Meet Our Experts

Stephanie Aker
Accounting & Finance

Stephanie is Certified General Accountant and Certified Public Accountant (USA) and holds an MBA with an accounting concentration. She has over ten years of accounting experience in various industries, including five years with The Alberta New Home Warranty Program.

Sonja Dahl
Estimating / Purchasing

Operating in Senior and Management Estimating and Purchasing roles for 15+ years, Sonja brings a strong skillset in these areas to PHBI. She has a keen interest in sustainable technology and its integration into new home construction. Sonja has held roles as a Board member for Built Green Canada and Past Chair of the Built Green Canada Standards Committee.

Paul Betts
Sales Skills

Paul has over 40 years of experience in the new and resale residential industry. He has been a course facilitator with PHBI for 22 years and has 12 years experience as an instructor in the Alberta Real Estate industry. Paul is a keynote speaker, sales trainer and marketing consultant. He has been the president of GAP Marketing since 1989.

Amelie Caron
Sustainability

Amelie is the Principal of EcoSynergy and holds a MSc Building Science degree. She is a LEED for Homes Green Rater, NRCan Energy Advisor, Net-Zero Energy Advisor, Passivhaus, Energuide and R2000 consultant, and is HRAI certified for multi-unit residential buildings. Amelie is also a member of Canadian Association of Consulting Energy Advisors and previously a R2000 and Hot 2000 modelling trainer.

Terra Davidson
Sales / Customer Service / Marketing

With over 15 years of industry experience, Terra has been Partner and Sales & Marketing Manager of a second generation built green (net zero) home building company, and the Director of Sales for a local not for profit.

Lena Fernandez
Plans & Specifications

With 19 years of experience in the Alberta residential market, Lena is a Designer/Architectural Technologist for a customer service award-winning Canadian single-family home building company.

Michelle Jakeman
Selling Skills / Customer Service

Michelle has over 25 years of experience leading sales teams for large scale builders in Calgary and has received multiple national awards for consistently achieving top sales results across Canada. Michelle holds a BA and multiple course certifications from PHBI.

Allan Holben
Plans & Specifications

Allen is the Manager of Safety Codes services for the City of Fort Saskatchewan. He has over 40 years of industry experience, and is a Level 3 Safety Codes Officer, Red Seal Carpenter and Architectural Technologist. He is the Owner/Operator AWH Consulting Corp., a residential design and inspection company.

Sia Oveissi
Estimating

Sia holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering. He has over 10 years of experience in the residential home building industry, specializing in estimating for both production and custom-built projects. He currently serves as the Estimating Manager for a production home builder delivering over 400 units annually.

Greg Dudar
Construction Fundamentals For Sales/Estimating

Greg has been involved in the construction of over 1200 homes. Design experiences range from conceptual to architectural including 3D space planning and the interior design of details & finishes. Having been “hands on the tools” in every stage from Surveying to Service Tech provides a realistic understanding of “what really happens” in the field to make those plans become reality. On the business side, company positions have varied from fulfilling day-to-day operational positions through to General Manager, and entrepreneurial ventures from owning a Boutique Home Building Company to being on a Reality TV show. This combination allows Greg to speak from experience about specific topics, as well as how they interact and affect other areas of the home building industry.

Read Fenton
Radon

Read Fenton leads Metro Testing + Engineering’s geotechnical team with over sixteen years of geotechnical, materials engineering and project management experience on projects across western Canada. Read has an MBA with a focus on project management and leadership. Read has significant experience with geotechnical projects including high-rise buildings, schools, public buildings, highways, residential, commercial, large-scale industrial and rural developments. He currently holds stamps in BC, AB, SK, YK, and NWT.

Darrell Paul
Building Science / Moisture Control

With over 45 years in wood frame construction, Darrell Paul has done a bit of everything—from framing carpenter, through roles like site supervisor, construction manager, and marketing manager. He spent 14 years teaching the “Moisture Control Technician” course at SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) and later worked as a building envelope consultant.

