Meet Our Team

Laraine Kaminsky, President and CEO of Global LK, a global management consulting firm, has lived on three continents and worked in over 93 countries.

In 1989, she launched a management consultancy to build, leverage and develop leaders and managers in an increasingly global economy.

Laraine is a sought after consultant and speaker on diversity and inclusion trends in the global workplace and marketplace. She provides strategic management consulting, facilitation and program delivery for a variety of global organizations.

She has a strong understanding of inclusion and diversity opportunities and challenges with a global perspective. Laraine focuses on cultural, religious, gender and generational issues and how they impact on organizational effectiveness and inclusiveness.

She advises, mentors, and educates leaders and team members on the value of inclusive leadership. Her ability to communicate the complexities of the global mindset has been recognized in multiple media.

Her clients and experience include diverse organizations in the public and private sector, many national and international businesses and several law, financial and professional services firms.

Laraine has ‘leaned in’ and has both a personal and professional interest and expertise in leveraging and including global diversity and inclusion.

She takes a well-rounded approach to expanding her own cross cultural competence, and draws from life experience, study, research, and travel — in particular, she enjoys exploring a culture from the seat of her bicycle and cycles in as many countries as possible.

Kristen has worked with Global LK for four years. As a project manager and analyst she is intimately familiar with the current research and analysis of a range of diversity topics in the global workplace and market. Kristen has a deep understanding of unconscious bias, gender balance and diversity and inclusion challenges and opportunities.

Kristen has a Masters of Public Administration and a background in communications and public relations. Her experience as a policy intern in Ghana piqued her interest in intercultural competence. Working with private and public sector clients nationally and globally, Kristen has extensive experience developing and designing educational awareness programs.

Kristen is an Intercultural Development Inventory Qualified Administrator. As a project coordinator for Global LK, she focuses on creating strong client relationships for project success.

Xavier Dubien started to work with Global LK in June 2020 as a digital producer and project manager.

He has assisted with transcription and analysis for focus groups, hosting and producing online sessions, French translation and various tasks to support a range of projects.

Xavier is fully bilingual, in French and English, verbally and in writing. He studied anthropology and translation (French and English) at the Université de Montréal. He also has experience with transcription (especially in the judicial sector), revision and redaction. Ever since he worked for a few months in the south of France, Xavier has had a renewed interest in making connections with people from all over the world, both online and in person.

Nanci Dreger started working with Global LK in the spring of 2019. She assists the Global LK team with scheduling, administration, travel and client coordination.

Her background includes several areas of focus such as Marketing, Website Management, Data Research, Executive Administration and Human Resource Management. Each have given her a well-rounded experience to benefit the Global LK team. The ability to process multiple information categories helped her to build her own partnership leveraging her skill sets. She loves supporting through value-added administrative/marketing skills, allowing individuals to focus on their core business needs. She has a diploma in Human Resource Management (HRM) from the University of Manitoba.

Sema Burney is a bilingual Human Resources Professional specializing in the areas of Diversity and Inclusion. Born and raised in Quebec, Sema has always had a keen interest in diversity and has witnessed firsthand the changing face of our population.

Armed with over 10 years of experience in human resources and accounting, Sema offers training and consulting services to Quebec and Canadian organizations struggling to keep up with these changing demographics.

As a Chartered Accountant and holder of a Masters in Business Administration, Sema brings a refreshing vision to the HR world with her keen business sense and her solid understanding of the bottom line. She has worked for both large multinational companies as well as small privately owned businesses.

The largest portion of her professional experience comes from the National Bank, Quebec’s leading financial institution, where she worked for six years in various Human Resource functions including Employment Equity and Diversity, Sourcing and Corporate Recruitment.

Throughout her career, Sema has been renowned for her positive attitude, her energy and her passion for people. As an experienced corporate trainer and an inspiring speaker, she can relate to employees at all levels within an organization. She prides herself on her ability to combine her knowledge of human resources and finance into HR strategies that bring business results.

In addition to her consulting work, she is currently a part-time lecturer at McGill University teaching a graduate level course in Strategic Human Resource Management.

Alan is the founder and president of QED Consulting, a 27-year-old company based in New York. He has consulted to corporations and organizations for many years in multiple capacities, primarily in the areas of leadership, values, culture and change. He has provided strategic consulting and facilitation and program delivery for varied organizations globally, and has been involved in innovative instructional product development. He is a recognized pioneer in the diversity and ethics fields.

