Our Team

Graham Donald

Founder & President

Graham Donald is one of North America’s leading experts on attracting, recruiting, and engaging students and graduates.

He founded Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc. in 2003 to focus on improving students’ school-to-work transition by advising and training both the employers that hire students and the educators who support their career development on campus.

His clients have included KPMG, PwC, University of Toronto, Deloitte, GE, McGill University, HSBC, UBC, Rutgers University, Kraft, and many others.

He chairs several conferences annually including the Campus Recruiting Forums in cities across Canada and the USA; the Canadian Career Development Summit; and, the Strategic Enrolment Marketing & Management Forum. He also speaks regularly at conferences across the US and Canada.

His earlier career consists of successive roles in which he developed tools, networks, technologies, research reports, training programs, and strategic advisory processes to improve the work of both the employers and career educators.

During his undergrad he started a business that published a career guide for graduating students and he created partnerships to customize it for university career centres. In 1993, he became Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Career Educators & Employers (CACEE), which grew rapidly under his leadership. In 1997, he launched Canada’s first job search website for students, Campus Worklink, which connected employers to a network of more than 80 universities and colleges.

In 2001, Campus Worklink was acquired by Workopolis (Canada’s largest job site at the time), where he joined the management team until starting Brainstorm two years later. Along the way, he and a few partners started Camp Temagami to support the personal development of young people through wilderness canoe tripping experiences.

Almost ten years after starting Brainstorm, in 2012, he took a part-time sabbatical from it to became General Manager of Simply Hired Canada Inc., a Silicon Valley-based job search engine. In 2014, he moved to Day Communications where he helped employers develop their brand and recruitment communications strategies.

In 2016, he returned to Brainstorm full-time to develop new training programs for employers, new development opportunities for educators, and new research projects to help both audiences better understand the next generation.

Graham Donald is a firm believer in the value of a general arts education and makes use every day of the skills he developed pursuing a double-major in English and Literary Studies. He received both his BA and MBA (which has also proven useful) from the University of Toronto.

Jennifer Powell

Director of Programs and Community Engagement

Jennifer Powell has 13 years of experience working in the post-secondary sector in areas that include communications, marketing, admissions, student recruitment, student services, work integrated learning, career development, event planning and stakeholder relations.

During her time at Durham College, she also was a member of the Board of Governors.

Prior to joining the sector, Jennifer worked at a national not-for-profit that represented the interests of both grocery retailers and foodservice distributors across Canada in both event planning and public policy positions.

Jennifer holds a diploma from Sir Sandford Fleming as well as post-graduate certificates obtained through Ontario Tech University and Ryerson University and a micro-credential through the Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.

Julie Rahmer

Learning, Research & Engagement Lead

Julie Rahmer brings over 25 years of experience to the field of career development and campus recruitment to her role as Senior Consultant at Brainstorm where she supports the creation of innovative research and professional development aimed at providing career professionals and employers with the tools to engage and attract students and new graduates.

Prior to working with Brainstorm, Julie was the Director of the Career Centre at York University. While at York, Julie was responsible for implementing strategic priorities, leading an inspired team, and fostering partnerships with senior leaders, employers, and alumni to provide students and new graduates with the skills and confidence to pursue successful careers. Julie also served as the university’s Experiential Education Strategy Lead where she developed a business case to launch a new department, the YU Experience Hub, aimed at expanding experiential education across all Faculties and enriching community and employer partnerships.

Luke Balbirnie

Director of Technology

Luke Balbirnie is a web developer and designer from Dublin, Ireland with extensive experience in full-stack web development, web design, brand identity, and graphic design.

Joanne Hader

Lead Research Consultant

Joanne is the resident Brainstorm number cruncher. She joined the team following a career of more than 25 years as a health and social science researcher, program evaluator, and senior-level manager in Canadian government and non-government organizations (NGOs). She is trained and experienced using both qualitative and quantitative research methods and has taught university classes and presented to academic conferences on research methods. Joanne has authored and co-authored more than 30 research publications using administrative and survey data including an impact evaluation of closing 50 small hospitals is one Canadian province.

Joanne has an MA in Medical Anthropology from the University of Saskatchewan. She is a certified Lean Yellow Belt, a huge fan of Crucial Conversations tools and methods, and a trained facilitator and negotiator. She was using SPSS before her computer had a mouse and the program had a GUI window user interface.

Joanne is respected by colleagues for delivering results and for the positive energy she brings to demystifying data collection, analytics, and statistical concepts. Balancing out her work life, Joanne is a Registered Yoga Teacher, mother of two grown sons, and an avid golfer, traveller and cyclist.

Margaret Evans

Human Resources Consultant

Margaret is a bilingual Human Resources Consultant with 15+ years of experience. As a true generalist, she translates industry best practices into customized HR solutions that meet a client’s unique needs. Margaret is an advisor to business owners and managers on strategic and tactical HR matters and is straightforward and down-to-earth in her approach. Through her career, she has added business value in both union and non-union environments in a variety of private and public-sector industries.

In addition to her Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation, Margaret holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Guelph, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management from Humber College, a Master’s Degree in Industrial Relations and Human Resources from the University of Toronto, and a Certificate in Private Investigation from the Canadian School of Private Investigation and Security Ltd.