Strengthening Our Team to Better Support Member Clubs

We’re excited to share some recent staffing changes that will help us build a stronger organization and provide more resources for our community.

Technical Director / Excellence Programs Manager

We want to thank Alex Maycock for his excellent work as our interim Excellence Programs Manager. He is moving on to a new opportunity as a full-time laboratory instructor and assistant coach for the Nordic Ski Team at Nipissing University, and we wish him all the best in his new role.

As we move forward, we’ve made the strategic decision to postpone the hiring process for this position until February 2026. This provides us with the opportunity to focus on other key objectives that will directly benefit our member clubs. In the meantime, Jen Nieson will step in as Interim Technical Director on a part-time basis. She will continue in her primary role as Para Nordic Lead, and will work with the XCSO staff team to ensure all programs continue seamlessly until a new Director is in place on April 1, 2026.

Communications Lead

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve extended Joel Haering’s contract part-time, starting in September 2026. Thanks to the Government of Ontario Summer Experience Opportunity Grant, Joel has been a fantastic addition, and you can look forward to more of his great videos and social media posts.

Fundraising Lead

To better support our strategic goal of strengthening clubs, we have brought on Leila Verheyen on a contract basis. Leila, owner of LV Philanthropy and a Team Hardwood parent, has already shared her expertise by co-hosting our well-received June fundraising workshop. She will now lead a new campaign focused on increasing our capacity to provide financial support and other resources to our clubs, which will help them deliver programming and better support participants. We’re excited about this step and look forward to sharing more details on how this will help our entire community grow.