Meet Our Staff

Alex Emery

Worldly is the word to describe Alexandra. She is worldly in that she has degrees from Canada and the UK. She has worked in Canada and at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She has held positions as a nurse, a researcher in diabetes, and a recruiter (both in Saudi Arabia and Toronto). Alex plays tennis, ball hockey, and ice hockey, and she skis. She has friends all over the world, therefore frequently travels to see them. Finally, Alex reads broadly: history, biography, sports, etc.

Barbara Faulhaber

Barbara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Health Science from York University in Toronto. She joined us shortly after graduating in 1998. Barbara likes complex projects, which most of us prefer to avoid. She is willing to try new things, as evidenced by the varied roles she has held, including pharmacy recruitment specialist, logistics manager, licensing and relocation specialist. and web-advertising-strategist-vacancy-specialist-Google-maniac. She can handle a large workload while staying calm throughout the worst office storms. Barbara's interest in fashion makes her the office consultant on the latest trends.

Rafaela Grossi

Rafaela joined us immediately after she graduated from the University of Toronto. Although Canadian by birth, she grew up in Brazil in an academic family, and has introduced us to the volatile political and social issues of Brazil. While still a student, Rafaela was working towards a career in a counseling profession, therefore focused on psychology and research subjects. (She probably never thought she would be developing these skills as a recruiter for the Middle East!) Since joining our company, Rafaela has become a passionate devotee of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team, and knows every publicly available personal detail (and rumour) about each player. Rafaela's particular love of hockey brawls is a clear contrast to her classy personality.

Elaine Ng

Elaine joined Helen Ziegler & Associates after graduating from Queen's University in Kingston, with Bachelor of Science degree in Life Sciences. Initially, Elaine had great difficulty bringing herself to ask the necessary personal questions of candidates about their background. But now, Elaine -- smart, organized, and detail-oriented -- is our source of the latest information about a candidate, a contract, and a hospital. Elaine never sits still. She regularly works 10+ hour days. She is also the office guru on the latest health trends and pioneered the stand-up desk in our office. Unlike most of us, she practices what she preaches ... but she is not a zealot: occasionally she can be found with her hand in the cookie jar.

Cindy Piccolo

Cindy has been working with HZA (or one of our sister companies), since she was a Master's student at the University of Toronto. After obtaining her PhD (in Drama), rather than relocating to foreign lands for an academic position, I think she decided there was more drama in our office. In her many years with us, she has been the editor of Medhunters Magazine, a researcher for HZA, and is now a recruiter for HZA, while also working on our website. Cindy, a voracious reader, and with the memory of an elephant, acts as sort of an office archive. Her sometimes strange sense of humour and her caustic wit (backed up with quotes from the Bible, classical literature, or The Simpsons) keeps us entertained and on our toes not to become the object of her wit.

Donna Radey

We first met Donna, a Registered Nurse, when we recruited her for a position at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After two years in Riyadh, she joined Helen Ziegler & Associates, and since then has been the expert on nurse recruitment. Although a perfectionist (and, therefore, ideally suited to answer the most detailed questions posed by, especially, nurses), Donna is also a romantic. She studies poetry, with a particular fondness for the poems by 18th and 19th century poets, and has a special relationship with the flowers in her garden. What does she do to keep physically fit? She treks the famous trails of Canada.

Alice Zeng

Alice joined us in May 2025, immediately after graduating with a degree in business from the University of Toronto. Although Alice is quiet, curious, and more of an observer than a participant, she regularly surprises us with unexpected information or insights about current social or political issues. Alice is our Excel expert. She is an enthusiastic fan of anime and she crochets sweaters, both activities which reflect her gentle personality. In the meantime, we are introducing her to ice hockey and baseball. Why not?

Helen Ziegler

I fervently believe that a rich life is one which is filled with as many, and as great a variety, of experiences as one can pack into it. As a result, I have worn many hats in my day. I am a Registered Nurse, and have a BA in English, an MSW, and an MBA. I have lived in many cities in Canada, as well as in the USA and Saudi Arabia. Prior to setting up Helen Ziegler & Associates in late 1981, I had no idea what a recruiter did. So I built our recruitment process from my knowledge of the areas in which I had education and experience: ICU nursing, family counselling, career counselling, and MBA studies. After starting HZA, I also developed the first online job board for healthcare professionals (MedHunters.com, which I sold to an American company) and published a magazine.

Video: Meet the Staff of HZA

Testimonials - Experience with HZA