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Michael Conlon
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Executive Director
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Michael (he/him/his) joined the FSA in August 2020. Michael’s unique blend of experience from the post-secondary and faculty association sectors within BC and across Canada brings a wealth of knowledge to our FSA office.
Michael’s career includes a variety of roles over 15 years in post-secondary labour relations. His time as the Executive Director for the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA BC) representing five faculty associations is reflected in the depth of his understanding of BC’s post-secondary environment. Michael was also the Executive Director of the Association of Administrative and Professional Staff (AAPS) at UBC. On a national level, Michael served as the Research & Policy Officer at the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), to which we are affiliated. Most recently, Michael expanded his national scope by serving as the Executive Director for the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), representing their 17,000 members.
In his spare time Michael is a year round cyclist and is looking forward to getting back up into the North Shore mountains.
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604.432.8696
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mconlon@bcit.ca
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Maria Angerilli
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Operations & Human Resources Director
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Maria (she/her/hers) joined the FSA in October 2011 as the Executive Assistant and has advanced over the years into the Operations Director position and then into her current role as the Operations & Human Resources Director. Her role is critical in leading the business and personnel operations of the FSA office. Maria served as an Interim Co-Executive Director from June 2019 - Aug 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.
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604.432.8356
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mangerilli@bcit.ca
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Pierre Cassidy
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Information Officer
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Pierre Cassidy has extensive experience in the post-secondary sector, notably on matters of policy, process, and privacy, as well as managing, processing, and securing corporate records. He teaches a variety of courses on ethics and critical thinking, reading, and writing. He has volunteered in the labour movement as an executive committee member, bargaining committee member, and as a shop steward. This experience is supported by robust and broad educational foundation in the liberal arts, business analytics, database administration and design, business process mapping and improvement, and personal information protection.
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604.432.8859
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pcassidy4@bcit.ca
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Matt Greaves
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Member Engagement Officer
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Matt Greaves (he/him/his) has been teaching and organizing in the Canadian post-secondary sector for more than a decade. Matt joined the FSA from the Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) at Simon Fraser University, where he held positions in organizing, communications, and research; helped lead successful strike action during the 2015 round of bargaining as a member of TSSU's strike committee; and represented the union at local and national events. Matt has also been researching, publishing, and teaching in the fields of Communication and Labour Studies since 2009. He holds a PhD from the School of Communication at SFU (2018).
In his spare time, Matt plays on a local hockey team and reads oversized books to his twin toddlers.
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604.354.5994
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matthew_greaves@bcit.ca
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Marnie Rice
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Operations Assistant
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Marnie (she/her/hers) is a long-time union member and UBC grad who has circled back to employment in a post-secondary institution after nearly two decades working as a public servant. She joined the FSA in Sep 2021 as Operations Assistant after a fulfilling tenure as cultural planner, grantmaker, grant writer, and project manager of cultural awards and events at the City of Vancouver. In that role, Marnie honed her skills and interests in assessing and developing non-profit organizational capacity and supporting white-led non-profits in their continuum journey towards becoming decolonized, anti-oppressive and fully-inclusive organizations. Notable professional highlights included conceptualizing and producing two year-long, city-wide celebration projects. Previously, Marnie worked in operations and financial management for academic and trade book publishers. Her more precarious employment has included work as an auxiliary library assistant, teaching assistant, labourer, and historical interpreter.
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604.412.7408
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marnie_rice@bcit.ca
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George Talbott
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Senior Labour Relations Representative
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George (he/him/his) earned a law degree from the University of Alberta, receiving the Alberta Labour Relations Board prize, and was called to the bar of Ontario. Previously, he earned a B.Sc. (Hons.) in physics from the same university.
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.
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604-432-8568
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gtalbott@bcit.ca
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Kristie Starr
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Labour Relations Representative
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Kristie (she/her/hers) was born and raised in southern Colorado and graduated with a B.A. in history and russian studies from Colorado College. She spent the next ten years at Yale University, pursuing a graduate education in history and learning valuable lessons in social justice activism. While enrolled in a Ph.D. program, she joined the effort to organize the first teaching assistants union at a private university in the U.S., partnering with the other unions on campus and in the city of New Haven. This experience inspired her to become a union representative and organizer in cities across Connecticut, California, Florida, Colorado, and, finally, brought her to work with a local in B.C. Her passion for social justice then led her to work in Vancouver’s non-profit community, in the roles of outreach or operations coordinator at Megaphone Magazine, Green Jobs for BC, Next Up, and Organize BC. With sixteen years of experience in the labour movement, Kristie has developed expertise in servicing union contracts, member engagement, and grassroots organizing. In her spare time, you can find her delving into a good historical fiction novel, knitting yet another toque, or marveling at the beauty of this province on its many woodland and seaside trails.
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604.451.7161
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kstarr3@bcit.ca
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Michael Thompson
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Labour Relations Representative
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Michael's (he/him/his) interest in labour activism began at the age of seven when he joined his dad on the picket line. That early experience of his father’s union taking a stand for workers’ rights forged his passion for social justice. He went on to study Economics and Business at SFU, rounding out his skillset to service the membership. His formal work with unions began in the early nineties where he served at the local level, holding various elected and appointed committee positions. During this time Michael also volunteered for several years with the Vancouver Police department. There, he received training in conflict resolution and gained other valuable experiences that greatly enhanced his ability to help members in need. In 2006 he was elected as a full-time Business Agent and went on to become the National Secretary-Treasurer of his union, responsible for staff and seven offices from Burnaby to Montreal. Michael most recently worked as a representative for an interprovincial construction union prior to arriving at the FSA. His experience includes collective agreement interpretation, membership training, legal research and pension plans.
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604.432.8349
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mthompson117@bcit.ca
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Jackie Pierre
(she/her/hers)
Jackie Pierre has been an activist since birth and a union activist since
2011. She grew up in East Vancouver in a very union focused home.
Both Jackie’s grandparents and her mother worked in healthcare and her
father was a longshoreman—so lots of labour talk at home! She started
as a Steward after having her own workplace issues, which progressed
into several leadership roles. Jackie has previously sat as the Chair for
the Workers of Colour Committee, the Provincial Women’s Committee,
and was on the Component Executive with the BCGEU. In addition to all
of those roles, she also had the privilege of training members to become
workplace stewards. Jackie worked as a Staff Representative with the
BCGEU for three years and is now enjoying her tenure as the Junior
Labour Relations Representative at the FSA. Outside of work, Jackie is a
single mom to two amazing girls, Simone (19) and Sophia (14), and a sweet
Chihuahua named Tammy (10). She is currently attending KPU to obtain
her BA in Sociology and eventually go to law school.