In early 2024, Darrell sold his company and retired—but anyone who knows him knows he didn’t exactly slow down. He now consults for BTRboard, a Canadian-made insulated sheathing product, and still sits on a couple of building code and CSA committees. He’s passionate about building science and always looking for the real reasons things work (or don’t)—especially when it comes to what the code actually says.

He wrote and published Building Envelope Tie-in Details in 2022, and holds several certifications, including HRAI Certified Residential Air System Design Technician, ASNT Level 2 Thermographer, and Registered Energy Advisor—which, according to Darrell, gave him a great excuse to buy some of the coolest tools around.

Keith Jansen
Construction Technology/ Codes

Having planned and built thousands of homes western Canadian families, Keith brings over 25 years of homebuilding experience and an extensive construction knowledge to PHBI. He specializes in condominium and multi-family project development. Formally trained as an Architectural Technologist, Mr. Jansen possesses exceptional skills in floor plan and project design, project management, fiscal responsibility, and construction supervision.

Paul Salmon

Paul is a residential construction consultant and is a Presiding Officer for the Apprenticeship and Industry Training RCSM Occupational Committee. He has over 25 years of industry experience including construction management, pre-purchase home inspections, dispute resolution, structural failure investigations, workmanship and material inspections and industry education development.

Steve Barkhouse
Business Management

Steve Barkhouse has been passionate about the construction industry since childhood, having grown up on job sites with his family of builders. After earning a degree in Business Management from Algonquin College and another in Human Resources, he launched Amsted Design-Build in 1989, building a successful renovation and custom home business. With 35 years in the industry, his company is now recognized as one of North America’s top 50 renovation companies. Steve remains committed to the community, leading 35 acts of service to mark his business’ anniversary and supporting local causes like the Boys and Girls Club.

Carol Smith
Customer Service

Carol is the home building industry’s leading customer service expert. With 40 years of industry specific consulting expertise, she is an author, keynote speaker and online trainer.

Mike Syer

Mike is a Building and Fire Safety Codes Officer with 40 years of industry experience including positions as Senior Manager of Claims for The Alberta New Home Warranty Program and a Project Manager in new home and condominium construction and renovations. He is also a qualified mediator with ADR Canada, with diplomas in Architecture and Engineering, a graduate PHBI Master Builder and Professional Site Manager.

Nancy Clarke
Condominium Fundamentals/Sales & Marketing

Nancy Clarke is an experienced sales professional with a career spanning over 20 years in Alberta’s residential construction industry. She has worked in both single-family and multi-family housing, progressing from junior sales roles into senior management positions. Nancy brings deep, practical knowledge of the sales process, customer experience, and team development. Her background includes extensive hands-on experience in condominium and new home sales, and she is passionate about helping others build confidence and capability in their sales careers.

Dalpreet Virdi
Problem Solving/Estimating

Dalpreet is an Infrastructure Project Manager at the City of Edmonton. He has executed successful housing projects across Alberta for over 10 years, and shares his expertise in estimating, project management, and construction practices to industry stakeholders.

Carmen Jackson
Plans, Specs & Drawings/Construction Fundamentals

Carmen brings over a decade and a half of experience in the design and construction industry and over six years of instructional experience in an institutional setting. With a range of experience from small scale additions to multi-million dollar projects she has been involved with many aspects of construction from zoning analysis and conceptual design to permit application, from cost analysis to progress monitoring, and from drawing out the details to completing the finishing touches. She is passionate about sharing the knowledge gained from her breadth of experience with future designers and industry experts.

Rick Zolmer
Fenestrations/Window and Door Installation

Rick Zolmer is the owner of Zolmer Consulting Inc. He has 35 years of industry experience, and his company assists in Business Development, Brand Enhancement, Business Relationship Coaching, Fenestration Design & Performance Evaluation. Rick’s passion and purpose is to help businesses become more successful, influence continuous improvement and teach lessons learned from his years serving the residential construction industry.