Meet Your Instructors
Rhonda Tkachuk ECE, BCR, MEd (Teaching since 1999)
Rhonda has been a certified Red Cross instructor and an Authorized Provider with Red Cross since the founding of Certified First Aid in 1999. Her formal education consists of an Early Childhood Education Diploma, Bachelor of Community Rehabilitation Degree and a Masters in Education. In addition to teaching through Certified First Aid, she presently is an Instructor at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). She teaches Communications and Presentation Skills at SAIT under Open Studies which goes hand-in-hand with her interactive style of teaching First Aid & CPR/AED courses.
Rhonda’s energy and passion for teaching is readily apparent. Rhonda has designed the courses to ensure participants are comfortable and attain the knowledge to feel confident in offering assistance in an emergency situation. The knowledge that Rhonda teaches and shares is relevant, applicable, and ultimately, could save a life.
When Rhonda isn't teaching First Aid or at SAIT, she is continuously seen cheering her 4 sons on at their never ending sporting events... from hockey to baseball to football to rugby to school sports. Rhonda continues to balance it all and be as supportive to her sons as she is in the classroom.
Kendra Gray BA, BEd (Teaching since 2008)
Kendra has been a Certified Red Cross Instructor since 2008. She is no stranger to the teaching profession, having spent 10 years as a Physical Education and Mathematics high school teacher. Teaching in the high school setting has taught Kendra to be adaptable and flexible, having experienced a variety of situations in her years in the classroom. Kendra completed her Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Education degree at the University of Lethbridge and began her teaching career in the Rockyview School Division. She brings her knowledge and expertise of the teaching profession to Certified First Aid.
Kendra shares her excitement for learning and provides participants with the knowledge and skills to feel confident in any emergency situation.
Kareene Gagnon (Teaching since 2009)
As a Flight Attendant, Kareene has had the amazing opportunity to discover diverse cultures from around the world. Her travels extend from the South Pacific to Eastern Europe. As a result of her flying career, Kareene has been fortunate to have lived in many cities throughout Canada and appreciates what our beautiful country has to offer. She now makes Calgary home with her husband and two sons. Kareene has embarked on a new career path which is teaching First Aid. Her zest and passion for life transcends while teaching these courses. She truly believes in the importance of life saving skills and enjoys teaching these valuable skills to others.
Meghan Zack-Bell DC (Teaching since 2013)
Meghan is our Edmonton based Certified First Aid Instructor. Her formal education consists of a Bachelors degree in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University and a Doctorate degree in Chiropractic from Texas Chiropractic College. Meghan works as a chiropractor practicing just west of Edmonton in Spruce Grove at Back on Track Chiropractic. Her interest in the human body has led her to study First Aid and CPR with a passion. Meghan enjoys teaching others about healthy living, including how to help in the case of an emergency and giving people the confidence to SAVE LIVES!
Meghan lives in Edmonton with her husband and two daughters. She loves to spend time with her family hiking, biking, and camping in the mountains.
Vanessa Bradley BSc Bio, BSc PT, CAFCI (Teaching since 2014)
Vanessa has been a Certified First Aid instructor since 2014. Vanessa has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Prince Edward Island and then completed her studies at Western University in London, Ontario to become a physiotherapist. She has experience in working with the elderly, trauma, stroke and head injuries, and presently works at the Hand Clinic at the South Health Campus.
Vanessa lives in Calgary with her husband and two children. She loves to spend time with her family and has a passion for travelling. Vanessa loves to teach First Aid and to see participants become confident in their life saving skills. Don't panic but be prepared!
Amy Shafer (Teaching since 2015)
Amy has been a valuable Certified First Aid instructor since 2015. After obtaining her business diploma in Marketing, Amy worked in the oil field services industry for 10 years in investor relations, before taking a hiatus to have a family. After obtaining her Instructor Certificate with the Red Cross, she was excited to take on a position with the Certified First Aid Team. The instructional methods and interactive techniques used to teach life saving skills were exactly what she was looking for in this new chapter of her life.
Amy is friendly and enthusiastic, and passionate about teaching others to be confident in their life saving skills!
Kendal Bury (Teaching since 2017)
Kendal has been teaching with Certified First Aid since 2017. She graduated with a diploma in Law Enforcement from Bow Valley College in 2016. Her passion for providing care in emergency situations has led her to a career with the Red Cross.
Kendal strongly believes in the importance of teaching others and giving them the confidence and skills to save lives.
