Who We Are
Community is built by people who care.
Community Financial is a Manitoba-based non-profit and charitable organization with over 50 years of experience helping individuals, couples, and families facing financial challenges.
Leadership Team
Our Leadership Staff and their teams bring decades of experience and a deep dedication to helping make financial well-being more achievable for Manitobans.
Mike Goldberg
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Sally Massey Wiebe
FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT LEAD
Morgan Marshall
TAX & BENEFITS PROGRAM MANAGER
Yvonne Neu
FINANCIAL COUNSELLING
PROGRAM MANAGER
Gopinath Kundukattil
SENIOR FINANCIAL
COUNSELLOR
Board of Directors
Our volunteer Board of Directors shape our strategic direction, uphold strong governance, and champion financial well-being for the communities we serve.
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CO-CHAIR
Candy is the Portfolio Manager for International Strategies at Manitoba Civil Service Superannuation Board where she also oversees risk management and ESG. Candy is on the Board of Directors with Community Financial. She sits on the Board of Directors for Manitoba Public Insurance and chairs their Investment Committee. Candy also sits on the Investment Committee for The Winnipeg Foundation. She is a long time volunteer with Winnipeg Harvest and CFA Society Winnipeg. Candy has been a CFA charterholder since 2006.
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CO-CHAIR
Matt Johnston is Co-President of Johnston Group, a Winnipeg-based company that provides employee benefit solutions to more than 35,000 businesses across Canada.
Matt has served on the CFCS board since 2018. He believes deeply in the organization's mission - that access to honest, independent financial guidance can change the trajectory of someone's life - and has seen firsthand the impact that work has on individuals and families across Winnipeg.
Matt grew up in Winnipeg and feels a strong sense of responsibility to the community he calls home. Outside of Johnston Group, he serves on the board of The Forks Foundation, is a member of the United Way Winnipeg Campaign Cabinet and the Winnipeg Impact Network Council, and recently co-chaired the Manitoba Theatre for Young People's Play it Forward Capital Campaign with his wife Jane.
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VICE CHAIR
Erica Esselmont, CPA, CA, CIA, CRMA, is a senior risk management professional with over twenty years of Board experience. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Governance & HR Committee at Community Financial Counselling Services, and as Chair of the Board at McClure Place Inc.
Erica has worked at the Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba for over fifteen years, where she collaborates with the boards of Manitoba’s credit unions and leads the team responsible for monitoring their safety and soundness.
Outside of her professional and volunteer commitments, she enjoys spending time at the cottage with her husband.
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SECRETARY/TREASURER
Tae is the Senior Director of Corporate Finance and Financial Planning with GWL Realty Advisors, a subsidiary of The Canada Life Assurance Company.
He leads the Corporate Finance team, overseeing financial reporting, planning, and analysis, and partners closely with the business to support strategic decision‑making. He holds CPA and CIA (Internal Audit) designations, with four years of public accounting experience across audit and tax, and over eight years of experience in corporate finance.
Beyond Community Financial, he volunteers as a strategy committee member with a faith‑based organization and supports Indigenous youth through camp programs. Outside of work, he enjoys playing various sports and traveling with his wife.
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Erin Polcyn Sailer has held senior leadership roles in human resources, policy, and operations in the public and private sectors.
Her career includes roles with Viterra, Wolseley Canada Inc., the Manitoba government and the Civil Service Superannuation Board. Currently heading Communications and Member Services for CSSB, she’s responsible for strategic initiatives that enhance pension governance and operational excellence in service to 57,000 plan members.
A Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR), Erin previously served on the CPHR Manitoba Board, and currently serves as Vice-Chair of the CPHR Canada Board.
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Unyime John brings a balanced and practical perspective to governance and organizational leadership, grounded in strong financial expertise, strategic insight, and collaborative decision‑making. Since immigrating to Canada in 2023, Unyime has continued to build experience in public accounting and external audit, contributing to transparency, accountability, and public confidence in capital markets and business reporting.
Unyime’s professional background reflects a rare combination of technical depth and systems level thinking. A Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Unyime holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Medical Physiology and Applied Accounting. This interdisciplinary foundation strengthens analytical judgement and supports a nuanced understanding of complex organizational, financial, and regulatory environments.
