For any individual, the decision to persist in engineering and geoscience or change careers, jobs, or organizations is often precipitated by a variety of factors that give rise to the trajectory of their decisions. For our mutual organizational health and financial growth, it is critical, therefore, to understand the range of factors that typically inspire some women to persist in engineering and geosciences but lead many others to leave.
One of regulatory priorities of Engineers and Geoscientists BC is to foster diversity by creating a more inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone. To help support this initiative, the Engineers and Geoscientists BC Vancouver Branch and the Women in Engineering Division have joined forces to host this panel discussion on mentorship. The gender-balanced panel of pairs of mentors and mentees will be guided through a series of questions that unpack the experiences of mentorship and demonstrate the mutual gains obtained throughout the process with respect to inclusion, equity, and organizational success.
Past President, Engineers and Geoscientists BC
Katherina’s influence as a role model for women in engineering and physical sciences crosses disciplines and international boundaries. An award-winning educator in mechanical engineering and a strong advocate for fairness, Katherina is dedicated to creating an increasingly inclusive culture in engineering through her mastery of interdisciplinary studies by developing policies and delivering workshops that instil learners with a deep and authentic passion to make the world a better place for all.
Mentee
Victoria works as the Water Lead with Teck Coal Ltd., a coal mining company that operates five steel-making coal mines in the Elk Valley of British Columbia. Victoria has worked in a variety of roles, across a range of different sectors. She is working towards obtaining her professional engineer designation (P.Eng.) with Engineers and Geoscientists BC.
Mentor
Andrew is a professional engineer with 18 years of experience in the environmental consulting industry. He is a senior project manager with SLR Consulting, specializing in environmental site assessment and remediation. Andrew has been an Engineers and Geoscientists BC mentor since 2016.
Mentee
Marinah is a Software Engineer at Amazon and graduated from Computer Engineering at the University of British Columbia. She has previously worked as a Firmware Engineer at Intel. She is passionate about mentoring youth in engineering and inspiring girls to learn more about STEM.
Mentor
Herbert is a Professor of Computing Science at Trinity Western University and an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University. He is a senior member of IEEE and ACM. Previously, he was a scientific and engineering staff at MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. He worked on various remote sensing, space and defense projects with the Canadian Space Agency and Canadian Navy.
Mentor
Stacey is the owner and principal at Stacey Bernier and Associates Consutling. Stacey is a trusted expert in sustainable green technologies—including solar, geothermal, sewer heat recovery and biomass—and has played a key role in innovative, award-winning energy infrastructure projects across North America.
Mentee
Michelle has varied experience in multiple industries and over the past 10 years has worked in the energy industry with a focus on district energy. Currently she works for a leading developer focusing on building the thermal energy business.
