Our Team

In order to provide our clients with the most innovation solutions, we have built relationships with some of the greatest thought leaders and consultants in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Elaine Newman

The dynamic, solutions-driven leader of Global Learning, Elaine Newman has benefited from more than 25 years of global experience in senior sales, client relationship development, and management consulting positions.

As part of her instrumental role in launching Xerox Business Services in Canada, Elaine developed business cases that improved her clients’ income statements and balance sheets through Facilities Management and Outsourcing strategies.

Later, she became the Vice President of a Toronto-based management consulting firm working with both corporate and non-profit sector clients in the Fortune 500. There, she developed and taught sustainable operational strategies to organizations experiencing significant transition and challenges.

Her solid expertise in the field of strategic consulting and new markets led, first, to the creation of an award-winning Human Resource learning and consulting company in 1996. Then, building on the demonstrated success of that company, Elaine founded Global Learning in 2004. Seven years later, she leads the well-respected Global Learning Inc., a strategic consulting and learning company specializing in diversity and inclusion.

Margaret Werdermann

As Global Learning's Chief Operating Officer, Margaret Werdermann heads up our eLearning division and is directly responsible for overseeing all aspects of our eLearning programs from research and instructional design to multi-media and graphics to course programming as well as the development and management of their proprietary Learning Management System (LMS).

Before working with Global Learning in 2005, Margaret’s career path began in the post-secondary classroom where she progressed from a classroom instructor to become the Director of Curriculum Development for a well-respected career college. From there, her passion for world class curriculum design, along with her strong IT skills and experience in the areas of database development and administration, lead to increasingly responsible positions in both the corporate and academic arenas where she:

contributed to, and supervised, the development of a three-tier commercial software application involving all aspects of school division data requirements,
lead a corporate Learning & Development department, and
became a regular columnist for Window Watch magazine.

Although her primary focus with Global Learning is on corporate training, Margaret believes strongly in the importance of accessible higher education and continues to develop courses for the University of Manitoba’s Distance and Online Education division. These experiences have led to a unique skill set that combines technical know-how with extensive educational expertise.

Margaret has a degree in Education and a Masters degree in Distance Education, with a specialty in educational technology, along with diplomas in Information Systems Development and Database Administration. She is an active member of the eLearning Guild and has been designing curricula for adult students in a wide variety of subjects, delivery methods, and platforms for over 15 years.

Fred Werdermann

Fred Werdermann is Global Learning's Chief Technology Officer. He leads our programming and networking projects. His years of knowledge and experience programming in multiple languages along with video encoding methods for varied distribution channels (e.g. DVD, web formats, etc.) are invaluable to our multimedia projects.

Fred’s network and security expertise provides a solid base for our technical endeavours. He holds "Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer," "Microsoft Certified Professional + Internet," and "A+" Certifications.

Jessica Prentice

Our Director of Client Services, Jessica Prentice has over 11 years of client relationship experience. She holds both Business and Hospitality Management degrees and has an extensive background in customer service along with event and sales planning. Her passion for diversity and inclusion and cultural perspectives is a true asset in her interaction with our clients.

Jessica plays a critical role at Global Learning by ensuring that we continuously exceed our clients' expectations.

Ann Dennis

During Ann’s more than 20 years of Human Resources and Communications experience, she has managed a large staff, managed the recruitment and selection process for all levels of staff, and worked with senior leaders to help manage performance expectations of their employees, including making the necessary accommodations for those with disabilities.

Her strength in engaging employees to work beyond their potential comes from an in-depth knowledge of interpreting the results of cognitive testing. Apply these strategies in the workplace has lead to great success.

Jason Kelly – Research Analyst

Jason Kelly is a senior at the University of Tampa, majoring in philosophy. He has focused on political and social philosophy, as well as conducting research on the impact of religion in society. He has experience researching areas that impact people's lives and analyzing their effects on business and society. He has also sought out outreach opportunities, including work with the homeless and at a volunteer thrift shop, to gain a direct, real-world view of his academic research.

Special Advisors to Global Learning

Nouman Ashraf

Nouman Ashraf is one of the leading academic minds in the area of Diversity and Inclusion. He is a Research Fellow at the Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking at the Rotman School of Management within the University of Toronto. He possesses a broad range of professional, academic, and research interests; and is an exceptional, engaging, and dynamic speaker who has an ability to connect with an audience and take them on a journey of learning and understanding.

For the last decade, he has held progressively senior positions at the University of Toronto where, since 2005, he has served as the Director of the University’s Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office. In that role, he worked closely with senior administrators, student leaders, faculty members, and policy makers in crafting and enabling strategies for the engagement of diverse communities at Canada’s largest post-secondary institution. He has also worked in change management consulting in the private sector.

With a particular interest in understanding organizational behaviour and drivers of systems-wide cultural change, Nouman has also served as a consultant to important organizations such as the United Way of Canada, the Ontario Public Service, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the City of Toronto, Fidelity Investments, Moriyama + Teshima Architects and numerous post-secondary institutions. His doctoral research aims to study the role of mental models within organizational transformations. At lunch time, Nouman can often be found at Massey College, where he is a Senior Fellow.

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