Rural Development Network CEO Update
October 25, 2023
RDN Updates
October 25, 2023
RDN Updates
Following an extensive search process, the Board of Directors is pleased to welcome Lisa Bélanger as RDN’s Chief Executive Officer.
Lisa has been with RDN for nearly six years, and most recently served as Director of Operations. She is passionate about the organization and committed to its mandate. The Board is confident that Lisa’s vision, dedication, and experience will be instrumental in her new role.
Lisa succeeds Dee Ann Benard, who served as RDN’s CEO for 15 years. The Board is grateful for all of Dee Ann’s many contributions.
Please join us in welcoming Lisa to her new role! We are confident that she will propel RDN forward in building community capacity for rural, remote, and Indigenous communities across Canada.
Sincerely,
Kevin Shufflebotham, RDN Board Chair
More about Lisa Bélanger
As CEO, Lisa is committed to RDN’s mission of building community capacity through collaboration and addressing gaps in rural social and economic development. Formerly serving as the Director of Operations at RDN, she played a key role in developing strategies for effective community-focused operations, organizational growth, and financial sustainability. Her extensive knowledge of our programs, and understanding of community needs and opportunities, enables her to continue driving RDN’s mission forward.
Lisa holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta, focusing on Strategic Management and Operations with a minor in Business Economics and Law. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Great Divide Trail Association. In addition to her professional commitments, Lisa’s drive and love for adventure is evident with notable achievements including a 4,265 km 4.5-month thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada, and completing a 100-mile ultramarathon. Whether working on issues that affect rural Canada or pushing her limits in the outdoors, Lisa brings a high level of organization, energy and skill to everything she undertakes.
We wanted to share the news of Dee Ann Benard’s departure from her position as Chief Executive Officer at RDN. We previously shared this news in our newsletter and more recently at our Annual General Meeting.
After almost fifteen years with RDN, Dee Ann has decided to embark on a new and exciting opportunity. Her last day in her role at RDN was September 30, 2023, prior to starting her new role as Director of the Botanical Gardens at the University of British Columbia.
Dee Ann’s journey with RDN has been marked by remarkable achievements, starting from its inception in 2009 up until today. Her visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to our organization’s mission have been truly exceptional. Throughout her tenure, Dee Ann has exemplified the values of integrity, dedication, and innovation that have guided RDN in its work, and her strategic vision and tireless endeavours have shaped the organization. Her presence will be greatly missed.
Please join us in extending our best wishes to Dee Ann as she embraces this new chapter in her life. We wish her all the success in her future endeavours!
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Lisa Belanger as Interim CEO, effective October 1, 2023, as we work towards filling this role. Lisa is our Director of Operations and has been with RDN for nearly 6 years. Her in-depth knowledge of RDN’s programs and team ensures the organization will continue to run smoothly. We’d like to congratulate Lisa on the interim appointment and extend our appreciation for all that she brings to RDN as she takes on this new role.
Sincerely,
Kevin Shufflebotham, RDN Board Chair
More about Lisa Belanger
As Director of Operations, Lisa helps manage the RDN team in delivering its projects, capacity-building work, events, and more for rural communities. She develops processes and strategies for effective community-focused operations, organizational growth, financial resilience, and continued progress toward RDN’s goals. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta, focusing on Strategic Management and Operations with a minor in Business Economics and Law. Lisa has completed various additional training including Finance for Non-Finance Leaders, Project Management courses, Facilitation Skills, and Communication Strategies. Since 2017, she’s grown her skillset with RDN and strives to ensure that our team has what it needs to consistently and effectively deliver its work and continue to learn.
In her free time, she enjoys being out in the wilderness while hiking, rock climbing, dirt biking, snowboarding, or any other form of adventure. She’s thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from the border of Mexico to Canada over 4.5 months and completed a 100-mile ultramarathon. In 2022 she was elected to join the Board of Directors of the Great Divide Trail Association to contribute her skillset and passion to their work.
Whether working on issues that affect rural Canada or pushing her limits in the outdoors, Lisa brings a high level of organization, energy and skill to everything she does.
The Rural Development Network’s Rural Roots program has thrived in its second year, leaving a lasting impact on rural communities across Canada. With a focus on empowering post-secondary students and rural employers, the program has achieved impressive milestones and overcome challenges through creativity and collaboration. In this blog, we explore the highlights from the past year such as our achievements, the lessons we’ve learned, and our plans for the future.