Dr. Richter is the creator of The Global Diversity Game, an award winning training tool, and co-creator of: the Coaching Development Assessment, a developmental tool for leader coaches and executive coaches; The Global Diversity Survey, a self-assessment tool which measures how we deal with difference; The Global Gender Intelligence Assessment, a new gender intelligence self-assessment; Global Leadership Survey, a leadership style self-assessment tool; and The Global Diversity & Inclusion Benchmarks and The Global Ethics & Integrity Benchmarks, which helps organizations measure their Diversity and Ethics initiatives, respectively, against global best practices. He also co-produced Global Words for Global Leaders, an inspirational leadership video, and co-authored Lost in Cyberspace, a team-decision based tool that explores the nature of global virtual teams.

He has worked closely with many organizations including: American Express, Avon, BellSouth, BP, CERN, Chubb, Delphi, Ernst & Young, Gartner, GE, GSK, Home Depot, the International Criminal Court, Investec, Kohler, KPMG, MetLife, NASA, Nokia, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Prudential, RBS, Sasol, Saudi Aramco, Sony, UBS, Unilever, the United Nations, UNDP, Wharton and WHO. He has worked in Africa, Asia and Europe, in addition to the Americas, and has extensive global experience.

Dr. Richter has also been a presenter at many conferences such as the American College of Insurance, the Arthur Page Society, the ASJA, ASTD, the Conference Board, GlobalForum (Bangkok), Integral Leadership Summit (London), the International Institute for Research, the Human Resource Planning Society, NASAGA and ISAGA (North American/International Simulation and Gaming Association), the National Multicultural Institute, PBS's Adult Learning Satellite Service, SHRM, Arabian SHRM, SIETAR, and the World Diversity Leadership Symposium (at the UN). He serves on the Board of the South African American Chamber of Commerce (SACCA) and Kean University’s Global MBA Program.

Prior to founding QED he consulted extensively in on-line services, taught philosophy, psychology, and interdisciplinary courses at the Open University in Britain, and worked as a lexicographer and technical writer. He is the author of several books and articles. His articles have covered aspects of business ethics, diversity and globalization and he has written chapters in books on ethics and culture in medicine. He is the co-editor of a recent book on global values seen through the context of comparative jurisprudence.

Dr. Richter has an M.A. and a B.A.B.Sc. from the University of Cape Town, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Birkbeck College, London University.

Jörg is a Managing Partner at ThomasLeland LLC. As advisor, coach and practicing anthropologist, he has worked with Fortune 500 clients worldwide for over two decades. He helps his clients address cultural risk factors at multiple levels in order to achieve critical transformation and performance objectives. He applies anthropological perspectives and methodologies to deliver added value – from C-suite to the frontline.

He is a recognized thought- and practice leader in the areas of globalization, culture change, global diversity, intercultural competence, and Inclusive Leadership. He led the development of the Cultural Orientations Indicator™ and the Cultural Navigator® and implemented groundbreaking approaches to the development of global-, cultural-, and inclusive leadership competence for organizations worldwide. His clients include: IBM, Volvo Group, Pepsico, Proctor & Gamble, American Express, Mercedes Benz, Young & Rubicam, Oliver Wyman, Bombardier, Japan Travel Bureau, 1 Worldsync, EY and others. He led global client initiatives in the areas of international joint ventures, outsourcing, acquisition integration, and cultural optimization, the development of inclusive leaders, as well as the implementation of innovative leadership development strategies.

Jörg continues to advise clients and lead engagements that address specific cultural challenges to achieve desired performance results. He is particularly focused on change-, interaction-, and experience design and the development of global and inclusive leaders. In addition to his role at ThomasLeland, he serves as adjunct faculty at the Graduate Center of the University of Bremen, the Thunderbird Executive Education Educators' Network, and as program director for the Corporate D&I Conference at The Conference Board.

He is co-author of Doing Business Internationally (2002), author of Transcendent Teams (2000), The Cultural Orientations Guide (5th edition, 2007), the Guide for Inclusive Leaders (2007), contributor to the Cross-cultural Management Textbook (2012), and authored several white papers. In addition, he led the development of the Cultural Orientations Indicator

Jörg received undergraduate degrees in psychology, philosophy and anthropology and a Master’s degree in cultural anthropology from the University of South Carolina. He specialized in bio-cultural anthropology and communication analysis, studying with leaders in those fields.

Skilled speaker, facilitator and instructional designer, Brad gets his energy from people development. With over 25 years of hands-on experience designing and delivering high impact adult learning experiences, he is skilled using a variety of learning delivery methodologies most recently delivering unconscious bias training via virtual and workshop formats for Fortune 500 organizations.