Alongside professional practice, Unyime is strongly committed to community impact and responsible governance. This commitment is reflected in a dedication to advancing organisational missions, strengthening oversight, and supporting initiatives that create sustainable value for the communities served.
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Kevin has been part of the Endow Manitoba program at The Winnipeg Foundation since spring of 2019 and in that time has been fortunate to meet and work with the passionate staff and volunteers that drive the community foundation movement in the province. Kevin is a strong believer in the strength and resilience of not only communities, but their members. A proponent of lifelong education, Kevin completed his Masters of Applied Economics through the University of Winnipeg starting in spring 2024, and continues to use what he learned to contribute to the evolution and growth of the community foundation movement. In his spare he likes to read, binge shows, and stay active through biking, running, playing soccer, hockey and almost any other sport you throw at him.
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Abhinav is a lawyer in the Business Law Group at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP, practicing Corporate & Commercial Law. Abhinav primarily works in the areas of Commercial Real Estate Transactions (including dispositions, acquisitions, financings and leasing), Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Reorganizations & Restructuring, and general Corporation & Commercial matters.
Abhinav is passionate about the work undertaken by Community Financial and its mission to increase access to guidance on financial matters.
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PhD, CPA, CMA, B Comm (distinction)
Professor David Stangeland did his undergraduate and graduate university education at the University of Alberta in Edmonton where he earned his Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction and his PhD in finance. He is currently Full Professor of Finance in the Accounting and Finance Department at the Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba. Over his career has had multiple appointments as Department Head of Accounting and Finance and several appointments as Associate Dean – both for undergraduate programs and professional graduate programs.
Dr. Stangeland's research has been published in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, the Canadian Journal of Economics, Financial Management, the Journal of Corporate Finance, the Stanford Journal of Law, Business and Finance, the Journal of Financial Education, the Journal of Business and Economics Research, the Journal of Corporate Ownership and Control, the Review of Accounting and Finance, the Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money and in the research volumes, Corporate Decision-Making in Canada, and the NBER’s Concentrated Corporate Ownership. Most of his recent writing has been directed toward his textbook co-authorships.
David has been the recipient of multiple awards for research and teaching and currently teaches in the undergraduate, MBA and Master of Finance programs. He is passionate about teaching. He has designed and introduced several courses and co-authors two textbooks: Corporate Finance (now in its 6th edition) and Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (now in its 5th edition). David was the faculty lead in the development and implementation of the Asper School’s Price Student Managed Investment Fund – a fund now exceeding $4.5 million.
International teaching assignments have also been common for Professor Stangeland including in the Czech Republic, and Beijing, China. He has also been continually teaching managerial finance to MBA students at the Warsaw School of Economics in Poland each summer since 2000).
Dr. Stangeland championed the development of the Bloomberg Lab at the University of Manitoba and worked with the business community for its funding. He has been involved in the development, reviews, and implementations of many academic programs at both the Undergraduate and Graduate levels. He has worked actively with the Asper School’s International Exchange Programs and its Co-operative Education Program – in the latter he led the development of co-op for MBA, MFin and MSCM programs.
Dr. Stangeland is also a professional accountant (CPA, CMA). He served on the National Board of Directors for CMA Canada and chaired CMA Canada’s Pension Committee. He also served on the Pension Committees for the two University of Manitoba Pension Plans and was a member of the Investment Committees for those two plans. He is a former member of the Investment Committee for the Teachers’ Retirement Allowances Fund (TRAF) of Manitoba, and has been a member of the Independent Review Committees for mutual fund companies. Dr. Stangeland serves as a Director on the Community Financial Counseling Services (non-profit) Board of Directors and serves on the Board’s Finance Committee.
Where We Are
Community Financial offices are located on Treaty 1 Territory. Our work extends throughout Treaties 2, 3, 4, and 5. These are the traditional homelands of Indigenous Peoples. We acknowledge that Winnipeg’s water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation. We respect the Treaties as intended by Indigenous peoples, acknowledging the harms and mistakes of the past and the responsibility to move forward in partnership with Indigenous communities in a spirit of reconciliation and collaboration.
Our Partners
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