Christianson & Company

About Us

Christianson & Company

We specialize in non-profit and professional association management and deliver a full range of management and event services tailored to the unique needs of our clients. Our personal and custom approach – backed by a dedicated team of experienced professionals – adapts to your environment and your budget. We’ve been delivering association and event management excellence for over twenty years and have a proven record of achievement. We are the ideal long-term partner for associations seeking efficient management, and operational and event practices that produce high-impact results.

Association Management

Steering clear of the cookie cutter model employed by many other association management firms, we work in close consultation with each client to deliver a cost-effective and customized central operations infrastructure. Our 30+ person team of management, operations, and marketing professionals are skilled in all aspects of non-profit governed associations. And, with a knack for managing volunteer talent, we strive to meet and adapt to your association stakeholder needs.

Event Management

With a focus on creativity and innovation, we offer full production services to deliver sophisticated and professional-caliber event experiences. No detail is too small and nothing is overlooked. Our event team puts clients at ease by inspiring confidence and always remaining on budget.

Leadership

Judy Christianson
Principal
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Meet Judy Christianson
A seasoned executive, Judy brings over twenty years of creative leadership to Christianson & Company - managing and executing major corporate events for clients such as Electronic Arts, Kodak Canada, the Kodak Graphic Communications Group, and Creo Products Inc., to mention a few. Additionally, Judy and her team have produced a number of successful celebrity fundraisers for charitable organizations such as the Courtnall Celebrity Classic Society, the Steve Nash Foundation and Mark Messier in support of Canuck Place.

Judy has also served as Director on a variety of boards, as Executive Director to the Creo and Kodak Graphic Users Associations and continues to serve as the Executive Director for the Courtnall Celebrity Classic Society - a charitable organization that provides financial support and raises awareness for Mental Health.

Sandy Cherry
Senior Finance Manager
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Meet Sandy Cherry
With over 25 years of accounting experience Sandy joined the team in February 2007 to lead the finance team, managing all finance related deliverables for C&C clients and working closely with C&C’s accounting firm to complete annual audits, financial statements and tax returns for C&C clients. Sandy’s natural ability with numbers helps her keep very close track of her fellow golf player’s scores and her eagles and back to back birdies during this favorite pastime of hers.

Craig Ellis
Global Alliance Manager
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Meet Craig Ellis
Utilizing his strong business development and relationship building abilities Craig delivers excellent customer service and creates mutually beneficial relationships for C&C clients. Since joining C&C in 2007 Craig has developed and executed on numerous international multi-million dollar conferences for C&C clients. On top of his overall business strategy guidance for all C&C’s clients Craig is responsible for the creation and development of the Global Alliance Partnerships program for C&C’s client PASS. Craig’s dedication to achievement spans across both his at-work and at-home life in which he holds a true and long-term passion and commitment to marathon, half-marathon and 10km competitive running.
Anika Poliseno
Senior Manager, Events & Registration
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Meet Anika Poliseno
Since joining C&C in November 2010 with over 10 years of event management experience Anika has developed and managed the event operations and logistics for a range of national and international meetings, large-scale conferences, launches and fundraising events. Whether it’s hosting (and cooking) for her own dinner parties or managing complex event-within-event conventions for over 5,000 people, Anika brings her creativity, expertise and excellence in budget management to each and every event she works on. 
Janice Simpson
Governance & HR Manager
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Meet Janice Simpson
Crucially important to the success of every Association is its governance policies that ensure equity, diligent management procedures for continued growth, and adherence to laws to maintain compliancy. Since joining C&C’s team in April 2013 Janice’s thorough nature has helped C&C’s client’s continued success. Working closely with client’s Board of Directors Janice applies her 15+ years of experience in managing teams and her past positions at the Canadian Blood Services and Prospera Credit Union to advise on and implement new governance policies.
Vicki Van Damme
Director of Operations
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Meet Vicki Van Damme
People, processes and performance are all in a day’s work for C&C Project Manager Vicki. Combining her degree in Economics from Simon Fraser University with her background in event and project management Vicki is able to execute and manage a growing number of IT, event and marketing projects on time and within budget. Since joining the team in April 2012 Vicki has been responsible for overseeing the entire life cycle of many significant, creative and game changing projects for C&C clients.
Sonya Waitman
Director of Sales
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Meet Sonya Waitman
Sonya joined the management team of Christianson & Company as Director of Sales in 2015 and she is responsible for providing the strategic direction for all sponsorship sales related activities. Sonya ensures the alignment of PASS sales strategies and plans to overall PASS objectives and maintains open communication with the Director of Marketing and other team leads and board counterparts.  Sonya has a master’s degree in Business Administration from Vanderbilt University, over 15 years of IT industry experience, and 9 years in sales and marketing. She comes to us most recently from Microsoft where she managed the relationships of strategic retail partners in Canada. In her spare time Sonya prefers to escape the office and head to the mountains to go hiking, rock climbing or skiing.
Elizabeth Jeffs
Operations & Project Manager
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Meet Elizabeth Jeffs

