Cohort 1

Currently, Judith is responsible for a Portfolio of seventeen (17) engineering assets across the country, such as bridges, dams, 835km of the Alaska Highway and the Esquimalt Graving Dock, an open-access, dry dock ship repair facility.  In this role, she manages a team of over 100 engineers, analysts, and operators across the country who deliver essential services to Canadians - by keeping Canada’s infrastructure assets safe and operational.

Judith has spent her career in service of the operational and real property interests of Canada.  She has managed numerous complex environmental files, such as the legacy of chemical and biological warfare agents in Canada, decommissioning as part of base and station closures, and the Camp Ipperwash file. More recently, Judith has served as the Director, Implementation for the Carling Campus Project - a large-scale office accommodations project to transform National Defence Headquarters into a modern, collaborative work environment.  

Judith Bennett is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada with a degree in Civil Engineering.  After completing military service, Judith joined the Public Service of Canada.

Judith is certified as a Professional Engineer and Project Management Professional.  She is married to Patrick Boisselle, and now drinks coffee thanks to her two enthusiastic children, ages 12 and 9.  The family enjoys cottaging, outdoor life, and travel, often associated with competitive Irish dance.

Lieutenant-Commander Mélanie Blanchard is the Director Defence Programme Coordination 2-2 in the Chief of Programme organization within the Department of National Defence in Ottawa.  In this capacity, she conducts and provides strategic analysis and recommendations for the resource allocations in support of the Defence Services Programme.  She provides advice and oversight on principles and practice of business process analysis, resource management, requirements definition, development and analysis, project management principles, integrated risk management, business planning, and Treasury Board processes and regulations.  
Immediately prior to assuming her current position, Lieutenant-Commander Blanchard served as the Senior Staff Officer to the Director General Naval Force Development from 2014 to 2016.  Her previous Chief of Naval Staff experience also included duties as a requirements specialist within the Directorate of Naval Requirements from 2012 to 2014.  
As a sea-going officer, she served in Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships TORONTO (Operations Officer, Weapons Officer, and Combat Officer, 2008-2012), WINNIPEG (Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer and Deck Officer, 2006-2007), and OTTAWA (Bridge Watchkeeper, 2002-2005).  During her sea-going tours, then Lieutenant (Navy) Blanchard deployed numerous times on both domestic and international operations, such as Operation Nanook in the Canadian Arctic and counter-narcotic patrols as part of Operation Caribbe in the Caribbean Sea.
Born and raised in Northern Ontario, she enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces as a Naval Officer under the Regular Officer Training Plan in 1997.  Lieutenant-Commander Blanchard holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Laurentian University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Diogo Brandao is on assignment with the Treasury Board Secretariat since April 2018, working as a program sector analyst providing analysis and advice on large procurement files across government.  He joined the public service with DND’s Materiel group in 2009 to manage capital projects and equipment sustainment in support of the Royal Canadian Navy.  More recently, he worked in the group’s project management support organization to support PMs across the group, and lead an an organizational mandate change effort.

Diogo is a University of Ottawa alumnus (2001) with a BaSc in Mechanical Engineering.  Before joining the public sector, he spent eight years working in the specialty textiles industry in various engineering roles, followed by positions as operations manager, and manager of innovation, research and development.  It was a rapidly changing environment that provided a unique accelerated learning experience exposing him to all facets of the business.

Outside work, he is kept busy by his two boys (10 and 6) and their many activities.  When downtime allows, he heads to the race track to compete for the weekend, always in the company of friends and family. 

Currently the acting Project Manager for the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Project, a multi-billion complex and transformational effort for the Royal Canadian Air Force.  

