The Team

 

Peter Taylor, Capt. Andy Lee, Mary Lou DiPaolo, Leigh Geraghty, Major Regan Legassie

Allison Alexander

Allison Alexander, M.Ed., CTDP
Allison is the Vice President, Global Performance Solutions at Metrix Group. Her volunteer experience includes Director on the Toronto artScene Board, Heart and Stroke Foundation, ROM, and United Way.

This initiative will be Allison’s third time to Africa. Her first trip included volunteering in Dar es Salam. The second was working in Cairo. Her work included teaching English and computer skills to children, basic life skills to adults and volunteering in the Health Clinic.

Allison’s contribution will be taking all of the learnings from her previous experiences and applying them in this training initiative.

Leigh Geraghty
I am a mother of two teenagers living a solar-powered straw bale home near Orangeville, Ontario. I am also Business  Development Manager for Prospero Learning Solutions Inc., an award-winning provider of custom learning solutions.

I bring over 25 years of experience in education, from teaching in remote Native communities in Northern Manitoba, to designing and delivering software training, to coaching and training other trainers, and consulting with clients to deliver customized training and development solutions. I am excited by the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone to do something meaningful and to learn from others who have a completely different life experience from my own.

Mary Lou Di Paolo, MA, ACPC
Mary Lou is an Organizational Development Consultant, certified coach and trained mediator. She has worked for 20 years with organizations in different industries in Canada, the U.S. and Italy, in the public, private and non-profit sectors. She speaks three languages (including French and Italian) and specializes in partnering with individuals, teams and organizations to create pragmatic, sustainable change in the areas of team building, strategic planning, leadership development and coaching.
Mary Lou’s forté is organizational coaching at the individual and team level. She has a passion and commitment to lifelong learning. She is a certified Master NLP Practitioner who incorporates NLP principles with coaching and corporate leadership work.

During her personal time, Mary Lou is a volunteer mediator and an active Toastmaster. She is helping to establish a non-profit, start-up organization to support youth affected by aids and poverty in Zambia.

Peter Taylor, CHRP, CTDP
I have been passionate about this initiative from the moment Stephen Lewis mentioned his work in Africa during dinner at our Annual Conference in November 2005.

In my practice as a professional trainer and executive coach, I have worked with thousands of people from around the world. I am excited about the possibility of passing on some of the techniques that have helped me so that others can transfer their knowledge.

Having lived, worked and travelled in various parts of the world, I bring an ability to relate to people from many different backgrounds and circumstances. I also bring a willingness to share my experiences so that others can avoid some of the challenges I have faced.

The story of how this initiative developed can be inspirational to others who believe in the concept that the ‘power of one’ can make a difference.