Professional Development Summit 2020
  • Home
  • Registration
  • Program
    • 2023 Session One >
      • Employer Panel
      • Juliet Turpin
      • Ross Saunders
      • Chris Keevil
      • Natalie Ripp
    • 2023 Session Two >
      • Women in Technology Panel
      • Susan Power
      • Robert Newcombe
      • Greg Kirczenow
      • Zafar Muhammad
    • 2023 Session Three >
      • Agile Panel
      • Carlo Carandang
      • Graham MacDougall
      • Jessica Reid
      • Angela Arsenault
  • Keynote - Shawn Kanungo
  • Sponsor
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  • Previous Events
    • 2019 Program >
      • Opening Address - Chris Crowell
      • Mike Lipkin - Keynote
      • 2019 Session One >
        • Precious Williams
        • 2019 Robert Newcombe
        • Martin Davis
        • Women in IT Mini-Panel
        • Dawson Mossman
      • 2019 Session Two >
        • 2019 Susan Power
        • Doug Denny
        • Karla Pooley
        • Blockchain Mini Panel
        • Thomas Ley
      • 2019 Session Three >
        • Tracy Zwicker-Forbes
        • James Slupsky
        • Kim Scaravelli
        • Nachiket Parab
        • Chris Mitchell
    • 2018 Program >
      • Jim Harris Morning Keynote Speaker
      • Jim Harris Lunch Keynote Speaker
      • 2018 Session One >
        • Jean-Claude Beaudry
        • John Robertson
        • Chris Fullerton
        • Bill Carroll
        • Ian Ghent
      • 2018 Session Two >
        • Danielle Comeau
        • Stephen Smith
        • Martha Wenc
        • Andrew Pery
        • Mini-panel - Evolution of Technology
      • 2018 Session Three >
        • Charles Villanyi Bokor
        • Melanie Gallant
        • Mini-panel PM Stories
        • Tim Dickinson
        • James Slupsky
      • 2018 Session Four >
        • Perry McLeod
        • John Buckley
        • Emad Rizkalla
        • Michelle Murray
    • 2017 Program >
      • Ted Graham Keynote Speaker
      • 2017 Executive Panel >
        • Fawn Annan - Moderator
        • Peter Burns
        • Sandra Cascadden
        • Roman Coba
        • Spiro Bokolas
        • Jeremy Wubs
      • 2017 Session One >
        • Dianne Gaudet
        • Kevin Schwenker
        • Brenda Fay
        • Matthew Leach
        • Jeremy McCurdy
      • 2017 Session Two >
        • Katalin Allen
        • Victor Zhu
        • Gary Cox
        • Robin Veinotte
        • Nathan Dennison
      • 2017 Session Three >
        • Ian MacNeil and Carrie Forbes
        • John Trites
        • Teri Fearn
        • Brian Fanning
        • Anas Aman
      • 2017 Session Four >
        • Victoria Mcintosh
        • John Robertson
        • Emily Hemlow
        • Jordan Kyriakidis
        • Patrick Rogers
    • 2016 Program >
      • 2016 Keynotes >
        • Jennifer Gillivan - Opening Keynote
        • Perry Monaco - Lunch Keynote
      • 2016 Session One >
        • Ian MacVicar
        • Natalie Doyle Oldfield
        • Victor Zhu
        • Grant Sullivan and Greg Foran
      • 2016 Session Two >
        • Livia Botyanszki Boss
        • Ron RIchard
        • Patricia Uptegrove
        • Dale Kehler and Lynn Clark
      • 2016 Session Three >
        • Catherine Vardy
        • Devin Cameron and Melissa Reid
        • Steve Caseley
        • Victoria McIntosh 2016
      • 2016 Session Four >
        • Louise Harris
        • Mike Frenette
        • Stephen Doiron
        • Tim Pratt
    • 2015 Program >
      • 2015 Session One
      • 2015 Session Two
      • 2015 Session Three
      • 2015 Session Four
    • 2014 Presentations
    • 2013 Presentations
    • 2013 Workshops
    • 2012 Presentations
    • 2012 Workshops
    • 2011 Presentations
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Heidi Alali, Melanie Gallant, and Terri McAllister
Women in IT Mini-Panel


Panelist Biographies:

Heidi Alali strives on thinking out of the box and creating SMART and effective career goals. With Over 19 years of experience in her field, Heidi was fortunate to have worn many hats: Delivery Project Executive, Sr. Project Manager, Solution Designer, Strategist, Analyst, and Consultant. She is a strong believer that actual professional value comes from believing in the following:
- I don’t care who gets credit. I just want to make sure we win!
- I have big ideas; Big ideas mean nothing if they cannot be executed, and I do execution.
- I’m the calm one.
- I run towards fires.
- I’m willing to learn anything if someone else is willing to teach me.
My career focus is typically in Project Management, IT strategy, People Management, BPM& Re-engineering, Analytics and BI.


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Melanie Gallant is an IT professional with over 30 years of experience in the industry.  From very early on as a software developer in the 80’s, Melanie had been personally driven to achieve success in roles by breaking traditional barriers and thinking related to where women should be directing their careers.  
Her passion for both gender equality and diversity in the workplace is a direct result of struggles in the she overcame as a young women entering into jobs held predominately by men. This passion has now transcended into driven action, providing mentorship and thought leadership within her organization and community.
Now, as a Director of Operational Services for CGI in the Atlantic region, Melanie strives to ensure her organization continues to evolve year over year with a special focus on gender diversity in the areas of workforce management, project & delivery leadership, quality and learning & development. 
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In honor of a former CGI professional, Melanie launched and leads the CGI Cynthia Tully Women in Tech Scholarship Fund which annually provides awards to daughters of CGI employees who are enrolled in post-secondary STEM programs.
In 2018, Melanie was the winner of the CGI Canadian Dream Connectors project. Working with Actua, a renowned leader in the field of all-girl STEM and the largest science outreach program for girls in Canada, Melanie’s project helped to support nine STEM camps for girls in all 3 provinces. 
Melanie leads the Atlantic “Women of CGI” chapter and runs the Women in IT, Halifax MeetUp group.


