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Who Are We? (upclose and personal - perhaps overly so - you be the judge)

We want you to get to know us.  Getting to know someone should go beyond just knowing what he or she does.  What are their interests?  Their favorite food?  We are not saying that what a person does is not interesting, it is important.  However, the truly interesting stuff is more fun to read.  So, we will tell you what each person "does" at Human Effort, but as you will see, there is more...

We should let you know, that we believe that we hire the best people around. The majority of our technical staff are kinesiologists and physical therapists with loads of experience and expertise in ergonomics, assessment, physical conditioning and rehabilitation. Our team also includes many allied health care professionals including physicians, psychologists, occupational health nurses, dietitians, massage therapists and others.  Finally we have a core of great database programmers working with our underlying business systems as well as those of many of your companies. All of our staff are excellent professionals; qualified and experienced at what they do.  But most importantly they are great people.

Greg

Greg wears many hats at Human Effort. Besides being one of the founders of Human Effort, he is involved in developing the business and in completing ergonomic, education, and assessment work. Greg has nearly twenty years of experience in ergonomics, assessment and rehabilitation. Greg graduated from the University of Calgary in 1988. He has developed a focused interest in critical thinking and the construction of knowledge and is now a regular presenter at international conferences on critical thinking.

Greg’s life is full outside of the office - faculty committees, trainer for Calgary Roughnecks lacrosse, speaking engagements, kids (he has two teenage boys and a three year old girl), coaching and various other intellectual pursuits. We don’t know if being a beer connoisseur is a truly intellectual interest, but we do know that it is his favorite beverage (Big Rock in particular). Okay, he really likes wine too and applies Duke Ellington's axiom about music to both wine and music: "There are two kinds of music. Good music and bad music. I like good music." Oh, and Greg is a high level lacrosse referee which affords him the opportunity to be on the floor with players who are way better at the game than he ever was, satisfy his keen sense of justice, and get some great exercise while being yelled at for a couple of hours. 

Not having a television allows Greg to spend a lot of time reading and cruising the net. Greg enjoys his music (all kinds - he used to be a DJ at some point in his misspent youth). “The Life of Brian” rates as one of his favorite movies (perhaps tickling his skeptical funny bone). Greg has traveled to Africa, Europe, and the South Pacific but reports his most recent vacation hotspot was Victoria.

Brent

Brent, as one of Human Effort's founders, has seen the business grow and change significantly over the years.  He has nearly 20 years of experience in the field of health having graduated from the University of Alberta in 1988.  He has been predominantly involved with assessment, training and conditioning, as well as ergonomics work over the years. Another significant focus has been the day to day business operations and the continued growth and development of Human Effort.  Recently, personal growth coaching has become a new challenge and passion of his.  He describes his purpose to include working with people to support and inspire them to discover and fully live their BIG DREAM while living happier, healthier, and more fulfilled lives.

 

Brent loves to learn too.  In addition to reading about anything on business another interest is human nature and personal growth.  He loves to travel too so when off exploring some distant corner of the globe he is able to expand his understanding of human nature by seeing first hand how people of different cultures live and what they are like.

 

Spending time in nature and away from all that is “big city life” ranks up there as the ideal day for Brent, especially when it is on a tropical beach.  This certainly bodes well for one of his passions, SCUBA diving. To one day dive with the monstrous whale shark is a dream of his.  When not traveling Brent continues to connect with nature while going for runs, hiking and pursuing his love of photography.  Maybe one day we will see one of his photos on the cover of Islands Magazine.

Lisa

Lisa has two degrees, (one in physical therapy and the other in kinesiology) from the University of Saskatchewan.  She has more than ten years experience as a physical therapist, with special interest in orthopedics and RSI injuries.

If you could, what would you ask Albert Einstein? (we are not promoting seances or any other type of mysterious communication) Lisa would ask this historical figure what type of music he likes. She just wants to know. Simple curiosity. Lisa likes all kinds of music, with classical and world music being her favorites. Beyond music, Lisa seems to be attracted to challenges. She likes all kinds of outdoor pursuits and has traveled to Africa. Riding rafts, sleeping in tents, hiking in the desert and riding tour buses were all involved in this adventure – not to mention the cuisine, which apparently lacked in variety and taste (good characteristics for food to have). Mastering a new skill ranks up there with Lisa’s favorite things. She would like to take kayaking on. Go Lisa, go! Back to food, Lisa loves chocolate ice cream and Long Island iced tea – I wonder how much of that she consumed in Africa?

 

Lindsay

Being both athletic and academic, Lindsay graduated from Kinesiology at McMaster University in 2000 with a Minor in Mathematics.  After working for more than three years in a Hamilton (ON) physiotherapy clinic, Lindsay moved to Calgary, joining the Human Effort team in June 2005.  Lindsay’s role on staff involves meeting the day-to-day needs of corporate clients by conducting evaluations of the current fitness levels of potential employees and educating these candidates on safe ergonomic workplace techniques.

While committed to her work at Human Effort, the majority of Lindsay’s energies are poured into her pursuit of a “Masters in Domestic Engineering”.  She thoroughly enjoys her “studies” which include (but are not limited to):   Perpetual Motion and Dressing Your Child; Creative Cooking: Variations on Macaroni and Cheese; Colouring Outside the Lines (And Being Okay With That);  Children’s Literature and the Repetitive Reading Dilemma; and Uncapping the Truth about Washable Markers.  To help maintain balance in her life Lindsay enjoys going for runs (alone!), playing soccer, watching home improvement shows and consuming large quantities of sugar in it’s various delicious forms (favourites include: Fun Dip, Sweettarts, Rockets...you get the idea).  Quality family time is spent with her husband and children on hikes, camping excursions and visiting the Calgary Zoo.

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