Chairperson’s Message
A highly skilled workforce is the only sustainable competitive advantage employers have. In a world increasingly short of skilled workers, Alberta employers also must learn to optimize their operations with an increasingly diverse workforce serving an equally diverse clientele.
It is both a competitive necessity and a human imperative to help ensure every individual can maximize their contribution to their work and their community. AWES is Alberta’s answer to ensure that every employee is equipped with the skills at the foundation of all other workplace learning and advancement. AWES provides services to individual employees, employers, and industry associations, and we encourage you to view AWES as a strategic partner for human resource development for every worksite.
Our Board of Directors
AWES is directed by a volunteer Board of representatives from industry, labour, government, and academia to ensure the organization is connected, current, and relevant to the needs of Albertans and Canadians. The AWES Board is dynamic and welcomes involvement.
Carolyn Dieleman
It was under Carolyn’s visionary leadership that AWES was founded in 1989, along with committee champions from business, labour, education and government. Carolyn came on as President of the Board in October 2011, after retiring from the Language Training, Immigration Policy and Programs Branch of Alberta Human Services, and has continued to serve as a director.
In 2023, after long term board member, Ray Massey, retired from the AWES board, she took on the role as vice chairperson.
D’Arcy Claypool
D’Arcy brings over 40 years of federal and provincial government experience, mostly working with essential skills, training, program policy and labour market agreements. When he was responsible for contracted training, he came to realize that just giving people the skills for the job did not guarantee successful completion of the training nor at the worksite. He believes everyone should be seeking ways to enhance their workplace essential skills, as they are tools for success for jobs of today and of the future. In 2023, after serving many years as a director on the AWES board, D’Arcy was nominated and elected as Chairperson.
Grant Heer
Grant has been working in the Fleet Management and Transportation Industry for the past 45+ years. He began his journey as a Fleet Technician and advanced his way to Director of Fleet Services, and recently retired as Director of Fleet Services with Strathcona County. Grant is a lifelong learner; throughout his career, he has taken courses in Business Administration, Leadership, and Technical and Essential Skills, and he is currently enrolled in an Adult Education instructor course.
He has experienced opportunities with municipal Governments in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C. and the private sector, with companies such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Purolator, and Suncor. One of his recent accomplishments was leading the Green Fleet initiative that included the purchase of one Hydrogen Transit Bus, which is a leading technology within Canada. It has been Grant’s lifelong goal to give back to the community and provide learning opportunities. He is honoured to be on the AWES Board and support the need for essential skills in our educational system and in industry.
Marilynn Boehm
Marilynn has been involved with the food processing industry for many years. She spent 34 years working for the Alberta government in various roles in Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, and Alberta Employment and Immigration. During her time at the Government of Alberta, she developed many programs and services for food processors and was a strong advocate for business development and agri-food processing.
Marilynn joined the Alberta Food Processors Association in 2014 as president. She is pleased to be back working with and supporting the food industry. She sees great potential for industry growth and is very passionate about finding creative solutions to barriers to industry growth.
Kari-Anne March
Kari-Anne has been working in the workforce development sector for 8 years, bridging the gap between education and employment. In her role managing a small trades college in Alberta, Kari-Anne dedicates her resources to the development of meaningful programs that attract the next generation of skilled workers and provide them with the training required to kickstart their careers.
By offering accessible programming with personalized supports, she believes that we help new workforce entrants earn the skills and confidence required to be successful in their workplaces. She is a strong advocate for a partnership-based approach, working together with industry stakeholders to support recruitment initiatives and ensure rewarding employment opportunities are available for all graduates. Through AWES’ vision of leading innovative workplace skills initiatives, she believes that we can further support the next generation by providing powerful programming that supports industry needs, resulting in stronger employment for all.
Tracey Derwing
Tracey Derwing is a professor emeritus from the University of Alberta’s Teaching English as a Second Language program, and an adjunct professor in Linguistics at Simon Fraser University. Her research interests include improved communication on the part of L2 learners and their interlocutors; immigrant and refugee settlement issues; and citizenship education. Tracey and her colleagues have conducted intervention studies in the workplace to enhance inter-worker communication. She currently serves on a committee that advises the Canadian government on matters related to federally-sponsored language training programs for newcomers. Tracey has published widely in academic journals, books and textbooks. She has co-organized several conferences and serves on the Editorial Boards of a range of journals.
Chris Davis, CRSP
Chris Davis is the Manager, Operations and Business Development at Energy Safety Canada. In this role, he provides strategic direction to ESC’s leadership team while advancing best in class scalable health, safety and training solutions into the ever-evolving energy sector.
His three-decade career in the energy and transportation sectors spans many large projects from the gulf of Mexico to the high Arctic.
Chris completed OH&S studies with the University of Alberta in 2013 and CRSP designation in 2014.