Our Team | Brainstorm

Graham Donald

Founder & President

Graham Donald is a leading expert on campus recruiting and career services management.
Over the past 20 years he has advised dozens of major employers and developed a broad network of university and college clients.

As a co-author of the annual From Learning to Work Report, Canada’s benchmark study of student attitudes towards careers and employers, Graham has developed a unique understanding of tomorrow’s workforce. He uses this expertise and his extensive experience in the campus recruitment marketplace to advise major employers when developing programs to attract, recruit, retain, and manage new student hires. His primary role as a consultant with career services offices and other student services is to facilitate the strategic planning process or external reviews to help support student engagement and success.

Graham was Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE) for seven years. In 1996, he conceived and launched Campus WorkLink, which quickly became Canada’s largest job posting site for students and graduates. Campus WorkLink was sold to Workopolis.com in 2001 where he worked as part of the senior management team until starting Brainstorm Strategy Group, Inc. in 2003.

Through Brainstorm Strategy Group, Inc., Graham has developed a series of Campus Recruiting Forums in cities across North America for employers of post-secondary students and graduates. He also created The Canadian Institute for Career Centre Management – a management training program for campus career centre directors – and the Career Development Summit for leaders in campus career services and cooperative education. More recently, he launched the Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum (SEMM Forum) for recruitment and marketing professionals at universities and colleges.

Earlier in his career, Graham was owner and president of Turl Street Publications Ltd., a founding director of the Career Edge National Internship Program, and a founder, past president, and life member of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Canada. He is also a former owner and director of a children’s canoe tripping camp, Camp Temagami. He received both his BA and MBA from the University of Toronto.

Jane Coates

Senior Consultant

Jane is a senior client relationship and project manager with more than 25 years experience in recruitment advertising and communications. She brings her specialties in employer branding, candidate attraction strategies, research and process planning to the Brainstorm team.

Jane develops and manages a full spectrum of employer communications projects. Most recently, Jane consulted on projects for ad agency clients, including award-winning campus recruitment campaigns for mining and financial services clients. Among a wide range of work, she developed a complex, long-term recruitment strategy for an oil & gas leader, designed and executed research for a national industry association and a national automotive retailer, and managed a diversity communications initiative for a major Canadian bank.

In her previous roles as Vice President, Relationship Management at TMP Worldwide and Vice President, Client Services at Bernard Hodes Group, she led service and creative teams to ensure the delivery of quality solutions and realization of communication objectives. Jane began her advertising career at the Globe and Mail after receiving her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Guelph.

In her free time, you’ll find Jane in the garden, following major league baseball or planning the next wildlife watching destination.

Jacqueline Hampshire

Communications & Event Manager

Jacquie is a communications professional with more than 10 years experience working in the higher education industry. She has worked in university recruitment and admissions, career education, event management and marketing.

In her previous roles, Jacquie has worked with both the student and employer segments to effectively provide opportunities which supported successful transition from school-to-work. She created and implemented new programs and events that engaged members of the community in unique and innovative ways.

Jacquie is responsible for managing Brainstorm’s many conferences and training programs as well as supporting the development of new programs, event initiatives and client-specific programming. In her role, she also leads Brainstorm’s marketing and communications through online and social media channels.

Jacquie received her Honours BA in Communications & English from York University and her Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing from McMaster University. She is passionate about her family, travel and shoes.

Margaret Pomeroy

Senior Consultant

Margaret is a highly experienced Human Resources professional with extensive service in HR leadership and program development roles with the Ontario public sector. She has developed and managed a variety of HR program areas including: executive recruitment, general recruitment, selection methodologies, integration of behavioural competencies, succession planning, workforce planning, leadership development and performance management.

She has designed dozens of recruitment and selection processes for a wide variety of roles including senior executives, professional, scientific and highly specialized roles. She has worked extensively with a variety of assessment tools in designing effective attraction, recruitment and selection solutions.

Margaret has done consulting work with a variety of large and small work units related to organizational change and transition, process improvement and human resources program development to meet client needs in a changing work environment. Her strengths include focused and meaningful consultation, effective relationship management, accurate assessment, and development of unique and customized strategies to address client needs.

Carly Pisterzi

Administrative Manager

Carly Pisterzi brings a diverse range of skills to Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. where she is responsible for the management of conferences, events, and training programs. She also provides support to all other areas of the business with her highly customer-focused approach.

Carly is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) with experience working as a Human Resources Generalist for an HR consulting company and as a Staff Accountant for a large international accounting firm. She has also worked as a manager and staff developer in the hospitality industry and has devoted much of her time to teaching numerous business management courses at a private college.

Carly is a graduate of the University of Calgary where she received both a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. She is a member of the British Columbia Human Resources Management Association (BCHRMA), as well as the Comox Valley Women’s Business Network (CVWBN).

When Carly is not working she is busy chasing around her kids, or enjoying the great outdoors.