Robin Hornstein, MBA

competitive recreational paddler and founder of montreal's two abreast dragon boat team

Robin Hornstein brings a passion for life and a practical approach to making things happen to all that she does. When she dreams of an idea, she makes it happen. Robin first started dragon boating as a sport but it wasn't long before she realized its amazing potential to build teams. She saw a great opportunity to bring this model to corporations and so founded Corporate Dragon.

"So many positive results come from this perfect team model," says Robin. "Each person is asked to bring their skills to the boat and the resulting team effort energizes and motivates everyone. The sense of power and control is immediate. Everyone who tries it is amazed by the experience."

Throughout Robin's career she has always demonstrated a balance of business and creative skills. Robin graduated with an MBA from Concordia University. She worked for a number of years in the advertising industry and in the 1990s pursued another of her interests as she built a professional opera career training with renowned vocal coaches in the US and Europe.

Almost a decade ago, life circumstances changed Robin's career path which resulted in her founding Two Abreast, Quebec's first breast cancer survivor dragon boat team. Inspired by a group in Vancouver, Robin created, developed and led a team of several dozen women who were committed to regaining their strength and well-being after being treated for breast cancer. Robin built an organization of dedicated team members and a number of professionals who believed in her idea and offered their expertise to support the team. Her vision of a successful team was surpassed only by their accomplishments as they won competitions locally, nationally and internationally.

Robin believes that a dynamic work environment is something that everyone can have, and therefore workplace health and well-being is the goal of every Corporate Dragon experience. "Dragon boating is a philosophy that I believe in: when I'm in the boat I'm 'in the moment' and I want to make the most of it. Where I sit, I'm secure, I'm alone, and yet I have my crew all around me. I develop my technique, it strengthens my spirit and then when I'm ready, I share it with my teammates. Together we're creating a powerful and vital unit. Respect and trust are built in the boat. You don't have to plan it or even think about it - it just happens. You raise the bar without realizing it! It's hard to quantify but you can be confident that the effect of the dragon boat will have a very positive effect in your workplace. It will turn any group into a team - and not just a team in name, but a team in action."

Robin is excited about the Corporate Dragon team because "everyone's skills and talents complement one another and there's a natural fit. In fact, the synergy of the Corporate Dragon group is what we want other groups to experience too. Each of us capitalizes on each other's strengths so we don't just talk about it, we live it!"

Robin has been recognized on numerous occasions for her role in founding Two Abreast, notably as a Women's Federation CJA Honoree in 2000, a Women's Y Foundation Women of Distinction Award Winner (Sports and Well-Being) in 1999 and the host of the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation, Annual Awareness Breakfast in 1999. Robin is both a left- and right-side paddler and a member of the Jade Dragon Club. She competes regularly with her team at local and national festivals.

Fred Heese

former olympic canoeist and founder of the greater toronto dragon boat club

For decades, Fred Heese has been a leader in Canadian sports both on and off the water. In the 1960s, he was a member of Canada's National and Olympic canoe teams and later was a successful sprint canoe coach at two Toronto-area canoe clubs. He also became one of North America's top marathon canoe racers.

Fred started dragon boating in the late 1980s as a member, and later coach, of the Toronto Mens Dragon Boat Team. In 1997, he founded and became head coach of the Greater Toronto Dragon Boat Club, the club that went on to be the Canadian National Representative at the world championships in Hong Kong, Nottingham, Philadelphia, Poznan and Shanghai. In Philadelphia and Poznan, Fred was the head coach of the team that won the Nations Cup, the highest and most prestigious honour that a country, and its national representative dragon boat team, can achieve in international competition. Fred also served as Chef de mission when Canada went on to capture its third Nations Cup in Shanghai in 2004.

Taking his expertise further afield, Fred has served as a coaching consultant to the Singapore Dragon Boat Association since 2001. He has also written a book titled Canoe Racing (Fitzhenry & Whiteside) which was published in the early 1980s and as a dragon boat paddler, Fred continues to compete with the national senior (masters) dragon boat team.

Rhona G. Berengut

ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS CONSULTANT

Teaching is a passionate vocation for Rhona.

As an award-winning part-time faculty member of the Schulich School of Business (York University), where she has taught in the BBA and MBA programs since 1989, Rhona helps attendees link their experiences in the dragon boat to the exciting insights of the latest research in organizational sustainability and change management.

While many of us read or talk about teamwork, she says, what most people know is the work group experience, where people work in parallel. They just aren’t familiar with real teamwork which “requires that organizational members work and trust in a highly interdependent way.”

Corporate Dragon provides “a friendly, non-evaluative experience” that offers organizations a “real-time experiment in working up from work group to team… to really experiencing the interdependence required by a team to move their performance up to that level of excellence.”

Excellence is a fundamental interest for Rhona. As Program Director for the Schulich Executive Education Centre’s two-week Executive Program, she coaches senior executives looking to enhance their leadership and strategy skills.