Erika Kuprash B.Sc. OT (c). (Teaching since 2018)
Erika completed her Red Cross Instructor certification in 2018, and was excited to start her new venture with Certified First Aid. Erika has been working as an Occupational Therapist (OT) for the past 17 years, and brings a vast knowledge base of medical conditions. She has worked with adults and children in the hospital, community and school settings. Erika’s hospital experience has been primarily focused in functional rehabilitation. She is excited to shift her focus from rehab, to teaching valuable life saving skills!! Erika brings excitement and passion to our team!
When Erika is not working, she is busy with her family. She enjoys watching her children participate in the sports they love, hockey and gymnastics. In the summer her family enjoys spending time outdoors and camping.
Jackie Bisgrove (Teaching since 2018)
Jackie is a new instructor joining Certified First Aid in 2018. She has worked professionally as a CPA for 18 years and has taken a break from the finance world to spend more time with family. She’s always had an interest in the healthcare sector, so the opportunity to join the Certified First Aid team was a welcome change. She loves the scheduling flexibility along with working with diverse groups of people and learning environments. Her personal life is all about being active with her family, including 2 kids, and soaking up summers at the lake.
Jackie is excited to empower people to act with confidence is an emergency situation.
Amanda Leonard (Teaching since 2018)
Amanda is has been teaching since 2005 as a high school science teacher. She received her Bachelor of Science at the University of Calgary, after which she followed her dreams to Virginia to complete her honors in Forensic Science. Family and her love of teaching brought her back to Calgary where she then completed the Master of Education degree. Teaching First Aid & CPR has allowed her to be at home with her busy family of five, while at the same still getting the fulfillment of being in the classroom.
Ashley Kilback (Teaching since 2019)
Ashley completed her Red Cross Instructor Certification in 2019 and was excited to start a new venture with Certified First Aid. Ashley has worked the past 12 years in the Oil and Gas Industry and most recently taken a few years off to raise her three young children. Ashley started to shift her interest with Rhonda in First Aid in early 2018 and has been focused on building her knowledge and experience with Certified First Aid.
When Ashley isn’t working, she is busy with her family; her children; son 15 years, daughters 6 and 4 years of age and an almost 1 year old. The kids keep her busy with hockey, dance, gymnastics and the baby is just about to walk.
Raelene Lehner (Teaching since 2021)
Raelene completed her first aid instructor certification in 2021. She was eager to learn and get started teaching with Certified First Aid. When her two daughters were young she was lucky enough to work from home for a finance company for over 15 years. Now that the kids are older she is the office manager at a private golf course here in the north west of Calgary. She loves spending time on the golf course and relaxing with family.
Kayla Caldwell (Teaching since 2021)
Kayla joined as a Certified First Aid Instructor in 2021. She previously worked in the Oil and Gas industry for 8 years and was a volunteer Fire Warden, where she recently left to raise her young children. She has a passion for helping people and hopes to assist individuals with building their confidence in emergency First Aid situations.
Carissa Ostiguy (Social Media Coordinator)
Carissa joined our team in 2022 as our Social Media Coordinator. She lives in Calgary with her husband and their 3 dogs - Louie, Finn & Reggie. She is excited to apply her creative skills to showcasing all Certified First Aid has to offer. She has known Rhonda for many years (since she was a baby) and is looking forward to doing what she can to give this company a strong social media presence.
Trevor Gossen (Assisting since 2021)
Trevor graduated in 2020 and is currently working part-time at many little side jobs to gain skills in a wide variety of areas. Trevor started assisting Rhonda with her courses in September 2021 as his main role is to label manuals correctly for any individual taking a Full CPR/AED Course. Trevor enjoys coming to teach with Rhonda and is a joy to have attended courses with. Trevor brings humour, excitement and extra assistance to Certified First Aid whenever he can.
Susan Hoshmand (Website Coordinator)
Susan is a busy mom of 3 who runs her own virtual assistant business, Sunflower Solutions. She’s on top of all things website related and is eager to keep Certified First Aid the top choice for new and returning clients. She brings over 15 years of experience in customer service, administrative information management, and professionalism. Susan is very excited to begin this new chapter with Rhonda and her wonderful team!
Brady Tkachuk (Teaching since 2020)
Brady Tkachuk is a fabulous addition to Certified First Aid. He has been teaching since August 2020 for small groups as well as large groups. Brady is attending Mount Royal University and taking a bachelor of science. In Bradys free time, he enjoys working out, snowboarding, as well as skateboarding. Brady comes with a lot of first aid knowledge as he has been teaching with his mom ever since he can remember.