Our Facilitators

Partner, Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP 

Jen is a Partner at TDS who practises primarily in the areas of municipal law and planning, development and zoning law.

She has particular experience in relation to governance and municipal councils, municipal finance, by-laws and by-law enforcement, municipal commercial law and contracting, municipal infrastructure and utilities, environmental law, and municipal reorganizations (annexation, amalgamation, formation). Jennifer also has experience in municipal labour and employment law, municipal arbitration and mediation, access to information and privacy law, expropriations and municipal real property.

Jen was called to the bar in 2012 and since that time has practised in the areas of corporate commercial law and municipal governance in Winnipeg.  She graduated with a Juris Doctor (en français) from La Faculté de droit de l’Université d’Ottawa in 2011 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from the University of Manitoba in 2008. She is fluently bilingual and practices in both French and English.

Dr. Frye, P.Eng, spent 26 years with the City of Winnipeg Building Inspections Depart­ment, retiring in 2000. Dr. Frye held several senior positions in the Building Inspection Department, including Manager of the Plan Examination Branch and Assis­tant to the Manager of Building Inspections.

During his career with the City of Winnipeg, Dr. Frye served on several provincial, national and international professional committees related to building codes and stan­dards and continues to today. In 1992, he re­ceived an Adjunct Professor appointment from the University of Manitoba Department of Civil Engineering. In 2000, he became an Engineer-In-Residence at the university and continues to teach in the Department of Civil Engineering.

Dr. Frye has published papers related to the application of expert systems for the fire protection requirements of the National Building Code of Canada. He has lectured ex­tensively to architects, professional engineers, interior designers and building technolo­gists on building codes, particularly in the area of fire protection.

President, Suderman Estimating Systems Inc.

John has been in the construction industry for 50 years, starting as a labourer with his dad’s construction company in Waterloo, Ontario, then changing trades and apprenticing with one of the oldest electrical companies in the area. He grew with the company as a journeyman and foreman, before moving into a design/estimator role as the company developed into the modern era. John then moved to, Roberts Onsite Inc., a larger multi-trade electrical/mechanical company where he became Lead Electrical Estimator, and later Vice President of Sales, Estimating, Engineering and Project Management.

In 2002, John bought Suderman Estimating from Peter Suderman. Peter had developed an electrical estimating training course and taught it across Canada to more than 2,500 contractors, including John. Since then, John has brought the course up to today’s level with a revised and updated labour manual, training methods and nationally-accredited Gold Seal Certification. John has worked on projects in the field and in estimating from residential, commercial, light and heavy industrial and now he enjoys passing this experience and knowledge to others.

Partner, Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP

Jon’s practice is focused primarily on construction law and civil litigation, providing advice to owners, architects, engineers, general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers in all aspects of construction law. Jon has experience in the drafting and negotiation of construction agreements, procurement matters, tendering issues, construction insurance issues and builders’ liens, as well as providing advocacy services for mediations, arbitrations, regulatory proceedings and litigation. Jon also provides general commercial litigation and dispute resolution services with respect to insurance, landlord and tenant and environmental matters.

President, Constructing Minds Inc.

Lee Kelly M.A.A.T.O., P.GSC is Founder and President of Constructing Minds Inc., a company dedicated to providing relevant and applicable training to the construction industry.

Lee has boots on the ground experience. With over 35 years of construction management/general contracting experience under her belt she has gained extensive knowledge and a solid foundation in construction practices, processes and procedures in all contract delivery formats. Lee knows construction because she has built it.

Lee has been a member on the National Gold Seal Committee, has won the Construction Institute of Canada (TCIC) Chancellor’s Award of Excellence and has earned certificates in Teaching and Training Adults and Instructional Design. Her enthusiasm for training makes her a highly informative, interactive, motivated and sought-after trainer from coast-to-coast.

Partner, Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP

Lisa Stiver’s practice focuses on corporate and commercial law, with an emphasis on tendering and procurement. Lisa has significant experience in providing procurement advice in the area of information technology systems and construction projects. She has acted as lead external counsel in providing strategic advice throughout all stages of procurement processes for major capital acquisitions and projects, including developing the legal framework for the procurement process, drafting tender documents and contracts and contract negotiations in negotiated-RFP scenarios.