And as founding partner of SIGMA Strategic Solutions Inc., Rhona consults and conducts a variety of training and workshops for corporations. Her expertise focuses on Managing Strategic Change, Executive Coaching, Organization Design and Analysis, and Interpersonal Managerial Skills.

So it’s not surprising she finds her dragon boat experience “fascinating.” That “immediate tangible results” can be measured--each group is timed--and progress is visible appeals to her. “Until they have the experience of the team, they don’t know what’s it like to work on team.”

Tessa Trasler

CONSULTANT - LEADERSHIP DEVELOPER
facilitator/educator and competitive recreational paddler

Tessa Trasler is an accomplished team leader with many years experience in research and health education. According to Tessa, “There’s really nothing like it in the world of team sports, everyone is equal – and if everyone doesn’t contribute equally then you don’t get to where you’re going as quickly.”

Tessa began her career in the pharmaceutical industry after graduating from McGill University with a M.Sc. in Genetics. She started in Clinical Research and eventually moved to the Patient Health department to lead a number of key projects and then on to Health Education to build a team to support accredited learning activities for physicians.

Tessa started dragon boating for fun and was amazed to see how quickly the people she paddled with became a team. For Tessa, there’s a clear parallel between dragon boating and the workplace. “Individual strengths should be in harmony so that the whole team moves forward. That’s what I love about it; the dragon boat leaves you no choice but to synchronize your efforts”

Her role in Corporate Dragon is to facilitate the team’s development through discussion and analysis, and to guide people in understanding how the experiences in the boat teach the group how to be their best. “I’m excited about dragon boating as a sport, and I’m also excited about its potential to develop a team. Corporate Dragon’s approach helps employees become teammates, to learn, to collaborate, to discover how to become leaders themselves collaborating as a team instead of working as an individual within the group. Everyone who tries it will be amazed by the experience.”

Sébastien Rist

DRAGON BOAT COACH
competitive canoeist and dragon boat racer

Sébastien Rist believes in staying active both physically and mentally, and his achievements are proof that he lives by this on a daily basis. Since 1998, he has been actively involved in sprint canoeing and has placed in the medal standings in many provincial, national and international championships. His greatest achievement was racing for Canada in the 2004 World Canoe Marathon Championships in Bergen, Norway, finishing 11th in the 39 km single men's canoe race (C-1).

Along the way, he added dragon boating to his pursuits and earned the Level 1 certification in Dragon Boat coaching. Since taking up the sport, he has raced at Dragon Boat festivals and was part of the winning men's team at the Montreal Dragon Boat Festival in 2005.

Sébastien has credentials and certifications in C.P.R. training, level one canoe kayak coaching, personal water craft license, outdoor water rescue, and bronze cross and bronze medallion swimming.

Beyond this, Sébastien's interests reach well beyond sports. During the summer of 2004, he became involved in federal politics by joining the elections committee of the newest - and youngest - candidate in Montreal's Lac St-Louis riding. He found that it was a rewarding experience and it motivated him to volunteer once again for the 2006 federal election. Sébastien will soon be completing a degree in communication studies at Concordia University. Media and arts are strong interests for him and he spends much of his spare time working on music recording and production.

Sébastien believes that we all have the potential to set and achieve goals beyond our comfort zones especially if we rely on others to help us reach those goals. He says dragon boating is a perfect example of this. "Dragon boating is a unique sport that forces 22 people to bring together their strengths to achieve one common goal. As these minds and bodies merge into one powerful force racing to the finish line, everyone learns more about limits, capabilities and themselves. The boat can be seen as a powerful learning tool for people of all ages. Dragon boating teaches us valuable skills that are applicable to everyone's personal and professional lives."

Sébastien is excited to be part of Corporate Dragon and to have the opportunity to bring this sport to newcomers. "Many of my current and past experiences in competitive sprint canoeing and dragon boating fit perfectly with Corporate Dragon's vision and goals. Corporate Dragon sees dragon boating from a different perspective - it seeks to highlight the unique qualities of the sport, helping the individual and consequently the team achieve their desired goals. Corporate Dragon is a leader in its field with a great future in store."

Hope Seidman

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIST
learning and development consultant

Hope Seidman is a specialist in educational and learning processes. For the past decade she has worked as a consultant to help companies improve employee and client education programs, and to develop training and assessment tools. She has studied in Canada and the US and has a degree in Psychology, a Masters in Education (Curriculum and Instruction), and a Ph.D. in Educational Technology.

Hope has worked for companies in many areas including pharmaceutical, information technology, and education. Her expertise is in instructional design, development and assessment of critical thinking skills, professional development, and technology-supported learning. For Corporate Dragon, Hope guides the process of measuring and analyzing team experiences and synthesizing the results for improved outcomes.

Hope's expertise is naturally complemented by her belief in people's ability to create change. "I think it's important to constantly question what we see and hear and to examine our experiences in a critical and thoughtful manner. Significant personal and professional growth only occurs through reflection and openness to new ways of thinking. I think it's essential to continuously question our own values and assumptions as well as our actions.