Elizabeth joined the C&C team in April 2014 bringing to the position experience with project management tools, graphic design and event planning. A graduate of the University of British Columbia with a B.A in Human Geography and a minor in English Literature, Elizabeth previously worked with TOIT Events, and is a committed volunteer, having held positions with Power to Play Vancouver and Ten Thousand Villages. Elizabeth brings her passion and knowledge of volunteering to her role which liaises daily with hundreds of volunteers committed to helping grow their communities.


Meet the Team

Leeza Andrewsky
Program Coordinator
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Meet Leeza Andrewsky

Originally from the Okanagan, Leeza has been living the big city life for almost 10 years now. Coming to the team with a strong administrative background, Leeza also brings her detail oriented work ethic and always upbeat personality. When she’s not at work, she loves spending time with friends and her football fanatic husband, doing yoga, or relaxing with a nice glass of Okanagan wine.

Thiago Bernardo
Help Desk Administrator
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Meet Thiago Bernardo
Thiago joined Christianson & Company in 2015 as a Help Desk Administrator. Previous to this, he worked as a .NET Programmer for 5 years in Brazil. He decided to move his career to improve his knowledge in the IT area and now he is engaged in providing help to all teams wherever he is needed. He has systems and web application experience and expertise in network troubleshooting and maintenance. Throughout his career, Thiago has received two Microsoft and one CompTIA Network+ certificates. 

Thiago is a Brazilian who loves soccer, MMA, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding and hiking with friends.
Wesley Chang
Systems Architect
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Meet Wesley Chang

Managing an Association’s IT infrastructure is no small feat and Wesley, along with his team of Architects and Developers, is responsible for the creation, support and management of hundreds of websites, building custom solutions that aide every facet of an organization or event from speaker management, to registration and beyond. A graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology, Wesley enjoys watching and playing basketball and cheering on his local and international sports teams.

Nicole Cherry
Business Development Analyst
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Meet Nicole Cherry

Nicole joined the C&C finance department in November 2011 and is responsible for reporting and the monthly financial reconciliation of all client events. Nicole’s precise nature in reporting on finances, event records and projections helps C&C clients keep on track and in the know with vital statistics and also shines through in her colorful, unique and amazingly detailed artwork she creates in her spare time. A graduate of the University of Victoria in 2009 with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree, Nicole also completed 2 years of pre-medical studies, and operated a Student Works Painting Franchise from 2006-2008. Nicole practises Vinyasa and Krama yoga and enjoys spending her evenings with a great book. Nicole and Sadie can be found exploring the city on weekends when Nicole isn't out supporting the Saskatchewan Roughriders with her Dad during the CFL season. 

Emilija Dufresne
Projects & Community Development
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Meet Emilija Dufresne

Emilija joined the team in August 2013 bringing with her a varied and remarkable slate of abilities and expertise across event planning and coordination, academics/education, Board relationship management, and as an amateur beekeeper! Working closely with the PASS Project Management and Community teams, Emilija applies her knowledge and experience to further develop the Business Analytics community for C&C’s client PASS.

