Executive Manager – JUDY CHRISTIANSON

Judy is the principal of Christianson & Company, the management team responsible for the day-to-day operations and management of PASS. Christianson & Company has been in business for over 20 years, working on major corporate events for clients such as Electronic Arts, Kodak Canada, the Kodak Graphic Communications Group, and Creo Products Inc., to mention a few. In addition, Judy and the C&C team have produced a number of successful celebrity fundraisers for charitable organizations, including the Steve Nash Foundation, Mark Messier in support of Canuck Place, and the Courtnall Celebrity Classic.

Judy brings over a decade of association management experience to the organization and has served as Director on a variety of boards, as Executive Director to the Creo and Kodak Graphic Users Association boards, and most recently, as Executive Manager for PASS. In her current role with PASS, Judy’s main focus is providing the overall vision and leadership for PASS Headquarters while ensuring all resources are in place to support the needs of the association, the Board of Directors, and the 130,000+ members of PASS.

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Accounting Operations – TANIA WILLEMSE

Tania joined PASS HQ’s Finance Team in Accounting Operations in May 2012. Working closely with Finance Manager Sandy Cherry, Tania is responsible for daily journal entries, monthly credit card reconciliation and payment, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, bank reconciliations, monthly cash flow projections and revenue reconciliations, and monthly/quarterly financial statements. She also helps prepare fiscal year-end financial documents and assists the Finance Manager and VP of Finance with the annual budget. Tania, who obtained her diploma in 2004 from Intec College in South Africa, relocated from Johannesburg to Vancouver in 2011 with her husband and young daughter. She brings over 10 years of bookkeeping, payroll, and accounting experience to her role with PASS.

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Community Evangelist – KARLA LANDRUM

A 2011 addition to the PASS HQ team, Karla brings a valuable insider’s perspective to the PASS Community Evangelist role, having earned the moniker of volunteer extraordinaire during her past 4 years of community volunteer efforts. Based in Orlando, FL, Karla focuses on the community, managing the PASS Chapter and Regional Mentor programs, along with the full roster of SQLSaturday events.

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Community Evangelist – NIKO NEUGEBAUER

Niko joined PASS HQ in October 2012 as a Community Evangelist working alongside Karla Landrum. Based in Portugal, his focus is on supporting community efforts through a variety of programs and events, including local PASS Chapters, Regional Mentors, SQLSaturdays, and more. A SQL Server MVP with 15 years of experience as a developer, DBA, and BI consultant, Niko is passionate about using technology to help people. Most recently, he has been helping others learn about SQL Server technologies and organize events. Niko founded the SQLPort and BITUGA PASS Chapters in Portugal, organized the first SQLSaturday outside of North America, and helped support free community events in Cambridge, UK, and Shanghai, China.

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Event Manager – ANIKA POLISENO

Anika joined PASS HQ in November 2010. With 7 years of event management experience, she is responsible for operations and logistics for all PASS regional and national events. From in-face Board meetings to the annual PASS Summit, Anika manages all event-related logistics and acts as liaison between PASS HQ, the community, the venue, and vendors to ensure facilities, equipment, and physical setup meet required standards and deliver the best possible experience for everyone. In addition, Anika oversees PASS HQ human resources and overall office operations.

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Executive Office Administrator – ELEANOR KLASSEN

Eleanor Klassen joined PASS in March 2013. She is an Executive Assistant with 15+ years proven expertise in Executive Management Support, Travel Administration, Organizational Skills and Schedule Management. Throughout her career, she has worked in the travel insurance and accounting software industry and is looking forward to applying her years of event management and administrative skills to PASS.

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Finance Manager – SANDRA CHERRY

Sandy joined the team at PASS HQ in February 2007 as Finance Manager for PASS, bringing with her 25 years of accounting experience. In her role, Sandy works closely with the Executive VP of Finance, the Board of Directors, and the entire team at PASS HQ on all financially related deliverables. She is also responsible for the annual budget and is the PASS liaison to the accounting firm that completes the annual audit, financial statements, and tax returns for PASS. Sandy is the team lead for both the Finance Operations and Finance Coordinator roles.

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Finance Coordinator – NICOLE CHERRY

Nicole took on the new role of Financial Coordinator on the PASS HQ team in March 2012. She is responsible for the monthly financial reconciliation of all PASS events, all financial aspects related to SQLSaturdays  (including PASS and partner sponsorships, dispersal of funds, and reconciliations), Virtual Chapter sponsorship disbursements, and the monthly time-tracking report (including managing/approving staff time sheets). Nicole joined PASS HQ in November 2011 as administrative assistant. She graduated from the University of Victoria in 2009 with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree, has completed 2 years of Premedical Studies, and operated a Student Works Painting Franchise from 2006-2008.

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Marketing Operations and Social Media – LANA MONTGOMERY

Lana joined PASS Headquarters in October 2011, bringing more than 6 years of marketing, communications, and event experience to her role. She is responsible for the execution of a wide variety of marketing programs, including production of the PASS Connector and volunteer newsletters, planning and support of regional and international SQL Server events, membership growth, and distribution of promotional materials. Lana also ensures that all agreements with sponsors are fulfilled and works closely with sponsors and exhibitors to organize logistics for the PASS Summit Expo Hall and other events.

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Marketing and Sponsorship Coordinator – SANJEET GANDHAM

Sanj joined PASS Headquarters in April 2008 as Marketing Coordinator. She is responsible for the execution of a wide variety of marketing programs, including the development of the PASS Connector and volunteer newsletters, planning and supporting regional and international SQL Server events, membership growth, and the distribution of promotional materials. She also ensures that all agreements with sponsors are fulfilled and works closely with these sponsors to organize logistics for the PASS Summit Expo Hall.