He has extensive experience facilitating focus groups with audiences ranging from senior Wall Street executives to manufacturing plant associates and designing and facilitating retreats and off-site meetings most recently in the Higher Education and Public sectors.

Brad earned a Master of Science in Industrial Relations from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management from Georgia Tech. He takes his passion for creating diverse and inclusive environments into the community through volunteer work as a YWCA Racial Justice Facilitator and via the Atlanta Diversity Management Advocacy Group.

In his work with client organizations, Chad supports a climate where performance breakthroughs can occur. He has been a multicultural organization development consultant since 2002 and an educator and facilitator for over twenty years.

His expertise is helping groups work together effectively across their differences. He helps you collect valid assessment data necessary to understand the unique challenges and opportunities that exist in your organization. Using this data, he works with you to increase the capacity of vital teams.

Chad is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory. He serves as Secretary of the Board of the Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research (SIETAR-USA). He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, a Master’s degree in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts, and a Master’s degree in Human and Organization Systems from Fielding Graduate University. Chad lives in Salt Lake City with his husband Matthew and black lab Samson.

Liliana Cantú is a native Mexican and has a BS degree in Marketing and a Masters Degree in International Communication. She also holds the Intercultural Foundations Certificate awarded by the Intercultural Communication Institute, and is an Expert Panelist for the Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks publication, sponsored by the Diversity Collegium.

She has professional experience in the fields of human resources, public relations and relocation destination services, as well as in the design, customization and delivery of intercultural, global leadership, communication skills, teambuilding, creativity and innovation, problem resolution, ethics and diversity and inclusion training, in English and Spanish. Liliana has personal intercultural experience in several countries including the United States, Canada, Venezuela, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Portugal.

Liliana has participated as a speaker and planning committee member at international symposia, and has served in different global councils. She is a freelance facilitator for several global training companies. She has delivered training programs, in English and Spanish, in over a dozen different countries, in organizations such as Novartis, Daimler, KPMG, Caterpillar, HP, Chrysler, DELL, PepsiCo, Toyota, Delphi, Starwood, Honeywell, Nielsen, LEGO, P&G, Bayer, Ford, Whirlpool, John Deere, Unilever, Coca Cola, Nissan, Under Armour, British American Tobacco, Medtronic, and the United Nations.

Liliana has also performed as a part time university professor at one of the most prestigious institutions in Latin America: the ITESM (commonly known as Monterrey Tech), where she has taught intercultural communication courses to national and international students.
Liliana is the founding president for SIETAR Mexico (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research).

She has delivered keynote speeches on Women's Empowerment and Diversity and Inclusion.

Catherine Chambers is a learning and development practitioner and teacher-researcher. She has more than 25 years of experience in First Nations Communities, Canada, the United States, South Africa, and the Caribbean. Catherine has worked in more than 20 municipalities and First Nation Communities in Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.

Catherine’s diverse industry knowledge is an outgrowth of her work in telecommunications, strategic performance measurement, information technology, financial services, chemical goods and services, education, child protection, and other sectors. Her areas of interest include: Canadian History, diversity and inclusion, social-entrepreneurship, innovation, instructional technology, and Global Learning Competencies.

Catherine is a Ph.D. student in the department of Social Justice Education (SJE) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto (OISE/UT). She is conducting research on equity issues within STEM education and the community 'Maker/DIY Movement'.

Catherine has a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Western Ontario, and two graduate degrees in education (Master of Adult Education and Master of Teaching) from OISE. She is also an Ontario Certified Teacher.

KerryAnn Cochrane is a facilitator with Global LK. She holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta and has more than twelve years’ experience designing and facilitating courses and workshops on topics related to intercultural effectiveness, cross-cultural communication, cultural adaptation, gender and intersectionality, organizational culture and diversity and inclusion.

KerryAnn is experienced in participatory facilitation and experiential education techniques and has worked with teams and individuals re-integrating after overseas postings. She has broad experience facilitating groups of various sizes and compositions in a variety of sectors and contexts and additional professional experience in NGO/civil society sector, including international experience in developing countries.

She also has twelve years’ experience working as a professional translator/editor and is certified as a facilitator in Appreciative Inquiry and accredited as a professional coach. Fully bilingual, KerryAnn is able to work in both English and French at a high proficiency level.

Karen has over twenty years of experience as a change management and training design and delivery consultant. A dynamic educator and facilitator, her expertise lies in supporting organizations with their change initiatives.

