About Us

RETHINK (West) Inc. nurtures visionary and strategic leadership.  We join and augment your team at those critical moments when you have chosen to review, rethink and renew.   We help you identify key challenges and opportunities, determine optimal strategic response, and move forward with confidence.  Our knowledge, facilitation and coaching skills strengthen your ability to be objective, insightful and decisive when focused leadership is required.

We are a dynamic partnership of two individuals: Ken Balmer and Brenda Clarke.  RETHINK (West) Inc. does not have employees.  Rather, we have developed a support network of first class professionals representing the best thinking in complementary fields: health and disability, economic development, post secondary education, environment, tourism and social services.  We evaluate the need for this specialized support with clients once project requirements are fully understood.

Ken Balmer

Ken BalmerKen has a PhD in planning and founded RETHINK in 1978.  He has consciously balanced his consulting career with ventures into the real world of management responsibility:

  • Manager, City of Calgary in four areas: corporate planning, planning/development, recreation operations and management services (8 years)
  • Executive Director, Kitchener-Waterloo YMCA (2 years)
  • Manager, Research and Policy Section, federal Ministry of State for Urban Affairs (2 years).

He has been responsible for capital budgets of over $130 million and operating budgets as high as $38 million.  Ken has taught public policy, planning and statistics/research methodology at three univerities:  Waterloo, Carlton and Liverpool.  He has served on the national boards of the Royal Life Saving Society and the Canadian Parks/Recreation Association (president).  Locally, he has been an active Board member of a Social Planning Council (KW), YMCA (KW), Boys and Girls Club (Calgary) and Fort Calgary.  He was a founder of both the Alberta and Canadian Snowboarding Associations.

Brenda Clarke

Brenda ClarkeBrenda has double honors undergraduate degrees in business and recreation, a masters degree in human resource development, a management certificate in marketing, and has a 3 yr. certificate with the Gestalt Institute of Toronto.  She has over 20 years of direct executive management experience beginning as an entrepreneur in the early 70′s thru to a decade and a half GM experience with multi purpose sport/rec/leisure centers in the late 90′s and includes the following:

  • General Manager (GM) of the Lindsay Park Sport Society, now Talisman Centre in Calgary (150 staff, $3m+ budget back in 1990)
  • Interim GM for the SE Family Leisure Centre in Calgary
  • Senior Management for all programs + communications of them with Southland Leisure Centre
  • Corporate Policy and Systems Planner with Calgary Parks and Recreation Dept.
  • Organizational/Program Development consultant with Ontario Ministry Tourism/Culture/Rec.
  • Co-Chair of the 1979 World Water Ski Championships in Toronto, Ontario
  • Since 1991 to present - Brenda has been with RETHINK working across Canda with non profit, municipal/regional government and private sector clients in the fields of  Parks, Recreation, Sports, Arts/Culture, change leadership and board development, management business operations consulting, strategic thinking/planning all resulting in defined action plans with realistic steps and strategies to move forward.
  • A couple of Brenda’s major achievements in recent past with Parks/Recreation is: 1) proud to be primary author and Project Director/Producer for both 1995 Benefits Catalogue and 2009 on line version now located at www.benefitshub.ca 2)  Current facilitator and Project Director for the ‘ARPA Service Excellence Program” which outlines 10 Core Competency areas with 88 Practice Guidelines and 550+ indicators that proves we delivery functions and services needed .
  • Diversity and disability has been a passion since 1995 with the Canadian Paraplegic Associaiton work - in particular working on many business and communications plans for spinal cord injury organizations across Canada including work on the Alberta Provincial SCI Action Strategy, Communications and Fund Development Plans for this non profit sector.

Brenda is a Rotarian and currently serves as Chairperson for the Community Services Committee. Also, she supports/volunteers with local First Nations people to help improve their living and working conditions on their reserves. In the past years, she served as Chair of Amateur Sports Committee of the Saddledome Foundation (Calgary) and as a Board member of Parks Foundation Calgary. She is a lifetime honorary member with the Talsimen Centre (formally the Lindsay Park Development Foundation) and served as a Calgary YWCA Board Director, Strathcona Community Association Director, SAIT advisory board (RFM) and Ladysmith Parks Recreation Commission Director.  Brenda began profesional work in her early teens as a waterskier; for 2o years she competed in the 3 main ski  events and did lots of Exhibition show skiing around the world plus facilitaed provincial and national waterskiing sanctioned events and certification boards in U.S. (Florida, Virginia, California) and Canada.

SUMMARY for Ken and Brenda -  Founded in 1978, RETHINK has served over 300 organizations.  Since we got together in 1991, we have never paid for advertising.  ‘Word of mouth’ recommendations from satisfied clients have built both our business and our reputation.  Contact us for references related to your interest, field or challenge.    We’d love to help you RETHINK and embrace the change.

The Partners