Our People

Nowshad (Shad) Ali, CFRE, CPBA, CPVA, TriMetrix

Skilled group of Facilitators, Trainers and Coaches

Kim Ali

One of Kim’s beliefs is that understanding of one’s self, patience, diligence and attention to detail is paramount to success. All of this begins with clarity of purpose, establishment of clear goals and objectives and a commitment to action. With a strong desire to be of service, Kim has had continued involvement in a number of community and charitable organizations.

Kim has a distinguished employment history working with organizations such as Sask Sport, Royal Life Saving Society and Tennis Canada. A skilled and experienced professional she dedicates herself 100% to client service and satisfaction. Kim co-facilitated sessions at the Fundraising Congress including Events with Purpose and Converting Donor Complaints to Critical Success Factors.

Kim was the OPLI lead on the Saskatoon Centennial Celebrations Project for the City of Saskatoon leading the various sub-committees (Events, Community Relations, Fundraising & Finance, Marketing & Communications, and Education) and supporting the Management Committee and the Core Committee. She has stewarded plans for projects such as: Bridge Party, Celebrating Our People, Right On Track, Canada Day, Saskatchewan Centennial Celebration, New Year’s Eve in Civic Square, New Years Day in the Park, and numerous others.

Some highlights include:

Partner – On Purpose Leadership Inc.
Tennis Canada – EA to the President & CEO
Saskatoon Open Doors Event – Organizing Committee 2005, 2007 – event volunteer in 2006
Doors Open Toronto – event volunteer - 2004
Canada Games Mission Staff
Member Greater Saskatoon and Area Chamber of Commerce
Holds certificate in Business Administration from the University of Saskatchewan

Most recently, Kim has been the project lead on the Cameco Riverfront Campaign fundraising project for Meewasin, and been named the Olympic Torch Relay Artistic Producer /Coordinator (January 2010) and the Saskatchewan Marathon Race Director (2007 to current).

Kim’s unique skills and expertise set includes:

Design, planning and execution of corporate, special and fundraising events
Volunteer recruitment and management
Fundraising plan development, management and implementation.
Preparing and monitoring project and business plans and budgets
Conference management
Developing partnerships between diverse agencies
Speaker recruitment and management
Negotiating, managing and monitoring contracts with suppliers and contractor

Kara Lackie

Kara Lackie is a Project Manager at On Purpose Leadership, where she played a key role in organizing such high profile events as the Saskatoon Fireworks Festival, Saskatchewan Marathon, Saskatoon Speaks initiative, Olympic Torch Relay as well the project lead for WakeRide. Kara has also played key roles in the production of a number of corporate events including celebrations, press conferences, forums and special events.

Kara’s strengths include:

Project planning and development
Exhibitor recruitment and management
Facilitation of partner relationships
Logistics management
Sponsorship procurement and fulfillment

Kara holds a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with a minor in business from the University of Saskatchewan. Throughout her university career, Kara was a member of the Huskie Women’s Basketball team where she was a team captain.

In addition to her professional experience, Kara has served as a dedicated volunteer promoting physical activity through multiple associations and projects. Kara has made a special commitment to promoting physical activity for youth with disabilities through the Autism Society, the University of Saskatchewan’s Physical Activity for Active Living, and through being a ‘Go Girls’ mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters Saskatoon. Most recently, Kara has been involved in assisting with various programming at the White Buffalo Youth Lodge as well as sitting on the planning committee for the Huskie Athletics Centennial Celebrations.

Sue Lessmeister

Sue is an Event Manager at On Purpose Leadership and is a graduate of University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with a minor in Business. She has a broad range of work experiences, including a long time stint at Federated Cooperatives Ltd. In her University career, she received a wealth of practical experience working on such projects as the Olympic Torch Relay and a City of Saskatoon Aquatics Pilot Project. She has worked on OPLI projects for clients such as Cameco, SWANA, City of Saskatoon, Saskatoon Overnight Shelter, and a number of others.

Sue’s strengths include:

Project Management
Client/Customer relations
Prospect Research

Sue has been and is involved as a volunteer on a number of Community initiatives and organizations including the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships, River Heights Community Association, the Saskatoon Blades, and the 2012 Tim Horton’s Brier. An experienced team player, she holds two Provincial Gold Medals in volleyball from her high school years and enjoys being involved in numerous other sports and activities as well. Sue is dedicated to her two young children.