Karen has designed and delivered over 500 training sessions on managing change, team building, strategic planning, global leadership, effective coaching, conflict resolution, and training of trainers.

Karen's international experience has given her insight and appreciation of the challenges individuals and teams face in organizations, and around the globe.

She has worked in both the public and private sectors across Canada, as well as internationally in Central America, the Caribbean, India, Romania and the Russian Federation.

Karen holds a Master’s in Education from McGill University concentration Adult education. She is a part-time faculty member at McGill's Career and Management Department, where she teaches two courses: Diversity and Global Leadership in the workplace; and Developing Human - Resources Training & Development.

She is certified in both MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), SDI (Strength Deployment Inventory), DiSC and Insights Discovery.

Fluently bilingual leader with 26 years of combined HR and OD experience.

My fluency in both French and English has served me well. I have had the amazing opportunity to work in various industries in Quebec and Ontario, taking on Human Resources Leadership roles.

As I look back at my years of experience, I am proud of the courageous decisions I have made along way. The first half of my career was spent honing my skills as an HR generalist, having held for the most part, managerial and senior level positions.

My career took a significant turn after graduating with my Master’s in Education from the University of Toronto (OISE) in 2010. For the past 10 years, I have focused on my work as an Organizational Development Practitioner.

I have been referred to as “An iron hand in a velvet glove” – In my book, achieving results and being kind are not mutually exclusive. I am also a very big proponent of having fun at work. Some of my best times and funniest moments have been spent with colleagues working on challenging projects.

Debra Freathy served as the Program Director for Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), LLC from 2009-2014. Currently, she is an IDI Consultant with GlobalLK. She has conducted intercultural training using the IDI with executives, students, and instructors and has also conducted research using the IDI across business institutions in Europe. She brings her experience as a psychotherapist of 25 years to her work. Debra has lived, studied, and worked in Europe and Asia for 17 years and has taught graduate level Organizational Behaviour and Leadership in Executive MBA and MBA programs and Psychology courses. Debra was the recipient of the 2018 IDI Intercultural Competence Award.

Cathy is a global Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) leader with over 30 years' experience in human resources, learning and development, and 15 years’ experience specializing in DEI. A consultant in the field, she is also a Professor for the Centennial College Certificate in Leadership and Inclusion and a faculty member at the University of Toronto Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability Graduate Diploma. She is the co-editor of the newsletter for the Centre for Global Inclusion, and an Expert Panelist for the Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks.

Previously, Cathy helped to establish the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI). In her tenure at CCDI, she led the consulting and measurement portfolios, the learning portfolio, and the research and knowledge services portfolio. Cathy has delivered over 450 speaking/learning engagements, has lectured at colleges and universities across Canada, and is a sought-after speaker at conferences and events.

The author of five of CCDI’s toolkits, Cathy has also written or co-written 25 major research reports, including the only national benchmarking study on supplier diversity in Canada. She has had dozens of publications and media appearances including CBC News, Talent Canada, HR Professional, PeopleTalk, HR UpDate, HUMANCapital, HR Saskatchewan, Municipal World, Supply Chain Canada, and the UK’s Equal Opportunities Review.

Karima has always been passionate about education and humanitarian development. She helps individuals and organizations build trust across cultures, celebrate diversity, and create more inclusive workplaces.

Over the past 15 years, Karima has contributed to exciting educational leadership programs in Canada, Asia and Africa in the profit and non-profit sectors and to various Federal government departments. She provides these services in both official languages.

Karima has facilitated workshops, presented at conferences and coached leaders and organizations locally and globally including Industry Canada, Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development (DFATD), National Judicial Institute, Aga Khan Development Network, Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), RBC Royal Bank, ATB, City of Calgary, Tourism Montreal, and Cirque du Soleil. With the Ottawa Community Immigration Services Organization (OCISO), Karima also trains mentors from public and private sectors who support newcomers to Canada.

Karima holds a Master’s in Educational Leadership from McGill University. She is a Qualified Administrator for the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI). She is also an integral development coach and mediator.

As a psychologist established in Montreal, Pascale Leblanc has been offering diversity management consulting services since 2000. She uses training, conferences or individual and team support to help organizations acquire essential practices in order to leverage diversity and
inclusion.

As a specialist in intercultural issues, she supports organizations in their evolution towards an increasingly inclusive workplace. Pascale Leblanc has worked with federal departments and agencies or executing agencies such as Public Safety Canada, National Film Board (ONF), Royal
Canadian Mint, and the Canadian Francophonie scholarship program as well as many private and public companies.