Building off a successful pilot initiative, Rural Roots’ second year was one of tremendous growth and impact. According to Daniela Seiferling, Rural Roots’ Program Manager, “It was a year of learning, improving, and thinking of how we could better deliver the program and make this a sustainable initiative.” Targets included facilitating 1,000 Work Integrated Learning (WIL) placements across Canada, engaging 2,000 employers, and hosting a year-end showcase.
“By incorporating valuable feedback from stakeholders, the program successfully expanded its outreach and matched an additional 250 students compared to Year 1. We also expanded the number of post-secondary institutions (PSIs) and programs we were working with to increase the breadth of opportunities we were offering students,” says Daniela, reflecting on the substantial growth in placements and opportunities.
Daniela Seiferling, Rural Roots’ Program Manager
Rural Roots closely monitored our program data to identify trends around career pathways and in-demand skills. The demand for WIL placements among students was diverse, but some roles proved to be particularly sought after. Non-profit branding, graphic design, marketing, and communications were consistently in high demand from both employers and students. Additionally, students displayed a keen interest in data analysis, business consulting, and supporting social enterprises, indicating their desire to contribute research expertise to small businesses and support sustainable economic development.
By implementing targeted communication campaigns, launching a new matching platform, and creating a WIL microsite, Rural Roots made significant strides in connecting with employers, students, and PSIs, both organically and through established networks. Notably, the program witnessed a surge in engagement from Indigenous-led organizations, economic development entities, and innovation hubs, underscoring the program’s ability to resonate with a diverse range of stakeholders.
“This program can help employers and organizations, like Alberta HUB, maintain operations and assist in developing a strategy to meet our mandates,” says Bob Bezpalko, the Executive Director of Alberta HUB, who has engaged over 20 students through the Rural Roots program.
Bob Bezpalko, the Executive Director of Alberta HUB
Rural Roots’ second year underwent a varying set of challenges, including economic downturns and impacts from provincial election(s). However, the program demonstrated resilience by adapting and innovating to overcome these hurdles and support employers with building their internal capacity to recruit and engage students.
Daniela explains, “We helped employers pivot from traditional WIL to innovative WIL (e.g., course-based projects) and scale their expectations or deliverables accordingly. We also supported employers with little to no HR capacity with screening applications and interviewing potential candidates.”
Daniela Seiferling, Rural Roots’ Program Manager
Our efforts to support employers throughout the WIL process have fostered strong bonds between Rural Roots and between rural communities. As Daniela Seiferling emphasizes, “Our team does a lot of pre-work with employers. We’re meeting with organizations to understand where they have current gaps in capacity and helping them frame their project in a way that meets their needs, both financially and capacity-wise, to ensure they have achievable outcomes.”
Our support has helped address an increased demand for WIL and has also fostered new connections and new opportunities in rural communities.
“Because of RDN [and the support of the Rural Roots team] we have been able to reach out to other post-secondary institutions with this common connection so working with RDN has been a catalyst for opportunities,” says Medicine Hat College.
Medicine Hat College
As Rural Roots continues to grow, we plan to develop more resources supporting PSIs in delivering WIL opportunities. We will also aim to advocate for rural and remote employers and institutions at provincial and national levels, fostering unique partnerships, innovative programs, and collaborative funding.
Through Rural Roots’ unwavering commitment to excellence and meaningful impact, the program has garnered increasing recognition within the work-integrated learning space. “More people are aware of the program and want to partner or work with us on various projects,” Daniela remarks, highlighting the program’s rising prominence as a key player in the WIL landscape.
The program’s reputation as a trusted partner for post-secondary institutions and rural and remote employers earned accolades from larger organizations interested in the WIL landscape.
“[RDN provides] access to rural networks, [giving] our students access to see what’s going on in rural and smaller communities that need help,” says MacEwan University.
MacEwan University
As more people learn about the program and what it has to offer, the Rural Roots team now has employers actively reaching out to them to explore collaboration opportunities. This organic growth stands as a testament to the program’s profound impact and evolving influence within the educational and rural development sectors.
And Rural Roots wouldn’t be a rising star without the funding and support from one of its partners, the Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER). Through collaborative efforts and regular meetings, BHER and Rural Roots have worked together to achieve shared goals and objectives, while BHER has also championed the program, connecting it with new partners and supporting its expansion.
