About Us
Jen Goeres
WordPLAY Consulting Inc. Owner & Founder
Canadian Healthy Play Facilitator
Jen Goeres has spent over 30 years working and volunteering in sport and recreation across community, municipal, provincial, and national levels. She is currently the Director of Calgary Adapted Hub powered by Jumpstart, where she partners with local organizations to connect children and families living with disabilities to inclusive, quality sport and recreation.
Jen also works nationally as a Project Lead with INclusion INcorporated and as a Program Consultant with Canadian Women and Sport, providing equity, diversity, and inclusion leadership to sport organizations across Canada. As one of the only Canadian Healthy Play Facilitators and Classroom/Play Consultants, she delivers training to sport, recreation, and education teams coast to coast.
She is also a Master Learning Facilitator with Sport for Life and a certified NCCP Facilitator, bringing inclusive and developmentally appropriate approaches to sport leadership. For nearly two decades, Jen was the HIGH FIVE® Coordinator for Alberta, a Master Trainer, and a key contributor to national HIGH FIVE® programs including Girls in Sport, Mental Health, and Indigenous Games.
Jen is a long-standing leader with the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA), where she chaired several provincial committees including the HIGH FIVE® Task Force, YDRS, and the ARPA Summer Camp Collective. She also serves on the board of InMotion Network, supporting sport and physical activity for girls and women.
She holds a BKin in Adapted Physical Activity and a BEd in Secondary Physical Education from the University of Calgary, and is pursuing an MEd in Physical Education and Wellness from the University of Alberta. Jen also teaches in both school and post-secondary settings, sharing her passion for inclusion, physical literacy, and education at all levels.
WordPLAY Consulting Inc. Collaborators
Jen Smith’s career in recreation began almost 30 years ago when she became a support worker for adults with disabilities which quickly established a passion for working within the disability community.
While still living in Ontario, she developed and facilitated a Youth Leadership Training program for Rainbow Day Camp, became the Program Coordinator at The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Toronto office, and took on a rewarding leadership role at Trails Youth Initiatives, a provider of outdoor experiential education for vulnerable youth.
In 2008, Jen moved to Bragg Creek, Alberta to become the Program Coordinator at Easter Seals Camp Horizon, a year-round accessible outdoor facility offering programs and summer camp opportunities for children and adults with disabilities and serious illnesses. During her time at Camp Horizon, Jen met many wonderful people and worked with an amazing group of staff - it was truly an experience of a lifetime!
In 2010, Jen was hired as a Recreation Program Specialist at the City of Calgary, and from there, took on a variety of roles within municipal recreation, including Sport Coordinator, Learning and Development Coordinator, and Recreation Coordinator. These opportunities gave her valuable experience in program development, supervision and leadership, customer service, learning and development, and recreation management.
In addition to being a previous HIGH FIVE Trainer, she is also an NCCP and Sport for Life Learning Facilitator and has also been a Healthy Play Trainer for the last ten years. She is excited to now be one of the only Canadian Healthy Play Facilitators and Classroom/Play Consultants providing training and classroom/play consultations to recreation, sport and education groups across Canada - she is excited to continue to advocate for play and healthy child development!
Keely Willment holds a Master’s Degree in Sports Management, a BA in International Relations, and is a Mom of two amazing children. Currently working in Corporate Services in municipal government, she lives the lessons from many hours spent on the fields, playgrounds, and classrooms - challenging children and youth to discover what to play, how to play, and what is play. These lessons translate from the playground to the boardroom, and include putting the person first, the importance of building relationships, and experimenting with boundaries and risks.
She believes learning from play builds empathy, understanding, a desire to see other perspectives, and ultimately, makes for better world citizens. She has promoted these values through HIGH FIVE, NCCP and as a Healthy Play Trainer for the last ten years. She is excited to now be one of the only Canadian Healthy Play Facilitators, providing training and classroom/play consultations to recreation, sport and education groups across Canada.
