About International Coaching Federation – Calgary Chapter

President

Peggy Mann

Peggy Mann is an Executive Coach, leader, parent, partner and gardener with expertise in mindfulness and somatics. She has spent 25 years leading teams to implement strategic, people-focused change projects and leading values-driven initiatives in Canada’s health system.

Peggy also brings two decades of volunteer board and council experience, with a commitment to processes that let good work happen consistently. She graduated from Royal Roads in April 2025 and has just completed her ACC hours. Peggy is continuing her learning journey with a Masters of Executive and Organizational Coaching at Royal Roads University.

President-Elect

Gary Gillan

PCC, CPC

How long have you been involved with ICF Calgary?
This is my first formal role. I’ve been attending events for a couple of years now.

How long have you been part of the coaching industry?
4 years

What inspired you to take on a leadership, volunteer, or support role with ICF Calgary?
I love the vibe of the chapter and the supportive atmosphere is what inspired me to become more actively involved. Good people trying to do good things.

What are you most passionate about contributing to the coaching community?
Leadership, positivity, quality, and fun.

What do you hope to accomplish in your current leadership role with ICF Calgary?
Fully learning the President role so that it’s a seamless transition next year into the President role. Meeting with my colleagues, understanding their portfolios, successes, and challenges – all with a view to setting everyone up for success in the years to come.

What’s one fun fact or personal interest?
My main personal interest is Rangers Football Club from Glasgow, Scotland. I’ve been volunteering on the North American Rangers Supporters Association (NARSA) for 14-years now and I’m extremely passionate about all things Rangers.

Director at Large & DEIB Committee Director

Parvin Abdullayeva

PCC, CEC, MSc Psychology

Parvin Abdullayeva is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Certified Executive Coach (CEC) whose career exemplifies a deep commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across five countries and multiple cultural contexts. With a Master’s degree in General Psychology and over 20 years of combined experience in coaching, HR leadership, and mental health counseling, she brings both lived experience and professional expertise to advancing DEIB initiatives within the coaching profession.

Since 2023, Parvin has served as an active member of ICF’s DEIB Committee, where she has contributed to shaping inclusive practices and frameworks that serve the global coaching community.

Cross-Cultural Leadership & Global Perspective

Having lived and worked professionally across five countries—Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Egypt, and Canada—Parvin brings an authentic understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent in cross-cultural coaching relationships. She provides coaching and counselling services in four languages—English, Russian, Azerbaijani, and Turkish—ensuring accessibility for diverse populations who might otherwise face barriers to professional development support. Her multilingual capabilities and multicultural fluency enable her to create inclusive spaces where clients from varied backgrounds feel genuinely seen, heard, and understood.

DEIB Framework Development & Implementation

Since joining ICF’s DEIB Committee in 2023, Parvin has co-created comprehensive guidelines and evidence-based frameworks for inclusive coaching practices that serve ICF’s global membership. Her work focuses on integrating psychological principles with inclusive organizational practices, ensuring mental health support and professional coaching are accessible and culturally responsive for all populations. She brings a unique ability to translate DEIB principles into actionable protocols and standards that coaches can immediately apply in their practice.

Championing Underrepresented Voices

Throughout her career, Parvin has demonstrated unwavering commitment to creating equitable opportunities for underrepresented groups. She has designed and implemented diversity-focused recruitment programs across 18 sites in North America and Trinidad & Tobago, created psychologically-informed diversity initiatives for women in male-dominated industries, including oil and gas, manufacturing, and construction, and developed inclusive environments for military personnel and ethnic minorities. Her leadership in talent acquisition and HR management positions her to understand systemic barriers and design interventions that create lasting organizational change.

Intersection of Psychology, Coaching & Inclusion

Parvin’s Master’s-level psychology education, combined with her PCC credentials, creates a distinctive lens for understanding how unconscious bias, systemic inequities, and cultural factors impact coaching relationships and outcomes. Her therapeutic background in crisis intervention, family counselling, and substance abuse treatment has equipped her with deep empathy for individuals navigating intersecting identities and marginalization. She understands that truly inclusive coaching requires both cultural humility and evidence-based competencies that honour each client’s unique context.