Daniela says “BHER’s commitment to promoting WIL and creating opportunities for students has enabled Rural Roots to adapt and grow its program, addressing challenges and staying ahead of emerging trends.”
Daniela Seiferling, Rural Roots’ Program Manager
With this growing recognition comes growing responsibilities and expectations from stakeholders. The program is currently working on a project that identifies best practices and approaches around WIL in rural and remote spaces. The research will inform the creation of a white paper and toolkit that will aim to build capacity for its smaller PSI partners who are looking to Rural Roots for innovative solutions. By providing support to our PSI partners, we hope to further strengthen existing partnerships, attract new partners, and strengthen the WIL ecosystem in Canada.
Heading into its third year, Rural Roots aspires to scale its existing program by:
With Daniela Seiferling’s guidance, a committed WIL team, and BHER’s support, Rural Roots is set to continue its journey of providing transformative experiences for students, rural and small-scale employers, and PSIs across Canada.
RDNs Rural Roots program allows students to gain much-needed experience to transition to their future careers and allows employers to boost their capacity while generating projects that have tangible results. Through meaningful engagement in our program, we aim to raise awareness of the benefits of working, living, and supporting rural communities.
As the cost of living and inflation rise in Canada, rural, remote, and Indigenous communities are often overlooked. Facing unique challenges especially in the areas of affordable housing and homelessness, communities are looking for solutions and opportunities for improvement. There is also a need to engage with rural areas across the country, as rural homelessness tends to be more hidden and organizations have limited capacity to respond to these issues.
To support organizations and communities with tackling these complex challenges, the Rural Development Network and the Rural Ontario Institute are hosting the Canadian Rural and Remote Housing and Homelessness Symposium (CRRHHS) this June 6-8. This conference is an important opportunity to not only gain valuable insights from industry leaders, but also to network with peers and continue those conversations.
Here are three ways the Symposium can support your organization and community with affordable housing and homelessness:
The CRRHHS provides an opportunity to connect with folks across Canada and engage in the rural perspective, providing thought-provoking dialogue and connections that will last far beyond the Symposium.
I can say with absolute certainty that it is the strategic partnerships we made at that conference, the advice of those already funded, the resources that continued to be provided post-conference, and the ongoing conversations after we returned home, that are the reasons we are fully funded today.
Glenn Alexander, Vice-President of the Southwest Youth Emergency Shelter, Inc.
There will be networking opportunities and a virtual exhibit hall for you to make lasting connections. When you attend the networking sessions, you will be speed matched with like-minded individuals to share and learn from each other, while the virtual exhibit hall allows you to experience more from our presenters and sponsors.
At this year’s symposium, you can hear and participate in and gain expertise from 50+ engaging, concurrent sessions that will dive into topics such as: Coordinated access, addressing the housing crisis, ending and preventing rural homelessness, affordable housing strategies and action plans, Indigenous reconciliation, rural youth homelessness, and much more.
We believe the 2023 CRRHHS will help communities successfully share best practices and innovative responses to housing and homelessness and will leave attendees feeling equipped and empowered to take what they have learned to respond to homelessness and the housing crisis in their own communities
Ellen Sinclair, Executive Director of the Rural Ontario Institute
Our keynote speakers this year will help you gain a deeper understanding of the issues that could be impacting your community through their powerful and inspiring stories of resilience, allowing you to grow your knowledge on what resources are available/needed for your community.
Our keynote speakers will be engaging and impactful and bring new perspectives
Dee Ann Benard, CEO of the Rural Development Network
One of our keynote speakers, Joe Roberts – the Skid Row CEO, will share how he maximized his second chance in life to create extraordinary business success after overcoming homelessness and drug addiction. Part of Joe’s success story includes how he triumphantly pushed a shopping cart a staggering 9,064 kilometers across Canada in the name of youth homelessness prevention. This very act birthed a national awareness campaign called The Push for Change, inspiring fellow Canadians to create ripple effects of transformation in the lives of at-risk youth throughout the country.
Watch Joe Robert’s personal invitation to this year’s CRRHHS.
View the full Symposium schedule and register today!
We have a jam-packed program available on our website so you can create your own custom agenda for the conference. Check out the full program!
Register today on the CRRHHS website. Can’t make it June 6-8? No problem! You can still register until June 5 to access all recordings and presentations until August 5, 2023.
