Get The Job, Keep The Job & Get a Life

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Get the Job!       Wednesday March 7, 2012

Kristi Fox is a Mechanical Engineer, Project Manager and LEED® Accredited Professional in Stantec’s Kelowna office.  Offering consulting engineering services for the mechanical systems in the built environment, her experience with Stantec is in design, site review, planning, and construction administration.  In addition, her role as project manager and as a co-team leader for her department, Kristi works with her team to meet project deliverables and business development goals for her office.

Dr. Miranda Hart is a microbial ecologist who studies soil microbial communities in nature, and the effects humans have on them.  She lives with her partner and two children in Kelowna.

Dr. Danielle Hirkala is a microbiologist with BC Tree in Lake Country, BC

Amanda Marceau is a recent UBCO Geography graduate actively seeking employment in the Natural Resources sector.  In continuing her studies through VIU’s Natural Resources Extension Program, Amanda is certified in Essential Fisheries Field Skills, Electrofishing, and Riparian Area Regulation. Experience in staying proactive while seeking employment.

Mary Ann Olson-Russello has a B.A. in Biology from University of San Diego and a M.Sc. in Environmental Science from the University of New Haven.  She is a registered professional biologist and has been working with Ecoscape Environmental Consultants Ltd. since 2007.  Mary Ann has experience managing a diverse array of projects in the areas of environmental planning, development and research.  She has experience in both aquatic and terrestrial environments and most of her work has focused on fish and wildlife ecology, watershed management, parks planning and conservation.

Keep the Job, Get a Life!       Wednesday March 14, 2012

Joan Cote is a pharmacist in Kelowna, BC. Joan graduated in 1976 with a BSc Pharm from U of A. She has worked in hospital and retail positions, and has been employed by Save On Foods pharmacy for the past 22 years.  She has two children, and still worked part time while raising them. “I am now looking forward to retirement!”

Genevieve Dunbar is the Grants Officer with the Okanagan Basin Water Board in Kelowna, BC.

Dr. Barbara Hofmann completed a Masters of Civil Engineering in 1988 and then worked as consultant with Agra Earth and Environmental for five years in Alberta and Southeast British Columbia.  Engineering projects taken on during this time included geotechnical design for municipal  and mining applications such as slope stability, stream diversions and  building foundations and road design.  Barbara then completed her  doctorate degree with specialization in geotechnical engineering and  subsequently worked with Klohn Crippen Engineering in Vancouver.

Suzan Lapp is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Regina.  Her research primarily focuses on developing future scenarios of climate change and climate variability for the prairie region using GCMs.  She is also interested in the association between the large-scale circulation patterns and hydroclimatic variability.   Suzan currently is also employed at FORREX, a non-profit organization, as their Watershed Management Lead.   As an Extension Specialist, her role is to bridge the gap between researchers and decision makers, and ultimately provide information to help informed decisions be made.

Natasha Neumann can’t say no to interesting opportunities, so she has conducted research in Canada’s North, the prairies and the boreal forest, with a dabbling in the Rocky Mountains. While working for research branches of Environment Canada she has developed an avid interest in all aspects of the water cycle, especially snow, streamflow and surface water – groundwater interactions. Natasha is currently a PhD student in Environmental Sciences, and sometimes teaches Kripalu yoga.

Dr. Rebecca Tyson received her BSc in Physics and Physiology from McGill University in May, 1990. She then went to the University in Washington where she earned a PhD in Applied Mathematics, specializing in Mathematical Biology. She worked with Professor Jim Murray who is a leading figure in the field. Rebecca then obtained a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship that she held at the University of Colorado in Boulder (a beautiful place!), but she left in 1997 after just 9 months in Boulder, in order to return to Seattle and be with her future husband. That marked the beginning of a 6-year period where Rebecca’s time and energies were taken up with teaching positions, and starting a family. In 2001, the family moved to the Okanagan, where Rebecca’s husband obtained a tenure-track faculty position at OUC. Rebecca held a temporary full-time teaching position until 2003, when she managed to win an NSERC University Faculty Award and the accompanying tenure-track position in the department of Mathematics and Statistics at OUC. In 2005 OUC became UBC Okanagan, and in July 2010, Rebecca was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure at UBC Okanagan. A full biography giving more details about Rebecca’s journey from undergraduate to professor can be found in the January 2009 issue of the Society for Mathematical Biology Newsletter . Rebecca’s twin boys are now 11 years old, and Rebecca divides her time between work, play and family. At work, Rebecca has a large research group with several graduate and undergraduate students who meet weekly to discuss research topics or work through interesting papers. At home, Rebecca is kept busy taking the kids to their activities (cross-country skiing in the winter, BMX in the summer, music lessons year-round), and keeping the house at least reasonably tidy and the pantry more or less well stocked! Rebecca has managed to find some time to develop her main hobbies that include quilting, knitting, long-distance trail running and cross-country skiing. More information about Rebecca and her research is available through Rebecca’s Home Page.