Our Facilitators
Walter Strachan
Walter has extensive experience earned through over 40 years in the consulting engineering industry with CBCL Limited. During his career he has served as department manager, project manager, corporate quality manager (ISO 9001), corporate risk manager), principal, director, and Chair of the Board at a major Atlantic Canada based engineering and environmental services company.
Upon retirement from CBCL Limited, Walter opened Act 3 Advisory Services, to continue a life-long obsession with all things related to project delivery in the design and construction industry.
Walter’s design and construction interest center around standard practices, project delivery methods, cost planning and control, risk management, and dispute resolution. Those interests resulted in tenures as Chair, Canadian Design Build Institute (CDBI); President, Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (CIQS); Chair, Canadian Construction Documents Committee (CCDC); and Board Member, Canadian Construction Association (CCA). He has also served on several significant Task Teams including MasterFormat; CSC/CSI Uniform Drawing Systems; and the Integrated Delivery (IPD) Task Team.
Walter is the 2021 recipient of the Nova Scotia Consulting Engineers (CENS) Distinguished Service Award.
Wayne Newell
Wayne Newell Management & Seminar Services
For the past 35 years, Wayne has served in senior financial leadership roles and worked with contractors of all sizes throughout Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. Wayne earned his Certified Management Accountant (CMA now CPA) designation in 1972. Since then, no matter the size of the company, he has shown owners, managers and employees how to best perform, lead, and follow; all the while saving money and time.
Wayne was elected a life member of the Kinsmen Association for outstanding efforts and leadership in a volunteer role, having served as a Governor and leading 18 executives responsible for 96 clubs and 2700 members. For the last two decades Wayne has been focused on sharing his wealth of knowledge through training and has presented his Construction Management courses to over thousands of construction professionals from St. John’s to Victoria.
Wendy Hofford
WH Strategic Drive Inc.
Wendy is the President of WH Strategic Drive Inc. a facilitation, training and consulting firm specializing in leadership, human resources, and human behaviour in the workplace. Wendy brings her experience as a human resources director and director of operations to organizational leaders from the front line up to senior management.
Wendy has spent the last nine years working in the construction industry as an HR Director, a national safety officer and a strategic leadership advisor. Prior to that she fulfilled a role as a director of operations in Saskatchewan and Ontario.
As a professional speaker, trainer and facilitator with the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, certified speaker and trainer with John Maxwell Leadership and the Gallup Strengths Organization along with a diploma as an adult educator, Wendy shares her skills, education and experience with her audience. Wendy recently published her first book: Rip Off the Bandaid! Have that tough conversation.
Wendy previously held a seat on the Divisional and Advisory Committee for the Construction Safety Association of Manitoba, and on the board of directors for Manitoba Women in Construction. Through engaging, energetic facilitations, presentations and consultations Wendy works to help individuals and organizations develop, grow and be better than they thought they could be.