Operations built on a strong IT foundation.

I lead my operations teams through empowerment, using my IT background as the foundation for my approach. I fine-tuned my operations leadership on board the Africa Mercy, a hospital ship, overseeing six departments and 150 staff who enable the life-changing surgery that happens every day.

Where I am now

I have the pleasure of serving alongside my family on board the Africa Mercy, a 72-bed hospital ship. As a volunteer with Mercy Ships, I have the incredible opportunity to step out of IT and into business operations within the unique environment where the maritime, healthcare, and education sectors collide. I joined the ship as IT Manager and transitioned into the Operations Director role about a year later. My experience before that ranged from providing technical solutions to equip Canada’s fastest-growing company to modernizing a provincial healthcare agency's processes and technology. Today, I balance the needs of six operations teams as they support the hospital and marine operations of the Africa Mercy.

Operations and logistics

I run operations where the work doesn't stop. I delivered a six-day shoreside setup on arrival in Madagascar and planned the shore-based relocation of 72 people during annual maintenance in South Africa. Along the way, I identified and created new processes to improve the way Operations supports the misison.

People and mission

I lead a multinational volunteer crew across six departments and keep people engaged around a shared mission. I have recruited, trained and retained staff in Canada and in a global context. Ensuring my teams what what they need to succeed is my priority.

Budgets and vendors

We steward the money of our donors, which means I take care of the $125,000 CAD annual budget I'm responsible for. I secured new vendors, gift-in-kind-partnerships, and used creative solutions that didn't sacrifice service quality.

Systems and change

I build the frameworks that make service predictable, from a formal ITSM framework aboard ship to a province-wide centralized support desk in Ontario. At ApplyBoard, I built the IT backbone behind a 48-hour, zero-outage move to full remote work.

Experience

ITIL v3 Foundation certified. Operations leadership in humanitarian, healthcare and high-growth technology settings.

October 2025 to present

Operations Director

Mercy Ships, M/V Africa Mercy, Toamasina, Madagascar (volunteer)

Hold operational authority over six departments (Stewards, Finance, Supply, IT, Transportation and Facilities, and the Ship Academy), covering 150+ people across a multinational, cross-cultural crew supporting Mercy Ships’ surgical mission in Africa.
Delivered a record six-day operational setup on arrival in Madagascar, one of the fastest on record for the vessel, so surgical operations could begin without delay.
Planned and executed the full shore-based relocation of 72 people (13 families and 11 teachers) during annual maintenance in Umhlanga, South Africa, covering airport transfers, housing, dedicated academy vehicles and daily commuting. Phased re-embarkation went off without incident.
Initiated and secured a gift-in-kind partnership with a fleet management software provider, expanding the organization’s resources at no direct cost and establishing formal fleet oversight aboard ship.
Introduced a structured vendor management process that secured rental vehicle needs under budget, the first time this had been achieved in the role.
Planned and executed a two-day holiday for the full ship’s crew, coordinating three days of catering and transportation to uShaka Marine World.
Oversee approximately $125,000 CAD in annual operational spend across departmental budgets.

Worked with: vendor and contract management, budget oversight, fleet management, logistics planning, crisis response, cross-cultural team leadership.

July 2024 to October 2025

IT Manager

Mercy Ships, M/V Africa Mercy, Toamasina, Madagascar (volunteer)

Led a volunteer IT team of seven drawn from multiple countries, managing service delivery and onboarding across rotating crew cycles, with hands-on experience recruiting, training and retaining volunteer talent.
Designed and implemented a formal ITSM framework for the ship’s service desk, establishing incident intake, triage, escalation and resolution where none formally existed.
Conducted a shipwide IT asset audit that identified significant hardware reuse and deferred an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 in new hardware procurement for the 2025 cycle.
Restructured IT roles and responsibilities to better align team capabilities with operational demand.

Worked with: ITSM, volunteer recruitment and training, IT asset management, team structure and role design.

January 2021 to July 2024

IT Manager

Home and Community Care Support Services Waterloo-Wellington

Served as the most senior IT role in the organization, leading a team of up to nine direct reports across infrastructure, service desk and systems.
Designed and implemented formal SLA frameworks and incident management processes, improving response accountability and service visibility across the organization.
Led a province-wide Incident Management initiative, architecting and launching a centralized provincial support desk serving all Local Health Integration Networks across Ontario.
Managed local vendor procurement relationships and contributed to IT budget planning and oversight.

Worked with: SLA frameworks, incident management, vendor procurement, IT budget planning, team leadership.

March 2019 to January 2021

IT Manager

ApplyBoard, Kitchener, Ontario

Joined as the company scaled from about 135 employees and managed IT infrastructure through explosive growth to nearly 2,000 without a major service disruption.
Architected and maintained the IT backbone behind the pivot to full remote operations within 48 hours during COVID-19, with zero outages.
Built and managed remote onboarding pipelines processing 40 to 60 new employees weekly at peak growth, including endpoint provisioning, Active Directory management and access controls.
Established and enforced network security best practices and Active Directory governance as the organization scaled.
Led vendor management across hardware, software and service providers, managing the full procurement lifecycle.

Worked with: remote onboarding, Active Directory, endpoint provisioning, network security, vendor management, procurement.

Beyond the org chart

Africa Mercy

Since July 2024, I have lived and volunteered aboard the Africa Mercy, a 72-bed hospital ship in Madagascar, leading alongside volunteers from many countries who share one mission.

RBC Canadian Open

For five consecutive years, from 2019 to 2023, I chaired Player Transportation for the RBC Canadian Open, recruiting, training and leading a team of 100 volunteers to run a fleet of 170 courtesy vehicles for players, coaches and VIPs.

Let’s talk about what you are building.

I am interested in director and executive roles in operations, particularly where a strong technology foundation helps.

Email me Connect on LinkedIn