Candidate Q&A

A great deal, including my position as the Executive Vice-Chair for the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre, my role on the Board of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute, and I am the Managing Director of Ingenuity's Advisory Board.

I have been the Co-Chair of the AUTM Successful Practices in Small Technology Transfer Offices Committee since 2016, which has included facilitating Roundtable Sessions at every AGM, running the Small Office Course at AUTM University, facilitating bi-monthly calls and actively participating in the online SIG. I was also a Committee Member for the AUTM Job Task Analysis Committee, representing the Canadian community as well as the Small Office community.

There are many reasons why I want to join the AUTM Board. I want to represent my fellow Canadians and the Small Office community that I’ve built over the past 7 years. I want to share my success in economic development and help other universities excel in such areas. I want to contribute to the conversation around entrepreneurship, since I believe this is a major part of the future of technology transfer. I also want to highlight and represent my university. However, none of these reasons adequately capture the real reason I want to join the Board- I just love AUTM. From my very first AUTM event over a decade ago, I have felt an unbelievable sense of community, camaraderie and belonging that I believe to be truly unique to this field. My friends and family know that when I come home after an AUTM event, I can't help but gush about the people, the conversations and the knowledge sharing that has reignited my passion for my job. I love "geeking out" with fellow technology transfer nerds, as one of my AUTM mentors so affectionately deemed us. I have immensely enjoyed my years of service and would like to be more involved in an effort to give back to an organization that has given me so much.

I have served in volunteer leadership roles consistently throughout my career, as volunteering is very important to me. I have volunteered with the Thunder Bay Economic Development Commission’s Entrepreneur Centre in a number of roles, including as a Summer Company and Starter Company Mentor consistently since 2017. I have been a Mentor, Pitch Judge, Speaker and Presenter for SHAD Canada (STEAM and entrepreneurship programming for Gr. 10-11) since 2015. I have worked with BDC’s Small Business Week Planning Committee and Chaired the Local Employment Planning Council for the Northwest Superior Workforce Planning Board (2018-2022). This is in addition to my Board seats, including the Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre (2020-present) and Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (2017-2021). Finally, I have volunteered for Disrupt it Weekend, Start-up Weekend, and Enterprise Olympics as a Mentor and Judge since 2017.

YES – I would absolutely consider serving as Board Chair. I believe that AUTM is a multi-faceted organization, and just as I see the vast difference in serving as a Committee Chair vs. a Board Member, I know that serving as a Board Member would come with many different opportunities and challenges vs serving as Board Chair. Both are significant and vital roles, but serving as Board Chair is a very forward-facing position, and I believe that as an extrovert and a passionate advocate for issues affecting our field, I would enjoy being a champion on behalf of the AUTM membership and the profession.
 

One thing I have learned working in a Canadian (and northern) university, is that collaboration is key. Whether it is within the scope of research projects, entrepreneurship partners or an innovation cluster, working collaboratively with other organizations, institutions or partners is always better (and stronger) than working alone. As an educator, some of my strengths lie in my ability to be solution-focused, action-oriented and committed to strategic or creative problem-solving. As a mother, I have learned patience and understanding, and as a small office, I have honed the ability to connect disparate groups, ideas or demographics, as the situation needs. I know that my experience, my international lens, and my ability to “wear many hats” will serve me well in this new role. Above all else, I believe that my commitment to this profession and my desire to continue to learn is what drives me, and what will make me a great Board member.
 

Lakehead University Research Plan- As the sole staffer dedicated to innovation at Lakehead University, I worked very closely with the Vice-President, Research & Innovation on the Research Plan’s “Supporting Innovation” Research Initiative. We collectively developed strategies surrounding knowledge sharing and innovation goals that were in alignment with the University’s Strategic Plan, and clearly determined where the University wants to be in terms of innovation in the coming years. Ingenuity Strategic Plan - Prior to the launch of Lakehead’s first business incubator, I was tasked with organizing and facilitating a Steering Committee and touring every existing business incubator in Ontario to assess their spaces and learn from any “mistakes”. I then designed the space, hired and trained a Manager, and wrote and implemented a Strategic Plan for the incubator based on what I had learned. Finally, I formed an Advisory Board who are charged with ensuring the Strategic Plan is followed. Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre - As an Executive Member of the Board of Directors for northwestern Ontario’s Regional Innovation Centre (RIC), I played a role in reviewing and evaluating their strategic plan, during a time of Executive Director turnover and training. The mission of the organization was being reimagined, as funding had changed, and new mandates were coming from the Government of Ontario. The revised Strategic Plan was a result of each of these factors and is currently in effect. Northern Innovation Cluster - Lakehead University partnered with Laurentian, Nipissing and Trent universities to create a Northern and rural innovation cluster focused on critical minerals, cleantech and electric vehicles, funded by Intellectual Property Ontario. I was the lead at Lakehead in implementing the collaborative MOU between the institutions and facilitating the strategic plan, surrounding initiatives and events that support innovation.

