INNOVATION November-December 2021

strategic thinker, very curious, and definitely ready for challenges and opportunities that are ahead. How would you describe your personal leadership style? I see myself as an inclusive, shared leadership style person. The people I work with are very smart and very educated. I really encourage them to work with me to take on the leadership they can within their scope and their ability given where they may be. It’s important that they share in the leadership of what they do. What do you do for fun? I have three kids who are now in their young adult phase—between 19 to 24. I get a lot of enjoyment spending time with them and my husband. I also have two dogs and two cats who bring a lot of joy. I love spending time outdoors. My husband and I like to spend time at our place on Hornby Island, hiking and enjoying the outdoors, and I love to garden. I like good movies and attending local film festivals each year. I also belong to some book clubs that have lots to do with just catching up, sipping wine, and having dessert. I’ve really found my passion in that area.” Carol holds a master's degree in clinical engineering from UBC, and a master's degree in Leadership and Training from Royal Roads University. She’s served on Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s Council, Standing Awards Advisory Group, Interview Panel, ASTTBC Joint Committee, and the Audit Sub-Committee.

After graduating from the engineering chemistry program at Queen’s, Carol continued to seek out her path in the engineering profession. “I knew didn’t want to work for a big company. I wanted to get involved in the helping professions.” Fast forward a couple of decades and Carol gained extensive volunteer experience at Engineers and

Geoscientists BC and became a veteran in the biomedical engineering field. “I found out about clinical engineering, which is a field of biomedical engineering. It led me to UBC, and that’s how I got involved in the work I do now, working in the healthcare system from a technology perspective and trying to improve patient safety and patient care.

What do you value most about your work in the engineering profession? It’s the times when work I’ve done has directly impacted patient safety and patient care. One example was investigating a challenging incident where a medical device wasn’t functioning as it should have. It took a lot of effort to delve into this with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and technical folks to figure out what the problem was. And, there was an international product recall based on our findings. It’s motivating and rewarding to feel like we’re having an impact on the healthcare setting and making it a safer place. After several years of preparation, the Professional Governance Act has recently come into force. What do you think registrants need to know about transitioning to the new Act ? The most important thing to know is that the intent of the Act is to improve the regulation of our professions in a way that strengthens our support of safety for the public and the environment. Those have always been our reasons for being, but the Act itself and the changes it brings help us do that much more effectively and thoroughly.

What do you see as the most important issues facing the engineering and geoscience professions?

The climate crisis and our role as scientists in addressing it. It is such a pressing and critical issue and a big risk for our society, our kids, and the way that we live. Also, continuing to attract and welcome diverse people into our professions. The range of views and insights a diverse group of people are able to bring really allows us to improve the effectiveness of the solutions we come up with. In what ways do you hope to see Engineers and Geoscientists BC develop in your time as president? When I think of the work that has gone on, there has been lots of change. I hope to see continued successful implementation of the Professional Governance Act , especially in newer areas like the regulation of firms. That is going to be critical. There have also been senior leadership changes, and that makes for a really important time. I imagine I’ll see the organization flourish under what I see as the capable leadership of our new CEO, Heidi Yang. She’s a very

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