Meet the Team

Bridge Building Group is a collective of professional facilitators, engagement specialists, strategists, coaches, and visual storytellers. We design and guide gatherings that help teams and communities connect, align, and move forward together.

Core Team

  • PARTNER, PROFESSIONAL FACILITATOR

    Jane Porter is a Certified Professional Facilitator (Integral® and IAF Certified™) with over 15 years of experience (national and international) as a convener and consultant bringing a depth of process skills and content knowledge. She has worked at the forefront of key sustainability issues of our time and has led strategy development, program design and national stakeholder initiatives on topics related to climate change, sustainable natural resource management and startups for sustainability.  She is a co-founder of Impact Hub Ottawa, and a Board Member of the Parkdale Food Centre.

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  • PARTNER, PROFESSIONAL FACILITATOR

    Melissa Hammell is a Certified Integral Facilitator® and community connector who is passionate about addressing intricate global challenges one cup of tea at a time. Being from a mixed family with strong Anishinabe roots, Melissa carries the responsibility of bringing different worldviews together through deep listening and relationship building. In her role as a consultant she has led reconciliation initiatives and community conversations across Canada. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from the University of Waterloo and an Integral Facilitator® certificate from Ten Directions. She is on the Board of Directors for both the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, and the Ottawa Riverkeeper.

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  • ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGER

    Fernanda Corrêa is a multifaceted professional who brings a creative and strategic lens to every project she is part of. With a strong background in business strategy, digital marketing, and project management, she excels at transforming complex challenges into actionable solutions. Known for her strong organizational skills, collaborative mindset, and customer-focused approach, she thrives in dynamic environments and consistently delivers results with clarity, creativity, and purpose.

  • ENGAGEMENT LEAD

    Jennifer Williams is an educator and facilitator with over 20 years of experience designing and leading participatory gatherings and learning experiences. She holds a Bachelor of Education and a Master’s in Environmental Education and her work spans educational, organizational and community based contexts. Most notably, she has spent many years leading ship-based and expedition programs, including in Arctic and cross-cultural contexts, which has shaped her understanding of the power of people being together, and the conditions that allow trust, learning, and possibility to emerge. Jennifer supports groups and leaders to design gatherings and planning processes that foster connection, curiosity, play, and shared purpose, while creating space to explore what it means to be human together. She is an Ontario and Québec Certified Teacher and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Experiential Education.

  • ENGAGEMENT LEAD

    Holding experience in a multitude of disciplines, Jessica’s expertise is naturally drawn to that of graphic facilitation, facilitation, reporting and project organization with a passion for inclusive community engagement for socially & ecologically conscientious design. Her approach to all project solutions is that of careful listening - rooted in the belief that the path forward is found in open, balanced conversation. Born and raised in Ottawa, with a mix of settler and Anishinabe heritage, Jessica fully believes in the importance of open, truthful storytelling and story-sharing for intercultural collaboration and bridge-building. View Portfolio.

  • PROJECT & OPPORTUNITIES LEAD

    Vanessa is a dynamic leader with over two decades of global experience across healthcare, tech, and nonprofit sectors. Known for driving collaboration, leading teams through complex challenges, and executing strategic initiatives, she brings a unique blend of clarity, adaptability, and operational expertise to the Bridge Building Group team. Passionate about turning ambiguity into action, Vanessa is a trusted force of change, connecting people, ideas, and purpose to deliver meaningful impact. In her extended leadership efforts, Vanessa serves as Network President of Lean In Ottawa and as an Executive Member of PushPULL Ottawa Dance Company.