Canada’s immigration doors have been opened in recent years allowing newcomers to migrate into the country as students, permanent residents, or other approved immigration paths as one way to address a skilled labour shortage. However, some newcomers find the integration and transition into the Canadian workforce difficult or complex due to several factors such as the absence of Canadian work experience and lack of knowledge of Canadian work culture, among others.
Renzo Calienes is a newcomer. Hailing from Peru, Renzo came to Canada as a student to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration at Vancouver’s University Canada West. When he approached the end of his studies, Renzo was eager to build his resume with Canadian work experience before he graduated as he believed this would increase his chances of employment.
To support Renzo, his university’s career centre introduced him to the Rural Development Network’s Rural Roots initiative – a work-integrated learning (WIL) program that allows post-secondary students to gain practical work experience alongside their classroom study. When an employer is matched with a student, this is known as a WIL placement.
In this blog, Renzo highlights how Rural Roots helped him gain Canadian work experience to enhance his resume and how Rural Roots can do the same for other newcomers.
For newcomers like Renzo, Rural Roots offers the opportunity to safely test the waters of the Canadian workforce. Renzo was matched with the Rural Development Network’s Shelter Pulse project. He worked as a Research Intern, conducting research, analyzing data, and writing reports on gender issues and violence against women.
I pursued a work placement opportunity to gain practical experience and apply what I had learned in school to a real-world setting
Renzo Calienes
The internship introduced Renzo to the realities of a formal work setting in Canada. He developed workplace skills and experience in Canada’s work culture. To secure the position, Renzo received guidance on how to prepare his resume to improve his chances of being invited for interviews by Canadian recruiters. Essentially, he learned how to ‘Canadianize his resume’. He also went through a formal recruitment process that will help him prepare for future recruitment processes.
Renzo argues that his WIL placement offered an experiential insight into the Canadian workforce, making him “feel better prepared for future work opportunities.”
WIL placements can help newcomers explore career paths they haven’t considered or had the opportunity to experience. Renzo worked in the non-profit sector for the first time through his WIL internship while his previous work experiences have been in entrepreneurship, consulting, sales, and customer service in his home country.
In the beginning, I felt overwhelmed and doubted whether I could succeed. However, I was able to overcome challenges and succeed in this new environment. This experience has taught me the importance of pushing myself out of my comfort zone and being open to new opportunities, even if they seem daunting at first
Renzo Calienes
As an intern, Renzo helped develop and implement projects, such as creating new policies or procedures and communicating the results to stakeholders of the Shelter Pulse Initiative. “I had a few “AHA!” moments [working with Shelter Pulse] when I realized the real-world impact of my work and how it could contribute to improving the lives of women and marginalized groups,” he adds.
Seeing the outcome of his research in real-time combined with his newly gained work experience in the non-profit sector, Renzo is now open to exploring career opportunities in the nonprofit sector, especially roles that will help him support women and other marginalized groups.
Through Rural Roots, newcomers can identify new industries and explore potential career opportunities where they can learn to transfer their existing skills to not only gain employment in Canada but also identify the type of work and industry they’d like to pursue after graduation.
WIL placements help post-secondary students build their resumes or portfolio before they graduate, which is very important for newcomers seeking employment. It can help newcomers improve the quality of their resumes by enhancing their existing work experience or help them develop new skills, allowing them to effectively compete for skilled jobs and improve their quality of life.
From this experience, I learned the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and how to effectively communicate research findings to stakeholders. It helped me build my research, analytical, and technical skills, provided me with valuable experience for my resume and portfolio, and opened up new opportunities for future work
Renzo Calienes
Renzo’s favourite part of working with the Shelter Pulse team was how he was able to develop a range of soft and hard skills while contributing to the project’s mission to build capacity for rural women’s shelters across Canada. These new skills have greatly improved Renzo’s competitiveness in the employment space.
Renzo also developed a professional network that can provide mentorship and testify to his skills, potential, and professional character for future employment referrals – a powerful and much-needed asset for newcomers.
It was also a great opportunity to work with passionate and knowledgeable professionals who were committed to making a difference. Looking back, I am proud of my achievements and the skills I developed during my time with the Rural Development Network such as adaptability, resilience, and dedication to learning
Renzo Calienes
The Rural Roots initiative invites newcomers in post-secondary institutions like universities, colleges, and trade schools to take full advantage of the benefits of its work-integrated learning program and work placements.
