Arts and Foundational

I have been at OC since 2003 and in the role of Associate Dean since 2015.  Prior to moving into the AFP Dean’s Office, I was a faculty member and Chair of the Department of Communications.  I hold an MA in English with a focus on composition and rhetoric from SFU. Like many OC students, I was myself a mature student, beginning my undergraduate studies at 31 years old.  My experiences as such—starting my studies at a college and transferring to a university—make my work here especially meaningful.

Credentials:
MA, English, SFU
BA, English, Langara, SFU

I began exploring the curious dynamic between teaching and learning while teaching in elementary schools in Langley, BC. Then that wily travel bug encouraged me to teach language classes in Southern, and very rural, Japan.  After years of exploring the curious dynamic between teaching and traveling in Asia, I made my way back to Canada where I transitioned from the K-12 system to teaching adult learners in post-secondary. For past 16 years, I have been at Okanagan College where I have taught ESL, fundamental English and math, oversaw the Volunteer Adult Literacy Tutoring (VALT) Program, and coordinated the Adult Academic and Career Preparation (AACP) programming for Okanagan College’s Salmon Arm campus.  Currently, I am exploring the most curious dynamic yet as one of the Associate Deans for Arts and Foundational Programs. I am enjoying how each skill and bits of knowledge I have picked up along my own learning journey have woven together to support students from an administrator's perspective.

Credentials:
Bachelor of Arts, Trinity Western University
Bachelor of Education, Simon Fraser University
TESOL, Vancouver Community College
Master of Arts, UBC