Leadership Team
Executive Biographies
STEPHEN WOODBURN
CEO | Owner
SHEILA VEIDT
Chief Operating Officer
TIM LJUDEN
Acting Operations Manager
PAM CLENDINNING
Projects and Culture Manager
COURTNEY ROBINSON
Human Resources Advisor
Stephen Woodburn is the driving force of APL, founding the company in 1999. However, Stephen maintains that the success APL has enjoyed is due to the dedicated and passionate team he has taken care to build. Stephen’s vision has been to provide an affordable, compassionate, and superior quality of healthcare service where people are proud to work and proud to recommend.
Being a registered Paramedic, Stephen regularly attends calls to keep his skills current and his goals applicable. Stephen is driven to see that APL is a world-leader in critical ambulance care.
Stephen’s personal life matches the ambition of his professional life, just ask Mount Kilimanjaro! As a busy husband and father of four, Stephen enjoys his daily workouts with childhood friends at the local gym, being a bit of a “weekend warrior” and spends many evenings and weekends volunteering in the community. Stephen is also a seasoned real estate investor and has used his knowledge in this area to assist the community through service in the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce among organizations that he is passionate about serving.
Sheila Veidt was born and raised in the Peace Country, returning to work in the Fairview area upon graduation from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Sheila spent 18 years of her career at Fairview College in a variety of roles; however, most of her time was spent instructing in various Business programs. Sheila then went on to manage the office and administration for an active oilfield service company.
She began her career with APL in early 2011 as the Payroll and Accounting Administrator, moved quickly into a managerial role, and became the Chief Financial Officer a short time later. After several years in the CFO role, Sheila took on the challenging role of Chief Operating Officer at APL, leading the entire organization and reporting directly to CEO Stephen Woodburn. She also assists with Stephen’s real estate company, Woodburn Management Inc. and his personal real estate holdings. With her loyalty, integrity, and critical thinking skills, Sheila continues to be a trusted, key executive and has been an important contributor to APL’s ongoing success.
Tim Ljuden joins the APL team with an extensive background in the EMS and paramedic field, and has owned and operated industrial companies in the past. He is also a skilled firefighter who previously taught vehicle extrication to local Fire Departments and EMS.
Tim embarked on his EMS career in British Columbia in 1989. From there he moved to Alberta for a role in EMT-A. He worked on an ambulance in Lac la Biche until being accepted into both NAIT and SAIT for EMT-P.
In 1993, he graduated from NAIT with honors in Paramedicine and was employed by the Grande Prairie Ambulance Service after a successful practicum. During that time, he quickly gained experience as a paramedic and worked on fixed wing, rotary wing and ground, where he dealt with many stimulating responses.
Over the years he worked his way up and became a Shift Supervisor, then a Station Supervisor and eventually a Zone Manager for PCHEMS. During this time, he also started and operated an industrial Medical and Firefighting company.
Some of his favourite accomplishments are being a part of creating the provincial EMS model and putting together 13 EMS stations in the north zone, being an active IFR fixed wing pilot and driving every type of transportation, including a train — although, he still has Zamboni on his bucket list. He’s truly a gear head at heart and has a passion for riding motorcycles.
Family and friends mean everything to Tim, and he strives to provide opportunities for his staff to balance their work and personal lives. He never wants to excessively work his team members and is always trying to find ways to keep morale high.
Samantha has been with APL since 2010. She started working for the company right out of high school. Starting off as the receptionist up at the old Peace River Airport hangar, she slowly started taking on more and more as the company grew. She has moved through from reception onto Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and then Payroll, touching a little bit of all the accounting areas.
Throughout her years at APL, Sam has always participated in further training and education, her biggest accomplishment is the Payroll Compliance Certificate with the Canadian Payroll Association. She enjoys all the variations and challenges that APL gives her.
In her personal time Sam enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and daughter. They do a lot of hiking, backpacking and general traveling. She loves sharing all of these experience with her Team at APL because they are extremely supportive and always share in her excitement. She has embraced the challenge of managing the administrative side of APL and looks forward to continuing her growth and career at APL.