Marc joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1988 and graduated from Collège Militaire Royal de St-Jean, Quebec, in 1993 with a Bachelor in Space Science. Following Aerospace Engineering Officer training in Borden, Ontario, he was posted to 403 Helicopter Squadron in Gagetown, New Brunswick.
He was selected for post graduate training in 1996 and completed a Master’s Degree in Electro-Optics Engineering at the Royal Military College in Kingston in 1998. During his military career, he was employed in various engineering, project management and Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) specialist positions. He also led the team supporting all Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the CAF, including the Sperwer Tactical UAV during its deployment to Afghanistan.
After retirement from the CAF in 2010, he joined the Public Service where he was employed in the Project Management Office in support of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM).  He completed a Certificate in Complex Project & Procurement Leadership at the Telfer Centre for Executive Leadership at the University of Ottawa in 2016.
He is married to Catherine Alarie and they have three children. Marc is an avid hockey player who is also very engaged in his community as a hockey and soccer coach. He completed a four-year mandate as an elected Councillor in the Municipality of Cantley, Quebec, in 2013.

Tom Fagan is currently working as Project Control Officer with the IM Project Delivery Group within DND. He has had the good fortune to work on a number of highly complex projects in the past, in both the public and private sectors. Tom’s present project seeks to consolidate military Human Resources and Pay processes and technology into a solution that will allow ease of use for members and more accurate visibility into readiness states for leadership. Prior to that, he was the Project Manager for the Marine Security Operations Centres Project, an endeavour which placed multiple government departments together, with IT-enabled information sharing and situational awareness capabilities. 

Anne Healey is currently the General Manager – Group Business Development - Canada for BAE Systems. Anne has twenty years of experience working with the defence sector fostering industrial growth and development.

Previously Anne was the National Business Development Director for the Aerospace and Defence sector at Calian. Anne was also previously an Account Director in Procurement Services for Hill+Knowlton. She served as the Executive Director of the Canadian division of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International where she raised the profile of the Canadian unmanned systems community, created forums for partnership development, facilitated policy development and brought industrial solutions forward to the Government client. Prior to that, Anne was the Director of Business Management at EADS Canada where she supported business line projects domestically. Anne was also the General Manager of the Canadian Defence Industries Association for thirteen years. During this time, Anne provided industry with access to information about policy, opportunities and business environment data. On behalf of the defence industry, she facilitated new client development and established partnerships and relationships globally.

Anne currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) and is a Past-President of Women in Defence and Security, and a member of their advisory board.

Anne has completed a project management certification and majored in Political Science at Carleton University. She has attained the Certificate of Appreciation from the US Army Research, Development and Standardization Group-Canada and the Merit Award for exceptional and distinguished Public Service.

Alanna Jorgensen is currently the Director of the National Shipbuilding Project Office with the Department of National Defence (DND) and is focused primarily on delivering a 35 year, $5B contract to provide in-service support for the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships and the Joint Support Ships.  She was a Naval Ship’s Engineer with multiple tours at sea in different platforms operating a range of propulsion systems from steam to gas turbines.  She had time ashore in the Damage Control School and the Canadian Patrol Frigate program.  Ms Jorgensen has worked throughout the Maritime side of the Materiel Group in DND in various roles: Project Manager for ship refits; providing subject matter expertise in Metallurgy and Welding; managing Submarine Auxiliary and Platform Systems in-service support work and capital project management; and recently as the Program Manager for in-service support to IROQUOIS, PROTECTEUR, KINGSTON, and Auxiliary class ships.  Due to her extensive expertise in the in-service support realm, she led a naval strategic initiative to thoroughly review and improve in-service support for the RCN.  This initiative greatly improved efficiencies within the Materiel Group in DND and the RCN.
In her down time, Ms. Jorgensen was an active volunteer with Scouts Canada for over 15 years.  Now that her two sons are occupied with university and CEGEP, she has been enjoying traveling and photographing her adventures.

