From small business start-ups to growing your established business in Saskatchewan, our Board of Directors uses their experience, network, and resources to inspire you – regardless of where you are in your business phase.
Rhonda is a Senior Loans Analyst at Farm Credit Canada with over 20 years of commercial and agriculture lending experience. She is a graduate of Olds College with a major in Finance. She has worked with a number of entrepreneurs and start-ups both in terms of financing and business plan preparation. She is a firm believer that people are capable of incredible things when they have the support they need and also believes future success depends on everyone’s ability to contribute in meaningful and productive ways. Being an active member of the WESK board is an excellent way to contribute to women entrepreneurs in a meaningful way. She volunteers her time with Big Brothers and Sisters in-school mentoring program at St. Michael’s school.
Jacqueline Almeida is a dynamic leadership educator and coach in Saskatoon, SK. She is the owner of Alpha + Omega Strategies and works with entrepreneurs and organizations to develop and strengthen their leadership capacity. Although born and raised in New York City, Jacqueline has spent the last 27 years living in the beautiful prairies of Saskatchewan. Through her own story of struggle, resilience and triumph – Jacqueline has an unwavering belief that one must know and own their vision to find greater purpose and embark on their journey courageously. To her, that is what leadership is all about. You trailblaze, set the course, make it easier for others to follow along and create the environment for people to move towards a place where they will be better. Jacqueline holds a Master of Arts in Leadership and Management and draws much from her 25-year experience as a Consultant, Educator, and Coach.
Claire Bélanger-Parker is an advocate for Saskatchewan. With a prolific career that began in tourism and event management, she is now focusing her talent and attention in leading associations to success.
Following an eight-year career at Radio-Canada Saskatchewan, Claire Bélanger-Parker built CNT Management Group (CNT) to international success by bringing delegates, events, and recognition from around the world home to Saskatchewan.
Claire has received accolades for her contributions winning the 2013 “Business of the Year” award from the Saskatchewan Lauriers de la PME and was a finalist for the Canadian Lauriers de la PME in 2014. In 2009, she was named a Woman of Distinction for Entrepreneurship for the YWCA’s Women of Distinction awards. Claire’s legacy of excellence has also been recognized by the Regina Chamber of Commerce with a Paragon Award and is a two-time recipient of the Tourism Saskatchewan Award of Excellence. Claire is dedicated to professional development, currently completing her CAE (Canadian Association Executive) and working toward her PMP (Project Management Professional). She is committed to facilitating and advancing diversity & inclusion and Indigenous engagement in our society.
As a business owner, Claire led her company, CNT, from humble beginnings to becoming the most multifaceted conference, meeting, event and association management company in Saskatchewan. Providing outstanding bilingual services to delegates, CNT has secured management of both provincial and national conferences as well as managing meetings south of the border. In addition to managing and contributing to high-profile events, such as the 2005 Royal Visit, the RCMP Heritage Centre Grand Opening, Back to Batoche Days, the Regina International Film Festival, CNT led the Saskatchewan Palliative Care Association for three years and has been leading the Crane Rental Association of Canada since 2012 as the Association Management Service provider.
In her leadership role at the company, Claire works with multiple volunteer committees and boards, often developing volunteer recruitment strategies and board governance.
An active volunteer all her life, she has served on the Board of the Conexus Art Centre, Tourism Regina, Tourism Saskatchewan as a member of the President’s Product Development and InfrastructureTask Team and the Marketing Advisory Council and Conventions Regina. She is the current Vice-Chair of the Conseil économique et de la Coopération Saskatchewan, and the latest addition to the Board of WESK. She is married to Glen who is now an active partner in the business and has three adult sons and four grandchildren.
Angela grew up on a family farm in rural Saskatchewan. She has been practicing law for more than two decades and now owns and operates the Gates Law firm in Regina. She focuses on providing legal services to small businesses, as well as helping people with their wills, estate administration, real estate and collaborative family law. She is known for going above and beyond to deliver exceptional service to her clients, while empowering people with knowledge. Angela has 3 busy kids and when she is not assisting clients, she can often be found at a sporting event with her kids. Angela’s career path has been a windy road of twists and turns and she is passionate about empowering other women to pave their own career path to entrepreneurship.
Shaunna is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 16 years of experience. She is currently a Partner of Assurance with Ernst & Young, LLP, and her experience is diverse, ranging from working with large, multi-national publicly listed companies to small business and not-for-profits in a wide variety of industries. During the span of her career in Assurance, Consulting, and Tax, Shaunna has led teams on a wide range of projects including External Audit and SOX Compliance, Financial Reporting Assistance & Accounting Analysis, Internal Audit & Control Optimization, and Process Improvement & Technology Transformation. Shaunna is the co-lead of EY Saskatchewan’s Women’s Professional Network and she is past Director of DTNYXE. Outside of the office, Shaunna is a wife and proud parent to two young boys, enjoys travelling, spending time with family and unwinding at the lake.
Christena Konrad is blessed by being a mom to two amazing children, the wife of a beautiful human being, the primary shareholder of Fishinggeeks Incorporated and the Deputy Chief of Administrative Transformation with the Métis Nation Saskatchewan.
Her greatest accomplishments are holding a business degree in management, creating the original business model for the first indigenous birthing centre in Saskatchewan.
As a neurodivergent herself, she has a passion for Diversity and Inclusion. She finds so much joy in seeing people achieve their own personal goals regardless of what society leads us all to believe as “normal”. She is currently studying to achieve her mediation certification and has recently been accepted and still considering working towards a Masters Program in Counselling and Psychology to be the best leader she can be and amplify her Diversity and Inclusion work within the workforce.
Gabrielle is a dynamic CPA with over 12-years of experience in the private equity space. She was part of the Keystone Group of Companies for over a decade, participating as both a shareholder and employee. This entrepreneurial environment provided unique experiences, notably assisting in the sales process which led to the exit of Keystone Royalty Corp. to Topaz Energy (TSX: TPZ) in April 2022.
In 2023, Gabrielle started a consulting company and joined the WESK registry, (GG&CO. Consultancy Corp.), providing fractional CFO services, and business valuation support. She set up a primary contract with a boutique advisory firm, Benson Badger Advisory Group., assisting team of CBV’s (Chartered Business Valuators) provide impartial business valuation assessments.
In her current role as Manager, Venture Capital Finance and Ops for Conexus Venture Capital, Gabrielle is responsible for the financial and operating performance of CVC Fund #1 ($30.7M AUM) and CVC Fund #2 (targeted $30M AUM).
Having grown up in small town Saskatchewan, community contribution has always been a priority for Gabrielle and her family. She has served on the Board of Basketball Saskatchewan Inc. and was a member of the Fundraising Committee for the 2018 U Sport Women’s Basketball National Championship. She is currently the Co-Chair of the UofR Cougar WBB Alumni Association, serves as an advisor for early-stage tech start-up companies in the CVC Fund 1 portfolio and volunteers as a coach for her 3 children.