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​Terri McAllister is Director of Technical Strategy at Blue Spurs Consulting in Fredericton, N.B.  She has been with Blue Spurs for 4 years and has had the opportunity to perform many challenging roles.

She holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from UNB and has held many different roles in her career such as Software Developer, Integrations Analyst, Technical Support, and Operations Engineer.  Terri leads a team of AWS Solution Architects and DevOps professionals who design, implement, and maintain Cloud solutions for customers.
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Aside from her day-to-day operational responsibilities as Director of Technical Strategy, Terri's passion lies in the future of Cloud Architectures, specifically using Amazon Web Services platforms and tools.  She truly believes in the Art of the Possible, and enjoys helping customers navigate their journey in Cloud technologies.  Terri currently holds AWS Solutions Architect and SysOps Administrator Associate certifications.
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 Partner Associations Include:
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2023
  • Home
  • Registration
  • Program
    • 2023 Session One >
      • Employer Panel
      • Juliet Turpin
      • Ross Saunders
      • Chris Keevil
      • Natalie Ripp
    • 2023 Session Two >
      • Women in Technology Panel
      • Susan Power
      • Robert Newcombe
      • Greg Kirczenow
      • Zafar Muhammad
    • 2023 Session Three >
      • Agile Panel
      • Carlo Carandang
      • Graham MacDougall
      • Jessica Reid
      • Angela Arsenault
  • Keynote - Shawn Kanungo
  • Sponsor
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • PDS Committee
  • Previous Events
    • 2019 Program >
      • Opening Address - Chris Crowell
      • Mike Lipkin - Keynote
      • 2019 Session One >
        • Precious Williams
        • 2019 Robert Newcombe
        • Martin Davis
        • Women in IT Mini-Panel
        • Dawson Mossman
      • 2019 Session Two >
        • 2019 Susan Power
        • Doug Denny
        • Karla Pooley
        • Blockchain Mini Panel
        • Thomas Ley
      • 2019 Session Three >
        • Tracy Zwicker-Forbes
        • James Slupsky
        • Kim Scaravelli
        • Nachiket Parab
        • Chris Mitchell
    • 2018 Program >
      • Jim Harris Morning Keynote Speaker
      • Jim Harris Lunch Keynote Speaker
      • 2018 Session One >
        • Jean-Claude Beaudry
        • John Robertson
        • Chris Fullerton
        • Bill Carroll
        • Ian Ghent
      • 2018 Session Two >
        • Danielle Comeau
        • Stephen Smith
        • Martha Wenc
        • Andrew Pery
        • Mini-panel - Evolution of Technology
      • 2018 Session Three >
        • Charles Villanyi Bokor
        • Melanie Gallant
        • Mini-panel PM Stories
        • Tim Dickinson
        • James Slupsky
      • 2018 Session Four >
        • Perry McLeod
        • John Buckley
        • Emad Rizkalla
        • Michelle Murray
    • 2017 Program >
      • Ted Graham Keynote Speaker
      • 2017 Executive Panel >
        • Fawn Annan - Moderator
        • Peter Burns
        • Sandra Cascadden
        • Roman Coba
        • Spiro Bokolas
        • Jeremy Wubs
      • 2017 Session One >
        • Dianne Gaudet
        • Kevin Schwenker
        • Brenda Fay
        • Matthew Leach
        • Jeremy McCurdy
      • 2017 Session Two >
        • Katalin Allen
        • Victor Zhu
        • Gary Cox
        • Robin Veinotte
        • Nathan Dennison
      • 2017 Session Three >
        • Ian MacNeil and Carrie Forbes
        • John Trites
        • Teri Fearn
        • Brian Fanning
        • Anas Aman
      • 2017 Session Four >
        • Victoria Mcintosh
        • John Robertson
        • Emily Hemlow
        • Jordan Kyriakidis
        • Patrick Rogers
    • 2016 Program >
      • 2016 Keynotes >
        • Jennifer Gillivan - Opening Keynote
        • Perry Monaco - Lunch Keynote
      • 2016 Session One >
        • Ian MacVicar
        • Natalie Doyle Oldfield
        • Victor Zhu
        • Grant Sullivan and Greg Foran
      • 2016 Session Two >
        • Livia Botyanszki Boss
        • Ron RIchard
        • Patricia Uptegrove
        • Dale Kehler and Lynn Clark
      • 2016 Session Three >
        • Catherine Vardy
        • Devin Cameron and Melissa Reid
        • Steve Caseley
        • Victoria McIntosh 2016
      • 2016 Session Four >
        • Louise Harris
        • Mike Frenette
        • Stephen Doiron
        • Tim Pratt
    • 2015 Program >
      • 2015 Session One
      • 2015 Session Two
      • 2015 Session Three
      • 2015 Session Four
    • 2014 Presentations
    • 2013 Presentations
    • 2013 Workshops
    • 2012 Presentations
    • 2012 Workshops
    • 2011 Presentations