Besides being a founding partner in Exit Savvy, I hold full time employment as an Organizational Development Strategist. This is a specialist role in Human Resources, that focuses on developing both people and the organizations they work within.
I have worked in public sector, private sector and not-for-profit industries in a wide variety of functions including accounting, business operations and human resources. I currently work in healthcare.
My designations include Certified Training and Development Professional; Certified Executive Coach; Master of Arts Degree in Leadership Studies; Certified Adult and Continuing Education Professional; and Certified Change Practitioner. It may interest you to know that in my Masters’ Degree studies I focused on the capability of Resilience – specifically studying Resilience in relationship to the experience profound change.
I am a member of two professional associations: The International Coach Federation; and The Institute of Performance and Development (formerly known as The Canadian Society of Training and Development).
I’ve always loved being with my mom, and I feel privileged to support her with my sister Anne as her co-personal directive agent and co-power of attorney. I won’t lie to you, seeing a parent struggle with incapacity is heartbreaking. It’s so hard to see the person who nurtured you lose their capacity to care for themselves, to see someone who was so passionate about life lose their ability to make it through the day without fear, confusion, and loss.
However, I love spending afternoons in the sun-lit unit where mom lives, painting, beading, walking, or singing with and to my mom. Despite her difficult circumstances and limited capacity to communicate her joyful spirit shines through most of the time.
I see the pre-planning tools provided by Exit Savvy as a doorway to giving you (the Personal Directive Agent, and/or the Power of Attorney) the freedom to spend quality time with the person you love, rather than focused on administrative chores. Taking care of the administrative work when you are both fully functioning adults leaves you free to seize what precious time remains when a parent or loved one ends up in care; completing this planning process helps you build a strong understanding of that individual’s needs before they are unable to communicate their needs to you.
Since Anne and I jointly undertook the roles of Personal Directive Agent, Enduring Power of Attorney, and Executor I chose to become a Certified Executor Advisor. I am also an adult educator, a certified training and development specialist, and a certified coach. These skills underpin my ability to support planners and their personal support team in the estate planning activities and beyond.
