Team Connects Us

It takes a village to do what we do. Writers, instructional designers, HR consultants, HR Software implementers, web developers, and customer support staff.

Meet the ConnectsUs core team. 


Ariane Laird

Ariane Laird

CEO & Founder

My formal job titles are Founder, Leader, CEO, COO, HR Consultant, Product Manager. But I'm essentially a jack of all trades.  More 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side



Sarah Visca

Sarah Visca

Operations Manager

My favourite phrase is “Show, don’t tell”. Talk is cheap, so let’s get it done! I'm all about efficiency, structure, and clarity and I use these traits (some may call them quirks) to provide stellar operational support. 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side



Melina Laird

HRIS & Digital Systems Specialist

With my Computer Science degree from Western University, I handle all things techy at ConnectsUs — from HR Sync implementations and the technical side of the ConnectsUs website, to digital marketing, IT, AI chat agents. I also keep our partner programs running smoothly.



Bradley Higham

Bradley Higham

Marketing

I do marketing planning, strategy and execution. I'm also a man of very few words.  

Professional Side  |  Informal Side



Crysta Liew

Director, HR Programs

I love anything HR. The legislation, the best practices, reading and learning about best practices.  Which makes me the perfect person for what I do which is essentially creating, improving and updating our products and liaising with legal partners and customers. 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side



Jo Payne

Product Manager

I'm all about product:  creating and improving documents and the resource center content and flow. Which is a fancy way of saying that I do A LOT of writing!  I work on graphics, video tutorials, web copy, website administration. I'm also the language/styles and formatting police. 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side



Andrea

Andrea Levin

Product Manager

Short and sweet:  I manage the technical website development crew. I debate with Ariane about font size.  I'm the system architect and most days, the Head of the Complaints Department.

Professional Side  |  Informal Side



Sue

Sue Robinson

Office Manager & Customer Support

I'm known as the Hub of ConnectsUs. If you want to know what's going on, I'm your go-to.  I provide administrative & customer support. Everyone knows that I'm the brains behind ConnectsUs and it wouldn't survive without me. :) 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side



Peter Fisera (Fish)

Developer

I'm the main crew guy that Andrea manages.  And I've been with ConnectsUs since 2006.  Lots of fun - and lots of changes. I'm the guy who tracks down bugs and glitches (not that they happen often!)  Oh, and since we all work virtually, no one knows what I look like! 

Professional Side  |  Informal Side

  • "...Comprehensive, well-written and creative… provided us with a new perspective on what kind of best practices we should be implementing for existing and new employees... great value with instant return on investment."

    George Reznik | Chief Operating Officer & CFO, Infowave Software
  • "...We needed a starting point for everything from policies to manager resources and got so much more."

    Karen Buchanan | Office Manager, BCTIA (BC Technologies Industry Association)
  • "... We had a menu of everything we could possibly need to quickly create HR best practices. The toolkit helped me understand what every small business should have in place."

    Salina Visram Landstad | Partner, Creative Spirits
  • “I love your products. You have done a truly fabulous job with your toolkits. I’ve just spent 3 hours customizing your toolkit for one of my clients, and what I’ve done already would have any senior management team ecstatic. Talk about return on investment!”

    Deborah Nicols | Principal HR Consultant, Nicols & Dymes Consulting Inc.
  • "...Never before have I seen a product that so easily and completely supports the creation of HR practices. Don't reinvent the wheel - buy one of the best wheels invented to take your small business forward..."

    Patti Sheehan | Principal, Puget Sound People Solutions | Seattle, WA
  • "Entirely straightforward!  Our Office Administrator basically took the templates and ran with them in a few days…professionally written using common language, and demonstrates significant and immediate value."

    Kent Toy | Director, Finance & Administration, Antarctica Systems