About Us

Jen Goeres has been involved in sport and recreation for nearly 30 years, working and volunteering for not-for-profit and community groups and several municipal, provincial, and national organizations.

Currently, she works as the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA) HIGH FIVE® Coordinator/Youth Development through Recreation Services Symposium (YDRS) Chair and the Calgary Adapted Hub powered by Jumpstart Program and Community Engagement Coordinator, working with community partners to connect children and families living with disabilities with quality sport and recreation opportunities. She is also a Project Manager with INclusion INcorporated, providing equity, diversity, and inclusion consulting and leadership to provincial and national sports organizations across Canada.

Jen is a HIGH FIVE® Master Trainer and has facilitated over 2500 hours of HIGH FIVE® content across Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. She was also a content writer and developer for HIGH FIVE® Principles of Healthy Child Development, HIGH FIVE® Sport, HIGH FIVE® Girls In Sport, HIGH FIVE® Strengthening Children’s Mental Health and HIGH FIVE® Indigenous Games for Children, as well as academic support for HIGH FIVE® Principles of Healthy Aging.

She has also been a Healthy Play Trainer for the last ten years and is excited to be one of the only Canadian Healthy Play Facilitators and Classroom/Play Consultants providing training and classroom/play consultations to recreation, sport, and education groups across Canada. She is also the Alberta Master Sport for Life Learning Facilitator and certified National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Facilitator.

In addition, Jen is a 17-year member of the Alberta Parks and Recreation Association (ARPA) Recreation Connection and Collaboration Network (RCN), Chair of the ARPA HIGH FIVE® Task Force and HIGH FIVE® Trainer Exchange, Chair of the Youth Development through Recreation Symposium (YDRS), Chair of the ARPA Summer Camp Collective, and Chair of the Physical Literacy and You (PLAY) in Alberta. She also sits on the Special Olympics Winter Games 2024 Communications Committee and is a current board member of the InMotion Network, promoting sport and physical activity for girls and women.

Jen graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Kinesiology (Adapted and Therapeutic Physical Activity), a Bachelor of Education (Secondary Physical Education) and a Master of Education (Physical Education and Wellness) (2026). Her love of teaching has allowed her to share her passion for learning with students in the Calgary Catholic School Board and as a Faculty Member of St. Mary University (Calgary).

Carlee Schaefer has been involved in recreation and sport for 12 years, working and volunteering for government and municipal/provincial organizations across Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. In the present, Carlee is a ‘PLAY by day’ Deputy Manager PSP at CFB Cold Lake, where she oversees the deliverables and operations of all Morale and Welfare services for the local Defence community. Outside of this role, Carlee is a leisure and recreation enthusiast, lending to her community as a High Five trainer, Lifesaving Trainer, and workplace culture consultant. She brings to the team a working knowledge of academic, municipal and government lens and application, offering valuable insight to projects at hand. Carlee loves the outdoors, and you will often find her off for a run or out on the lake.

Carlee graduated from Vancouver Island University with a MA Sustainable Leisure Management. She is a IAP2 trained facilitator and possesses a certification in Change Management. Her passion for community development and public engagement, specifically in a military context, has led to many collaborative efforts and provisions across the Canadian Armed Forces and academic community.

Erika Holter has over two decades of experience working with various industry associations, in a Managerial and Executive Director capacity. Her not-for-profit expertise also includes a degree in nonprofit studies, serving as an Instructor with the Alberta Government’s Board Development Program, and a lot of volunteer and board experience.

After working full-time by day for many years while freelance writing by night, Erika made the leap to full-time freelance writing last year. Erika is passionate about writing, gets excited by research, and takes tremendous pride in delivering written content in a highly readable and engaging format. She loves writing on business topics, and non-business topics, alike. Erika believes that every business, and every person, has a story, and she loves to tell these stories.

Erika loves spending time with her family and friends when she's not writing, playing games, hiking, golfing, camping, or participating in bowling league with her team Pin It to Win It. 

After working full-time by day for many years while freelance writing by night, Erika made the leap to full-time freelance writing last year. Erika is passionate about writing, gets excited by research, and takes tremendous pride in delivering content in a highly readable and engaging format. She loves writing on business topics, and non-business topics, alike. Erika believes that every business, and every person, has a story, and she loves to tell these stories.

Sarah Reader has been running recreation programs in the Calgary area for all ages since 2008. In 2016, she created and managed the City of Calgary's first Mobile Adventure Playground and sat on the 2017 International Play Conference planning committee. Sarah has a bachelor of Physical Education with a major in sport performance and physical activity from the University of Alberta and is also a registered massage therapist and fitness instructor. Born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon, her love of nature and outdoor play runs deep in her being, and you can often find her enjoying the great outdoors with her husband and three sons. Through her company, Playful Adventures, she loves inspiring people to rediscover their Wildhoods through education and unstructured, outdoor play. She’s passionate about promoting health, inclusion, physical literacy, and play in her community.

Mairin Husak completed her practicum with WordPLAY Consulting Inc. as part of her Physical Literacy Degree from Mount Royal University. She has been part of Calgary’s sports and recreation community for most of her life.

Mairin began as a competitive gymnast, later playing soccer, basketball, and rugby, which sparked an interest in coaching, mentoring, and teaching others in the following years. She has had a long love affair with everything movement-related, which has become a strong desire to facilitate this love to the children she works with.

Mairin has held leadership positions within the preschool gymnastics community and taught numerous sports and recreation programs for children and youth. She is a mother to three wonderful, busy children, and when she’s not chasing them, she can be found on a sports field or spending time with family and friends.