The Kickstart HR Story

Lewisa Anciano and Jacqui Noftall are seasoned HR professionals with over 30 years of combined HR experience in large and small organizations. In 2008, Jacqui and Lewisa realized that many lone-ranger HR professionals, smaller HR departments and non-HR experts were struggling from a cost and time perspective to design and implement effective HR programs and practices.

They saw a huge gap in the availability of high quality ready-to-go HR tools and made a joint commitment to ensure that companies, large and small, had easy access to cost-effective, progressive and practical HR tools that had been tested in the workplace. Lewisa likened it to the Target department store, where everyone could afford a $50 Isaac Mizrahi dress — functional and good quality at a reasonable price. As the vision gained momentum, Joan Noel, also a seasoned HR practitioner joined the team.

Kickstart HR's first customer was Best Buy Canada, a large organization very impressed with their product — an exciting start! Customer #2, the Vancouver Aquarium, was on the other side of the spectrum — small non-profit with a small HR team.

It has been a labour of love for Jacqui and Lewisa. They are now confident that HR professionals have access to HR practices and tools that can give them a head start, leaving them time to build relationships, be more strategic in the workplace and avoid being bogged down in research and instructional design.

About Lewisa 

Based in Vancouver, Lewisa Anciano was formerly a Vice President, Human Resources with an award-winning technology company, in charge of strategic planning, corporate communications and human resources. She is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Masters of Arts in Organizational Management. In 2009 she completed the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Executive Institute (Advanced Management) Program. Lewisa has applied her HR Practices to Technology, Telecommunications, Banking, Entertainment and Contact Centre industries. As well, she has brought her expertise to unionized and non-unionized environments, start-up, turnaround and established corporate cultures.

Lewisa serves on the Board of Directors and is Chair of the Finance Committee of the BC Human Resources Management Association. Between 2005 and 2008, she taught Management Courses in the Business Continuing Studies Program at Langara College. Lewisa has been featured in the National Post, BC Business magazine and Canadian HR Reporter for progressive work in the human resources field and has been a speaker at the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) International Conference on innovative action learning leadership development practices.

About Jacqui 

Jacqui Noftall is a human resources consultant with over 15 years of human resources expertise working for leading-edge and entrepreneurial organizations including Citizens Bank of Canada, Vancity Credit Union, The Vancouver Olympic & Paralympics 2010 Winter Games, Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, and S&P Destination Properties. An honor graduate from BCIT's human resources management program in 2001, Jacqui continued her leadership development through many seminar programs through the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.

Jacqui is an active member of the Board of Trade in Vancouver, which serves the business community of British Columbia. She also serves on the Leadership Vancouver board, developing community leadership programs for business, government and not-for-profits.

About Joan 

Joan Noel, Principle of Lightcycles Coaching, is a certified coach, facilitator and human resource consultant specializing in personal leadership, employee development and organizational engagement with over 20 years of broad human resource experience. This includes projects in diverse sectors such as co-operatives, utilities, technology, transportation, education & training, and the contact centre industry for organizations of all shapes and sizes. Joan's formal education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Business / Sociology, CPCC (Certified Professional Co-Active Coach) with The Coaches Training Institute and many, many courses in adult learning, instructional design, facilitation, leadership and systems coaching.

Joan is an accredited coach (ACC) with the International Coach Federation, the governing body for professional coaches. Joan serves on the Board and is Chair of the Evaluation Committee for Family Education and Support Centre, a Maple Ridge, BC based non-profit organization. She also serves as a volunteer coach for The Minerva Foundation, Women Helping Women Program in Vancouver, BC and co-leads in an online community of practice for The Centre for Right Relationship, an innovative systems coaching organization in California.