Jasjit Gandham
Project Coordinator
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Meet Jasjit Gandham

Jasjit grew up in Burnaby and attended Simon Fraser University. An avid soccer fan, Jasjit enjoys playing indoors or out and tries to pick up a game at least once a week. It is a dream of his to see his favourite team, Manchester United live in action. When Jasjit isn’t playing soccer, he enjoys travelling, hiking and exploring all the wonderful things Metro Vancouver has to offer.

Sanjeet Gandham
Sales Coordinator
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Meet Sanjeet Gandham

Sponsorship management is an integral part of any event and Sanjeet has it mastered following her 9 years at C&C. Whether it’s brainstorming creative sponsorship solutions, overseeing collateral placement in thousands of attendee bags or ensuring sponsor ROI onsite, Sanjeet offers a high degree of customer service and attention to detail to ensure sponsor’s success. With a Masters in Business & IT from Aston University and originally from the UK Sanjeet now calls Vancouver home but maintains a strong dedication to the Aston Villa soccer team. In her spare time Sanj enjoys interior design, long walks as well as the gym, cooking, reading and spending time with her 2 kids. 


Justin Gong
DevOps Engineer
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Meet Justin Gong
Justin graduated with a Bachelor of Computer Science from UBC and has worked in the software development industry for 8 years focusing on Microsoft .NET development. His latest employment was with Bay West Management company as a Software Developer where he worked on variety of different technologies. Outside of work, Justin spends most of his time with his family and two little boys. He also enjoys watching sports games (NBA, NHL, MLS and EPL soccer games).
Lisa Harding
Marketing Manager
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Meet Lisa Harding

Lisa Harding comes to us with 15 years of progressive marketing experience, primarily in the technology and software industries where she has held a number of positions focused on acquiring and engaging partner and customer communities. She is committed to lifelong learning, and most recently completed her MBA at Royal Roads University in 2012, with a specialization in leadership. 

Eleanor Klassen
Executive Office & HR Administrator
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Meet Eleanor Klassen

Eleanor’s expertise in Executive Management support, Travel Administration and Organizational/ Schedule Management skills has provided a strong support structure for C&C’s growing team. With over 15 years’ experience as an Executive Assistant Eleanor has previously worked in the travel insurance and accounting software industry and enjoys implementing new event management and administrative processes that contribute to C&C’s overall success, and that of her colleagues. Outside the office Eleanor applies her years of experience with travel management to plan out exciting holidays in her time off each year.

Jason Kwong
Operations Coordinator
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Meet Jason Kwong
Jason is an expert in operations, logistics, and supply chain management. Prior to joining C&C, he worked at Williams-Sonoma, and organized and executed a range of events at Canucks Sports and Entertainment. Jason has a History degree and is currently completing a Bachelor of Financial Management at the University of British Columbia, with the aspiration of becoming a project manager. A deep passion for music means that he is usually found within paces of his guitar.

Jason Lau
Web Developer
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Meet Jason Lau

Multi-tasking is Jason’s forte as he troubleshoots technical and client/server-related issues while also maintaining and expanding the functionality of websites to meet client’s evolving needs. Holding the office record for most screens at one desk, and number of applications open, Jason enjoys badminton and gaming in his spare time, no doubt helping his juggling abilities in the office. 

Amanda Martin
Community Manager
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Meet Amanda Martin

Amanda is the Community Manager at C&C. She brings experience in strategic communications, marketing, and community management, and has a passion for connecting people. With a background in both the private and public sectors, she has worked for energy companies, non-profit organizations, and the University of Alberta’s International Department. Originally from Calgary Amanda has worked overseas in both Australia and Vietnam, and is thrilled to now be living in Vancouver. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Calgary, and a Diploma in Public Relations from the University of Victoria. Outside of her professional life, Amanda is always looking for new outdoor adventures, craft beer, and passport stamps. 

