Anne Budnick
Accounting Manager - abudnick@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 1999
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My children
Where would you most like to live?
Canada is the only place for me
What do you most value in your friends?
Humor
Who are your favorite writers?
How to choose when there are so many great writers
What book do you recommend most to people?
There are so many great books – how do you choose one?
Erick Ambtman
Executive Director - eambtman@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2011
Which talent would you most like to have?
I'd love to be a great speaker or writer because words are so powerful and can bring about change.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being hired as the ED of EMCN.
What book do you recommend most to people?
Something by Hemmingway. Either For Whom the Bell Tolls or Old Man and the Sea
Who are your heroes in real life?
My grandparents and more specifically my grandmother. She sacraficed so much for everyone around her and she did it with a grace I can only dream of.
What is your motto?
Get out of the way of others and don’t get in my own way. I generally think the people around me know better than I do, so don’t interfere with them, in fact I think my job is to remove barriers impeding them. I think people tend to be their own worst enemies and I don’t want to be one of mine.
Jacqueline Scott
Manager, Language Services - jscott@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2008
Which talent would you most like to have?
I really wish I had some artistic ability. I can only draw stick men and sing off key.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Raising four remarkable sons.
Who are your favorite writers?
I’m an avid reader, so I have dozens of favorites. Miriam Toews consistently writes books that I love, but my favorite book is “The Shipping News” by E. Annie Proulx.
Who are your heroes in real life?
My sisters. They are the most amazing women I know.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Trust that things will work out so that I can stress about things less.
Laurie Hauer
Site Manager, Nova Plaza / Manager of Employment, Bridging & Training Programs - lhauer@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 1988
Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish I could sing! Actually, I wish I could sing well! I do, however, sing like an Expert on Rock Band.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I would have to say, adopting my children. 21 years ago, this December, I became a single mom of two and my life changed, for the better, ever since.
Who are your favorite writers?
I am very eclectic in my tastes. Some of my favorites include: Umberto Eco, Dan Brown, Kathy Lette, and Percy Shelley.
What book do you recommend most to people?
Focault’s Pendulum, by Umberto Eco
Where would you most like to live?
New Orleans, Louisiana. Since visiting there three years ago, I fell in love with the city, its culture and its people!
Rispah Tremblay
Manager, Settlement and Social Work - rtremblay@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2007
Which talent would you most like to have?
There are so many, but if I was choose one I would say I wish I could paint. I love art, but I will settle on enjoying other artists work.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
If I could change one thing, it would be to make a habit out of waking up early.
Where would you most like to live?
Somewhere warm, maybe tropical with sunshine all year round. Some sandy beaches and palm trees would be a bonus.
Who are your favorite writers?
Too many to name, if I can name only three, they would be, Chinua Achebe, Agatha Christie and Napoleon Hill.
What is your motto?
Time is precious, use it wisely.
Ricki Justice
Manager, Programs and Services - rjustice@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2015
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I am Beyonce, always.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
When I was five, I imagined that there was such a thing as unicorn. And this is before I had even heard of one or seen one.. I just drew a picture of a horse that could fly over rainbows and had a huge spike in its head. And I was five, five years old. Couldn't even talk yet!
Who are your favorite writers?
Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information.
Who are your heroes in real life?
I love babies. I think they are beautiful in all sorts of different ways. I try to pick up and hold a baby every day, if possible, because it nourishes me. It feeds my soul. Babies are drawn to me. And I think it’s because they see me as one of them. But … cooler and with my life put together a little bit more. If a baby were president, there would be no taxes. There would be no war.
What is your motto?
Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
Toyin Fatona
Manager, Human Resources - tfatona@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 1996
Which living person do you most admire?
Rev. Billy Graham
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Immigrating to Canada 21 years ago.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Music
Where would you most like to live?
Victoria, BC. Canada
What do you most value in your friends?
Trustworthiness
Suzanne Gross
Manager of Strategic Initiatives - sgross@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2000
Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be a good soccer player.
Where would you most like to live?
Rousillon -- in Provence, France (for a week or so!)
Who are your favourite writers?
John Steinback, Mark Haddon
What book do you recommend most to people?
The Grapes of Wrath
What is your motto?
Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.
Eun-Jin Kim
WCI Site Manager - ejkim@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2008
Which living person do you most admire?
Don Baergen (EMCN Co-founder) - He is the kindest human being I've ever met. When my daughter heard that I became a manager, she said to me, "Mom, be like Don."
Where would you most like to live?
Plum Village in France
What book do you recommend most to people?
Letters to Sam by Daniel Gottlieb, My Grandfather's Blessings by Rachel Naomi Remen and Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh (I can't choose one book)
Who are your heroes in real life?
My clients who taught me about resilience
What is your motto?
No road is long with good company (Turkish Proverb)
Marla Welk
Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator - mwelk@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2016
Which living person do you most admire?
My mom.
Who are your favorite writers?
Khaled Hosseini
What book do you recommend most to people?
The Celestine Prophecy
Who are your heroes in real life?
My kids, Amanda Lindhout and Malala Yousafzai
What is your motto?
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get.
Ashima Sumaru-Jurf
Manager, West End Community Connections - asumaru-jurf@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2017
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would be able to remember everything without writing it down!
Where would you most like to live?
Anywhere tropical and close to the ocean.
What do you most value in your friends?
Kindness, compassion, and good dialogue.
Who are your favorite writers?
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Haruki Murakami, Thomas King, Margaret Atwood
What is your motto?
I don't have a motto but a quote that I love to live by: "Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing" (Arundhati Roy, World Social Forum, 2003)
Roxanne Felix-Mah
Manager, West End Community Connections - rfelix-mah@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2017
Which living person do you most admire?
The Dalai Lama. Even though he has so much political influence, he believes the most important way to create change is through being kind and compassionate in every moment with each person he comes across.
Which talent would you most like to have?
I would like to be an exceptional ice skater, who could zip backwards and forwards across the ice.
What do you most value in your friends?
A fine balance between being accepting, while still asking questions that need to be asked. Bonus points if they also love Star Wars.
Who are your favorite writers?
Jane Austen, Lucy Maud Montgomery, J.R.R. Tolkein and J.K. Rowling
What book do you recommend most to people?
"Wherever you go, there you are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Derrick Schmuhl
Manager, Bridging and Training Programs - dschmuhl@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2003 (consulting since 2001)
Which living person do you most admire?
Stephen Hawking
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I can change what I want to change and I don't waste energy worrying about things I can't.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My healthy, happy kids, Heinreich and Chieza.
Where would you most like to live?
Depends on what time in my life you ask. Right now, I'm right where I want to be.
What is your motto?
Start from Zero and do the work.
Lule Begashaw
Manager of therapeutic services - lbegashaw@emcn.ab.caEmployee Since: 2011
Which living person do you most admire?
My father.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Nothing, but I would like to learn many things...
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being a mother
What do you most value in your friends?
Genuine care for others
What is your motto?
Fulfilling God's purpose in my life.