  • SENIOR ENGAGEMENT LEAD

    Katie Baker is a Senior Engagement Facilitator, Trainer and Executive Coach with over 20 years of experience supporting teams and leaders to work through complexity, strengthen collaboration, and achieve meaningful results. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, team facilitation, organizational development, change management, lean transformation, and the facilitation of large group meetings and conferences. Katie is also a certified Integral Coaching Canada Coach and has provided executive, life, and transformational coaching to senior leaders across public and private sector organizations. She is a certified facilitator of Crucial Conversations and is certified in psychometric tools including Insights Discovery, Insights Team Effectiveness, Insights Team Navigator, and Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

Collaborators

  • BOOKKEEPER

    Sope Olorunfemi-Bork provides practical accounting and IT support to organizations navigating growth, change, or day-to-day operational challenges. Her experience includes bookkeeping, payroll, budgeting, financial reporting, accounting systems, process improvement, and technical support across both non-profit and for-profit sectors. She takes a thoughtful and collaborative approach, working with teams to find solutions that fit their needs and support smoother operations. Sope is passionate about helping others and also volunteers her time to support people in improving their lives, both spiritually and financially.

  • Katie is a strategist and facilitator with over 12 years of experience working across sectors building entrepreneurial and equitable approaches to social impact. She is passionate in the belief that business can be a force for good and that a more just, equitable and sustainable future is possible. She has led and supported clients in a variety of projects from conducting internal equity assessments, delivering tailored training, and supporting co-creative processes to design more equitable products, programs and teams. Of mixed settler and Anishinabe heritage, Katie has worked across Canada and the globe. She previously served as member of the Social Innovation Advisory Council to the Government of Canada and is currently Treasurer at Water Rangers, a social enterprise empowering communities in protecting waterways.

  • PEOPLE & CULTURE ADVISOR

    Barb Sweazey is a Certified Professional Facilitator with more than 25 years of consulting experience in organizational effectiveness, sustainability, and natural resource management. A former Partner at Stratos Inc., she is recognized as a creative and energetic leader who helps organizations strengthen culture, collaboration, and performance. 

    Barb brings extensive expertise in designing and facilitating workshops, strategic planning processes, and multi-interest dialogues—often in complex contexts where perspectives differ or conflict. She is especially skilled at creating inclusive processes that enable groups to clarify priorities, solve problems, and make decisions that lead to sustainable results.

    At Bridge Building Group (BBG), Barb serves as a People and Culture advisor to the leadership team, drawing on her experience as Director of Organizational Effectiveness and Chair of Management Committee at Stratos. She also joins BBG project teams as a consulting associate to support meaningful client engagements and dialogue. 

    She holds a Bachelor of Environmental and Resource Studies from the University of Waterloo, with a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies.

  • Jennifer Davis is a sustainability consultant and facilitator with over 20 years of experience advising public, private, and Indigenous clients on strategy, governance, and systems change. She has worked at the forefront of issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, reconciliation, and the transition to a low carbon economy, bringing clarity and momentum to complex collaborations.

    Her practice also explores emerging frontiers, including organizational readiness for artificial intelligence, psychedelic safety and mental health innovation, and the design of inclusive innovation ecosystems.

    Jennifer serves on the Board of Directors for CAIN (Canada’s Accelerator and Incubator Network) and holds an MBA from the University of Ottawa, a Bachelor of Environmental Science from the University of Guelph, and certification as a Change Management Practitioner.

  • Kimberly Pilgrim is an Inuk leader, administrator, and cultural advocate from Nunatsiavut, with experience supporting Inuit-led initiatives focused on language, culture, and community wellbeing. She is a co-founder of Inotsiavik Language and Culture Incorporated, a youth-led nonprofit organization based in Hopedale, Nunatsiavut, dedicated to Inuit cultural continuity and Inuttut revitalization. Kimberly currently serves as Inotsiavik’s Director of Administration, where she supports organizational development, programming, and community-based initiatives rooted in Inuit values and priorities.

  • Amanda is a facilitator for social change and a community development leader who believes we can transform our communities to be places of deep belonging, rooted in justice, where everyone thrives for generations. Amanda’s practice draws on participatory methods, playful, and creative tools to create spaces of deep connection and possibility amongst diverse groups of people. 

    Amanda has more than 15 years of professional experience across government, academia, and the nonprofit sector, including over a decade of working directly with communities to deepen their engagement and support their efforts for social change. She is the co-founder of the Ottawa Facilitation Community of Practice, and sits on the Mechanicsville Community Association board.

Are you a bridge builder?

We are always looking for other talented facilitators, convenors and bridge builders to join this community.

If what you are reading here resonates deeply, let’s connect.

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