Through the commitment, respect and authenticity that she demonstrates in her conferences and training, Pascale mobilizes learners and promotes the expression of diverse points of view that encourage them to invest in their development process. Pascale has the knowledge, approach and know-how to trigger change in people and in organizations.
Catherine’s diverse industry knowledge is an outgrowth of her work in telecommunications, strategic performance measurement, information technology, financial services, chemical goods and services, education, child protection, and other sectors. Her areas of interest include: Canadian History, diversity and inclusion, social-entrepreneurship, innovation, instructional technology, and Global Learning Competencies.

Catherine is a Ph.D. student in the department of Social Justice Education (SJE) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto (OISE/UT). She is conducting research on equity issues within STEM education and the community 'Maker/DIY Movement'.

Catherine has a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Western Ontario, and two graduate degrees in education (Master of Adult Education and Master of Teaching) from OISE. She is also an Ontario Certified Teacher.

Enidio Magel is an intercultural specialist, global facilitator and executive coach. His work expands over 18 years in the field of diversity and cross cultural psychology. His contributions have been featured in Hispanic and Parenting magazines, El Mundo and The Austin American Statesman.

Enidio has facilitated numerous sessions on global inclusion, unconscious bias and intercultural effectiveness throughout the world, for audiences such as UNICEF, The Discovery Channel, JPMorgan Chase, The National Basketball Association, AIG, and Microsoft among others. He has also coached dozens of executives managing global engagements across four continents.

Mr. Magel holds a cross-cultural psychology degree from the University of Texas in Austin and a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology. Enidio was part of the executive team that founded People Express Airlines, a company that revolutionized the airline industry, and he is currently the founder and managing director of the Multi-Cultural Institute in Austin, Texas.

Mr. Magel is bilingual and a certified medical interpreter. He is also the co-founder of The Missy Project, a 501(c) 3 dedicated to inform others about brain aneurysm disease in children.

Ms. Shinomiya is a consultant, corporate trainer, coach, webinar leader and author, specializing in leading effectively in a global environment, including intercultural communication competency, inclusive leadership and global virtual teaming for corporations, teams and individuals. Her current work includes leading cross-cultural coaching, training and interactive webinars related to North America, Asia and Europe, as well as business seminars on project management, leadership skills for high-tech managers, and coaching skills for managers. She has spent over ten years working and living in Asia, mostly in Japan, speaks Japanese and has studied Mandarin Chinese. She is co-author of the book Business Passport to Japan: Maximizing Your Success in the 21st Century, Revised and Updated, 2008, an essential guide for anyone who does business with Japan.

Upon receiving her MBA in International Business, Ms. Shinomiya joined a prominent California consulting firm as an Intercultural Business Specialist and Project Manager. Her first project was with a US-Japan steel-manufacturing joint venture. Next she was responsible for International Management Development programs for both Proctor and Gamble and Intel Corp., helping global employees succeed in a competitive US work environment. She managed the on-site program at Intel Japan KK in Tsukuba for six years. Working closely with Intel HR, she designed, conducted and managed a variety of global business and cultural competency development programs including working in the US for high-potentials, business communication, negotiation and globalization for high level executives. Other clients in Japan included P&G, Hitachi, Dell Computers, NEC and Motorola.

Ms. Shinomiya currently resides in the U.S. Northwest, and runs her own consulting company, Business Passport, which provides a range of services to growing companies and organizations seeking to be successful worldwide. Her clients have included Mitsubishi Bank, Intel Corp., KPMG, The Gap, Daimler, Micron, Siemens, Pfizer, Boeing, Fujitsu, Toyota, Nike and Starbucks. She has recently been invited to Portland State University’s Master of International Management program as an Adjunct Faculty Member, teaching Intercultural Competency and Communication. Her management consulting, coaching and training have taken her to all parts of the US, as well as Japan, Canada, England, Germany, India and South America. She is a Board Member for the Society of Intercultural Education, Training and Research (SIETAR-USA). She helped to develop a certification program for Global Diversity Practitioners, and has certification in Global Virtual Team facilitation, webinar delivery and e-learning. She is IDI, GCI, IRC and COI certified, and attends the Summer Institute of Intercultural Communication in Portland nearly every year, recently completing courses in Global Leadership, Leading Virtual Teams and Emotional Intelligence and Diversity. Other professional associations include the Japan-America Society of Oregon, the Asia Pacific American Chamber of Commerce, the Technology Association of Oregon, and the World Affairs Council of Oregon.