Innovation-Nov-Dec-2023

M ichelle Mahovlich, MEng, P.Eng., P.Geo., FCSSE, was elected for a one-year term as the new Chair of the Engineers and Geoscientists BC Board.

well as geotechnical, environmental, and civil engineering and geoscience. This has made me realize that our paths cross in many ways. It’s important that we recognize one another’s strengths but also that we provide input when there is a gap in knowledge so that we can collectively continue to work with one another to achieve our vision of modern regulation for a resilient world. I look to the heat wave and forest fires followed by the floods in the fall of 2021 as one of the most recent times where registrants, geoscientists and engineers, literally dropped everything to respond to this unprecedented natural disaster. We all worked with one another to repair and make safe our environment for the public of BC. There have been many changes over the last few years at Engineers and Geoscientists BC and currently the transition is underway for the creation of an independent advocacy body. How do you anticipate leading the Board through these changes? As Chair, I anticipate collaborating with our new advocacy board. It is very important to me and, I believe, the rest of the Board, that we don’t lose those important connections with our registrants. There is a lot of wisdom and knowledge among our registrants, be they newly registered or those of us that have been practicing for a few decades or more. Sharing that wisdom and knowledge, but also encouraging and mentoring our new registrants in their fields of practice will be important to continue to sustain our professions in BC and beyond. While it may appear somewhat daunting right now to have a separate advocacy body, I believe it

also represents a great opportunity to improve our advocacy moving forward. Let’s channel our collective passions for our professions to create this successful advocacy body. You are a proponent of women in STEM and ongoing professional development for your work team. Why is this important to you? I have always been a proponent of ongoing professional development. I don’t believe you learn once and then spend the rest of your career with just those learnings. This is especially evident recently with the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). There are many pros and cons of AI. It will be important to our registrants to know how to manage those. Likewise, our practice guidelines will continue to be useful resources for professional practice, many times leading the country in their topics. STEM for women is very important to me for a few reasons. The first reason is likely very evident; I practise in fields where most practitioners are men. I enjoy my fields of practice and am passionate to encourage women to enter these fields even if they are still considered the minority because I have enjoyed my career so much. My work has allowed me to travel all over Canada and to see areas I would have never seen otherwise. We truly have a vast and beautiful country. The second reason is a more personal one. My first husband was killed when I was eight months pregnant with our first child. Had I not had the career that I did, the circumstances of his passing suddenly would likely not have allowed me to be a single mom to our daughter without seeking help from others. To be able to stand on your own is something that all women should have the ability to do.

Here are her responses to questions about leadership. Why did you want to take a

leadership position with the Board of Engineers and Geoscientists BC? An effective Board should consist of people willing to contribute their sentiments but also willing to listen to contributions. The past three years that I have spent on the Board has allowed me to gain a fuller perspective of effective governance. While not all of us have a perspective on every topic, I felt that my skills were best used in a leadership role. My experience on elected and appointed boards has also allowed me to become educated on how to steer an effective Board. The past three years I have also enjoyed reaching out to and meeting registrants from other provincial agencies and regulators. I look forward to continuing to meet with registrants from our sister organizations in the provinces and territories and to share our collective goals. You have professional designations in engineering and geoscience. How does that help guide you in your leadership position on the Board? I consider myself very fortunate to hold a licence as both a professional engineer and geoscientist. Geoscientists may not represent a large percentage of our registrants, but they do represent an equal responsibility to protect the public and environment. I’ve had the privilege of working in broad areas such as mineral exploration as

INNOVATION

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023

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