OUR TALENTED STAFF

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

My responsibility as the head coach of the women’s hockey team is to provide our student-athletes with the resources and support needed to develop them as great hockey players, but, even more importantly, as great leaders in our community. We do this by focusing on having open dialogue with our players to personalize their development on and off the ice.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

It was hard navigating COVID with our team, because in order for a team to truly be a team, we need to be able to train, play, compete and spend time with each other on a consistent basis. For a year and half, we weren’t able to do that, so when we came back for the 2021-22 season, we had to rebuild our culture and connections that allow us to be a united team.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

We love to develop great hockey players and win championships, but what I really love about my job is helping our student-athletes grow into strong and resilient young women. I have seen players struggle through challenges and yet trust that they can overcome adversity and be stronger for it.

Has your job changed you in any way?

The amazing players and staff I work with each day have shaped me in a powerful and awesome way. I’m always looking for ways to get better and being surrounded by great people who challenge me and support me in my growth has been a powerful experience.

What was one of your favourite Concordia moments from the past year or so?

I have so many “small” memories — of sharing a team meal, going on a road trip or laughing together as a team — that will always be favorite memories. But in regard to a bigger moment, winning the 2022 RSEQ conference and 2022 U Sports National Championship was incredible!

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

In partnership with the designated space administrators and students, I am responsible for making sure that events are being processed and held in a safe and successful environment.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

The biggest challenge is to re-educate the students each year in June, with the turnaround of student organizations. We have liaised with other departments, and the transition is improving each year.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Helping students and staff throughout the preparation of their events. Their appreciation of our services and seeing that we can make a difference in someone’s growth with their academic portfolio is very rewarding.

Has your job changed you in any way?

Our section is continually developing, and recent leadership changes in our department have been encouraging and are a source of motivation for the future. 

What was one of your favourite Concordia moments from the past year or so?

My favourite memory is the 1998 ice storm. This incident brought out the solidarity within our community, which helped make this institution what it is today. Concordia is not just a workplace; it is a second family. 

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

I work mainly on the biosafety and lab safety programs, from ensuring compliance with municipal, provincial and federal regulations to responding to emergencies occurring at the university. As part of the research and teaching EHS team, I am involved with lab inspections, biological material transfers, hazardous waste management, safety training programs and research compliance. Occasionally I participate in the food safety and occupational health programs.

Our commitment is to create a better, safer environment for students, staff and faculty in their teaching and research activities.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

EHS has transformed over the years since I started in 2006. The requirements governing health and safety in the academic facilities are stricter and go into more depth, and the technologies used in the labs have advanced greatly in the past 17 years. 

Being involved in the updating of existing programs and the implementation of new ones was intense and worthwhile; it came as a positive challenge that made me grow as an individual. 

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Being part of a team that functions really well, where we work together and help each other. I wouldn’t be able to do my job without the tight collaboration that exists within the EHS department. Also, as part of a service department, I have the privilege to work daily with Concordia members from different departments. 

Has your job changed you in any way?

Yes, definitely. I learned a lot about confidence, collaboration and communication since I became part of EHS. My reading skills have improved a lot — having to go through many pages of various legislation, decoding the legal vocabulary and sentence construction!

What was one of your favourite Concordia moments from the past year or so?

Seeing how Concordia has come together with resilience, creativity and dedication to adapt to the pandemic and post-pandemic reality. I am proud to be part of this community.

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

I am the new director of Hospitality Concordia and oversee conferences and events, food and accommodation services. Prior to that I was Manager Summer Accommodation in Residence Life, focusing on hotel operations in Concordia residences.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

Certainly taking on a new role at the exact moment that we emerged from the pandemic with a full return to campus had its moments. Staff recruitment and retention has been the biggest challenge, but I know I’m not alone in that and things appear to be settling down now.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Ultimately, hospitality is about bringing people together, whether that’s an academic conference where Concordia can shine on an international stage, showcasing the university to potential recruits or organizing a much-loved staff member’s retirement party — playing a part in creating special moments and memories for the Concordia community is a great privilege.

Has your job changed you in any way?

Yes, I think it has. I was a self-employed entrepreneur for 15 years before working here and I had to learn to navigate all the protocols and policies of a huge academic institution, something that I really had no concept of before joining. I definitely have more patience and take a longer view of things now — but maybe that’s just getting older!

What was one of your favourite Concordia moments from the past year or so? 

It’s actually a combination of personal and professional: singing with the Lyric Theatre Singers at Christmastime in the Loyola Chapel. It’s a magical experience with candles and beautiful music, and I’m always proud to be showcasing a Concordia space while doing something I love.

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

My job involves tracking and measuring how sustainable Concordia is across multiple sectors including operations, academics and research. I am responsible for reporting on the progress the university has made on its five-year Sustainability Action Plan. I support the budgeting process for the action plan that funds projects, positions and resources that will advance its target. I am also leading efforts to support sustainable transportation such as administering the commuter habits survey and participating in the Velosympathique certification. Our team, along with Hospitality Concordia, recently launched a sustainable event program, which I help run.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

Sustainability is such a broad and constantly evolving concept, that I sometimes find it difficult to recognize the limits to the scope of our work. It can feel overwhelming to try to implement best practices related to sustainability and create systemic change across a large institution like Concordia.