Mark recently retired from the University of Calgary where he was responsible for the delivery of capital projects across the organization. The annual workload entailed approximately 400 capital and renovation projects per year with an annual project spend of approximately $150M. During his 12- year tenure as Director, the Project Management Office delivered   9 new buildings including multiple teaching and applied research buildings, major infrastructure renewals, new residence halls and a new main library. Mark was actively engaged with procuring design and construction teams and negotiating and overseeing a wide variety of contracts including Design Build, Construction Management at Risk, Lump Sum and performance-based engagements.

Mark brings 30 plus years of public sector experience with both post-secondary and health organizations including the Calgary Health Region and Age Care Senior Communities. Mark takes pride in building strong teams, mentoring the next generation of project professionals and engaging diverse stakeholders in achieving outstanding results.

Meghan’s practice is focused predominantly on civil litigation, with an emphasis on construction litigation.  Meghan acts and assists on a wide variety of construction disputes, including representation of owners, contractors and subcontractors in claims arising during construction, as well as those involving product liability, delay, cost overruns, faulty workmanship and builders’ liens.

Meghan’s administrative law practice is centred on providing advice to administrative tribunals and professionally regulated self-governing professions.  Within this area, Meghan has experience with human rights, both under human rights legislation and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

Meghan also has experience assisting clients with a variety of legal issues in a broad range of areas, including contractual disputes, negligence, personal injury, debtor/creditor litigation, terminations and wrongful dismissals.

Meghan articled with Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP in 2012 and joined the firm as an associate in 2013.

MF Hickey Consulting

Mike Hickey last worked as the Director; Facilities Management and Support Services for Northern Health Authority based in Prince George, BC. He retired in April 2013 after working for 35 years in the facilities management side of healthcare. Twenty one years have been in St. John’s NL, his city of birth, while his last 14 years have been in Prince George. Prior to moving to northern BC, Mike served as an Assistant Director of Facilities Management with the Healthcare Corporation of St. John’s and has worked in both acute and long term care.

Mike’s background is in Power Engineering. He has also completed the management programs of Modern Management, Quality Management for Healthcare Professionals, Health Services Management, and Long Term Care Senior management (academic excellence award winner) through the Canadian Healthcare Association. He has represented BC on the National Energy Efficiency Advisory committee with the Canadian College of Health Service Executives and held membership on the CHA National Advisory Committee for Management programs across Canada. He currently sits on their National Energy and Environmental Stewardship Awards team. He has also served as an Education Consultant with CHA for the Modern Management program.

He is a past Chair of the BC Chapter of the Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society (CHES), as well as past National President of CHES. Mike is also a Faculty member for the Canadian Healthcare Construction Certificate program, a joint effort of CHES (Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society) and ASHE (American Society for Healthcare Engineering). He is also a faculty member, as well as a technical subcommittee member of the Canadian Standards Association for CSA Standard Z317.13-17, Infection Control during Construction, Renovation and Maintenance of Healthcare Facilities. Mike is still very active as a consultant in the field of Healthcare Engineering, operating under the name of MF Hickey Consulting. In his spare time, he is past President of the Board of Directors for the Prince George Hospice Society, as well as a lifetime member of that organization. He also volunteers as a Board Member with the Canadian Centre for Healthcare Facilities. Each winter he enjoys being an active volunteer with the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal. His most recent achievement is being named the recipient of the Hans Burgers Award (CHES 2016), a national award for Outstanding Contribution to Healthcare Engineering in Canada, making him a lifetime member of the Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society.

Morgan Garry is a Bluebeam Certified Instructor with more than a decade of hands-on experience in the construction industry, including owning his own construction company and working for Ledcor, one of the largest general contractors in North America. With a bachelor's degree in Construction Management from BYU-Idaho, Morgan is a trusted expert in using Bluebeam technology on the construction site. Morgan's classes and training in Bluebeam Revu have helped some of the top construction companies in North America improve processes, workflow and project management.