I have experience on both sides. A decade in store leadership taught me what frontline managers are actually dealing with. Two years in field HR taught me how to help them through it. My experience in their shoes builds the trust to effectively coach them.
I was part of a three-person HR team supporting eight District Directors and roughly 130 Store Managers across Canada on employee relations, investigations, leaves and accommodations, and policy. In practice, work was distributed by relationship and expertise — and I regularly found myself advising at a level above my title — on complex ER cases, accommodation decisions, and situations where the policy didn't give a clear answer.
On visits, I walked the floor, talked with whoever was on shift, and asked how work felt in practice. I used what I heard, along with engagement results and active cases, to help leaders make decisions that were fair to people and defensible for the company.
I've spent my career in roles where you often have to laugh for a minute, then roll up your sleeves and tackle the problem. That's the kind of culture I want to be part of.
What I'm known for
Based in Edmonton, AB. Open to remote roles anywhere in Canada, and on-site roles in Edmonton, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and the Fraser Valley.
Most of the leaders I supported had been doing this longer than I'd been in HR. The operations background meant I wasn't starting from scratch every conversation — and it meant they knew it.
These examples show how I handled employee relations, compliance, and operations issues without defaulting to a one-size-fits-all answer.
Undocumented students in the building. I confirmed it wasn't one store — it was fifteen placements in a semester — then built a lightweight tool through district leaders.
Read case →A team member quietly told me their name was appearing on meeting minutes for meetings they hadn't attended. I listened, checked the binder, and escalated appropriately.
Read case →Six of fifteen people regularly late, no clear structure. I reviewed the guidance, met with the team, and built a simple approach that held. Lateness dropped sharply within a month.
Read case →The first draft was too vague to support real improvement or a defensible termination. I reviewed several versions, built a coaching deck, and the assistant manager successfully completed the plan.
Read case →Payroll flagged the backlog two weeks before T4s were due. I cleared it, traced the root cause to missing postal code fields in the ATS, and partnered with HRIS to fix the upstream problem.
Read case →Files that had sat open for years with no clear next steps. I reviewed each one, re-established contact, gathered updated medical information, and worked with Legal toward clear, documented endpoints.
Read case →Registered to write the CPHR National Knowledge Exam, with ongoing prep and monthly CPHR roundtable participation.
Get in touch
Looking for my next role in Human Resources or People & Culture — Advisor, Generalist, Business Partner, or Talent Acquisition. My background in frontline leadership makes me a good fit where the team is close to the customer and where service and engagement matter.
ContextIn my HR role supporting a large retail network, risk often showed up in small gaps between policy and day-to-day practice. Co-op students were one of those areas.
ChallengeOn a store visit, a manager introduced me to "our Co-op students" — but I had no paperwork for them. Students were already working without required waivers or insurance in place. I needed to close the immediate risk, then figure out if this was a pattern.
What I didI completed the missing documents with that store, then sent a short three-question check-in to all stores. All stores replied. We found about fifteen undocumented placements in a single semester. I partnered with Legal to confirm the requirements were sound, then built a simple Microsoft Forms tracker feeding into a shared Excel file. District leaders walked their store managers through it on regular calls — making Co-op tracking part of normal planning rather than a separate task.
ResultImmediate documentation gaps closed. HR had a single view of Co-op placements and status. Leaders had a simple, repeatable process that took almost no extra effort to maintain.
What I took from itIf one store has a gap, it's worth checking whether the process is setting everyone up to miss the same step. The best compliance solutions are the shortest ones.
Case Example · Investigation & IntegrityContextPart of my work was to listen when people raised concerns that didn't fit neatly into a form. Health and safety concerns were especially important because they touched both legal risk and day-to-day trust.
ChallengeA team member pulled me aside on a store visit and told me their name was appearing on safety committee minutes for meetings they hadn't attended. They were uncomfortable but worried about speaking up.
What I didI thanked them, set honest expectations about what I could share with them about outcomes, and asked factual questions: which records, how they knew, whether others were in the same position. I then quietly reviewed the safety binder and recent minutes — comparing dates, names, and attendance against who was actually in the building on those days. Based on what I found, I escalated to the appropriate leader and investigations partners, framing it as a potential integrity and safety risk rather than just a paperwork problem.