Professional Contributions & Vision

Beyond her committee work, Parvin has designed career management programs at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, led organizational change initiatives during workforce transitions, and provided executive coaching to leaders navigating complex cultural and organizational dynamics. Her vision for ICF’s DEIB work centers on ensuring coaching becomes a truly accessible profession—one where practitioners from all backgrounds can thrive and where clients from all communities can access culturally responsive, affirming support.

Current Roles:

Career & Executive Coach, Careerminds
ICF DEIB Committee Member

Mentor – CRIEC

Education & Credentials:

Master of Science in General Psychology, Baku State University
Professional Certified Coach (PCC), International Coaching Federation
Certified Executive Coach (CEC), Royal Roads University
Human Resources Management Certificate, University of Calgary

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Parvin is committed to advancing ICF’s mission of creating a coaching profession where diversity is celebrated, equity is embedded in practice standards, inclusion is lived daily, and belonging is felt by all coaches and clients regardless of their background, identity, or lived experience.

Membership Director

Joann Paton

ACC, CPCC, CPHR, MA

At Humanity Coaching and Consulting, we believe that at the heart of every individual lies a deep desire for connection, fulfillment, and a life well lived. Through empowered action, Joann supports clients on their coaching journey by fostering a trusting, authentic, and expansive partnership. Her ability to hold a client’s vision and goals while guiding them through learning, growth, and achievement speaks to her unwavering commitment to their success. With resourcefulness, kindness, and curiosity, Joann asks powerful questions that bring forth a client’s inner truth that sparks a personal transformation.

Joann also brings these qualities to her work with HR clients at a strategic level. With intention, she views HR through a strategic lens so organizations can expand their field of vision—exploring what is possible and determining what is achievable within existing systems. Her expertise in aligning business and people strategies is key to transforming HR from a cost center into a value-add function. Joann’s approach to designing, developing, and deploying HR programs is integrative, thoughtful, and tailored to each organization’s unique needs.

If you’re looking to grow personally or enhance your HR function, connect with Joann at Humanitycoachingconsulting@gmail.com or send her a message on LinkedIn.

Credentialling Director

Christopher Kachuk

PCC, Executive MBA

Christopher Kachuk is a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), founder, and executive coach with eight years of experience in the coaching industry and six years of involvement with ICF Calgary. As Credentialling Director, he is passionate about supporting coaches in their professional development and helping strengthen the coaching profession across Alberta.

Christopher believes that strong standards, meaningful community, and accessible credentialing support are essential to the growth and success of both coaches and their clients. Through his leadership with ICF Calgary, he is committed to making the credentialing process clearer, more accessible, and more supportive for coaches at every stage of their journey.

His focus is on enhancing the member experience, strengthening professional standards, and fostering a coaching community where members feel connected, confident, and equipped to grow.

When he’s not coaching or supporting the coaching community, Christopher enjoys spending time on the golf course with his family.

External Relations Director

Tim Borys

PCC, CEC

Tim Borys is an organizational performance strategist, executive coach, and former international level athlete who helps leaders and teams thrive by optimizing the intersection of human performance, business strategy, and leadership.

With over two decades of C-suite and entrepreneurial experience, Tim blends insights from physiology, psychology, and elite athletics to create high-impact leadership and culture change that drives sustainable results.

He’s the author of The Fitness Curveball book series, host of The Working Well Podcast, and member of multiple boards. Tim’s mission: to build thriving humans, engaged teams, and profitable businesses that set a higher standard in today’s rapidly evolving world of work.