In 2016 Robyn was promoted to her current rank and was the section head for the Systems Engineering section, the Naval Architecture section in the National Defence Head Quarters. 2018 has marked a significant lifestyle shift with a move to New Zealand with her family. She has transferred to the RNZN and is working in the Headquarters as a Naval Architect. One of her files is the Ocean Patrol Vessel, where she is assisting with the acquisition of an ice capable vessel of which the Canadian AOPS is a contender. 
Robyn Locke graduated for the Royal Military College in 2000 with a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering. After completing her initial training, she went England to complete a Master’s in Naval Architecture from the University College London in 2004. She then spent the next two years as a Technical Supervisor in the Naval Architecture section of the Fleet Maintenance Facility on the East Coast. In 2009 she completed her Head of Department tour on HMCS FREDERICTON, responsible for the running of the machinery plant and the marine engineering department.  Upon completion, she was subsequently posted back the Fleet Maintenance Facility but as the senior Naval Architect on the coast, responsible for the implementation of Naval architecture policy on the coast. 
2011 marked a move to the National Defence Head-Quarters in Ottawa where she worked at the Marine Systems and Naval Architecture Officer in the frigate modernization project (HCM-FELEX). There she pushed the Chilled Water plant upgrade through to contract award. In 2014 she completed the Joint Command and Staff Programme in Toronto and was posted to the National Shipbuilding Strategy as the Shipyard Liaison Officer.  In this position she oversaw the implementation of the shipyards modernization plans and led the development of the NSS performance measurement plan. 

Greg McDonald has worked for in project management over the last 15 years in delivering diverse projects from International Development (NGO and UNHCR), Inventory Management to IT projects.   This Spring, Greg became a senior consultant, at the SSHRC. 
Over the last 6 years Greg has been running IT related projects at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).  Greg’s specialization is in running IT projects from the business side with a strong expertise in scheduling, release management and organizational change management.  Greg also has a strong passion for requirements management and feels it is a major gap in the project manager community and skill set.
Over the last 2 years at ESDC Greg has worked to develop standardized project management practice (creation of a project management methodology) and the building a Project Management Information Solution (PMIS) to capture the department’s data.  
Greg is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP). 

Born and raised in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Casey MacLeod joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in 1994. He started his career by attending the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), graduating in 1999 with a BSc. He remained at RMC to complete an MSc in 2001.

After completing his Signal Officer training, he was posted to the Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment, serving in various leadership and operational staff positions. In 2004, he deployed to Haiti as the Theatre Activation Team Operations Officer and, in same year, to Afghanistan as strategic communications troop commander.

In 2006, he was posted to Ottawa and spent the next seven years working within government space-based procurement. His positions included Deputy Project Director for the Protected Military Satellite Communications Project and Project Director for the Tactical Narrowband SATCOM (UHF) Project. In 2013, he took command of the Canadian Forces Cryptographic Support Unit where he served until he retired from the CAF in 2015.

Upon retirement, he took a position with General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada as a Deputy Program Manager and worked on both the Mercury Global Anchor Segment (MGAS) Program and the Peruvian SH-2G Maritime Multi-mission Helicopter Program. In May of 2016, he assumed the role of Program Manager for the MGAS program.

Casey MacLeod and his wife Janine MacLeod of Kitchener, Ontario, have two amazing daughters: Adelle (2005) and Maeve (2008). When not spending time with his family, he can be found cycling on the open roads and trails surrounding Ottawa and beyond.

Russ Passmore was born and raised in Nova Scotia and attended Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, where he received a BBA in Marketing and International Business in 2006. After playing two years of professional golf on the mini-tour circuit in the United States, Russ made the move to Ottawa to join Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) in 2008.

Russ’ complex project experience within the Marine Sector at PSPC spans the complete life-cycle of Marine assets, from design to disposal. Russ was a part of the Halifax-class Modernization/Frigate Life Extension (HCM/FELEX) project which managed both the modernization of the combat systems and a planned mid-life ship refit program. Russ worked closely with the Integrated Logistics Support and Software groups throughout the project and further supported the program by contracting for stand-alone equipment requirements. After contributing to the successes of HCM/FELEX, Russ moved on to develop ship breaking and disposal requirements and managed a portfolio which included former Iroquois and Protecteur-Class Navy ships, as well as projects for the Canadian Coast Guard and Transport Canada.