As an analyst, it is a challenge to identify indicators and metrics that wholly capture the sustainability work being done at the university. I sometimes struggle to find a balance between my time spent reporting on results and past activities and translating those results into meaningful actions and programs.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

The most rewarding part so far has been to experience Concordia’s commitment to sustainability firsthand. Through my work, I get to see and support the collective effort of our community to achieve the targets of Concordia’s Sustainability Action Plan.

Has your job changed you in any way?

Yes, it has made me more hopeful. Through my work, I have met people who have dedicated their lives to making this institution more sustainable through their operations, teaching, and research, and it truly inspires me. My manager said, “Sustainability belongs to everyone,” and I can now see that in our work.

What was one of your favourite Concordia moments from the past year or so?

Launching the Sustainable Event program with my team and Hospitality Concordia. It has been a pleasure working with event organizers to implement best practices from the Sustainable Event Guide. It was developed in collaboration with the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities, the Black Perspectives Office, the Office of Community Engagement, the Equity Office, the Office of Indigenous Directions and Zero Waste Concordia in Facilities Management.

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

As part of the Compensation unit, I work closely with the team to deliver different projects regarding compensation. These projects, to name a few, include mass salary increases, costing analysis, data integrity and the implementation of Concordia’s new SAP compensation module.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

The biggest challenge was starting with the organization the same month as My HR (SuccessFactors) go-live. This meant learning about Concordia while the university was being transformed in a very big way. It was also the perfect time to start and a rare opportunity.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

The most rewarding part of my job is when I know I have been able to help someone find a solution to a problem. Compensation a very interesting field and it’s very rewarding to know we accomplished so much this past year. The learning opportunities are endless and I am surrounded by incredible co-workers.

Has your job changed you in any way?

This job has allowed me to see compensation with new lens, do things differently and learn a new human resources information system. Seeing the resiliency from everyone overcoming the many challenges of the implementation was very inspiring, and I feel stronger for it. I have grown a lot this past year and I am proud to be part of the Concordia journey.

What is one of your favourite memories from Concordia?

Walking from Sir Georges Williams to Loyola last September at the Concordia Shuffle. It was my first Shuffle, and it was amazing to see the energy from this event. It allowed me to meet people and feel engaged with the workplace — something very special after almost two years of COVID shutdown.

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

I plan and deliver a portfolio of renovation projects that are mission-critical to the university as they aim to support teaching, research, services, space optimization and development. I also help the university’s mission and strategic directions take shape in built spaces, along with sustainability, quality, creativity and responsible management.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

The construction industry has greatly changed in the past three years: COVID-19 closures and restrictions have impacted project schedules, costs and processes. More recently, the overheating of the construction market, supply-chain issues, lack of resources and inflation now generate more risk that need to be continuously assessed and managed for each project. We are lucky to work with internal clients and collaborators who are always willing to look for solutions.

Another aspect is the vast quantity of regulations, norms, policies, procedures and documents involved in managing projects and the need to keep abreast of changes in order to provide direction to the team and ensure financial and legal compliance.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Knowing that the renovation projects that were completed by our team are appreciated and that students, faculty and staff appropriate the renovated spaces. Since starting at Concordia in 2010, my team and I participated in delivering the Webster Library transformation, the renovations of the fourth, sixth and seventh floors of the Hall Building and the renovation of the ER Building, as well as numerous other projects for research, teaching and administrative spaces. I am proud of the work that the Project Management team accomplishes each year for Concordia.

Has your job changed you in any way?

I see construction projects from a broader perspective than when I worked in private architecture firms. From the owner’s perspective, the life cycle of a project starts from the initial idea and the requirements and impacts go far beyond the design and construction of buildings and spaces, as it is essential to keep operations going and to deliver spaces that are durable for the long term.

After 12 years, I am still amazed at the deep level of knowledge and professionalism of the people who work at the university, whether they are administrators, faculty, professionals, trades people or staff. I continue to learn from every person I collaborate with.

What was one of your favourite Concordia moments from the past year or so?

The Christmas parties at Facilities Management are awesome, thanks to a few very creative colleagues who organize them. In particular, the murder-mystery a few years back was quite something. I love opportunities like the Shuffle, Centraide lunches and the annual FM bowling event to connect on a more personal level with all the great people we work with on a daily basis.

What are some of your responsibilities at the university?

As an IT Security analyst, I am responsible for cybersecurity operations, maintaining the foundation of IT security, and ensuring that the university’s IT is safe, secure, reliable and compliant. With my IITS teammates, we also perform, provide and support IT security-related assessments, consultations, evaluations and training.

What has been your biggest challenge during your time here?

IT security faces multiple challenges. One of the biggest is that we must be resilient to secure our IT environment from cyberattacks with minimal impact on services 24/7, as well as retaining our transparency to the end users.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

The most rewarding part is witnessing users play a role in our cybersecurity, and their ongoing engagement in protecting and contributing to our communities around the world.

Has your job changed you in any way?

My job requires a lot of analysis, judgment, communication and problem-solving promptly, which has changed me in positive ways. It also gives me the opportunities to work with different teams and expertise, which improves my diverse skills and leadership abilities.

What is one of your favourite memories from Concordia?

Many people said that during the COVID period, people were losing connections. However, one of my favourite Concordia memories is that during that time I actually saw great teamwork in IITS. We might not have been able to see our colleagues in person and sometimes we experienced loneliness. But instead, we created more effective communication between teams and departments because we care about each other, even when we meet virtually.