About Us
Meet our incredible team!
We believe that to be a great place to work for, we need a great team of people to work with us. We love what we do and we’re always looking for people who share our passion for teaching. For us, we value each team member and know that they are an integral part of what we do.
In 2013, we started out with one instructor and just a few students. Since then we’ve grown, teaching hundreds of students in Manitoba each year. With our business primarily referral based, our growing numbers let us know we are providing our students with an exceptional learning experience. From the beginning our mission is, and always has been, to give everyone the opportunity to have more personalized lessons which are affordable, safe, and flexible. We also believe it all starts with a great team of instructors.
Please note: All of our instructors have completed criminal record checks and child abuse registry checks.
Meet our incredible team of instructors!
Desiree Bremner
BSc | NATIONAL TRAINER | SWIM & LIFESAVING INSTRUCTOR
Swimming since she was 4 years old, her love for swimming led to competitive swimming for two years with the Winnipeg Wave Swim Club. Now, she is grateful to be able to teach these skills for a living to her community. When she’s not teach swimming lessons, you may find her teaching instructor courses for the City of Winnipeg.
She also is a volunteer for the Lifesaving Society and the Canadian Red Cross. During the spring of 2020, she joined a committee along with other Red Cross volunteers across Canada, to collaborate on ways to deliver water safety education during the pandemic. Over the spring, summer, and early fall, the committee delivered free online water safety and first aid educational sessions locally, nationally, and internationally. In addition, that same year, she also collaborated with the Lifesaving Society, and with their help, created a first of it kind online course, focused on what to do if an emergency occurs in or around the water.
She is certified as a Swim and Lifesaving Instructor, an Instructor Trainer, National Trainer, and Child Care Assistant. In addition, she graduated from the University of Winnipeg, receiving a Bachelor of Science with a major in biochemistry.
Desiree believes that knowing how to swim is an important part of life. It creates opportunities to have fun with your friends and family, such as, going to the beach or to a local swimming pool. Most importantly though, knowing how to swim and having water-safety skills prevents drowning, giving you and your loved one’s peace of mind – in and around the water.
Emily K.
BA | SENIOR INSTRUCTOR | WATER SAFETY INSTRUCTOR | LIFESAVING INSTRUCTOR
Instructor Emily K. has been part of our team since 2016. However, even before becoming an instructor, swimming has been a large part of her life. In 2003 she started swimming with the Manitoba Marlins and trained with them for 11 years. During that time, she became a Senior National Qualifier, did training camps and competed in swim meets in Maui and at the Commonwealth Games trials in Victoria, BC (Senior Nationals). Safe to say she definitely knows what she’s doing when it comes to swimming!
In the past, she’s worked as an Instructor/Lifeguard at the YMCA, as a Beach Safety Officer at Birds Hill, and worked abroad as an Instructor/Lifeguard at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Center in Australia.
She has a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Psychology and Minor in Environmental Science. She is also certified as a Lifesaving Instructor, Lifesaving Society National Lifeguard (Pool & Waterfront), Red Cross National Lifeguard (Waterfront), and Red Cross Water Safety Instructor. She also volunteers as a Crisis Responder for Kids Help Phone.
Emily H.
SENIOR INSTRUCTOR | WATER SAFETY INSTRUCTOR | LIFESAVING INSTRUCTOR
Instructor Emilie H. has been teaching at Benchmark Swim Academy since January 2018. She is a dedicated instructor who has a high level of creativity when it comes to teaching and is always finding new ways to help her students reach their goals. Emilie has always loved the water. During high school much of her free time was spent at the Winnipeg Rowing Club (WRC) and training in rowing on the Red River. Later on, she had the opportunity to become a Coach and then Club Manager at the WRC. Emilie also played Underwater Football for one year at the University of Manitoba!
Emilie is English-French bilingual, and certified as a Lifesaving Instructor, National Lifeguard (Lifesaving Society), and Red Cross Water Safety Instructor. She is currently a 4th-year undergraduate student at the University of Winnipeg, completing her BSc. Honors in Neuroscience in 2021. Emilie has volunteered as a Swim Instructor at Manitoba Swimmingly for 3 years and is now a supervisor for the non-profit charitable organization. She also works as an interpreter for Festival du Voyageur.
Paige K.
BA | WATER SAFETY INSTRUCTOR
Instructor Paige K. started teaching at Benchmark Swim Academy in the spring of 2019. She is certified as a National Lifeguard (Pool & Waterfront) and Red Cross Water Safety Instructor. She graduated from University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Arts, a Major in Psychology and a Minor in Linguistics. She’s also a Swim Instructor for the Seven Oaks School Division. In her spare time she dances with Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Ensemble and volunteers at the Manitoba Theatre Centre (John Hirsch Mainstage and Tom Hendry Warehouse). She also enjoys traveling, hiking and scuba diving!
In the past, she was an Instructor and Lifeguard at Kinsmen Lake, a Creative Movement Dance Teacher at Rossdale Ukrainian Dance School, and a Beach Safety Officer at Birds Hill Provincial Park. She’s also volunteered at Folklorama (Ukrainain-Kyiv Pavilion) and at Making Waves Winnipeg.
Sarah S.
WATER SAFETY INSTRUCTOR
Instructor Sarah S. joined our team in the summer of 2019.In addition to swimming, sports have always been a huge part of her life. She’s played hockey for most of her life, going on 13 years now! She’s also played soccer for 10 years, basketball for 3 years and badminton for 2 years. She is certified as a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor. She will be completing high school this year and plans on attending university in the fall of 2020. She also works a Swim Instructor at the Selkirk Community Pool.
Amber S.
WATER SAFETY INSTRUCTOR
Instructor Amber S. joined our team in the fall of 2019. She is certified as a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor. On top of her devotion to swimming and teaching, Amber has many other extra curricular accomplishments. She’s been playing piano for the past 11 years and has completed up to level 8. She has also been playing hockey for the past 8 years, served as a Canadian Cancer Society Manitoba Division Residential Canvasser for the past 5 years, and has also participated in the Canadian Shoreline Cleanup in 2018. She will be graduating high school this year and will be attending university in the fall.