Our Team
The Training Makes Cents Inc. team brings you a wealth of experience to make your training relevant and fun – seriously!
Christie Sterns, President
After struggling for years to train her two golden retrievers, Chater & CeeJay (Chater Junior), and then waking one morning to find that they had chewed every single one of her shoes, Christie decided that it might be easier to work with people.
Beginning with a few training programs delivered to sales representatives, Christie founded Training Makes Cents Inc. in 1989. Since then, she and her team of talented trainers and program designers have created and conducted sales, communication skills, and management training programs with over 120 different companies.
With a degree from Ryerson University, and five years as a clinical dietitian, Christie completed a Master of Health Science degree in Nutrition and Adult Education from the University of Toronto. She then joined Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. as the Manager of Sales Training & Development. She also has her Certified Training & Development Professional (CTDP) designation.
Today, Christie and her team design, develop and deliver real-world training programs that change people’s behaviors. Christie is the author of 425 Seriously Fun Ways to Enhance Learning and Make it Stick! and co-author of the book Prescription for Success – Building Relationships in the Pharmaceutical and Biotech Industries. She is also the creator of the popular Seriously Fun™ Training Tips newsletter and numerous magazine articles for the pharmaceutical industry.
Contact: christie@trainingmakescents.com
Hélène Meloche, Consultant
Hélène Meloche is a consultant who is passionate about her work. She is known for her professionalism and dynamism.
Hélène works on an international level facilitating seminars and conferences in the Canada, U.S., Europe and Africa. She was a regular consultant/trainer to the World Trade Institute of Pace University in New York for 6 years.
She is the designer of the very effective HMC "Time Management System" which is used by thousands of representatives and managers every year. She is also the co-author of the book Prescription for Success.
After studying psychology at the University of Ottawa, Hélène worked as a training consultant for Devcom Systems for Productivity of Montreal. She joined Mead Johnson as a National Sales Training Manager in 1985 and in 1992 became the Manager for Professional Development for Bristol Myers. In this capacity, Hélène had the opportunity to travel Canada from West to East Coast delivering Management Workshops to Hospital Administrators and different associations related to Health Care.
Hélène has been affiliated with Training Makes Cents Inc. since 1993.
Contact: helene@trainingmakescents.com
Vicki Dickson, Consultant
Vicki is particularly skilled at identifying and integrating talent into an organization. She uses proven philosophies and tools to design customized solutions that strengthen an organization.
Vicki graduated from the University of Guelph with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. After a number of years working in the laboratory, Vicki decided to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry. Since 1985, Vicki has worked her way through various positions including Sales Representative, District Sales Manager, Director of Sales and Director of Professional Development & Training. In 2003 Vicki went back to the University of Toronto and completed her Advanced Diploma in Human Resources and was recognized as a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP). She then moved her career from Sales to Human Resources and focused on how to enhance the effectiveness of employees and their teams. Her strong facilitation skills are an asset to any training program or strategic planning session.
Vicki’s skills as a trainer were first honed during the 80’s under the guidance of Christie Sterns. She has rejoined this dynamic team to facilitate programs offered by Training Makes Cents Inc. with great enthusiasm and professionalism.
Contact: vicki@trainingmakescents.com
Lynda Goldman, Consultant
Lynda Goldman is the co-author, with Christie Sterns and Hélène Meloche, of Prescription for Success. She is the author of 30 books, including How to Make a Million Dollar First Impression, and a seminar leader and consultant on business image, etiquette, and communication skills.
Lynda is a writer who specializes in training and communications. She writes speeches for business executives, content for websites, corporate brochures, newsletters, and sales and marketing materials. She also writes articles for numerous business and pharmaceutical magazines.
Working with Training Makes Cents Inc., Lynda designs customized training programs that help our clients increase their communications skills, and succeed in their jobs.
Contact: Lynda@LyndaGoldmanInk.com
Donna Poag, Instructional Design Consultant
Drawing on her extensive background in teaching and training, Donna provides custom-designed solutions using appropriate learning strategies and delivery media to meet each client's needs. Since 1984, she has designed learning materials for corporate training, professional development, continuing education and distance education.
Donna graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph followed by a Diploma in Education from the University of Western Ontario. She also holds a Post-Diploma in Courseware Design and Production from Sheridan College. Donna is the lead instructional designer for most of CCPE (Council for Continuing Pharmaceutical Education) medical courses.
Donna is committed to designing effective, high quality training materials in both paper-based and computer-based delivery formats. She has worked with Training Makes Cents Inc since 1991.
Contact: dpoag@vaxxine.com
Bev Constant, Administrative Assistant
Bev has been an invaluable member of the Training Makes Cents team since 1994. Her pleasant and outgoing manner and her amazing ability to multi-task have helped Training Makes Cents Inc. run as an efficient, streamlined organization.
Contact: bev@trainingmakescents.com
Zohra Taufiq, Bookkeeper
Zohra, the newest member to the team, manages all invoicing issues. Her friendly efficient manner helps Training Makes Cents Inc. keep all its financial “ducks in a row”.
Contact: zohra@trainingmakescents.com