The Importance of Soft Skills and the Human Touch in a Technology Driven World

Oct 2, 2024
12:00PM to 1:00PM

Event Categories Business and Webinars

Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/10/2024
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

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In today’s fast-paced Business World, are you interested in learning more about balancing technology with humanity?

Contrary to what some may think, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not something to be feared. Mastering soft skills like communication, empathy, and teamwork allows administrative professionals to be the bridge between technology and the people they work with. Each skill you have is a tool in your professional toolbox, and AI is the newest one to add.

Join our Guest Speaker Gale Belcourt, National Director Registrar of the Association of Administrative Professionals, and our McMaster Continuing Education Business Administration Program instructors for an engaging webinar on Wednesday, October 2nd from 12 – 1 p.m. ET, to learn more about the following:

The link between AI and the Administrative Profession
Benefits of the Association of Administrative Professionals (AAP) Certifications and related McMaster Continuing Education courses
Tune into the interactive panel discussion related to soft skills and technology with McMaster Continuing Education’s highly experienced Business Administration Subject Matter Experts

You’re invited to get all your questions answered during a Q&A session at the end of the presentation.

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn more and ask your questions on this exciting topic!

Register now!

Elizabeth is a solutions-oriented leader with expertise in organizational design, change management, policy development, and regulatory oversight. She has been instrumental in driving innovation and operational excellence, contributing to CMI’s emergence as one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies and a leading, respected private lender. As the architect of CMI’s talent strategy, Elizabeth has achieved gender parity while significantly expanding the company’s workforce. Her industry contributions have earned her recognition as a Canadian Mortgage Professional Woman of Influence in both 2019 and 2022, as well as a Woman of Distinction at the Canadian Mortgage Awards in 2021. In 2023, Elizabeth was named among Canada’s top 50 executive leaders as a recipient of the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business Best Executive Awards. Most recently, she received the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award from Athabasca University.

She has earned an MBA, a Bachelor of Commerce in Management, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and is currently pursuing a Master of Laws in Business Law. Elizabeth holds several industry-leading certifications and considers herself a lifetime learner. Since 2019, her passion for education and dedication to eliminating barriers to learning drives her in her role as instructor and course content developer with the McMaster University CE’s Business and Marketing programs.

Elizabeth is a dedicated mental health advocate and Co-Chair of the Canadian Lender’s Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion roundtable where she advocates for advancement and empowerment of marginalized groups in the financial services sector. She is also a lifelong volunteer, currently serving terms as a Canadian Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (CNETS) board member, where she spearheaded the establishment of a mental health committee focused on patient and caregiver advocacy, and is a former national board member and treasurer of CIM Chartered Managers.

Elizabeth Wood

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Irameet Kaur

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Nerissa Knapp possesses over 15 years of leadership in business communications, team development and marketing. She designs and delivers customized programs for organizations to maximize leadership and team effectiveness to foster employee inclusivity and engagement.

Nerissa has experience working in the private and public sectors, including universities and other educational institutions, government municipalities, airports, Ontario Courts, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) and School Boards.

Nerissa has experience designing business and integrated marketing plans, brand management strategies, social media campaigns, product life cycle pricing strategies, digital marketing etc. She has strategically planned and coordinated multimillion-dollar business expansions for various industries, conducted macro-environmental and risk analyses, and translated them into business and financial plans.

As an accredited Mediator and Communications Coach, Nerissa fosters a safe space for clients to be seen, heard, and understood, while sharing challenging stories, especially in volatile situations. She balances the power amongst participants to help to bring out underlying issues in a respectful and emotionally intelligent manner, move participants from positions to interests, to empower them to reach mutually beneficial resolutions.

As a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Assessor and Facilitator, she works with people from all organizational levels, including C-Suite, leadership and management teams, frontline employees etc. She cultivates a DEIA infrastructure to equip organizations with tools to cultivate a more inclusive workplace to create a community of belonging and strengthen access to employment and retention for employees. Nerissa helps organizations to create DEIA action plans by performing workplace climate assessments to identify any DEIA gaps, develop and measure performance metrics, create DEIA curriculum, and deliver DEIA trainings to help prioritize and bridge DEIA gaps.

Nerissa was humbled to be selected as professor/instructor of the year at McMaster University (MCE) in the Business Administration and Marketing programs, where she teaches Business Communications, Leadership and Supervision, and Marketing.

Nerissa incorporates Adult Learning Principles (Andragogical principles) in her material, engages learners via experiential learning and applies concepts to relevant real-life professional experiences. She also incorporates multiple instructional strategies to reach learners with diverse learning styles, using a combination of media and activities. She fosters a safe, positive, interactive, and inclusive learning environment for learners. Nerissa is passionate about facilitating learning and development in adults to empower them to maximize their learning potential to achieve their goals.

Nerissa has also served McMaster University (MCE) and other academic institutions as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on various course development projects that includes developing curriculum, course plans, course learning objectives, module learning objectives, interactive and engaging course content, course evaluations and rubrics.

Nerissa holds an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA), a BA in Marketing and Psychology, advanced certification and training in Conflict Management and Mediation, DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility), Instructing Adults, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness and Career Development.