Instructor Profiles

Collin Ashton, S.C.M.P.

Mr. Ashton has over 30 years in the Supply Management Profession and has been with Encore Metals Supply Management Group for 20 years. He is now also part of their Sales Management Team. He has been teaching the Supply Management courses for over 10 years and gains great satisfaction from sharing his knowledge and experience in the classroom.

 

Carrie Hudson RVT

Ms. Hudson graduated from the University College of the Cariboo (now Thompson Rivers University) in 2004. After graduation, she has worked at a variety of small animal practices throughout the lower mainland. Carrie began teaching the "Veterinary Office Assistant" program at Vancouver Community College in Abbotsford as well she worked with the women inmates at the Fraser Valley Institution rehabilitating the women in the dog program. Carrie also spent the summer of 2007 working on the "Dr. Dolittle" movie-training animals. Since beginning teaching at Douglas College, Carrie has pursued her Provincial Instructor Diploma and has attended two Teacher Professor Conferences broadening her teaching skills. She specializes in behaviour and nutrition and enjoys teaching others how to train their pets.

 

Shannon Karok, FCIP, CRBA

Ms. Karok is an Insurance professional with over 20 years of experience including auto, personal lines and claims.  She is currently employed by the Insurance Council of British Columbia as an investigator. Prior to her present position, Ms. Karok was employed at British Columbia Automobile Association (BCAA) as a Claim Manager, a Division Leader with Knight Archer Insurance Brokers and in the role of Manager - Claims at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).  In a national capacity, Shannon has also worked in various leadership positions with Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) and at The Insurance Institute of Saskatchewan as the Chapter Manager.  Shannon has been involved in instructing with Insurance Institute of Canada, The Responsible Driver Program in British Columbia and the Driving Without Impairment Program of Saskatchewan.  Ms. Karok holds her Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional designation (FCIP) and Certificate in Rehabilitation Benefits Administration (CRBA) , is a registered Subject Matter Expert (SME) and is an active member of the Insurance Institute of Canada Chartered Insurance Professional Society.  She has also been an active board member with the Canadian Insurance Claims Manager Association (CICMA) of British Columbia.

 

Claire Kavanagh, D.V.M

Dr. Kavanagh graduated in 1982 from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan. She then practiced in Ontario and British Columbia for several years. Later, she travelled to Asia and worked in a small animal practice in Hong Kong for a decade. Since 2001, Dr. Kavanagh has been practicing small animal veterinary medicine in the Lower Mainland.

 

Katherine Klassen, D.V.M.

Dr. Klassen graduated from the UBC Animal Science program and received her degree in veterinary medicine from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 1985. She returned to BC to work in a mixed animal practice for 4 years, and then at the Vancouver Animal Emergency Clinic until 2016.  She served on the council of the BCVMA and on the admissions board for the WCVM, and as coordinator for Vancouver Animal Blood Services.   In 2015, Kath joined the VOAC team at Douglas College, and is delighted to be able to share her 30 years of veterinary experience with her students.  

 

Cathy Laramie, C.P.M.

Ms. Laramie brings more than 25 years experience and a passion for both payroll and education to the classroom for the Canadian Payroll Association's certification courses.  She is the Manager, Payroll Services for a local university where she leads a team of eight payroll professionals and is responsible for payment to approximately 2000 employees.  She has a broad range of knowledge and experience in Canadian payroll to share with students including processing payroll in all 10 provinces, working for employers in both the public and private sector, and managing payments to union and non-union employees.  Ms. Laramie has her Certified Payroll Manager certification from the Canadian Payroll Association and has been helping others achieve CPA certification at Douglas College since 2004.

 

Sandra Morrison, CPM, CPHR, SHRM-SCP

Ms. Morrison is currently employed as Vice President of Human Resources for 123Dentist and previously was with Options Community Services as CHRO, Deputy Executive Director, People & Culture. She has over fifteen years in senior and executive experience overseeing Human Resources, Payroll, IT, Administration and Quality.  She is currently Past Chair on the Canadian Payroll Association Board of Directors.  In addition to teaching the Canadian Payroll Association courses for Douglas College, Ms. Morrison also teaches additional online courses for the Canadian Payroll Association as well as presenting the Professional Development Series seminars on behalf of the Canadian Payroll Association. Ms. Morrison holds her Certified Payroll Management designation with the Canadian Payroll Association, a diploma in Human Resources Management and holds her Chartered Professional in Human Resources Designation as well as her Society for Human Resource Management - Senior Certified Professional in the U.S.

 

Marilyn Pignotti, C.P.M.

Ms. Pignotti is a Payroll professional with over 25 years of experience within union and non-unionized organizations working in global payroll management, human resources, operations and benefits.  Her work history includes Ledcor Industries Inc. where she held the position of Manager, Payroll responsible for North America/UK and lead a team of 9 payroll professionals.  When she worked in the health sector for BCCSS she lead 26 employees. In a global payroll capacity, Ms. Pignotti also worked as a Senior Manager, Payroll for PMC-Sierra/Microsemi responsible for payroll in 16 countries and held the position of Global Payroll Manager at CHC Helicopters Inc.in Richmond.  Ms. Pignotti holds the Certified Payroll Manager designation (C.P.M.), is a registered Subject Matter Expert (SME) and active member of the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA).  Marilyn Pignotti is the Vice Chair for the Pacific Regional council for the CPA.

 

Syd Stowe, S.C.M.P.

With over 20 years experience in the Purchasing Profession and having attained his professional designation in 1997, Mr. Stowe has many years experience as an instructor for PMAC's Supply Management courses. Mr. Stowe has previously been a Board member of Purchasing Managements Association of Canada's BC Institute and former President of the Vancouver Regional Branch.   

 

Randy Webster B.Comm, MBA

Randy is the Chief Operating Officer of MedRay Imaging, BC’s largest outpatient Medical Imaging server provider. With more than 10 years of Executive Level leadership, Randy’s background is in Supply Chain Management, Marketing, Finance, and Operations.  Randy graduated from UBC’s Faculty of Commerce (Finance) in 1995 and invested 13 years in Rogers Retail, spending the last 11 years as a manager, senior manager and director.  In 2010, he graduated from SFU with an Executive MBA. He made a career change to a business lead to a healthcare organization in 2011 and remains there to this day.Randy is the current Board Chair for the TriCities Chamber of Commerce, a non-profit organization serving 1000 members. He has held various roles for the Chamber of Commerce such as the Chair for the Government Relations Committee, the Economic Development Committee and the Membership Committee.

 

Jan Werger, R.V.T.

Ms. Werger graduated with honours from Thompson Rivers University (formerly U.C.C) in 1996. After graduation she joined the team at the Granville Island Veterinary Hospital in Vancouver, under the direction of Board Certified surgeon, Dr. Dennis Jackson. In 1998 Jan joined with Dr. Leah Montgomery's team at the Shaughnessy Veterinary Hospital in Port Coquitlam where she is still enjoying the daily challenges of small animal practice.