventions to improve the cycling experience in winter is critical. Documented interventions in Canada and Europe include policy changes related to priority snow clearing routes, groomed waterways for active transportation, and access to winter friendly bikes. We will review some of these best practices and scientific studies to give examples for how Winnipeg could increase cycling rates in winter months.

Jon McGavock & Nika Klaprat

Jon and Nika are graduates of the Faculty of Kinesiology at the U of M and researchers at the Children’s Hospital research Institute of Manitoba studying the health impacts of urban trails in Canadian cities. There work is funded by  the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to advance our understanding of how to maximize the health benefits of new urban cycling infrastructure across Canada.

Title – Winter Accessibility – Panel Discussion

Connie Newman

Connie Newman is the executive director and lead consultant for the Manitoba Association of Senior Communities which currently leads Age-Friendly Manitoba and Social Prescribing Initiatives. MASC is a member association currently with 82 member groups throughout Manitoba. MASC-AFI connects with 95 communities in Manitoba on the Age-Friendly pathway. Notably, she also chaired the committee which developed the Manitoba Government Seniors Strategy, released in February 2023.  Since 2022, Connie has also been a member of the Appropriate Use Advisory Committee of the Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office.

Melissa Graham

Melissa Graham is the Executive Director of the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD), Last winter, MLPD lead the Snow Plow Campaign, a coalition of disability and seniors’ organizations encouraging better sidewalk snow removal in Winnipeg. She is a lifelong disability justice advocate with over a decade of frontline experience working in the disability sector. Melissa is well-known for her activist background and has a lifetime of experience driving through sidewalk snow and encouraging sidewalk snow removal as a public health and human rights issue.

Kristen Kraychuk

Kristen Kraychuk is a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) with Vision Loss Rehab Canada, working out of the Winnipeg office. Kristen provides services to blind and visually impaired individuals all over Manitoba. Kristen has been with VLRC for just over 2 years. Prior to joining VLRC, Kristen graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelors in Kinesiology – Athletic Therapy. She has always been passionate about helping individuals and feels grateful to do just that every day. Her clients are what keeps her going at work. She continues to be interested in learning about ways to make environments more accessible for everyone.

Misunderstanding Motivation

Many leaders believe that most performance issues are caused by a lack of motivation. This belief is reflected in common leadership practices and performance management systems. This pervasive myth is counterproductive, and ultimately demotivating. An alternative perspective will be offered.

Linton Sellen