Brooks Hanewich
Brooks Hanewich's career reveals his balance of creative thinking and finely tuned critical thinking abilities. After graduating from the University of Alberta, where he studied economics and sociology, Brooks didn't go for a typical career path. He had the same idealism of many in their youth to go out and "save the world" and so he proceeded to work for a mutual funds company... At first conflicted about his choice to work in the private sector, he later realized he gained much from the experience and found that it greatly informs his current work in human services.
After his stint in stock exchange, Brooks went on to work as a teacher in Guatemala, a marketing director for a crane safety company, a social enterprise manager in Vancouver and as a community connector in Edmonton. The steps he thought were backward at first, were rather serving to educate him in the world of finance, business, marketing, non-profit management and community building. Right now, in particular, he is excited about opportunities for the public and private sectors to see beyond their individual silos and be engaged both socially and economically in their communities.
One of the big contributions Brooks has brought to Community Disability Services in Alberta, has been his creativity in leading a successful Provincial marketing campaign for the sector. He is also a regular contributor to provincial not-for-profit councils and committees (Including working with Ben and Debbie on the innovative CommuniTEA Infusion Project).
Currently, Brooks is the Workforce Development Coordinator for the Alberta Council of Disability Services, the representative association for 130 member agencies provincially, that provide services to individuals with developmental disabilities. He also consults with organizations around Alberta, specifically offering his expertise in addressing communications, marketing, social enterprise, diversity in the workplace and community connecting.
Think Jar member Brooks Hanewich shares ideas on the links between critical thinking and creativity