As manager of In-service Support Marine, Russ is responsible for a division that performs procurement and contract management services involving complex, high-dollar value, multi-year projects of significant complexity, risk, and public interest for the Department of National Defence, including contracts that provide support to the Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels and Design Agent services for the Halifax-class frigates.

Away from work Russ enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, Lise, and their daughters, Elizabeth and Evelyn.

Sébastien Prévost 
Director for the Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue Aircraft Replacement project (FWSAR) 
Public Services and Procurement Canada
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Sébastien Prévost has been working in procurement for the last 20 years with the last ten working in the public sector on complex military procurement projects at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). Sébastien is currently the director for the Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue Aircraft Replacement project (FWSAR) since October 2018, prior to this projects, he was the contracts manager for the Maritime Helicopter Project (MHP) since early 2014. Prior to joining the public service in 2006, Sébastien worked in a variety of industries such as hospitality, agricultural and animal feed, always in a procurement function.
Since joining PSPC, Sébastien worked on many complex military projects in collaboration with the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force. He first started on the Armoured Heavy Support Vehicle System project which was an urgent operation requirement for Afghanistan. After this successful project he moved on to the Tank Replacement Project where he became the manager for the tank project and its sister project the Force Mobility Enhancement project. After five years he moved to the Medium Support Vehicle Project then to the Joint Support Ship project and eventually joined the Maritime Helicopter Project.
Sébastien graduated from the Canada School of Public Service Direxion program in the Fall of 2015.
Outside of work, Sébastien is a triathlete who also mountain biking, snowboarding and cross-country skiing.

Christopher Robinson
Commander of the Canadian Submarine Force
Captain Robinson grew up in Hudson Québec.  He began his military career in the Canadian Army reserves as a Combat Engineer, serving initially as a Troop Commander and later as the operational Squadron Commander with the 3rd Field Engineer Regiment in Montréal. Following university graduation he joined the Royal Canadian Navy and followed the traditional naval warfare officer training programme aboard patrol craft, minesweepers, and destroyers before volunteering for the silent service.
He served aboard Her Majesty’s Canadian Submarines Onondaga, Ojibwa, Victoria, Corner Brook, Windsor, and Her Majesty’s Submarine Unseen.  He was privileged to command Corner Brook between June 2007 and July 2009.  During this command tour, in addition to normal fleet duties, Corner Brook deployed to the Canadian North for Operation Nanook and the Caribbean Sea to conduct a counter-drug patrol as part of Operation Caribbe.  In recognition of her outstanding contribution to Canadian sovereignty, Corner Brook was awarded the Canadian Armed Forces Unit Commendation in May 2008.  
Captain Robinson was later honoured to be appointed as the inaugural Commander Submarine Sea Training in late 2011 and served in that role until July 2014.  Highlights of that tour include being the Weapon Certification Officer for the Victoria-class first of class weapon certification & high readiness work-ups along with being the Onboard Independent Safety Observer for a Mk 48 war shot firing against the ex-USNS Concord.
His shore assignments have included attending the Joint Command and Staff Programme at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto, serving twice on the Naval Staff, initially as the Submarine Requirements Section Head and later as the Director of Naval Requirements, and attending the Naval Command College at the United States Naval War College.  He assumed his current duties as the Commander of the Canadian Submarine Force and Commander 4th Maritime Operations Group in June 2017. 
Captain Robinson is a graduate of the Royal Norwegian Navy’s Submarine Command Course, the United States Navy’s Submarine Command Course, and the Royal Australian Navy’s Submarine Executive Officer Course.  He holds a Master of Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University, and a Certificate in Fire Service Leadership from Dalhousie University.

Mark Thibodeau is a computer engineer/hacker who has, over time, traded in his keyboard for PowerPoint and conference calls.  Mark resides in Halifax, NS where he enjoys the challenges of being the Program Manager for the Underwater Warfare Sensor Upgrade (UWSU) project for the Canadian frigates at General Dynamics.  Before taking on a role as PM, Mark pursued new business opportunities as a Capture Manager.  Mark’s recent successes as capture manager included winning the Mercury Global satellite communications project and the UWSU project.  Mark has taken on a wide range of roles, such as, systems engineer, engineering manager, and product manager.  These roles gave Mark many interesting experiences, such as, sailing on a frigate, working in a submarine, patrolling the ocean from an aircraft, and visiting many NATO countries.  However, he would advise against visiting Hawaii on Valentine’s Day without your wife!