Sue’s communication and technical expertise goes well beyond her education and she brings a wealth of practical know how and good old fashioned common sense in her approaches.

Amy Prokop

Amy Prokop is business development specialist at On Purpose Leadership. She has worked on many On Purpose projects over the last couple of years including: Bike Safety; Wake Ride and Marafun. Amy has a keen interest and aptitude for team cohesion and leadership, interests that have served her well as she has been developing the Talent Management Plus process at On Purpose Leadership.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce with a major in Management as well as a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology with honors, both from the University of Saskatchewan. Throughout her university career, Amy played five years of Huskie Women’s Basketball, during which time she won a Canada West Championship, and was team captain for two years.

Amy’s love of basketball and her commitment to team cohesion and leadership has continued into her volunteer commitments as well. She has coached six years with the Junior Huskies program and does numerous basketball camps throughout the year. Amy has served on the Huskie Women’s Basketball scholarship brunch committee and helped coach the senior girl’s basketball team at Walter Murray Collegiate.

Amy’s previous work experience includes sales and management roles as well as two years as a research assistant in the college of Kinesiology.

Nowshad (Shad) Ali, CFRE, CPBA, CPVA, TriMetrix

One of Shad’s core beliefs is that true growth and development comes from an intense understanding of self and a commitment to support and develop the capacity of others to realize their dreams and their potential. With a strong involvement and commitment to community, Shad has coached sports teams and served on several community boards and committees.

Hold the CPBA designation (Certified Personal Behaviour Analyst)
Hold the CPVA Designation (Certified personal Values Analyst)
Diploma in Adult Education – St. Francis Xavier University
Hold the CFRE designation (Certified Fund Raising Executive)
Completed course work and examinations for the AME program with Canadian Society of Association Execs.

As a consultant with Blackbaud Analytics in Canada, Shad worked with a number of organizations in helping them to explore the advantages of using custom donor modeling to enhance their fundraising results. This has included organizations such as: McGill University, McMaster University, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Nature Canada, Sick Kids Foundation, Covenant House, The Lung Association, and Canadian Red Cross.

Shad has presented at several conferences on topics such as: Strategic Planning for Fund Development, Getting the Goods Through Sponsorship, Strategic Donor Development, True Donor Centered Relations Management, Building High Performance Teams, Fundraising in Culturally Diverse Communities, Implications of Canada’s Privacy Legislation, Philanthropy with Purpose, and many other topics.

Through the training and development division of On Purpose Leadership Inc. Shad has delivered sessions on topics such as: Leadership Dynamics, Negotiation Skills, Time Management, Communication Dynamics, Building High Performance Teams, Managing Change, Consultative Selling, Sales Negotiation, Building Superior Inter-personal Communications and more. He has also facilitated business and strategic planning sessions for many companies.

Shad has had the privilege to serve many of Canada’s top charities and not-for-profit organizations both in a professional and volunteer capacities, including organizations such as: Canadian Red Cross, Osteoporosis Canada, Canadian Diabetes Association, The Lung Association, Toronto Training Board, Human Concern International, IDRF, Canadian Society of Training and Development, Canadian Professional Sales Association, Toronto Board of Trade, and Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and United Way among others.

Corporate clients have included: Great West Life Assurance Company, Amalgamet Canada City of Burlington, York Region Public School Board, City of Saskatoon, and course attendees have come from banks, investment, sales, manufacturing, restaurant, entertainment, tourism and marketing organizations.

Shad is an active member in several associations including: Association of Fundraising Professionals, Saskatchewan Association of Human Resource Professionals, Canadian Society of Training and Development, Canadian Professional Sales Association, Saskatoon and District Chamber of Commerce.

Skilled group of Facilitators, Trainers and Coaches

At On Purpose Leadership we have a core group of skilled facilitators, Trainers and coaches with varying expertise and experience who are deployed across Canada and whose talents are brought to bear on projects based on the project and client scopes.

In all cases these are people with on the job experience backed by a solid education; certifications where appropriate and track records of success which can be documented and verified.