Our Esteemed Board
We thank our board of advisors for providing time, expertise, and advice to make The Canadian Workplace Culture Index a successful partnership for all.
Jaclyn Stewart
Associate Dean academic, faculty of science
The University of British Columbia
Jaclyn (Jackie) is an educational psychologist engaged in teaching, research, and leadership at The University of British Columbia (UBC). Her research uses mixed-methods designs to study the effects of emotions on learning, inclusive teaching, and equity in science education. She has developed and validated instruments to measure emotions, learning from feedback, and chemistry understanding. Jackie is passionate about inclusive teaching and fostering students’ wellbeing through innovative course designs. She has mentored over 80 undergraduate and graduate students in research in science education and obtains a great deal of career satisfaction from her many inspiring and productive collaborations.
Outside of work, Jackie enjoys spending time in the forest and at the beach with her family, which includes her husband, two young sons, and golden retriever.
Manu Varma
lead strategist
Traction Ventures at Traction on Demand.
Manu has spent over 25 years in the HR field, working in Canada, the US, Hong Kong and France. He has a passion for technology and people, and helped grow Traction on Demand to over 600 people. Today, he plays a dual role as the Principal Strategist with Traction Ventures, which is an arm of Traction on Demand trying to incubate and spin out 100 CEOs in 10 years, which all have a strong culture and commitment to altruism. He is a firm believer in the quote ” the meaning of life is to find your gift, and the purpose is to give it away” and “business as a force for good”. Traction’s business model has been built upon this quotation. Traction on Demand was one of Canada’s first 100 BCorps, and continues to grow throughout Canada, the US, India and most recently Australia. Traction on Demand has been in the top 10 Great Places Work for the past 6 years running.
When not working, you can find him on the tennis court or sipping on an old world red wine in Vancouver and Toronto’s restaurant scenes.
Lorie Corcuera
head of hr
Vancouver and Los Angeles at DNEG and BC Workplace Culture Scan Report 2020 Author.
Lorie Corcuera is the Head of HR, Vancouver, and LA for DNEG, one of the world’s leading visual effects, animation, and stereo conversion companies for feature film and television. Lorie is a strategic business partner and culture leader with over 20 years of experience in culture and belonging strategy and implementation, executive coaching, leadership alignment, organizational design and effectiveness, learning and development, diversity and inclusion, and elevating workplace experiences that inspire purpose, connection, and impact. Leading and loving by example is her mantra. Lorie is passionate about elevating the life experience at work and cultivating a community that is igniting and enriching our human spirit. Her favorite quote is by Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Pangus Kung
national lead, partner relations
The Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI).
As the National Lead for Partner Relations at the Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion (CCDI) Pangus builds and manages the organization’s relationships with its partners and consulting clients. With a decade of experience in the not-for-profit sector working for two of the largest chambers of commerce in Canada (Vancouver and Toronto), Pangus has a wealth of experience interacting with diverse business communities across the country.
Originally from Vancouver, Pangus is a graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business and also current sits on the Diversity and Leadership Advisor y Council for the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
Pangus currently resides in Toronto and is an avid sports fan (Go Canucks!) Pangus has also done work fundraising for Movember and has a love of travel and great food.
Livleen Veslemes
PRESIDENT
Lumi Foods
With 20 years’ experience as an operator, Livleen brings expertise from diverse industries including medical devices, biotechnology, consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, and hospitality. She has had senior roles in both privately held and publicly traded companies at every stage of the lifecycle from start-up through to global commercialization.
Livleen earned her designation as a Certified Management Accountant in 2001 and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.
During her off time, you can find her out kayaking on one of the beautiful lakes in the Vancouver area.
Michelle Dragon
Human Resources, Westbank First Nations.
Michelle has over 10 years experience in all aspects of HR. She specializes in Talent Acquisition and is certified in performance-based hiring. She believes a good organization starts with finding the right talent and then nurturing that talent. Michelle is passionate about people, because it is really the PEOPLE that make the difference.
As an Indigenous individual Michelle has always yearned to learn more about her heritage and to give back and she has proudly placed 100+ Indigenous individuals in careers during her time at First Nations Health Authority, Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Westbank First Nation.
Michelle partners with organizational leadership to establish a better culture and improved employee experience. Implementing mental health initiatives, engagement and rewards and recognition programs, are just a few of the permanent legacies of her work so far in her career. While Michelle is not working, you can find her in her studio creating art.
Meghan Vallis
vice president, group sales
Western Canada at Equitable Life Canada
As the Group Sales Vice President for Western Canada at Equitable Life Meghan Vallis leads the Western sales team. She is passionate about helping Advisors and Employers succeed to transform their employee benefits experience to what Meghan calls braggable benefits. Her 15-year career has been centered around three pillars: building meaningful relationships, embracing innovative technology and solutions, and harnessing the potential in others to achieve strategic goals while also supporting them as an individual. As a full-on benefits nerd, Meghan loves to talk shop and connect with people in the industry. People rely on Meghan for her unique perspectives, and she is a go-to resource for industry colleagues and clients.
When she’s not at work, you’ll find Meghan skiing at Sun Peaks, trying not to fall off her bike, and training her new fuzzy buddy Pizza! (pronounced Pizz-ahhhh).