Marcella McKeown
Educational Programs Team Lead
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Meet Marcella McKeown

A conference isn’t a conference without industry leading speakers and on-target educational content - Marcella ensures that C&C clients can call theirs the best of the best. Keeping up with content trends and in the know about the best speakers, Marcella leads Educational Programs with an organized, informed and dedicated approach. Since joining the team in April 2008 Marcella has helped vastly grow the conference programs for C&C’s clients, and always with her signature enthusiasm and a smile.

Joanne Minnie
Full Charge Bookkeeper
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Meet Joanne Minnie
Joanne developed her career as a Full Charge Bookkeeper in small business and has a vast amount of experience in bookkeeping, management and consulting to bring to her role at Christianson & Company.  Joanne very much enjoys the challenge of Finance and the satisfaction of success when all the numbers balance! Joanne’s pastimes are running, yoga and as much golf as she can book in!
Simon Rea-Palmer
Finance Operations Lead
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Meet Simon Rea-Palmer

Another of C&C’s avid sportsmen - Triathlete by weekend, Senior Finance Operations Coordinator by weekday, Simon works closely with the Finance Manager and is responsible for bank reconciliations, financial statements, and helping prepare year-end financial documents. With C&C since July 2013 Simon has over 10 years of financial experience, having worked in both accounting and industry roles. He is currently studying towards a professional Accounting qualification. Simon moved from the UK in 2010, and now lives in Vancouver with his wife and baby daughter.

Erick Romero
Event and Community Coordinator
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Meet Erick Romero
Erick was born and raised in Mexico City. He's been fascinated in the hospitality industry from a young age, which led him to pursue his studies in Hotel Management. Prior to moving to Vancouver, Erick was in the events division in Dubai's Oil and Gas Industry. His favorite thing about Vancouver is the combination of beaches, mountains, and the great outdoors.
Stephen White
Project Coordinator
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Meet Stephen White

Stephen brings over ten years’ experience in construction management, plus over fifteen years’ in music industry event coordination. Having moved to Vancouver in June 2012 from his home in Dublin, Ireland, Stephen set to work in the thriving Vancouver construction industry, coordinating the construction of multi-million dollar commercial interior renovations. Outside of project management, Stephen is a songwriter/recording artist and has released records and coordinated tours with a number of his own bands. Also a keen martial artist, Stephen is a member of a Vancouver MMA gym and enjoys Muay Thai kickboxing.

Cathrine Wilhelmsen
Community Evangelist
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Meet Cathrine Wilhelmsen

After many years of working as a data warehouse architect and business intelligence developer in Norway, Cathrine decided to pursue a new career overseas. In 2017 she joined C&C as the Community Evangelist. While she has a strong technical background, she also has several years of hands-on experience running technical user groups and conferences, as well as being an international speaker and volunteer. Her role with C&C is focused on global community growth and working closely with community leaders and event organizers all over the world. Outside of work, Cathrine is still a technical geek! She enjoys blogging about technical topics, speaking, travelling, hiking, reading, and watching movies.

Julia Wu
Event & Lodging Manager
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Meet Julia Wu

Part of C&C’s expert events team, Julia joined PASS HQ in March 2014 with a background in Project and Event Coordination and works under the supervision of the Event Manager. Julia is responsible for providing support to the Event & Operations Team and performing general administrative assistance. A pro at Excel and a devotee of Gantt charts Julia maps out the minute but important details that ensure thousands of event attendees have the best experience possible when they attend a C&C event. Julia is also a self-confessed sports addict. Whether it’s watching the professionals or playing in recreational leagues, there won’t be a season where you don’t see her running around on the field!

Lucky
Office Security
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Meet Lucky

No mailman or visitor enters Christianson & Company without thorough inspection from Office Security Agent Lucky. A Pomeranian-Cross, Lucky provides much comic relief to his busy colleagues and cuddles if asked nicely (or where food incentives are involved).

Sadie
Personal Trainer
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Meet Sadie

(Almost) faster than the speed of light, Jack Russell Poodle Airdrie Cross, Sadie can get from one end of the office to the other quicker and jump higher than anyone else on the team. Known for her signature curly locks Sadie keeps everyone on their feet and energized during her regular visits.