For more information about our Wedding Planning department, please visit our site for Weddings By Bluebird
Our Team
Contact us to explore how we can create a memorable brand, event or meeting experience for you today.
Heather Odendaal
FOUNDER & CEO
Heather is an award-winning Canadian events producer and brand builder whose over 18 years of experience led her to launch the largest event planning and destination marketing company in Whistler, Bluebird Strategy.
Heather has worked on globally recognized events including the Whistler Film Festival, Crankworx Mountain Bike Festival, YPO’s Global Leadership Conference and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and worked with clients such as Coca-Cola and Smartwool Nestle, and Icebreaker.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Heather and her team were in a unique position of having already produced over 60+ Virtual Events in the lead up to 2020. Bluebird Strategy is a full-service Virtual, Hybrid, and In-Person events team that supports clients with a full spectrum of event production and marketing.
Having strong connections with the local government, community, venues, and vendors allowed Heather and her team to advise their high-profile clients on the best course of action and make any necessary adjustments throughout the pandemic.
Bluebird Strategy is also regularly recognized by the Whistler Excellence Awards for its innovative events and business approaches and was awarded the title of Innovative Business of the Year in 2021. In 2021, Heather was recognized in the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Category of the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards and named a top 50 Changemaker of 2022 by the Globe & Mail’s Report on Business Magazine. Odendaal is annually included in BizBash’s roundup of Canada’s Most Influential Event Pros, and her event work is consistently featured in a variety of top-tier publications, appears on leading podcasts and sits on the Forbes Business Council.
Iva Kubickova
Director, Marketing & Communications
Iva is a content marketing & brand specialist and has joined us from the financial technology sector. As a passionate storyteller and community manager, she has advocated for minorities, female entrepreneurs, and migrant communities from all over the world. Iva has lived in five countries in total and, above all, enjoys creating opportunities for meaningful connections. agencies, as well as for the film and tourism industry.
Liz Peacock
Event & Community Manager
With an extensive background in the UK, Australian and Canadian art industry, Liz has enjoyed the last 12 years of her career working as Co-director/Gallery Manager at Mountain Galleries at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, where her passion grew and expanded into the Whistler community. Liz joined Bluebird Strategy in late 2022 as a part of the teams post-pandemic growth and leads event projects and supports the community relationships here in Whistler.
Ruth Barrow
GRAPHIC DESIGN & WEB
Ruth is the founder and creative director of Whistler Creative. In 2008 after relocating from England to Canada in search of a mountain lifestyle, she decided that it was time to use her experience, knowledge, degree in Visual Communication and entrepreneurial passion to start her own small business. Ruth has supported Bluebird Strategy as a team members since 2015. In her spare time, Ruth paints and makes up-cycled jewelry.
Carlee Cindric
Event Director
Carlee’s Whistler adventure began 17 years ago as a Staff and Recognition Event Coordinator at Whistler Blackcomb. From there she dove into event management and production working for W1, Inspired Group Events, Whistler Film Festival Society, Whistler Arts Council, LifeSport, Alpine Canada Alpin and VANOC. With these companies she played integral roles in some of the largest, most prolific events including the World Ski and Snowboard Festival, Whistler Film Festival, TELUS presents Whistler World Cup (Alpine Skiing) and the 2010 Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games, to name a few. She’s also spent several years in the marketing and communications world with Tourism Whistler and Origin Design & Communications lining her pockets with new tools and experiences. In 2014, she branched out and started her own successful wedding and event production company – Pocketful Productions. Carlee keeps busy with wedding planning, organizing various sporting events including the Whistler Half Marathon, and connects with her community by volunteering.
Hayley Ostridge
Event Manager
Hayley was born and raised on the East Coast of Canada to a very large extended family. Moving to Whistler in 2007, she quickly fell in love with Whistler – a small town with world class mountain views. Working in the hospitality industry for over 13 years, Hayley shifted into events naturally and now has an extensive resume of successful events under her belt. Hayley started with Bluebird Strategy in 2016 and she thrives in this role with her attention to detail, creative process and local connections, always delivering for her clients in a fun, warm and professional way.
Mike Odendaal
Director, Finance
Mike is a seasoned events and hospitality professional who has designed and led several large-scale business and process improvement projects in the Hotels, Manufacturing, Non-Profit and Event Production industries. Mike supports Bluebird Strategy with leading Finance related projects and operations.
Mike has worked for leading organizations such as Metrie, YPO, Canadian Cancer Society, Nita Lake Lodge and the City of Vancouver.
Ryan Harris
VIDEO PRODUCTION
Ryan Harris is a filmmaker and entrepreneur based in Whistler, BC. Ryan co-founded Beacon Media Group in 2011 and is currently the Creative Director of Beacon. Ryan currently focuses on directing large marketing campaigns for Beacon’s clients such as; Redbull TV, Corona, Vail Resorts and supports Bluebird Strategy with our WNORTH and client projects.
Bronwen Hill
TRAVEL & GUEST SERVICES
Bronwen believes that a trip starts when you start planning so work with you to make trip planning an exciting part of the experience. Prior to becoming a group travel specialist, Bronwen spent 10 years in the aviation industry, which gave her a unique insight into large group travel.
To travel is to experience local cultures and communities – from the rice paddies in Vietnam, the Mona Lisa in Paris, the majestic waterfalls in New Zealand, to “where the pope lives” or the ancient ruins in Peru. Bronwen has worked with Bluebird Strategy to support our clients with all of their travel needs since 2017.