How do terms of the position (both responsibilities and time commitment) fit with your other responsibilities? Will you have any conflicts of commitment between your full-time position and your volunteer time on the AUTM Board?

One of the mandates and expectations within my role as the Director of Innovation Development is to provide leadership in the profession of technology transfer. My commitment and involvement with AUTM over the last 8 years has been primarily driven by my passion for lifelong learning, but also my desire to give back and provide help to colleagues in the same way that I received help when I was first starting in this field. Although this mission is complementary to the mission of my office, and supported by my senior administration, that is not why I have continued to serve on AUTM committees for so many years. As an educator and someone who happily identifies as having “fallen into” technology transfer, I firmly believe that the community of professionals you surround yourself with is just as important as mastering the intricacies of the job. This commitment is aligned with my personal beliefs, as well as my professional philosophies and therefore fits with the responsibility of my job and provides no conflicts of commitment between my position and my volunteer time within AUTM.
 

My experiences as a female, as a Canadian/International technology transfer professional, as a Small tech transfer office, and as a working mother all provide me with a unique lens that represent many AUTM members' points of view. When I started in tech transfer 10 years ago, I was a young woman trying to find my place in a sea of suits. I was lucky to find two mentors at AUTM (Yatin Karpe and Rodney Ridley) who have helped me navigate the waters throughout my career. I am proud to say that AUTM has come a long way since then, and their commitment to EDI is evident. However, I do believe AUTM should continue to grow in this area, and I would love to see more supports in place for specific groups. For example, I’d love to see a mentorship program specifically for young women, or a program sponsoring a young woman (or a young woman in a small office) to attend the AUTM Annual. I also hope to share the Canadian perspective to all areas of AUTM and will continue to ensure Small offices are represented in programming. Through my office, Lakehead has implemented many EDI initiatives, and one we are particularly proud of is the Ingenuity Indigenous Start-Up Fund, which provides Indigenous students with business development support, mentorship, and funding to help move their business idea to the next stage. Ingenuity also works collaboratively with PARO, a Centre for Women’s Enterprise and the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund in an effort to support female and Indigenous entrepreneurs, which is in direct alignment with Lakehead University’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (2019-2024). My experiences with the implementation of the EDI Action Plan, as well as goal-setting and execution of EDI strategies within our incubator, will contribute to AUTM’s growth in this area by ensuring this commitment is always top of mind, and that the many perspectives that I represent, and ones I don’t, are always viewed.
 

Advocacy for the innovation ecosystem is something AUTM has promoted recently.  How do you think AUTM should continue to be involved?

I believe that AUTM’s advocacy efforts are critical to the future of the profession, and that AUTM has done some impressive and important work in the last decade. I also believe that AUTM could be more involved in a Canadian Lobby in Ottawa. The Canadian university ecosystem is tightly organized amongst each other through Universities Canada, which acts as the voice of Canadian Universities to advocate at the federal level and provide a forum for university leaders to share ideas and address challenges in higher education. I believe that by engaging with Universities Canada as well as using platforms such as the Ontario Council on University Research, and the Council of Ontario Universities, I could help AUTM better engage senior leaders at universities/colleges about advocacy. I also believe that AUTM should invite Canadian federal funding agencies (the Tri-agency funding programs), ISED, IPON, etc. to the AUTM Annual meeting in an effort to ensure they are better connected and provide a more cohesive ecosystem. I believe it is important that AUTM understands the innovation ecosystem in Canada as a whole, as it functions much differently than the US. The role that AUTM plays in the US is not the same role they would need to play in Canada; however, if Canadian members are paying the same membership fees but are not being provided the same level of services in terms of advocacy, I believe AUTM could and should address this issue. AUTM could be more integrated in both directions, in understanding the Canadian context better as well as understanding their role within it. If AUTM is interested in advocating for a better innovation ecosystem, then working collectively with other “players” or organizations (ie. AURP, GCEC, CTTP) might be the key to strengthening their voice. I am very interested in helping AUTM continue to be involved in these efforts and would love to serve on the AUTM Board to represent the Canadian voice.
 

I have immensely enjoyed my years of service to AUTM and am running for the Board to be even more involved, in an effort to give back to an organization that has given me so much.