Our staff is a team of experienced and motivated people who share a commitment to the vision and goals of C.I.E.S. Without their expertise and energy, none of what we have accomplished would have been possible.
Executive Director
Salim M. Sindhu
Mr. Salim M. Sindhu was born in Pakistan and obtained his bachelors of Civil Engineering. In 1987, he started his own consulting business in immigration and in 1988, with the help of a few friends, he formed the Calgary Immigrant Educational Society (C.I.E.S.) to help immigrants residing in S.E. quadrant of the city. In 2003, the Governor General of Canada awarded him Governor General's Caring Canadian Award for his community service and in 2005, the Government of Alberta awarded him the Centenial Medal. In the same year, he received the Star of the Millennium - Volunteer Award from the Wild Rose Foundation. Salim has dedicated his life helping fellow immigrants in their settlement process in Canada.
Acting Senior Manager
Noureddine Bouissoukrane
He got his MBA from University of Vancouver Island and he also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration. Noureddine has been managing the Computer, Accounting and Employment Training Programs since June 2008. In addition, Noureddine is in charge of the maintenance of the computers and the design and updates of the website. Moreover, he oversees the daily building operations and he is very pleased to be a part of the great C.I.E.S. team.
Office Manager
Amie Lo
Amie is an efficient and dependable office manager. She has been with the society for the last 9 years. She is in charge of the society's Human Resources and Financial department.
Manager of L.I.N.C. Program
Sally Zhao
Dr. Sally Zhao obtained her Ph.D. in ESL (English as a Second Language) Testing and Assessment and an M.A. in Language and Communication from Cardiff University, U.K., an M.Ed. in Teaching English for Specific Purposes from University of Exeter, U.K., and a B.A. in English Language and Literature from Lanzhou University, China. Since 1987, Sally has been teaching English as a Second Language, she has taught at the Dalian University of Technology, and English Language and Communication at Cardiff University, U.K., and ESL Drop-In program, LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) program, and ELT (Enhanced Language Training) program at Calgary Immigrant Educational Society (C.I.E.S.), Canada. Sally started her career at CIES in November 2005. Sally has been the manager of LINC program at C.I.E.S. since May 2007.
Manager of the Training Programs
Agnes Wong
Agnes Wong immigrated to Canada with her parents in 1991. Her first job in Canada was working as a full-time sales clerk in a gift shop. In September 1992 she started a two-year Diploma program at S.A.I.T. while continuing to work part-time. In April 1994, she graduated from S.A.I.T. and got an Honored Diploma in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting. It is worth mentioning that she got the highest academic achievement out of more than 300 students and was awarded the Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund: Louise McKinney Post-Secondary Scholarship after completion of the first year program.
In May 1994, she was hired by C.I.E.S. and has been working in this organization ever since. During these 15 years, Agnes has been working in different positions including Administrative Assistant, Assistant E.S.L./Volunteer Coordinator, Executive Assistant, Employment Counselor, Senior/L.I.N.C. Manager.
Presently, Agnes is the Manager of the Training Programs, a position she has held for the past seven years. Her main responsibilities involve coordinating all the training programs and writing different kinds of proposals and final reports.
From September 1996 to April 2000, Agnes devoted her spare time after work to pursue and finish her Bachelors degree in Administration at Athabasca University.
Manager of Drop-In ESL and Volunteer Programs
I-Hui (Eva) Su
Ms. Su has her M.A. in English, TESL from the San Francisco State University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication focusing on Intercultural Communication and a Master of Arts in English, concentrating on teaching English as a Second Language from San Francisco State University.
Eva has taught ESL across all levels since 1998. Before moving to Canada, she also taught at the American Language Institute, a pre-academic University program for International students at San Francisco State University for 1.5 years and Chin-Min College in Taiwan for 4 years.
Eva has worked at the Calgary Immigrant Educational Society since January 2005. She started as a teacher for the Enhanced Language Training Program and taught from January 2005 to August 2005. She has been the manager of the Drop-In and Volunteer Programs since September 2005.