Communications Director

Kim Schaaf

MS (Integrated Marketing Communications)

Kim Schaaf is a dynamic coach, facilitator, and communications strategist who helps mid-career professionals unlock their potential through personalized coaching and development. With 20+ years of experience across non-profit, post-secondary, healthcare, and government sectors, Kim excels at bridging the gap between learning and real-world application—equipping individuals and teams with the strategic communication, leadership, and emotional intelligence skills needed to thrive.

Holding a Bachelor of Applied Communications (Journalism) and a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications, Kim takes a research-backed approach to coaching. A lifelong learner, she is a certified NLP Practitioner and a Level 2 Holistic Life, Career & Executive Coach certification as she works toward her ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential.

Kim specializes in guiding individuals through career and life transitions, leadership challenges, and workplace dynamics. Her workshops and coaching sessions focus on persuasive communication, adaptable leadership, and intentional growth—ensuring clients gain actionable strategies for real-world impact.

Beyond coaching, her hands-on experience training diverse teams—from frontline staff to executives—gives her a unique perspective on what it takes to lead, persuade, and inspire in today’s fast-paced workplaces. She also enjoys using technology and AI to improve her business and make life more interesting.

Based in Lethbridge, Alberta, Kim enjoys camping near the Rockies, hiking with her family, and hosting lively card games with friends. Whether coaching, facilitating, or crafting training programs, Kim brings warmth, authenticity, and practical wisdom to every interaction.

Marketing Director

Agnes Lo

PCC

Agnes Lo is an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach who empowers individuals and teams to unlock their unique talents, strengthen collaboration, and lead with confidence. With over 20 years of experience in Learning & Development, she has designed and delivered training programs across 20+ countries in both corporate and non-profit sectors.

Originally from Hong Kong, Agnes moved to Vancouver, Canada in 1993 with her family. For over two decades, she travelled extensively across the Asia Pacific region, training and coaching multicultural teams. As the former Head of Regional Learning and Development at L’Occitane Asia Pacific, she led leadership and team engagement initiatives in partnership with the global headquarters in France. Since returning to Canada in 2020, she now calls Calgary home and runs her own coaching and training company, Solution Bulb.

Agnes specializes in strengths-based coaching to help individuals and teams recognize their talents, enhance team spirit, and work passionately toward shared goals. She holds certifications in Executive Coaching, DiSC®, MBTI®, NLP, and Dale Carnegie High-Impact Presentation Skills.

Agnes is a dedicated volunteer who actively supports various community initiatives. She serves as a mentor for newcomers through CRIEC (Calgary Region Immigrant Employment Council) and is passionate about empowering youth through leadership programs. A committed Toastmaster for over 16 years, she earned her Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) designation in 2018 and currently serves as a Club Officer in both a Calgary based club and an online club in Hong Kong. Agnes is also a multi-time public speaking contest award winner, with recognition in both Hong Kong and Calgary.

Known for her natural connection with people, empathy, and global mindset, she is passionate about creating purposeful growth and empowering people to thrive — one conversation at a time.

Past-President

Moji Ajele

PCC, M.Eng, MBA

Focused, energetic, and purpose-driven, Moji Ajele entered university at the age of 14, graduating with a master’s degree in civil engineering. This training is a huge part of her love for systems and efficiency in all aspects of life.  

Moji has been an executive director with BNI for 10 years and in this time helped thousands of business owners across southern Alberta grow their businesses by referral so they can live the life of their dreams. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, Moji was named “Director of the Year”, and “Giver’s Gain” award winner for four out of the last 10 years by BNI Canada.  Her burning desire is to continue to help business owners succeed faster than they imagined possible

Happily married 34 years, Moji and her childhood sweetheart, Dele Ajele, have four awesome children who were home educated right through high school. They also have 2 grandkids, whom they absolutely adore.

Moji believes  that one of the best decisions she ever made was to certify as a coach through Royal Roads University in 2022. The program transformed her outlook on life and now, she looks forward to a future of helping people navigate life through her  coaching skills. Moji is an avid reader love to read about faith, health, business, and personal growth. She loves reading,  hiking, and traveling.