2022-2023 Board
- Chair: Colin Russell, University of Winnipeg
- Secretary: Manpreet Grewal, Red River College Polytechnic
- Treasurer: Matthew May, Assiniboine College
- Membership Chair: Gabe Mercier, Retired from Assiniboine Community College
- Administrative Assistant: VACANT
- Members at Large: Gary McNeeley
- Promotions Chair: All Board Members
- Program Planning Chair: All Board Members
Chair: Colin Russell, University of Winnipeg
Colin Russell is the Registrar at The University of Winnipeg, and has been involved in the University’s PLAR initiatives since their inception. He was a member of the committee that produced a report in 2005 on the assessment of UW as an Adult Learner Friendly Institution (ALFI), and hired the Coordinator of Adult Learner Services and PLAR when he was Director of Academic Advising and Special Needs. Colin has been engaged in the implementation and administration of UW’s Adult Learner and PLAR-related initiatives, including the CIM to BA (later BBA) program with Boeing, Standard Aero, and Manitoba Hydro; establishment of an evening adult learner advisor position through funding from the Province; and establishment of Military PLAR for veterans and serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces. Colin served for two years on the PEARL (Pursuit of Excellence in the Assessment and Recognition of Learning) Awards committee of MPLAN, and has been a member of MPLAN for a number of years.
Secretary: Manpreet Grewal, Red River College Polytechnic
Manpreet Grewal joined the MPLAN Board in 2022 as a member-at-large and this year, she is serving as Secretary. She currently holds the position of Academic Advisor, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) at Red River College Polytechnic. RPL, in all its various forms, plays an important role in the work that she does to support student success. She also provides academic and career advising supports to language training students at the Centre for Newcomer Integration (CNI).
Manpreet holds a Certificate in Career Development and Academic Advising (2024) from University of Calgary and a Business Administration Diploma (2004) from RRC Polytech. She has had training in international credential assessment and RPL concepts and practices.
Treasurer: Matthew May, Assiniboine College
Matthew May has served on the MPLAN Board starting in 2024 as a member-at-large and currently as Interim Treasurer.
He is currently an Academic Chairperson for the School of Health & Human Services within Assiniboine College, and previous to that a Student Success Advisor. Matthew’s portfolio is diverse, and includes managing the Social Service Worker, Education Assistant, and Early Childhood Education Qualifications Recognition programs. Matthew manages any PLAR requests that come through these various programs regularly.
Matthew holds a Master of Education from the University of Calgary, where he originally become immersed in the field of RPL and specifically PLAR within post-secondary institutions. He finds RPL to be a valuable yet under represented mechanism that he hopes to highlight to organizations across Manitoba through his involvement in MPLAN. .
Membership Chair: Gabe Mercier, Assiniboine Community College
Gabe is new to the RPL process, and believes that it’s a perfect fit for adult education programs. He is presently retired. Previously the Director of Assiniboine Community College Parkland Campus in Dauphin, where he administered college and mature high school programs. He has eighteen years of institutional administration in secondary and post second education in Manitoba. Gabe has a wide range of education and work experiences both in education and in business and industry, and holds bachelor and master of education degrees from the University of Manitoba. However, his early years of post-secondary education were at a community college followed by working in industry for eight years and completing an apprenticeship program (inter-provincial journeyman status). He also has fifteen years of teaching directly in a Technical Vocational Education program.