Board & Committees

Ryan is an Associate with RJC Engineers, where he is known as the office ‘Condo Guy’ because that is where the bulk of his business efforts and volunteer time with CCI are focused. 
 
He is responsible for a wide variety of projects and services at RJC including the assessment and rehabilitation of structures, building envelope, roofs, post-tensioned systems, fall protection and parking facilities. He has established himself as a trusted advisor for condominium Boards and property managers across southern Alberta.

Ryan has been on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Condominium Institute Southern Alberta Chapter for four years, and has been president of the Chapter for the past two years.

My areas of expertise include:  He spends much of his time with RJC Calgary’s Building Science and Restoration team helping building owners better understand what they own, what has gone wrong with their building, what may go wrong, and where to go from here. Ryan believes in long-term repair strategies that require minimal maintenance in order to reduce costs over the lifecycle of a building.

What is motivating you to volunteer on the CCI South Alberta Board: Ryan has been on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Condominium Institute Southern Alberta Chapter for four years, and has been president of the Chapter for the past two years. He believes there is plenty of potential for our Chapter to grow and expand our reach to more condo corporations across South Alberta.

Do you think you can improve our Chapter: 
Ryan believes there is plenty of potential for our Chapter to grow and expand the CCI reach to more condo corporations across South Alberta.

Ms. Thurgood comes to CCI as an Associate Broker and Business Development Manager for Three By Three Inc. Her skillsets range from project management to public speaking to negotiation and coaching. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of her boutique management firm while currently engaged as the vice president for CCI Alberta South. While her days are full, she enjoys spending her free time skydiving, scuba diving, and traveling.

A graduate of the University of Calgary, Walter Wakula has Bachelor of Commerce and MBA degrees in accounting and finance and an Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D designation. He has lived at the Sanderson Ridge Condominium complex for six years with his wife Michela, has served on their Condo Board as a Director and Treasurer and has served as a Director of CCI South Alberta for the past year.  He and Michela have 5 adult children and 8 grandchildren.
Walter’s career consists of over 30 years of senior management and corporate director experience. He was the treasurer of Canada’s largest natural gas producer and helped create First Calgary Financial Credit Union as its founding chairman of the board. While overseas in the 1990’s Walter directed the corporate finance and investment banking practice of Price Waterhouse in Russia, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia. 

On his return to Canada Walter earned his director’s designation and became a corporate director.  He was a director, chair and/or CEO of three publicly listed oil, gas and mining companies and approximately fifteen not-for-profit organizations. He has been a very active and motivated director and treasurer of his condominium board and has served on the board of the Condominium Owners Forum Society of Alberta and on the CCI South Alberta board getting the broader provincial perspective for condominium education, legislation, governance and financial management. 

What is motivating you to volunteer on the CCI South Alberta Board: I would like to continue my work on the CCI Board to improve the education of condo directors and property managers, to improve the governance and financial management of condo corporations and to advocate with government and government agencies to improve legislation and regulation of the Alberta condo industry.

Do you think you can improve our Chapter: 
Yes. The chapter is open to continuous improvement and there are many opportunities for a motivated director to move the chapter forward in areas of membership, delivery of member education and its advocacy work.

Maria Bartolotti was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, a City she loves to call home. Maria started her career as a Condominium Property Manager back in 2001 and has remained actively involved in the Condominium Community for about 19 years. In 2005 she took a leap of faith and started her own Condominium Management firm, New Concept Management Inc. which has achieved great success. 

Maria is passionately involved with the Canadian Condominium Institute–Southern Alberta Chapter as the Chair of the Education Committee and member of the Board of Directors. Maria was recently elected to serve on RECA’s Divesting Responsibility for Delivery Education. 

I’ve been delivering education for CCI for over 15 years through various venues which includes; luncheons, seminars, courses, workshops and recently online webinars all focused on the condominium industry 

My areas of expertise include: 

• Education for the Condominium Industry; board, owners public 
• Project management 
• Creative writing 
• Condo Expert blogger and writer 
• Public relations 

What is motivating you to volunteer on the CCI South Alberta Board: 
Education: Continuing my efforts to bring awareness and education to the Condominium industry. 

Do you think you can improve our Chapter: 
I believe I’ve brought a lot of value and positive changes in the work that I’ve done for CCI-South, and I would like to work together with my board to continue our efforts in making changes that improve the industry. 

I have a true passion for this industry and would like to continue to serve on the board. 

I am a condominium owner since 2009 and a lawyer since 2005 who practices almost exclusively in this area.  I grew up in a small town in northern Saskatchewan (population 1500) and was in the same class as Scott Moe, current premiere of that province. I am an avid cook and watcher of Y&R.  Perhaps that is because the drama does NOT involve condominiums. I used to travel a lot, and hope to do so again in my future. My husband is also a lawyer and partner at our firm, and I have two grown step-daughters.

