Who We Are: Our Architects
The Architects came together with a shared vision – how to make work really great and to support others in doing the same. We are a collaboration of various solo consultants who are skilled, smart and happy thought leaders and talented professionals. We believe in ourselves and in others. You can feel it when you work with us. And it matters.
It matters because an engaged, happy, and thoughtful team can then create experiences for you and your team to learn, practice skills, and apply those learnings to your own day-to-day practice in a safe and human way. We teach individuals and teams how to communicate with purpose, how to create psychologically safe environments, how to collaborate, and how to be adaptive. We teach people how to work in ways that makes others thrive. We live it. We teach it. What we do is human.
MARGIE SILLS-MAEROV BSC, OT, MBA, CHE (She/Her)
Senior Director, Strategy and Coaching
Margie is our fearless leader, business lead, and the visionary behind our work. She can put ideas together in creative ways to offer the most impactful learning and growth opportunities for teams, and has curated a team that she loves and trusts to do just that. She grew up in health care and has worked at all levels of the health system. Along the way she picked up expertise in clinical and process improvement, facilitation, leadership & team development, human-centred design, and coaching. She is a sought-after speaker in the areas of coaching and healthcare practice and is always willing to have a conversation and learn from others. Besides being a boymom to three, she also holds a couple of other roles as the Education Program Officer at the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Medicine and the Program Coordinator for the Coalition for Physician Learning and Practice Improvement. She works hard but enjoys her free time - either on her bike or on skis (and will happily have a meeting on the mountain with you). She is the host of our Campfire Chat and has been recently published.
JOHN CLARKE (He/Him)
Director, Coaching and Design
John is our education and coaching guru. He is a teacher, guidance counsellor, principal, and a Training Associate for Thinking Collaborative. He has years of experience with facilitating and teaching groups and creating learning experiences that stick. He offers seminars in Cognitive Coaching & Adaptive Organizations for his company and for Thought Architects. John’s wisdom and skills are gifts to the team as he helps us all be better coaches, facilitators, and presenters. Besides being a proud grandpa to three amazing grandkids and several grand dogs, he works with organizations in the areas of Leadership Development, Change Management & Communication Skills.
Email John.
JENNIFER ALEXANDER RD, MHS (She/Her)
Operations Manager
Jennifer is a passionate leader and doer. She knows how to translate good ideas into manageable pieces. She is our lead for training our team, so we are always on our game and bringing you the best experience ever. She has over 25 years of experience in healthcare clinically, leading teams, and supporting change. Jennifer is just plain fearless in how she attacks life. She hardly ever sits still – she is a runner, a swimmer, a biker, and a mom of two. She is a Dietitian by training and has her master’s degree in Health Studies. She supports our programming and is also a coach.
Email Jennifer
GENEVIEVE BOIVIN MSC (She/Her)
Operation Lead and Coach
Genevieve is not just the person who makes things work, she is also a coach, thinking partner and kinesiologist. She has her master’s degree in Health Promotion and found that people make change more often when they are coached. She makes sure that our programs operate smoothly and helps out with coaching and training en francais. With more than 10 years as a clinician in chronic disease management, she combined her love of wellness with coaching and is the founder of Gen Boivin Well Being in Every Decision. She is passionate about supporting people in designing a life aligned with their wellbeing.
Email Genevieve.
DR REBECCA SAUNDERS (She/Her)
Physician Lead
Dr Rebecca Saunders is a our Physician Lead at Thought Architects. She is a medical doctor and mentor, and a fearless leader in healthcare. She is deeply dedicated to building resilience in physicians in order to lessen the impact of their stressors and to enable them to be the best versions of themselves (both personally and professionally). She makes the vague idea of “building resilience” concrete by using approaches that enhance the capacity of others (hint – she uses coaching skills!). Her practical approach has been shaped by her own journey when she faced burnout and seriously contemplated leaving medicine (You can hear her story here).
Dr. Saunders graduated from the University of Alberta in medicine and completed her residency at the University of Calgary. She practiced between Alberta and BC, then moved to Seattle, Washington where she practised for 13 years (oh – and named one ofSeattle’s top doctors – no biggie). She returned to Alberta in 2009 with her family where she started her own group practice in Beaumont, AB. She is now a happy physician, clinic owner, PCN Board Member and a Thought Architect. Most importantly, she is a mom to two (sort of) adult boys, doggie mom to one high energy dog, wife to a great husband and loves the outdoors and activity to keep her in balance.
DOREEN PERSCHON MA (She/Her)
Senior Consultant, Team Effectiveness
If it is messy, then Doreen is your person. Doreen’s passion is working with teams that are stuck and has been doing that for years. She is the rehabilitation specialist for teams and organizations. She helps teams untangle their issues, find their own solutions, and then adapt and change to be successful. She is a master in her art. She speaks truth to power, surfaces the undiscussables and holds the space for difficult conversations and solutions focused thinking. She is a faculty and developer on our team. When she is not at her cabin, she is hanging out and playing sports with her two kids. Doreen has a Master of Arts in Business Leadership and has specialized training in change management. She is the founder of En-Gauge Consulting, her company that set the bar in the country on how to heal teams.
Email Doreen.
NATALIE IRONS MA, NBCT, Impact of Trauma on Learning Certification (She/Her)
Senior Consultant, Coaching and Design
Natalie brings the international flavour to our team, but she spells it “flavor”. She is an educator, a teacher, a designer, and a coach. Like John, she is also a Training Associate with Thinking Collaborative and an Associate Director of Instructional Coaching Programs at UCLA/Center X, where her work and personal mission is to transform thinking into equitable, relationship-centered practice. She brings that same passion to Thought Architects where she is faculty and a lead designer. Along with Margie and John, she is a co-developer of Coaching in Healthcare. She lives in sunny Los Angeles, which most of us northerners are a little jealous of. She is a mom to five and is really curious as to how she might handle a Canadian winter.
Email Natalie.
MONA DELISLE MRT(T), BA, MA (She/Her)
Senior Consultant, Quality and Patient Safety
Mona is our litmus test. She is a leader and a pragmatist who brings not only her years of experience in patient safety, quality improvement, change management and strategy, but also tests out our ideas in practice. She cuts to the chase in a way that makes action tangible. She is funny, fierce, and passionate. She is a skilled public speaker and holds a master’s degree focused in Health Leadership from Royal Roads University. As a faculty and designer, she brings the perspective of patient safety and end-customer experience to everything she does. She is a mom to two, a cat mom to two, a foster cat mom to one and a dog mom to a very large puppy. Mona hikes every weekend, and finds this the best time and place to gain perspective, to self -reflect, and find renewal.
Email Mona.
CRISTINA MONIZ MED (She/Her)
Communications and Design
If it is pretty, Cristina made it! She is our designer, IT help, web person and general go-to for all things online. Cristina is an Instructional Designer who works in a post-secondary institution, who also specializes in graphic design and communications – a killer combo. She has experience in a variety of industries from healthcare, oil & gas and aviation. She creates tools to support and communicate with those you need to. She is your go-to person to #GSD! Cristina likes to keep busy – whether it be being a mom to a very adorable little girl, rehearsing a Bollywood dance, or reading a good book. However, she always makes time for the things that are important.
Email Cristina.