Work-integrated learning is a great way for newcomers or international students to learn about the Canadian workplace. It’s a low-risk way for you to discover new skills, build relationships, or add valuable experience to your resume as a way to enhance your future job applications
Daniela Seiferling, RDN’s Program Manager for WIL
Renzo Calienes is a highly qualified and value-driven business leader with over 15 years of business management experience in entrepreneurship, consulting, sales, and customer service in his home country, Peru. He holds a Master’s in Strategic Business Administration from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and an International Certificate in Digital Transformation from MIT. He recently completed his second MBA from University Canada West (Vancouver, BC).
Renzo possesses strong leadership, talent management, strategic planning, and change management skills. He is self-motivated, proactive, and detail-oriented. He has a track record of managing diverse teams ranging from 5 to 60+ people. Renzo is known for his ability to adapt to new technology trends and update his strategies accordingly. He has garnered numerous affiliations, awards, and recognition for achieving top rankings, annual goals, customer loyalty, and growing customer bases.
Businesses across sectors worldwide are currently facing crucial challenges such as accelerating digital transformation, sustainability, global economic downturn, and rising client expectations. But, at the heart of these challenges, is stiff competition for a talented workforce as companies need more resources to build capacity and meet their business goals.
So how can organizations build sustainable capacity? The Rural Development Network (RDN) endorses work-integrated learning (WIL) as an effective solution to this rising problem. RDN uses WIL to address capacity for small initiatives, including engaging five post-secondary students for a policy audit as part of our Shelter Pulse Project.
Here are three ways WIL helped build the project team’s capacity:
WIL students come to employers to gain industry experience but they also have something to offer organizations, specifically fresh ideas and perspectives. Being young, post-secondary students generally bring a different point of view and newly developed critical-thinking skills. Students also tend to be more knowledgeable of recent technology, tools, or trends that support efficient project execution. As a result, students often foster productivity and innovation in the workplace.
“The WIL students brought new frames of reference to the project. They also brought their own knowledge from lived experience or their past work and study experiences, which further enriched the project and policy audit,” says Daniela Seiferling, RDN’s Program Manager for WIL.
It is important to engage students in the workforce to build up their experience, and skills, and gain exposure to a professional environment. We have seen students that are more keen, capable, and knowledgeable than we give them credit for. The WIL students displayed excellent research, analytical, and critical thinking skills, posing challenging questions that displayed a deeper understanding of the project. These new perspectives helped Shelter Pulse review policies and improved the quality of its outcome.
When engaging five WIL students, RDN broke down the policy audit project into smaller pieces. This allowed the team to concurrently have multiple steps of the project being worked on at the same time while focusing on longer-term sustainability and strategy.
The WIL students helped fill the capacity gap in the Shelter Pulse team, allowing for the effective distribution of tasks. The students had to audit over 15 policy manuals, perform a gap analysis, and create benchmarks for meeting certain policy criteria, and a policy guide.
By deconstructing the complex project and having WIL students work on smaller parts, RDN was able to successfully complete the project on schedule.
“We were able to build our capacity and meet key foundational goals of the project in a timely fashion,” adds Daniela.
Businesses with limited resources often struggle with capacity due to the cost of recruitment. Work-integrated learning is a cost-effective method for recruiting and training new employees. WIL provides additional capacity for organizations with limited budgets and smaller teams.
It only took two weeks for the Shelter Pulse team to be matched with five post-secondary students that could support their project. RDN’s Rural Roots program supported the initiative with developing a job description outline, liaising with the partner post-secondary institutions, and finding the right talent to meet their needs.
Overall, Shelter Pulse credits engaging WIL students to the success and enrichment of its policy audit.
Rural Roots is a Work-Integrated Learning Program that matches businesses with student talent.
“Rural Roots provides low-risk placements to build capacity for employers and students across Canada. Engage a student in practical experience while meeting your business objectives,” says Daniela.
Shelter Pulse is a project partnership between the Rural Development Network (RDN) and the Mountain Rose Centre (MRC) to develop a centralized online database of feminist, trauma-informed policies for rural women’s shelters across Canada.
The database will be a free, easy-to-use, up-to-date resource to resolve these issues. Pooling resources to create a consistent framework for policy development and service delivery will also save time and money for shelters, eliminate duplication of work, and create a standard for all rural Canadian shelters.
The project is funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada’s Feminist Response and Recovery Fund.
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