My areas of expertise include:  Law and problem solving.  And this year - juggling what has become a crazy world. My firm’s website unabashedly boasts that, “Laurie is the Condominium group team lead at McLeod Law. Her practice is concentrated in condominium matters, including governance and litigation. She advises developers, property managers, and boards of directors on matters relating to land, people, and overall governance. Laurie helps her clients with their business decisions, risk management, and people relations. She is well versed and experienced with the Condominium Property Act and Regulation, and related case law.”  I think that this year the boasting should be that my marriage has remained intact.

What is motivating you to volunteer on the CCI South Alberta Board: It has been my experience that being at the heart of it all, and ahead of the game as to what is going on from so many vantage points (owners, insurance, management, accounting, engineering, etc.) allows me to give back to the many professionals and members in the condominium community that my daily life and work revolves around.  Volunteering for this organization enables me to help others in an efficient manner.  

Do you think you can improve our Chapter: 
I think my ability to provide a legal perspective is helpful, as is my ongoing day to day contact with all sectors that engage in condominium matters.  All day, every day, I deal in condominiums, and this allows me to share insight with the board from a host of vantage points - owner, insurer, manager, board member, supplier, contractor, engineer, accountant - you name it.

BFL CANADA Risk & Insurance Services Inc.

Sherry Bignell is a true Calgarian, born, raised and still here! She started her insurance career in 1991 and has dedicated 30 years to condominium corporations. Sherry has been with BFL CANADA for 9 years and is currently the Team Lead for the Calgary Realty Client Executives. Education is a key component of what she does, which includes presentations at tradeshows, condominium seminars, attending board meetings and AGM’s.

My areas of expertise include adult education and creative writing. I have taught the insurance portion of the CCI 200 and 300 courses for several years; I have presented at the ACR conference for 8 years, and spoken at National conferences; I regularly attend condominium board meetings and AGM’s; I also provide insurance education to our BFL team. I have written many insurance communications for our clients, as well for COF.

I have been in the condominium industry for 30 years, and I want to give back. I have a lot of knowledge and experience that I’ve gained over those years that I would like to share. My personal and business values align with CCI including providing condominium owners with information to help them understand the inner workings of condominiums and live happily in their community.

With the new licensing legislation, changes to regulations, new prompt payment legislation, and future changes, I would like to support the CCISAC in whatever capacity is required to help stakeholders understand the impact of these changes. I am also resourceful in obtaining sponsorship funding.

Andrew Fulcher is a real estate broker and full-time property manager with Prairie Management and Realty Inc in Okotoks. Active in the industry for many years, he has spoken at CCI events nationally, taught courses across Southern Alberta and successfully presented online seminars. A past president of CCI S Alberta, Andrew sits on the board of Directors.

Senior Project Manager, Entuitive

Adrian Breitwieser is a Senior Project Manager within Entuitive’s Building Envelope Services group, delivering assessments for a broad range of project types.

With 13 years of experience as a Condominium Manager, Adrian has an intimate knowledge of all aspects related to residential and commercial condominiums and stratas including building systems, governance, operating and reserve and contingency fund budgeting, and insurance to name a few.

His operational experience covers project delivery from start to finish: initial building condition assessments and performance failure investigations; Reserve Fund Studies; Depreciation Reports; building condition assessments; recommendations for restoration and renewal of building envelope systems; and facilitate project administration tasks.

Partner, Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP

Dionne was born and raised in Calgary and prior to entering law school, received her BSc in Psychology (Honours) from the University of Calgary. She attended law school at the University of Victoria where she was awarded her JD degree in 2007. Dionne also holds a certificate in International Business Law from Queens University and has completed a program in International Property Law at Oxford University in England.

After graduating from law school, Dionne articled and practiced at a prominent Calgary law firm primarily in the areas of construction, condominium and real estate. Dionne joined Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP in 2016 where she maintains a practice that focuses on real estate, condominium and development law. She regularly represents sellers, purchasers, banks and developers in acquisitions, sales and refinances of personal, commercial and investment property.

In addition to her real estate practice, Dionne acts for individuals, boards of directors, property managers and developers with respect to various condominium matters including insurance claims, bylaw creation and interpretation, bylaw enforcement and condominium disputes.

Dionne has appeared before all levels of court in Alberta including Provincial Court, the Court of Queen’s Bend and the Court of Appeal.

Lauren was born and raised in Saskatchewan. In 2016 she moved to Calgary to join FirstService Residential as a Regional Director for the Condominium Management sector. In 2022, Lauren completed her condominium management licensing and is currently licensed as an Associate Broker. Lauren oversees a team of Community Managers and the management of 130 condominium corporations. She leads and empowers a team of dynamic professionals, and proud of the dedication her team brings to the condominium corporations under their management.

