The Team
Michael Van Pelt, President of Cardus, a public policy think tank, has more than 20 years of experience in public life, including advocacy with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Chamber of Commerce and serving as a municipal Councillor. Michael is also a principal partner of Big Road Partners, a public square consulting firm. He continues to consult widely, helping institutions strategically connect their beliefs with their behaviours.
A graduate of McMaster University, Michael has authored and co-authored numerous articles ranging from religion and public ...
Ray Pennings is Senior Fellow and Director of Research at Cardus, working out of our Calgary office, where he lives with his wife Kathy and son, Chris.
Ray brings a host of skills to Cardus, being one of Canada's top authorities in industrial relations, as well as public policy, political activism and political affairs generally. He has headed several of Cardus' largest research projects over the years, including Buying a Labour Monopoly: An Examination of Job Targeting Programs and their Operation in the Canadian Construction Sector" (1998), "Competitively Working in Tomorrow's Construction"...
Brian Harskamp is the Director of Development with Cardus, spending most of his days working with the men, women, and businesses that help the organization exist. Brian has worked in a variety of sectors, ranging from automotive to agricultural, before filling his role with Cardus in 2004.
Brian has a Master of Business Administration from McMaster, specializing in corporate reputation, communications, and public relations. At McMaster, he served as the Part-Time Student Rep for the MBA Association in 2006 and 2007, has lent his talents to the High School Business Heroes program, and led...
My curiosities have driven me to explore organizational ideas and practices that will contribute to more adaptive and thus effective long-term institutions. These institutions could be small nonprofits or cities. Questions of resilience and persistence have different answers depending on scale, context and what we hope to achieve. It is critical that we constantly combine knowledge and practice if we want our organizations to respond well to change. Resilient enterprises invest energy in designing and nurturing intelligent processes that allow room for surprise, novelty and feedback signals.
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