Outside of work, Mark treasures family time with his wife and two teenagers.  His wife is a teacher who has extraordinary patience to work with young elementary school students.  His daughter has a love for baking and his son is developing a passion for music.  During the winter you will find Mark and his family out on the ski slopes.  Mark enjoys snowboarding and is still foolish enough to sometimes try tricks that have a high chance of a wipeout.

Mark thoroughly enjoys his family and his work and is looking forward to gaining new insights and experience through the remainder of the MBCPL program.

Ms. Watson is a Senior Project Manager for the Department of National Defence. Her career started in the environmental and geotechnical consulting field in the private sector, specializing in contaminated site remediation. She has been employed with the federal government working on various projects including the Bosnia remediation, Suffield Experimental Proving Ground, Warfare Agent Disposal project, Ipperwash Investigation and Decommissioning, and more recently the Goose Bay Remediation Project.

Karen is a licensed Professional Engineer and Project Management Professional and has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Civil Environmental Engineering from Queen’s University. She has been designated as a DND Project Manager 3, which allows her to project manage Project Complexity Risk Assessment-rated projects that are Class 3 (Evolutionary) and 4 (Transformational). She has close to 20 years’ experience.

During Karen’s downtime, she volunteers with local children’s basketball and hockey teams, as coach and trainer. She is also a permanent chauffeur, as she has three active children who are involved in lots of extra-curricular activities and lives in Kemptville in a rural environment.

Karen has been nominated by her ADM to go on special assignment within the Deputy Minister’s Office, as special advisor to the DM.

She has also been assigned as Task Force Lead, reporting directly to the Director General Environment Sustainable Management, to develop a strategy on an emerging contaminant that has implications on the entire Department of National Defence.

Nancy Whalen graduated from the Royal Military College with a Bachelor’s in Fuel and Material Engineering. She spent 21 years as a Military Construction Engineer, where she occupied various positions in the Construction Engineers sections across Canada supporting the Department of National Defence’s (DND) realty assets. Ms. Whalen transitioned to the Public Service as a Senior Project Manager for the Directorate Construction Project Delivery with Associate Deputy Minister (Infrastructure and Environment (ADM(IE)) where, while managing construction projects, she acquired her Project Management Professional certification and designation as a DND Project Manager Level 3. Now as the Team Leader for the Western region, her portfolio includes all the projects from Navy, Army and Air Force from Manitoba to British Columbia. Her future challenges include being the lead for the Project Managers that will complete the design and construction portion of the infrastructure program of the Future Fighter Capability Project and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems.

Ms. Whalen was born in Drummondville, Quebec and has been married for 25 years to John who is a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. They have an 18-year-old daughter named Jacqueline, who is starting her second year of Civil Engineering at the University of Ottawa and still heavily involved in horseback riding and competes in Eventing.

When not at work, Nancy enjoys travelling, reading and riding horses. Most of all, she is looking forward to graduating in the first cohort of the Master of Business of Complex Project Leadership.

Marie graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. She worked for 2 years with Public Works Government Services Canada before joining the Canadian Space Agency as Spacecraft Mechanical Engineer for the RADARSAT spacecraft and eventually Project Manager for various Space Science projects. In 1998, she became a consultant on a number of aerospace projects.

In 2006, she joined DND as Signature Management Engineer and subsequently Section Head for the Sensory and Personal Protection team for Director Soldier Systems Program Management. She served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Director General Land Equipment Program Management for one year before becoming the Director, Support Vehicles Program Management in August 2015.

Marie is married to Mark and they have two lovely children: Annika 15 yrs and Michael 13 yrs.