She is the long-standing (and perhaps the longest!) Alumni and Past President of the Dinos Women’s Rugby Program, Sports Director of her Community Association, former Director of the In-Motion Network, and cycling commuter who values her ability to advocate for children’s health through physical activity.
Carlee Schaefer has been involved in recreation and sport for 12 years, working and volunteering for government and municipal/provincial organizations across Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. In the present, Carlee is a ‘PLAY by day’ Deputy Manager PSP at CFB Cold Lake, where she oversees the deliverables and operations of all Morale and Welfare services for the local Defence community. Outside of this role, Carlee is a leisure and recreation enthusiast, lending to her community as a HIGH FIVE trainer, Lifesaving Trainer, and workplace culture consultant. She brings to the team a working knowledge of academic, municipal and government lens and application, offering valuable insight to projects at hand. Carlee loves the outdoors, and you will often find her off for a run or out on the lake.
Carlee graduated from Vancouver Island University with a MA Sustainable Leisure Management. She is a IAP2 trained facilitator and possesses a certification in Change Management. Her passion for community development and public engagement, specifically in a military context, has led to many collaborative efforts and provisions across the Canadian Armed Forces and academic community.
Erika Holter has over two decades of experience working with various industry associations, in a Managerial and Executive Director capacity. Her not-for-profit expertise also includes a degree in nonprofit studies, serving as an Instructor with the Alberta Government’s Board Development Program, and a lot of volunteer and board experience.
After working full-time by day for many years while freelance writing by night, Erika made the leap to full-time freelance writing last year. Erika is passionate about writing, gets excited by research, and takes tremendous pride in delivering written content in a highly readable and engaging format. She loves writing on business topics, and non-business topics, alike. Erika believes that every business, and every person, has a story, and she loves to tell these stories.
Erika loves spending time with her family and friends when she's not writing, playing games, hiking, golfing, camping, or participating in bowling league with her team Pin It to Win It.
After working full-time by day for many years while freelance writing by night, Erika made the leap to full-time freelance writing last year. Erika is passionate about writing, gets excited by research, and takes tremendous pride in delivering content in a highly readable and engaging format. She loves writing on business topics, and non-business topics, alike. Erika believes that every business, and every person, has a story, and she loves to tell these stories.
Sarah Reader has been running recreation programs in the Calgary area for all ages since 2008. In 2016, she created and managed the City of Calgary's first Mobile Adventure Playground and sat on the 2017 International Play Conference planning committee. Sarah has a bachelor of Physical Education with a major in sport performance and physical activity from the University of Alberta and is also a registered massage therapist and fitness instructor. Born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, her love of nature and outdoor play runs deep in her being, and you can often find her enjoying the great outdoors with her husband and three sons. Through her company, Playful Adventures, she loves inspiring people to rediscover their Wildhoods through education and unstructured, outdoor play. She’s passionate about promoting health, inclusion, physical literacy, and play in her community.
Mairin Husak completed her practicum with WordPLAY Consulting Inc. as part of her Physical Literacy Degree from Mount Royal University. She has been part of Calgary’s sports and recreation community for most of her life.
Mairin began as a competitive gymnast, later playing soccer, basketball, and rugby, which sparked an interest in coaching, mentoring, and teaching others in the following years. She has had a long love affair with everything movement-related, which has become a strong desire to facilitate this love to the children she works with.
Mairin has held leadership positions within the preschool gymnastics community and taught numerous sports and recreation programs for children and youth. She is a mother to three wonderful, busy children, and when she’s not chasing them, she can be found on a sports field or spending time with family and friends.
Kristina del Corro (aka KDC) is a local Tiny Habits Coach and mindfulness expert, and through her online courses and coaching, she supports teachers and multi-passionate humans in creating more time without giving up things they love. She believes in the power of community and connection and also brings mindfulness to children through Yoga. KDC continues to work alongside amazing groups promoting play, including WordPLAY Consulting Inc., PL3Y Inc., HIGH FIVE, and Wymbin.