Trusted Transitions - Our team

Elaine Frost is president and founder of Trusted Transitions. When my mother died years ago we thought that dad would live in our family home forever. But when he had some medical issues affect his mobility, it made sense for him to move to a retirement residence. Only a couple months later an old family friend, Aunt Alice, passed away. I was her Executor and needed to empty and sell the house she had lived in for over 45 years. At the time I had a demanding professional career and many responsibilities in my own life. All I really wanted to do was spend quality time with my dad. And I was shocked by how much time it was taking to deal with all the stuff in both situations it -  was endless. To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement. I had so many questions - I needed help! 

Elaine's background includes an MBA from The Richard Ivey School of Business and a 15 year career in management with IBM Canada. She was also the CFO of Lexmark Canada, and ran her own Management Consulting practice for over 10 years.

Over those months I scrambled to learn what had to be done and how best to do it, always balancing the needs of my dad and the wishes of my aunt with the desire to just get it done. The skills I had developed in my corporate career, including the discipline of planning, attention to detail, problem solving and being well organized, were all invaluable. I could have used someone just like me to handle the details but I didn't know of anyone. So, I decided to back away from the corporate world, and start Trusted Transitions. Now, I also get the satisfaction of knowing that when people contact us, we are helping others through difficult times, taking a lot of the burden and stress off their shoulders, while getting the job done.

Elaine is also a mentor to entrepreneurs at Step Ahead and has served on the Board of Habitat Services. She is active outdoors and also enjoys gourmet cooking, reading and playing various games and puzzles.

I'm thrilled when I can tell my clients to just relax, I'll take care of it. And when we make it happen, with no surprises, the relief on their face is my biggest reward.

	With a compassionate heart, Trusted Transitions will help relieve you of responsibilities that would otherwise be overwhelming.

Michele McCulloch well understands how stressful life changes can be, and how a successful transition can alleviate stress. I had to handle the estates of both my parents within a six month period. There were a lot of questions that needed to be answered. Having to make decisions about what could be kept and what needed to go wasn't always easy and we often wished for an independent third party to guide us  when emotions started to get the upper hand. 

Michele gained a wealth of proven skills and experience during her 32 year career with IBM Canada delivering and managing administrative services. Not only am I a problem solver, but I'm also extremely organized and well-known for my strong attention to details.

While maintaining her professional career Michele met the parallel demands of raising a family. My two daughters, both in their twenties, have now embarked on their own careers. Over the course of the last few years, their separate paths have caused many a situation where logic and organization played a key role in successful transitions in their lives. 

Michele and her husband have recently moved to Stratford, Ontario, and she will be working with families in the Stratford / Kitchener / Waterloo area.

In her spare time Michele is involved in curling at the Stratford Country Club and is an annual canvasser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. She enjoys an active lifestyle that includes golf, curling, gardening and hiking.

I enjoy meeting people, I enjoy helping people and I enjoy seeing the successful end result when focusing on achieving the intended goal. I want to get up every morning and feel as though I'm helping someone. 

	Trusted Transitions answers your questions about how best to deal with the situation and move forward.

Susan Culver knows firsthand the meaning of the sandwich generation - she and many of her friends are part of it. When an elderly family member moved from the family home of 45 years to an apartment, the mountains of details, decisions and belongings were overwhelming. The situation was a familiar one: adult children with busy careers, struggling to balance the needs of a parent in declining health - and teenagers! That's why, when she heard about Trusted Transitions, Susan immediately recognized the value of the services offered by this company. These are very emotional situations for any family and with all the questions we had, it would have been wonderful to have had this kind of help.

Susan's 25+ years in the telecom industry include positions as an Account Manager, part-time instructor for Ryerson University and several years as Director of Customer Support for a telecom software company - a role that requires strong problem-solving and organizational skills, as well as empathy for the customer.

When she's not working, Susan enjoys golfing, curling, reading and singing in the Kingsway-Lambton United Church choir. In 2002 and 2005, she traveled to Honduras to volunteer in an orphanage in Tegucigalpa. She serves on the Executive of the Business Women's Curling at Weston Golf and Country Club, Chairs a Committee at KLUC and canvasses for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Change can be stressful for everyone, young or old. I experienced this in the high-tech industry, where things change rapidly. I find it very satisfying to go home at the end of a day, knowing that I helped to make a major life change easier and smoother for our clients. 

	When a family member needs to move from their home we can help make the transition smooth.

Jeanne Hazell more than understands the needs of transitioning family members. "Ten years ago I held a very busy full-time job in Toronto and my parents lived out-of-town. With my mother suffering from Alzheimer's, and my father unable to provide the level of care she needed, I became the family member everyone looked to and the task was huge. I assumed all responsibility for their finances, tax filings, the selection of a nursing home and comfortably settling my mother in. One year later we sold the family home and moved my father to the same community in a retirement residence. It all took patience, understanding and a very organized approach to minimize the fear and frustration that naturally occurs when life no longer seems under your own control. I continued as their power of attorney and then executor of their estates when the time came. Emotional times need level heads!

Jeanne credits her 32 year management career at IBM Canada with giving her the ability to listen, to understand, to empathize and to work effectively with others to successfully complete the job.

Jeanne recently moved to Collingwood and has become very engaged in the community. She sits on the Board of The Blue Mountain Watershed Trust Foundation (an environmental organization), the Board of the Collingwood Curling Club and recently was accepted as a member of the Economic Stability and Development Services Board for the town. She is a volunteer driver for the Canadian Cancer Society, bringing clients to Toronto for treatments and follow-up appointments. She loves to curl in the winter and golf in the summer. Throw in a good book, a little bridge and a good movie and she is happy.

"I love meeting and helping seniors. I have as much to learn from them as I can offer to support their needs. Their lives have great importance and they deserve our respect and help in their later years."

	When you need a caring heart and an experienced hand, Trusted Transitions will help make life changes easier.