"Corporate Dragon challenges individuals to think about their work environment and to explore in depth how individual contributions affect the team's success. The programs are about experiencing something new, changing your perspective and then refining your actions in order to be the best you can possibly be - as individuals and as a team."

Hope believes that dragon boating is a great model of how individuals can work together in order to meet shared goals. "Corporate Dragon provides people with unique learning experiences and important lessons that can be transferred to the workplace. We offer a wide variety of opportunities for people to seize the experience, mould it into something meaningful and create knowledge that will ultimately be applied in real-world contexts. My role in this is to help clients think critically and be more reflective. I'm very excited about working with Corporate Dragon to create these rich learning environments that will help people achieve long-term and significant change. And I'm very fortunate to work with a team of very talented, fun and creative individuals who are passionate about dragon boating and all it has to offer."

Hope has presented at several conferences and workshops in North America and is a member of the American Society for Training and Development. She has also volunteered for the United Nations Volunteers / Net Aid to develop online instruction for international youth to build awareness of refugee/poverty issues.

Kristina Bellows - Water Safety

WATERFRONT SAFETY COORDINATOR
certified national lifeguard and life saving instructor

Kristina manages waterfront safety and a team of lifeguards for Corporate Dragon. She is passionate about sports, particularly on the water, and believes that Corporate Dragon offers a unique way for people to discover their strengths.

"I came to Corporate Dragon because I believe in its philosophy. Corporate Dragon is committed to team and individual success by providing a well-rounded, healthy and enjoyable experience no matter what your fitness level or age. Robin Hornstein's passion and dedication to this idea are both inspirational and contagious. I'm really excited to be part of her team and look forward to helping the company grow. "

Kristina is a certified National Lifeguard and Life Saving Instructor and for six years has taught swimming and diving, the aqua percept program, bronze cross program (first aid) and lifeguard at the Pointe-Claire Aquatic Centre. She is also a past member of the Pointe-Claire diving team.

"My goal in being part of Corporate Dragon is to maintain a high level of experienced and capable lifeguards so that all participants feel safe and secure. I want my work to be a given so that everyone can concentrate on being in the boat. I also want to create a real sense of trust so that participants feel they can approach any of us with questions or concerns."

Kristina volunteers for the Pointe-Claire Aquatic Centre's aqua percept program, the Pointe-Claire soccer association, and Free the Children, an international organization dedicated to providing education for children in need.

Ken Breaker

OPERATIONS
they call him mr. fix it

“To see people accomplish something at the end of the day that they didn’t think they could do at the beginning of the day” is just one of the things that excites Ken about working with Corporate Dragon. And he gets a close-up view of these accomplishments because he manages operations on and off the docks, where he ensures a seamless flow of activity in and out of the dragon boats.

Ken has an uncanny intuition for things mechanical: he can pretty much take apart and re-assemble any thingamajig Corporate Dragon will ever use. He honed this skill in a variety of industrial plants. It’s no wonder the children at the elementary school he has long worked with call him “Mr. Fix It.”

But Ken is one of those rare people with a gift for both machines and people. So he also lends a dexterous hand to the diverse tasks that keep an event smoothly clicking along. And whether he’s having a playful exchange with a vice-president or a serious discussion with her six-year-old child, both feel they’re in pleasant, comfortable company.

Working with Corporate Dragon nourishes Ken’s compassionate and optimistic view of the world. “There’s always hope, since we get such a varied clientele at Corporate Dragon, and how we get everyone to work together is just our amazing secret.”

Esther Russ

MASSAGE THERAPIST
certified massage therapist

Esther provides a vital component to the Corporate Dragon programs with shiatsu massage therapy. For more than 10 years, she has provided advanced shiatsu massage through her private practice. Esther has also studied and practices therapeutic touch, reflexology, craniosacral therapy, thai yoga massage, and soft tissue release. Esther is a member of the Fédération québecoise des massothérapeutes.

Louise Lambert Lagace, C.M., DT.P.

CONSULTING DIETITIAN
award-winning dietitian, clinician, speaker and author

Louise Lambert-Lagacé believes in the power of food. She advocates nutritious food choices as an integral part of obtaining and maintaining health and wellness. Long before this idea was in the mainstream, she was proving its merit through her professional and clinical work.

Louise is in high demand as a speaker across the country. Her popularity has grown thanks to her many books and appearances on television. She has devoted much of her time to volunteer positions with government, universities, corporations and health agencies. Her involvement with dragon boat racing started in 1997 when she became the consulting dietitian to Montreal's "Two Abreast" dragon boat team.

Corporate Dragon benefits from the expertise of Louise and her associates at their Nutrition Clinic based in downtown Montreal. They believe in a multidisciplinary approach, evaluate the individual's diet and lifestyle and provide an improved eating plan, including supplements when needed and an overall eating strategy based on the individual's likes and needs.