My areas of expertise include: 

Board & owner education – Liaising with subject matter experts to create content and host education seminars.

• Conflict resolution and consensus building.
• Leading a high-performing Community Management team.
• Leading the discovery, communication and implementation of major change initiatives.
• Supporting board members in their roles by providing guidance, education and resources.
• Developing, training and fostering growth among associates.

What is motivating you to volunteer on the CCI South Alberta Board: I am aligned with CCI’s drive to educate Boards, Property Managers and condominium owners on the complex details of condominium ownership and management. I firmly believe that consistent condominium education is necessary to improve experiences for first-time homeowners and board members. Continual education also enhances skills for more experienced professionals.

CCI South Alberta does a tremendous job bringing experts in to provide education, taking the approach that there is always learning to be had. I fully support this, and as a new board member I will work with other board members to offer various perspectives and experience gained over 5+ years of working closely with boards and owners.

As a promoter of CCI being the industry expert and #1 resource for condominium owners, I will add value by continuing to promote it from within. While we educate condominium owners within our own organizations, I believe we can broaden that education by collectively promoting CCI’s professional services and resources. My goal is to develop, encourage and empower more informed owners through CCI as the top-notch standard in condominium education.

Do you think you can improve our Chapter: If I have the honor of being elected to the CCI Board, I will endeavor to find and create process efficiencies to benefit CCI. I believe we all have room for improvement, and CCI has an incredible amount of opportunity to expand and grow its reach across the condominium industry.

I will help increase awareness and growth of our chapter through my experience in improving, developing and executing existing or new programs and procedures. As a leader of past and current high-performing teams, my strong enthusiasm for education will complement any improvements and changes.

At FirstService Residential Alberta, I am an active leader, at the forefront of creating and improving the way our teams do their jobs. I believe in always finding new or improved ways of doing our work that will better serve our associates, the boards they serve, and their condominium clients.

I am thrilled at the opportunity to join CCI’s board and believe we can work together growing, educating and inspiring condominium boards, owners and others in the Property Management industry.

CondoPapers & 24/7Condo

For over twenty-five years, Stephen has been highly involved in condominiums, being at different times a tenant, an owner, a landlord, a board member, a court-appointed administrator, a non-profit condominium leader, legislative petitioner, and a commercial supplier of condominium services.

Stephen operates two companies – CondoPapers, which works with management companies to automate the delivery of documents legislated by the Alberta Condominium Act and Regulations; and 24|7Condo, which does alternative dispute resolution and court appointed administration for condominiums.

While not required for a role to CCI, Stephen has also (and still does) lived in a condo for over 25 years! Even with so many years, he still thinks condos are amazing places to live! He just wishes that they were a bit larger, and more accessible for wheelchairs.

If you ever hear a boisterous, loud, and reckless laugh, look around - it’s likely Stephen! Always smiling, always laughing, and always enjoying stories that people like to share about their lives, Stephen believes in people and the positive experiences of life. His favorite word: Awesome!

Stephen areas of expertise includes Volunteer Recruitment, Adult Education, Government Relations, Creative Writing (I wrote a book called Melee, Magic & Puke), Change Management, Non-Profit Leadership, Start-Up Development, Customer Service Excellence.

I would like to pursue a project focused on volunteer recruitment and peer leadership support for professional members. With all volunteer organizations, projects need a champion on the board to have a reasonable chance of success. Having a role on the CCI South Alberta Board would give me an opportunity to champion this deserving idea! I’m excited to have some fun creating an amazing volunteer retention and benefits tool for our members. That is why I’m motivated to volunteer with CCI South Alberta – because there’s a great project to test and implement on!

I’ve learned that leadership of a non-profit is only marginally about operations, polices, and change management. The largest part in non-profit management is listening to, encouraging, and improving the lives of our volunteers. A non-profit only exists on the efforts of our volunteers, and the organization needs to find and build ways to improve our volunteer’s lives! As a non-profit we exist to educate and network and lobby, but also to make our volunteers the best they can in what ever ways we can assist with! That’s how I would like a chance to improve – not only the chapter – our amazing volunteers. It’s with service to them along with our mission statements!

Board or Volunteer Experience: CCISA Board Member (1 Year), CCISA President (4 Years), CCI National Executive (5 Years), CCI National VP (2 Years), CCI National President (2 Years), CCI National Chair (2 Years), 107 Unit Condo President (2 Years), 205 Unit Condo Board Member (2 Years), 32 Mixed Commercial and Residential Board Member (5 Years).