Who created Emotus Operandi?

The Emotus Operandi Team

The Emotus Operandi was created by an interdisciplinary team of seasoned professionals. We combine extensive training and experience in a wide variety of disciplines including organizational development, coaching, strategic planning, group facilitation, community engagement, group dynamics, leadership, marketing, programming, and design. More importantly, the team is made up of trailblazers who have chosen to take the path less traveled and have found ways to combine their passions and their work in enthusiastic, sustainable ways.  

Ben Kadel, Ph.D

Ben brings over a decade of organizational development experience and a unique mix of skills to every project he facilitates. Equally at home with hard data or hot emotions, Ben has developed an approach that understands the basic fundamentals—structure, process, and culture—required to create an effective and productive workplace. He spends time with each client to fully understand their needs and the heart of the issues affecting them. Then he designs a process that will maximize the impact of the time spent together and leaves each organization with a new and increased overall capacity to address new challenges.

Comfortable with small work teams of five people, or facilitating contentious public meetings several hundred, Ben is familiar with a wide variety of participatory tools and techniques that allow him to customize his approach to suit the specific needs of your organization. His specialty is working with the emotional dynamics that often plague work teams. He works with groups to develop deeper understanding of these dynamics, improve communication, and grow the trust that ultimately essential to achieving results.

Ben has a B.A from Pennsylvania State University and a M.S. and PhD in Sociology and Social Psychology from the University of Wisconsin—Madison.

Peggy Jessome

For as long as she can remember, Peggy has been thinking about creativity and wanting to experience more of it in her life. Like many people, however, she started her career in a more conventional way, working first as a clinical dietitian, then department head, before obtaining an MBA at the University of Warwick. She chose a specialization in Continuous Quality Improvement, and implemented a quality program at Children’s Hospital before leaving to start her own consulting business. Those experiences gave her a strong grounding in the value of structure and logic, and how to use that as a way to support intuition and creativity, rather than to squash it.

Since 1992, Peggy has worked with businesses and individuals to clarify what they want, and to find ways to bring that into being, through visions and strategies, team building and coaching. In addition to her work with organizations, Peggy has developed and delivered courses to enhance personal creativity.

She makes use of that creativity in developing and delivering participative processes that empower and engage clients. Her clarity and willingness to work with what is happening in the present has assisted her clients in grappling with and working through the major issues facing them.

Rebecca Krantz, PhD.

Rebecca Krantz has a PhD in Sociology from the UW-Madison, where she studied the social, psychological, and spiritual foundations of community participation and activism. She served for six years as the executive director, facilitator, and community organizer for a non-profit coalition of neighborhood associations in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Becca has also worked in survey research and program evaluation and development, and has served as mentor and faculty for leadership development and training programs for activists and organizers. Becca currently works as a leadership and organizational development consultant, coach, and group process facilitator, and offers workshops in avoiding burnout for activists, and in hula-hoop making for children and adults. She is happily married and spends a lot of time with her husband, two step-children, and other family and friends. She is a ceramic sculptor, practices yoga daily, and loves to swim, bike, dance, hula hoop, knit, cook, and write.

Jasjit Rai

Jasjit brings an ability to create positive environments that bring out the best in people. She is an experienced consultant and facilitator in the areas of human resources and organizational development.  Her background also includes employee wellness, intercultural communication, and employment counselling.  She has conducted hundreds of seminars and workshops for organizations throughout the Lower Mainland.  Jasjit holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Human Resources and courses in Adult Education.  Her business is called Joi Works and was founded in 1999.  She is also a certified Nia Black Belt Teacher, leading ongoing classes in this dynamic movement practice.

Shawna Hickerson

Shawna Hickerson is a designer with a unique background of both web and broadcast design. Her skill sets entail graphic design, art/creative direction and creative facilitation. She is self-motivated, team oriented and a clear communicator, adept at working closely with clients to take projects from concept to delivery. In 1997 Shawna cofounded, with Gerard Cheong, what is today known as Aurora Motion Graphics. Through Aurora Shawna continues to expand her knowledge, designing, animating and creating online campaigns for a wide range of clients. Her training and experience have contributed to her strong feelings regarding brand development, designer/client interaction and team involvement. Past and current clients include TELUS, Sierra Wireless, Manitoba Telecom (MTS), The W Network, UBC, Tourism BC, The CBC, and Nintendo.

Brad Herbert

Brad has been an Human Resources professional since 1992, specializing in fast-growth, global, entrepreneurial companies. As an executive with Electronic Arts, he led all global talent development and organizational excellence programs, and as the VP of HR for the worldwide studio system he was accountable for all HR programs for 14 studios in 6 countries, 5,400 employees, and 60 HR employees. He has held Business Partner and Compensation/Benefits/Mobility roles at Electronic Arts, Netscape Communications, and Amdahl Corporation. He has a Master's degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University, a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an HR specialization from Michigan State University, and is certified to administer the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) indicator.

Jeff Fielding

Jeff is an experienced organization development professional with expertise in building and deploying learning programs, implementing performance management systems, facilitating strategic planning, and enhancing leadership behaviours.

Jeff is a skilled presenter and facilitator who derives deep satisfaction from enabling people to build solutions to their challenges. He also has significant experience in using process improvement methodologies to drive organizational gains.

Jeff has an honours degree in Cultural Anthropology from Trent University in Ontario and a Masters degree in Organizational Leadership from Royal Roads University in British Columbia.

Gerard Cheong

Gerard has a strong storytelling ability coupled with the technical skills that allow him to be a multi-platform designer. From print, to Web and television, Gerard uses design to create lasting brand identities for Aurora’s clients. Gerard manages the technical aspects of design for Aurora, ensuring that Creative is sharp from the inception to delivery.