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Operations Manager – CRAIG ELLIS

Craig has been with PASS HQ since June of 2007 and is working on his sixth PASS Summit. He is responsible for the operations at PASS HQ, ensuring team members have what they need to succeed in supporting the Board and community. He is also responsible for overseeing operations around larger PASS events, from the educational programs to onsite logistics. Craig works closely with the Operations, Marketing, Educational, and Microsoft teams to ensure quality events are produced for the SQL Server community.

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Project Coordinator – VICKI VAN DAMME

Vicki joined PASS HQ in April 2012 as Project Coordinator, working closely with Operations and Marketing on the management and execution of a growing number of IT, event, and marketing projects to serve PASS members. She is responsible for overseeing the entire life cycle of a project, ensuring everything is completed on time and on budget. She will be involved in projects involving HQ task management software implementation and project prioritization, Orator enhancements, PASS Summit and 24 Hours of PASS, and newsletter tool implementation, as well as other special projects. Vicki has a degree in Economics from Simon Fraser University and a background in event and project coordination with the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, where she was involved in provincial healthcare initiatives, patient safety and quality initiatives, conference planning, and educational programs.

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Governance Administrator – JANICE SIMPSON

Janice joined the PASS team in April 2013 as a Governance Administrator. She works closely with the Board of Directors to ensure that PASS adheres to its policies and procedures. She has 15 years of experience in managing teams. Her past positions were at the Canadian Blood Services and Prospera Credit Union, where she was involved in making sure their compliance and privacy policies were in place.

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Registration, Housing & Reporting Manager – GERRY ERICKSON

Gerry joined the PASS team in April 2007 as PASS Registration Manager and oversees the registration team on all PASS events. Gerry produces all event status reports (custom, statistical, financial) for the Executive/Board and works directly with accounting on the financial reconciliation of all PASS events. Gerry also works closely with Operations, Finance and Marketing to ensure all systems, policies, procedures and reporting requirements are assessed, implemented, maintained and improved as required. Gerry has 17 years of experience in the event registration field, having worked with Christianson & Company since 1996. Prior to her employment with Christianson & Company, Gerry worked 20 years in accounting and office management positions.

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Registration Services, Supervisor – SHANNON CUNNINGHAM

Shannon works with Executive Events, an event planning and registration management firm located in Boulder, CO, and is the Registration Supervisor for PASS events. As registration supervisor, her role is to support attendees during the registration process. She works closely with Gerry Erickson to maintain the registration site and ensure customer service satisfaction. Shannon has worked with PASS since 2009.

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Registration Services, Lodging Supervisor – BROOKE DALEY

Brooke works with Executive Events and is the Lodging Supervisor for PASS Summit and PASS BA Conference. As lodging supervisor, her role is to ensure that all attendee reservations are submitted on time, that confirmations are sent to attendees, and that all attendees' hotels of choice have received any special requests. Brooke also works onsite at PASS Summit and PASS BA Conference as a registration supervisor.

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Registration Services, Sponsors & Exhibitors – YVONNE LOPEZ

Yvonne works with Executive Events and joined the PASS team in 2009. She primarily supports Al Shuler and works closely with sponsors to ensure their contracted attendee registrations are fulfilled.

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Educational Program Coordinator – MARCELLA MCKEOWN

Marcella returned to PASS HQ in July 2011, originally having joined in April 2008. Working closely with the PASS Program Director and the Program Committee, she drives project management, logistics, and administration of the educational programs for PASS Summit, SQLRally, and 24 Hours of PASS.

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Sponsorship and Partner Relations – AL SHULER

Al is serving in his fifth year as part of the PASS HQ team. He is responsible for sponsorship sales, promotional marketing, advertising sales, and the general management of the Summit and Business Analytics Conference expos. With over 20 years of business management, advertising, customer service, and event production experience, Al ensures clients receive knowledgeable information and guidance. Al works closely with the PASS Operations and Marketing groups to create and provide the best opportunities, options, and value to our sponsors, exhibitors, and advertisers.

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Production Director – NIK VON SCHULMANN

Nik is Director of Production for PRP Inc., a live entertainment and event company based in Vancouver, BC, and Toronto ON., Canada. He has been working with PASS HQ since June 2007 and is responsible for technical conference planning and show production. For more than 25 years, Nik’s extensive experience and understanding of production, design and staging have been utilized in many complex, large-scale international productions.

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IT Team Lead – WESLEY CHANG

Wesley joined PASS Headquarters in April 2010. Recently stepping in as IT Team Lead, Wesley's primary responsibilities are to serve as main point of contact on all IT-related matters, investigate improvements in areas of IT, and execute planning, organizing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of IT project goals and objectives. He is also working closely with the Director of IT and Operations Manager to plan and execute on projects and migrations.

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Systems Administrator – JASON LAU

Jason provides support for the PASS HelpDesk, troubleshooting technical and client/server-related issues. His main duties include working with the IT team as a HelpDesk Administrator to maintain and expand the functionality of current PASS websites to meet the members' needs.

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Technical Director – MICHAEL SCRIVEN

Michael started working with the PASS HQ team on PASS Summit tasks in January 2013. He is a Technical Director for PRP Inc., a live entertainment and event company based in Vancouver, BC and Toronto, ON, Canada. Michael is responsible for all technical layouts, setups and technical equipment requirements for the PASS Summit.

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Web Developer – BENNY SU

Benny joined the PASS HQ IT team in April 2012 as Web Developer with extensive experience in DotNetNuke and .NET development. His primary responsibility is supporting and enhancing PASS’s active websites to meet member needs. He also works with the IT team on mail and database server administration, systems administration and training, and requests to the Help Desk.

Contact Benny