I was born and raised in a small town in northwestern Alberta (Peace River country). Farming was the major industry when I was younger and even though I was a town kid, we all understood the importance of farming and the value of farm-life. The growth of the oil-and-gas industry especially in our area we saw a growth in wealth and a shift both towards and away from farming. Towards for those who wanted to be farmers and used oil-and-gas wealth to finance their farming while others simply shifted away from farming.

My early years were full of freedom and opportunity. I loved every minute of it although I don't think I knew how special it was! I left the area when I was 25 and return regularly to visit family and friends.

The first 10 years of my working life were spent primarily in the parts departments of International Harvester agriculture and truck dealerships in northern and central Alberta.  These were probably my most formative years work-wise where I learned the importance of providing good, reliable service helping to keep farmers and truckers on the road and at work.

Somewhere along the way I became interested in the educational use of technology in teaching and learning and the usability of the technologies we used. In the late 1990’s I used my experience with education and technology to support a small software startup company to a successful sale to a larger company.

I went on to work with educators designing and delivering effective educational materials (instructional design) sometimes using technology and sometimes using more traditional non-technology strategies. A significant design element in my work was usability, ensuring interfaces to technology were useful and appropriate.

In 2009 I became the inaugural director of a new teaching and learning centre at the University of Calgary’s first (and only) overseas campus in Doha, Qatar. Our goal was to provide nursing education (Bachelors of Nursing). My task was to create a new centre that supported our teaching faculty as they adapted to teaching in a different cultural and linguistic environment. As my new centre engaged with our faculty as well as those at other institutions, I was able to bring the annual Great Teachers Retreat and Seminar to Doha, a full weekend celebration of great teaching and sharing. In 2010 I took on the role of Chair of the Qatar Interprofessional Health Council. Together we obtained nearly $600,000 U.S. in research funding to study and implement Interprofessional Healthcare Education (IPE) in Qatar.

My next teaching and learning centre, the Center for Educational Innovation at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates, consisted of a larger team with offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi (4-6 staff in each office). We implemented a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning program (the study of effective teaching practices) and developed an accredited faculty development and fellowship recognition program in association with the Higher Education Academy in the United Kingdom (now called Advanced Higher Education).

In 2017 I took on the role of Director of the Teaching and Learning Centre at Simon Fraser University (SFU). SFU offers a wide range of programs and degrees with over 60,000 students and hundreds of faculty members. My team consisted of some 37 staff with a wide range of staff support capabilities. Our full-service team provided pedagogical as well as technical support for teaching and learning and provided a strong advocacy component at senior leadership levels. A highlight for me during this period was the development of a strong, agile team that learned to work together integrating their skill sets to achieve our goals (personal, unit, and institutional).

We returned to Canada after nearly 8 years away. We were excited to be returning to our home country and had pretty high expectations for our new life. Within 6 months we found ourselves feeling like outsiders: our experiences overseas found little connection with the people we were meeting and working with. Our memories of life in Canada no longer matched the Canada we were returning to. I recall telling my new boss that it felt like I was moving in quicksand, everything moved so slowly compared to our experiences overseas. In short, we were experiencing reverse-culture-shock: the emotional and psychological adjustment that happens when you return home after living abroad. You expect things to feel the same, but they don’t, mostly because you don’t. It took a few years to mostly re-integrate but to be honest, I’m not sure we will every feel the same way we did before we left. And I’m OK with that!