Trish (she/her/hers) joined BCIT in 2016 as an instructor in the financial management diploma program. Soon after, she also began teaching accounting courses in part-time studies. She is a graduate from the BCIT Bachelor of Technology in Accounting program and a Chartered Professional Accountant.
Prior to joining BCIT, she was an Audit Manager at one of Canada’s largest public accounting firms. This background has allowed her to be a member of the FSA’s Audit Committee for the last two years.
She was also the Faculty Coach for the accounting teams participating in the JDC West case competition between 2016 and 2020 and spent several years as the Faculty Advisor for the Accounting Association, one of the Student Association’s clubs.
Trish’s goal is to help the FSA improve the pay and benefits for its members, particularly for part-time studies instructors.
Various roles throughout the years have provided opportunities to apply quality tools and lean principles to get organizations ISO certified and to promote continuous improvement. As a coach and leader she assists companies in creating and effective management system that aligns with the business objectives and provides value to the internal teams and customers.
Sandra was the Voice of the Customer chair for the ASQ Vancouver chapter and a long-time member of the ASQ organization.
Sandra has been a part time instructor at BCIT since March 2019 at the School of business and media, teaching Quality and operations management courses. For Sandra, ensuring the teaching environment and culture are positive for faculty and students is the main objective of her role participating as a board member in the FSA.
Her educational philosophy revolves around constructionism. We cannot put the information in our students’ brains, we have to provide them resources for them to do so.
Michelle has been an FSA Tech Rep for her program since 2011 and is looking forward to serving on the board and contributing to the wellbeing of all FSA members and ensure the FSA remains a strong voice for them.
I want to ensure the needs of researchers at BCIT are being met, and that specialized faculty are well represented. More broadly, I want to help build community.
How do you build community?
Well, sitting on a lot of committees helps. 😊 Institute committees, supporting and providing funding for faculty initiatives: research, teaching & learning, international travel, microcredentials. And volunteering, with the Green Team, Guichon Creek Day, Convocation. Mostly helping others meet their goals.
What’s the most important thing for faculty researchers to know?
That it’s not impossible. There are supports like the Applied Research Liaison Office (ARLO) and School Research Committees to help researchers find funding and time for their projects, and probably others at BCIT interested in collaborating with them. Please reach out to me directly and I’ll see what I can do to help you, and connect you to what you need.
What’s your favourite part of campus?
My favourite outside space is the big planter area below Tim Horton’s and the Breezeway. Inside it’s Mi Chap Tukw, the Indigenous Gathering Place, “a comfortable, welcoming and safe space for students, families and staff”, and for me, very calming.
What outside interests do you have?
I cycle a lot, road bike, and have started kayaking. I’m also part of the Still Moon Arts Society, an organization that brings together art, environment and community in the Still Creek and Renfrew-Collingwood area of Vancouver. I’ve become involved with some of their community art projects, messy projects: cob shed building, living willow sculpture weaving, which exercises very different parts of my brain, and body.
William passionately has been an FSA Tech Rep and Returning Officer for four years and represented his department and FSA in various capacities: new hires selection, health and safety and curriculum committees, and anti- racism working group. He volunteers as a board member for community and non- profit organization boards, locally and nationally such as Burnaby Girls Soccer Club, and World University Service of Canada, among others.
William has a passion for training & developing others and demonstrated remarkably to get tasks done, genuinely enjoys serving the community for the purpose of achieving a common goal. William is humbled and honored to serve FSA as the member of the Board of Directors and strives to advance and protect the interests of FSA members to make work environment at BCIT fair and just for all.
Judy joined Information Technology Services (ITS) at BCIT after completing a diploma program in the High Performance Technology program in 2000. Today she splits her time between the role of Senior Business Analyst in Enterprise Planning in ITS and that of Performance Development System (PDS) Coordinator for the FSA Faculty, Specialty Faculty and Tech Staff. Judy also holds a position as Governor on the BCIT Board of Governors.
Judy was elected to the FSA board of directors in May 2020.
Maria works closely with the FSA Board of Directors, the President, and Executive Director assisting them with the overall operations of the FSA office and providing resources and support to ensure effective and efficient governance. Over her career, Maria has experience supporting senior level executive teams in commercial real estate and retail industries and has contributed to the improvement of the FSA’s internal systems and administrative practices. Maria draws upon her professional photography and design experience and knowledge to support the FSA’s brand identity and communications work. As a long-standing employee at the FSA, Maria brings extensive organization history to her work.
Outside of work, Sahar has a passion for financial markets—regularly following financial news, analyzing charts, and trading from time to time over the past few years. In addition, she values maintaining a strong balance of physical and mental well-being, dedicating time to going to the gym, meditating, and practicing mindfulness. Sahar also channels her creative energy into managing two e-commerce stores, where she designs a range of unique products.
In his spare time, Matt enjoys hiking, playing beer-league hockey, and reading with his twins at his home on the beautiful Sunshine Coast.
As for my career and education, I have a strong background in law, having graduated with a Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree from the University of Leicester, with a year of study abroad at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. I have worked as a Paralegal in various areas of law, most recently in healthcare and public law at Hill Dickinson LLP and London Ambulance Service NHS Trust. I have gained valuable experience in debt recovery, legal research and drafting, inquest law, Court of Protection matters, compliance, and have handled complex and sensitive cases with professionalism and diligence. I enjoy the way that I am able to use the law to help people find solutions.
In my spare time, I was also a Director of Artist Management. My role involved me overseeing the talent acquisition and development of emerging and established artists for Elusive Festival, an ongoing event that I co-created in March 2020 in Kent, England. I collaborated with a diverse and dynamic team of festival organizers, promoters, and performers, and leveraged my interpersonal and organizational skills to ensure the smooth and successful execution of the festival. I still support the team from Canada when I can.
While articling for a boutique labour and employment law firm, George was an activist with the Council of Canadian’s Ottawa chapter, and later became the Council’s head of human resources. In the past, George has written freelance articles, mostly in the area of labour law and labour relations, for publishers such as Canada Law Book, Lancaster House, and Workforce magazine. As a result of his experiences, he became a founding member of the C.E.P.’s Canadian Freelance Union, now part of Unifor.
Prior to joining the FSA, George spent more than a decade with the national non-profit that owns and operates Canada’s air navigation system, where he was responsible for developing harmonious labour relations with B.C.’s air traffic controllers, and five other federal public-sector unions. While there he served on two national bargaining teams.
Advising organizations in the non-profit, private, and public sectors, George’s repertoire includes collective agreement interpretation, investigations, conflict resolution, training, collective bargaining, legal drafting and research. He is a member of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources, BC & Yukon and of the Law Society of Ontario.