Carmen is a project manager with EllisDon in Calgary, AB. She has been part of the Alberta construction industry since graduating from SAIT with a diploma in Architectural Technologies, majoring in Building Development in 2009. Her love for carpentry throughout junior and senior high introduced her to construction but her desire to ensure the “building was built correctly” inspired her passion for construction project management. 

Carmen advocates for women entering the skilled trades and construction industry and has held various volunteer positions with SAIT’s Women in Trades and Technology (WITT) and participated in several mentorship programs to support women striving to work in construction. Through her friendship with Miriam Jordi, Carmen has joined the team to help build DiversiTrade Resource & Connection Centre. She is keen to see the construction industry in Alberta and Canada become more inclusive and diverse because after all #constructionisforeveryone

Fietje is a Red Seal Electrician who is currently working as an electrical instructor at SAIT. She began teaching in 2017 after working in the field as a commercial electrician. Fietje has a background in education, her strong interest in the sciences led her to complete a Bachelor of Science at the University of Calgary in 2006. She continued with her post-secondary education and graduated with a Bachelors of Education in 2008, following her passion as a life- long learner. 

Life leads us down many different paths, after some personal family struggles, she decided to make a career change later in life to become an Electrician. After some great experiences in the field, she finds she has come back full circle as an educator, she enjoys the opportunity to train and support many future electrical apprentices to help them reach their goals.

Jessica is a Master Electrician, Safety Codes Officer, and Gold Seal Construction Safety Coordinator / National Construction Safety Officer. Jessica is also a woman with Transgender experiences, and lives her life as an out and proud Trans Woman. After ‘coming out’ to her entire social circle, life was made a bit difficult by those she worked with by various forms of harassment and bullying. Tired of looking over her shoulder on the jobsite, Jessica decided to flip the narrative and throw her predisposition back at those who would cast judgment on her with co-founding the “Pride In Construction ” initiative. She has spent the last 17 years in the industry working as an Electrician by trade, but has a passion for advocating, for the 2SLGBTQI+ community and other underrepresented communities in the trades. 

John M. Wiesel joined the team in 2021. John M. has over twenty-five years in the construction industry, mostly on the electrical side as a journeyman, supervisor, estimator, project manager and pre-construction manager. John M. took the Suderman estimating course in 2000 with Peter Suderman, the knowledge and processes learned paid off at every level of his career.

John currently works on the Lean Community of Practice  with the CGYCA in Alberta. His journey with Lean began at the TMMC facilities in Cambridge and Woodstock Ontario where he executed the Kanban for electrical and mechanical installations.

Since joining the team John has worked in many different capacity’s including consulting & estimating services, updating, creating content, and instructing courses.