ResultThe concern was taken seriously, escalated to the right people, and treated as more than a clerical issue. The team member saw that raising a concern with HR led to a real response.
What I took from itMy role wasn't to run the entire investigation — it was to make sure the concern was heard, documented, and escalated appropriately.
Case Example · Performance & AttendanceContextBefore moving into HR, I spent several years as a store manager. This case was an early morning freight team I inherited where lateness had become the norm.
ChallengeAbout six of fifteen people were regularly late. There was only a general expectation to arrive on time and no clear structure for handling patterns.
What I didI reviewed the handbook, then met with the team as a group. I was direct: start times existed for a reason, they affected truck unloads and opening prep, and we were going to treat lateness more consistently from that point on. I built a simple structure — tracking on timecards, specific conversations when patterns appeared, written conversations if coaching didn't lead to change — and explained each step so it didn't feel arbitrary. Then I followed through every week.
ResultLate arrivals dropped sharply within three to four weeks. The opening manager could plan the work with confidence. This case became a practical example I used often when advising leaders on attendance issues in HR.
What I took from itClear expectations in plain language, a basic structure people can understand, and consistent follow-through. That's the whole formula.
Case Example · Performance ManagementContextA senior leader directed a store manager to put an assistant manager on a performance plan. The first draft was too vague to support real improvement or a defensible termination.
ChallengeI reviewed several versions and kept pushing for specific examples, clearer expectations, and better support commitments. The manager was frustrated. But the document still wasn't right.
What I didWhen written feedback alone wasn't enough, I built a short slide deck explaining what a strong plan needed: specific behaviours and results, realistic timelines, concrete support from the manager. I scheduled a 30-minute call and walked him through it. After that conversation, he revised the plan — this time clearly, specifically, and aligned with policy. I stayed close to the case, checking in on how meetings were going and encouraging documentation of both improvements and ongoing issues.
ResultThe assistant manager improved and successfully completed the plan. The manager learned what a solid plan looked like and how to play an active role in it — which carried into future performance conversations.
What I took from itMy job isn't only to protect the company from weak documentation. It's to make sure performance processes are fair and meaningful.
Case Example · HRIS & OperationsContextHR work often sits at the intersection of systems, operations, and field practice. This one surfaced under deadline pressure.
ChallengePayroll flagged more than 300 address exceptions blocking T4 uploads for roughly 3,000 employees, with a tight deadline. Fix the data, then figure out why it happened.
What I didI worked through the exceptions case by case over about two weeks. As I worked, I tracked where errors were coming from — postal codes weren't a required field in the applicant tracking system, and some stores weren't completing onboarding steps consistently. Once T4 processing was secure, I partnered with HRIS to tighten how address data was captured and to generate a weekly onboarding status report.
ResultT4s went out on time. The root cause was addressed upstream, reducing the chance of the same issue next year.
What I took from itOperational work in HR is often a chance to do advisory work at the same time. Fixing the records was necessary — stopping there would have meant cleaning up the same problem again the following year.
Case Example · Leaves, LTD & RTWContextMedical leave and disability files had built up over several years with no clear next steps. Some employees had been away for years. The files were open but inactive.
ChallengeUncertainty for everyone: employees in limbo, leaders unsure whether to treat roles as vacant or filled, HR carrying risk without a clear plan.
What I didFor each file: reviewed documentation, updated contact information, and reached out with clear written notices explaining that updated medical information was needed. When information came in, I focused on what it meant in practice — working with leaders on realistic return plans if possible, or working with Legal to assess frustration of contract when it wasn't. I made sure letters were clear and respectful, even when the news was difficult.
ResultEmployees moved out of long-standing uncertainty. Leaders gained staffing clarity. Each file had a documented path and a clear endpoint.
What I took from itBeing fair to employees, practical with leaders, and careful to match legal frameworks to actual facts — rather than forcing one standard answer onto every case — is what makes the difference.