Toronto, Ontario, Canada
A self proclaimed lifelong learner and educator with a proven track record in leading teams, project management and strategic planning in higher education and policy development and implementation. Always seeking new ways to connect people, communities and innovative ideas to bring about great change for one or one million.
McMaster University, located in Hamilton, Ontario, is one of Canada’s most distinguished research-intensive institutions, renowned for its commitment to innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student-centred learning. Established in 1887 and a proud member of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities, McMaster has built a global reputation for excellence in health sciences, engineering, business, humanities, social sciences, and science. The university pioneered problem-based learning in medical education, a model now adopted worldwide, and continues to lead in areas such as nuclear research, evidence-based medicine, and digital credentialing. McMaster is home to more than 37,000 students and a network of over 240,000 alumni across 143 countries. As University Registrar at McMaster University, you serve as the chief steward of student academic records, enrolment services, and registrarial policy, ensuring that the university’s systems and practices uphold integrity, equity, and student success.
Support people and organizations on project-based and people-focused work to grow themselves and their company.
York University is committed to giving a broad demographic of students access to a high quality, research-intensive learning environment committed to the public good. At over 55,000 students, York University is the third largest institution in Canada with a strong diversity of programs and exceptional faculty members leading cutting edge research. As the University Registrar, I provide leadership to a team of six directors who lead records & registration, student financial services, student systems, all front-facing registrarial services and recruitment & admissions for undergraduate and graduate students, with a larger team of ~190 staff.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is one of North America's largest and most prestigious public research and teaching institutions, and one of only two Canadian institutions to be consistently ranked among the world's 40 best universities. As Associate Registrar, I support the AVP and Registrar on projects and activities that advance the support of students, staff and faculty at the University. Recent projects include the implementation of a tuition refund policy for students in extenuating circumstances and a project to advance and more consistently use a student's preferred name. I act on behalf of the AVP and Registrar when directed. As Director, I lead a unit that has successfully implemented a student-centered service model where students are assigned an advisor who can support them through recruiting them to the university all the way to graduation. I provide strategic direction to a team of 46 student services advisors and three coordinators through direct leadership of three Associate Directors. Each Associate Director provides leadership to 12-15 ES Advisors, who then support a cohort of ~850 registered students ranging in year and discipline of study on areas including, but not exclusive to student financial support, tuition, awards and scholarship program management, fee assessment and collection, prospective student advising and recruitment, student records, registration, admissions and transfer credit. Promoted from an Associate Director in November 2014.
UBC's Alumni Affairs office approaches alumni engagement with its community of over 300,000 as one focused on reciprocity. The 'start an evolution' campaign was in it's quiet phase when I started with the the office. Officially launched in 2011, the campaign was the largest alumni engagement and fundraising campaign in Canadian history with goals to double alumni engagement to 50k alumni engaged annually and raising $1.5b for the University. In this role I developed and implemented programming for ~100,000 recent graduates in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and nationwide through The Next Step event series. In collaboration with campus partners, I developed opportunities for 600 alumni, 400 students and 150 community leaders together through coordinated mentorship programs on and off campus annually. I directly supervised one professional staff member and provided strategic direction to four professional staff and up to 30 paraprofessional staff volunteers, annually.
Maternity leave replacement A multi-disciplinary faculty, The Faculty of Applied Science is one of the largest and most innovative faculties of its kind in the country. Within the faculty is the School of Engineering - with over 3500 undergraduate students and just over 1000 graduate students. Focused on peer-to-peer development, my role was centred on building a strong community for new-to-UBC undergraduate students through orientation and transition programming in collaboration with all engineering departments and over 40 students. Students in Engineering were further supported through two peer-to-peer programs - one that bridges curricular and co-curricular experiences, and the second that brought together two students and an industry member in a formal mentoring relationship.
Carleton University is a leading comprehensive institution in Canada. It is reputed for its strength in a variety of fields, such as engineering, humanities, international business and many of the disciplines housed in its Faculty of Public Affairs (including international affairs, journalism, political science, public policy and administration, and legal studies). The First Year Experience Office - now renamed the Student Experience Office - was the first point of contact for many students on their cocurricular experience at the University. I managed, trained and oversaw the implementation of a university wide peer-to-peer education program with over six partner offices and over 60 student leaders. To build capacity in students when they start at the University, I developed and coordinated Carleton University’s successful parent, summer, winter and fall orientations, which supported students' academic and social adjustment to university life and in general to enhance the quality of their experience. I supervised a professional staff of two, and a paraprofessional staff of six during the academic year and 15 during the summer.
A comprehensive recruitment strategy with six contract recruiters - young alumni - and five permanent staff members is what brings over 5000 undergraduate students to the campus annually. As part of the team, I managed the on-campus experience with a student tour guide team of 20 to host, guide and story-tell to prospective students and their parents. Coordinate the scheduling and follow-through of fifteen weekly tours and six bi-weekly program specific tours for prospective students and their parents and provide on-campus recruitment support for prospective students through presentations and one-on-one advising.