Member Profiles

Shelley Neil - Shelley is Manager, Special Projects in the Vancouver Division of PCL Constructors Westcoast Inc. She has worked in construction in BC since 1984 after obtaining a diploma in Civil Engineering Technology from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.

Shelley was appointed Manager of Special Projects at PCL in 2003. Her experience as an estimator and project manager with PCL and other general contractors has led to this management position. She leads a team of project managers, project coordinators and superintendents to provide construction services for projects from $1,000 to $10 million.

Shelley is a Gold Seal certified Estimator and the 2003-4 VRCA Outstanding Woman in Construction Award winner.

Marina Pratchett - Marina is a Partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin and has practiced law in Vancouver since 1982. She acts as an arbitrator and mediator. Marina has a Masters Degree in Law, focusing on internet use in construction and on-line project management. She was made a Queens Counsel in 2000.

Marina is a Director of BC Construction Roundtable, Honourary Board Member of Big Sisters and a Fellow of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers.

Marguerite Laquinte Francis - Marguerite is an Intern Architect in the Vancouver office of Cannon Design. She has a Masters degree in Architecture, is a LEED® accredited professional and a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

As a designer, she has had the opportunity to work within teams that have planned and built significant healthcare, retail, corporate and sports facilities. Prior to joining the construction industry, Marguerite earned a Bachelors degree in Administrative and Commercial studies and held various management positions in the financial sector and non-profit associations.

Through her activities as a CCW director, she hopes to help promote the diversity and opportunities within the construction industry.

Valerie Sanguinetti - Valerie is a draftsman with a small design firm in Vancouver. Prior to relocating to Vancouver in 2002, she drafted pre-manufactured wood-frame components for companies based in Calgary, AB, and took the opportunity to move into a more design-centred position when moving to Vancouver.

She currently works primarily with commercial / office buildings in Vancouver and Burnaby, doing space planning, permit and construction drawings for tenant improvements, as well as working on some larger building redevelopment projects.

Valerie is happy to contribute to the Board of CCW as Secretary, where she can become more involved and knowledgeable about the construction industry in general, and specifically in the Lower Mainland.

Rebecca McDiarmid - to come.

Lisa Gray - to come.

Anneli Piigert - Anneli has worked with the Scott Construction Group since beginning her construction career in 1997. In 1998, Anneli began night studies at BCIT and completed her Construction Operations and Supervision Program in 2002.

Anneli is currently Project Coordinator at The Properties in West Vancouver.

As CCW Director of Membership, Anneli encourages women in the industry to share in the support, inspiration, learning, networking, and mentoring experiences that she enjoys at Canadian Construction Women.

Gwen Williams - Gwen Williams is currently a self employed finishing carpenter and trades instructor. She received a Diploma in Building Construction in 1980 from Utah Technical College in the United States and, since moving back to Vancouver in 1989, has received her Inter-provincial Carpentry Certification.

For the past 14 years she has operated her own finishing carpentry company and employed women as labourers and carpenters helpers, as well as apprenticing a woman as a carpenter.

In the past 5 years she has been involved in developing and instructing a variety of carpentry courses for men and women as part of government subsidized training programs. Her most fulfilling is a ‘Women’s Home Improvement Course’. It has had a huge impact on improving the self esteem and living conditions of women of low incomes as well as giving women exposure to various trades and the confidence to pursue such a career if they are interested.

In her role as Director, Trades Membership for Canadian Construction Women she would like to promote and mentor women who are interested in a career in the trades.

Jennifer Patterson - to come

Nadina Carlyle - to come

Marg Latham - In her role as Vice President, Knowledge Management for UMA Group Ltd., Marg leads the development of solutions that assist UMA in achieving its business strategy by leveraging the knowledge and expertise of its people. This is accomplished through initiatives in areas such as corporate learning, technical excellence, innovation, process improvement, and information and knowledge management. Her passion and ability to make things happen has led to a number of successful developments including an innovation awards program, company-wide CADD standardization and automation, and Aurora, UMA’s award-winning Intranet.

Her commitment and concern led Marg to assume the additional role of UMA’s Corporate Safety Officer. In that role she has been instrumental in developing and implementing a new health and safety program throughout the organization.

In the community, Marg actively supports and encourages women to enter and remain in the engineering and construction industry through speaking engagements and participation in associations such as Canadian Construction Women.

Marg graduated from Queen’s University in civil engineering in 1974 and spent 10 years in various onsite construction roles before joining UMA in 1984 as a construction superintendent. In UMA she moved through a broad spectrum of project management positions across Canada before joining the UMA’s corporate office in 1997. In 2000 she became UMA’s first female Vice President.

Marg was the 2001 VRCA Outstanding Woman in Construction Award winner.