Thank you for taking the time to learn about who I am. I'm not sure who will ever read this but I'm grateful that you've taken the time to care about who I am enough to read this.
I'm an enjoyer of knowledge and a builder of community. I try to create a space that feels welcoming and caring for everyone I encounter. I leverage experience in board governance and community organizing to create communities with a culture of care and consensus-seeking. My goal in life is to leave every interaction with the other person feeling better than when it began.
This means tactful conflict resolution, finding common ground wherever possible, letting my own opinions take the back seat, and deep intentional listening. My experience representing the United Church of Canada in communities across the globe has given me plenty of opportunity to build my listening skills. Examining my privilege and leaving it at the door is the first step in how I bring my listening ears to the table.
As you read through some of my experiences and accomplishments, I hope you see something that piques your interest. I would be happy to talk about anything that you'd like to know more about.
Beginning in 2008, I began planning and hosting annual youth retreats within the United Church of Canada, creating opportunities for up to 75 youth to gather for a weekend in contemplation, worship, and connection. This continued until 2012 when I moved for college. Being a part of a much larger community set me up to be tolerant and understanding when things didn't go the way I expected. I learned a lot about the dos and donts of event planning in this period.
In 2011 I was lucky to be one of a small group of people sent to represent the United Church of Canada in events and meetings throughout South Korea, Japan, and The Philippines. Meeting with small rural community leaders as well as national church leaders, I was exposed to many different ways of being church and being community.
In 2012 I attended Okanagan College for two years, working toward an English degree. I took courses about writing, literature, philosophy, and the Spanish language. In april 2014 I made the difficult choice to stop attending school. This was largely due to my financial situation and mental health struggles. Although I wished I could've stayed and earned my degree at the time, this decision set me on the path that made me who I am today, and I do not regret my decision.
Later in 2014, I moved to Alberta and began my career as an apprentice electrician. I was lucky to work on many large institutional projects, such as the YYC Airport International Facilities Project, the main office and chemistry lab at Suncor's Fort Hills oil sands project, and several mining projects. In between larger projects I also wired both custom homes and tract homes.
After moving back to British Columbia in 2017 I shifted the focus of my electrical career into water and wastewater treatment. Through several employers I was lucky to work on projects bringing clean drinking water to both large and small Indigenous communities in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon. I also worked on treatment plants to purify mine tailings across northern BC and Alberta. I build municipal-scale drinking water treatment plants in the arctic, northern BC, and within Greater Vancouver. I was also lucky to build and commission one of the largest Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor sewage treatment plants in BC.
Throughout my career as an electrician I was blessed to participate directly in community engagement, living and playing in the small communities I worked in. This gave me a window into the many different ways that humans live on this wide wide planet. In being exposed to more than just the cultural norm I was able to build a breadth of experience. I've always tried to do the best I can to be a listener in these spaces.