INNOVATION November-December 2017

P R O F I L E

Caroline Andrewes, P.Eng., CPA, CMA Leading with Teamwork and Partnership

N ew Engineers and Geoscientists BC president, Caroline Andrewes, is a firm believer in the power of collaboration and teamwork to resolve problems and achieve goals. Raised on a third-generation peach farm on Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula, she’d been encouraged by teachers to pursue a career in the technical field. But, she struggled through her first years in engineering at Western University. “I was trying to do it all on my own, and was facing a deadline as my program was threatened with loss of accreditation,” she says. The summer before her third year, she stayed on campus to work together on a project with other engineering students. “It

management style, both at work and at the association. “My role is to facilitate conversations and draw out solutions so that people can do their best work,” she says. Andrewes, now an independent consultant, has spent more than 19 years working with companies including Ballard Power Systems and Creation Technologies. In addition to her professional engineering designation, she is also a qualified chartered professional accountant. She volunteered with the association’s Division for the Advancement of Women in Engineering and Geoscience (DAWEG), as well as on the Executive, Governance, Audit and Standing Awards committees. She also served as a member of Council for two terms.

was a turning point; I worked with peers and became close with the group. It opened my eyes,” she says. Andrewes realized that, until then, she had not fully appreciated the power of learning as a team. “When you come across a big challenge, it is better if you do not have to address it alone.” Andrewes returned to complete her bachelor of engineering degree, bringing her new outlook to the classroom. “It was a small cohort and we all worked together,” recalls Andrewes. The shift in perspective was a game changer; by graduation she was top of her class, receiving the gold medal for materials engineering. Since then, working as a team and collaboration have been at the core of her

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