This series is dedicated to introducing and celebrating the participants of the ACL+ 2021 program. Each week, we will focus on one of our leaders; sharing a little bit about them and what motivates them to explore community leadership in Niagara.
Katie joined Niagara College as the Emergency Management Coordinator in February 2019. She is responsible for the development and implementation of the College’s Emergency Management Program, which includes plans, procedures, public education, and Incident Management Team training and exercises.
Before joining the College, Katie worked as the Manager of Stakeholder Relations and Learning Design with the Alberta Emergency Management Agency. While she wasn’t a fan of the cold winters, she loved the proximity to the mountains. She has had the opportunity to support communities dealing with emergency events ranging from forest fires, floods, tornadoes, and more recently, pandemics.
Born and raised in Peterborough, Katie is happy to be back in Ontario helping the College community plan for, respond to and recover from emergency events.
I’ve spent most of my career to date working in the public sector/provincial government. In the last couple of years, I’ve transitioned to the College environment, which I’ve learned is a microcosm of the wider community. I’ve learned a lot from my colleagues and even more from our students.
I believe that we all bring something to the table and that a strong society is an inclusive one; one that respects, listens to, and learns from the experiences of all of it members and stakeholders.
I believe that climate change is one of the most significant issues facing society today. The changing climate will affect all sectors of society and lead to increasingly frequent and damaging storms, which will impact lives, property, income, and infrastructure. We must champion and collectively take action to address and reverse the impacts of climate change.
I hope to further develop my confidence in my own leadership abilities. I’d like to be a confident leader, capable of recognizing the strengths and opportunities of those around me to encourage them to further develop and build upon their skills, interests, and abilities.