Meet Our Experts

Stephanie Aker
Accounting & Finance

Stephanie is Certified General Accountant and Certified Public Accountant (USA) and holds an MBA with an accounting concentration. She has over ten years of accounting experience in various industries, including five years with The Alberta New Home Warranty Program.

Sonja Dahl
Estimating / Purchasing

Operating in Senior and Management Estimating and Purchasing roles for 15+ years, Sonja brings a strong skillset in these areas to PHBI. She has a keen interest in sustainable technology and its integration into new home construction. Sonja has held roles as a Board member for Built Green Canada and Past Chair of the Built Green Canada Standards Committee.

Paul Betts
Sales Skills

Paul has over 40 years of experience in the new and resale residential industry. He has been a course facilitator with PHBI for 22 years and has 12 years experience as an instructor in the Alberta Real Estate industry. Paul is a keynote speaker, sales trainer and marketing consultant. He has been the president of GAP Marketing since 1989.

Amelie Caron
Sustainability

Amelie is the Principal of EcoSynergy and holds a MSc Building Science degree. She is a LEED for Homes Green Rater, NRCan Energy Advisor, Net-Zero Energy Advisor, Passivhaus, Energuide and R2000 consultant, and is HRAI certified for multi-unit residential buildings. Amelie is also a member of Canadian Association of Consulting Energy Advisors and previously a R2000 and Hot 2000 modelling trainer.

Terra Davidson
Sales / Customer Service / Marketing

With over 15 years of industry experience, Terra has been Partner and Sales & Marketing Manager of a second generation built green (net zero) home building company, and the Director of Sales for a local not for profit.

Lena Gagnon
Plans & Specifications

With 19 years of experience in the Alberta residential market, Lena is a Designer/Architectural Technologist for a customer service award-winning Canadian single-family home building company.

Michelle Jakeman
Selling Skills / Customer Service

Michelle has over 25 years of experience leading sales teams for large scale builders in Calgary and has received multiple national awards for consistently achieving top sales results across Canada. Michelle holds a BA and multiple course certifications from PHBI.

Allan Holben
Plans & Specifications

Allen is the Manager of Safety Codes services for the City of Fort Saskatchewan. He has over 40 years of industry experience, and is a Level 3 Safety Codes Officer, Red Seal Carpenter and Architectural Technologist. He is the Owner/Operator AWH Consulting Corp., a residential design and inspection company.

Cara Pullan
Customer Service / Warranty / Problem Solving

With over 10 years experience in the home building industry as a Manager in Customer Experience & Warranty, Cara has honed technical, analyzing warranty claims, and policy development skills. She has a solid foundation in building code, climate change, and best building practices and holds a bachelor’s degree in education and PHBI certificates in Moisture Control and Customer Experience. Most importantly, she strongly believes in ‘building people that build homes.

Greg Dudar
Construction Fundamentals For Sales/Estimating

Greg has been involved in the construction of over 1200 homes. Design experiences range from conceptual to architectural including 3D space planning and the interior design of details & finishes. Having been “hands on the tools” in every stage from Surveying to Service Tech provides a realistic understanding of “what really happens” in the field to make those plans become reality. On the business side, company positions have varied from fulfilling day-to-day operational positions through to General Manager, and entrepreneurial ventures from owning a Boutique Home Building Company to being on a Reality TV show. This combination allows Greg to speak from experience about specific topics, as well as how they interact and affect other areas of the home building industry.

Read Fenton
Radon

Read Fenton leads Metro Testing + Engineering’s geotechnical team with over sixteen years of geotechnical, materials engineering and project management experience on projects across western Canada. Read has an MBA with a focus on project management and leadership. Read has significant experience with geotechnical projects including high-rise buildings, schools, public buildings, highways, residential, commercial, large-scale industrial and rural developments. He currently holds stamps in BC, AB, SK, YK, and NWT.

Darrell Paul
Building Science / Moisture Control

Darrell is the Principal of Qualistat Building Performance Consultants. He has over 40 years of industry experience, and is a Certified Residential Air System Design Technician, ASNT Level 2 Thermographer, NRCan Certified Energy Advisor, Certified Master Home Inspector, Master Home Builder and Master Home Renovator.

Keith Jansen
Construction Technology/ Codes

Having planned and built thousands of homes western Canadian families, Keith brings over 25 years of homebuilding experience and an extensive construction knowledge to PHBI. He specializes in condominium and multi-family project development. Formally trained as an Architectural Technologist, Mr. Jansen possesses exceptional skills in floor plan and project design, project management, fiscal responsibility, and construction supervision.

Paul Salmon

Paul is a residential construction consultant and is a Presiding Officer for the Apprenticeship and Industry Training RCSM Occupational Committee. He has over 25 years of industry experience including construction management, pre-purchase home inspections, dispute resolution, structural failure investigations, workmanship and material inspections and industry education development.

Madeline Sarafinchan
Condominiums / Sales

Madeline has 30 years of real estate experience, 20 years spent as a real estate broker. She is a certified instructor for the Realtors Association of Edmonton, Alberta Real Estate Association and Real Estate Business Institute. She has served on a committee to review the Condo Act and to recommend changes to government.

Carol Smith
Customer Service

Carol is the home building industry’s leading customer service expert. With 40 years of industry specific consulting expertise, she is an author, keynote speaker and online trainer.

Mike Syer

Mike is a Building and Fire Safety Codes Officer with 40 years of industry experience including positions as Senior Manager of Claims for The Alberta New Home Warranty Program and a Project Manager in new home and condominium construction and renovations. He is also a qualified mediator with ADR Canada, with diplomas in Architecture and Engineering, a graduate PHBI Master Builder and Professional Site Manager.

Karen Minty
Human Behaviour

Karen is currently a University/College professor, curriculum developer, instructional designer, and corporate trainer. She is certified in Human Behaviour and has earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Adult Education. Karen’s passion lies in helping others to change their mindset and develop effective skills in conflict resolution, leadership development and teambuilding.

Dalpreet Virdi
Problem Solving/Estimating

Dalpreet is an Infrastructure Project Manager at the City of Edmonton. He has executed successful housing projects across Alberta for over 10 years, and shares his expertise in estimating, project management, and construction practices to industry stakeholders.

Carmen Jackson
Plans, Specs & Drawings/Construction Fundamentals

Carmen brings over a decade and a half of experience in the design and construction industry and over six years of instructional experience in an institutional setting. With a range of experience from small scale additions to multi-million dollar projects she has been involved with many aspects of construction from zoning analysis and conceptual design to permit application, from cost analysis to progress monitoring, and from drawing out the details to completing the finishing touches. She is passionate about sharing the knowledge gained from her breadth of experience with future designers and industry experts.