I came to NRC IRAP in 2019, after 25 years of working with a post-secondary institute in fundraising and as a director of advancement services. My current role as a manager of operations and finance (MOF) is similar in many ways. It is about building partnerships within NRC IRAP and across the NRC, to ensure that my team in the Pacific region have what they need to deliver and support our program. I learned quickly that I am surrounded by incredibly experienced and knowledgeable people, and it is important to me that I become just as much a resource to my colleagues as they are to me.

When I first joined NRC IRAP, I attended a leadership forum where our MOF group from across Canada used the opportunity to sit together. As a group, we wanted to ensure we were carrying out the program in a consistent manner across all NRC IRAP regions. The experience was invaluable for me, as I was able to learn from my fellow MOFs, get to know them and build relationships.

It is very satisfying when you like and believe in what your program is trying to achieve. I believe in NRC IRAP's mission which is to identify firms that need help innovating their products and then to help them reach their full potential. I appreciate the clarity of our mission and that we have been successful doing it for a really long time. I know how important it is to be on the "back end" doing my work to support this mission. Being a life-long learner is integral to who I am and to this position. I embrace and enjoy every opportunity to learn, and I'm lucky that I work for a program that not only supports this but encourages it.