Best of the WWEST

In our third episode of the miniseries by the WWEST Associate Chair program hosted at iSTAND at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO), host Maxine (iSTAND Communications and Resource Design Assistant) reverse engineers the diversity in STEM conversation. She speaks to two men in female-dominated fields to explore how these fields can support greater gender diversity, and the benefits thereof. In particular, this episode explores nursing and social work and the parallelisms between these fields and STEM. Within these fields, the historical context of gendered professions is slowly, but surely, changing. You'll also hear about mentorship, the vulnerability these fields expose, and how men can find their footing when navigating gender expectations. Dr. Jennifer Jakobi, WWEST Associate Chair, introduces us to our guests in the beginning of this episode as well. (Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

iSTAND is the Integrative STEM Team Advancing Networks of Diversity, which is creating a network to recruit, support, and increase underrepresented persons in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). You can learn more about their program here and about the WWEST Associate Chair program here. Our guests for this episode are Dr. Peter Kellett RN, from the University of Lethbridge and Dr. John Graham RSW, of the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Please see relevant links for more information on our guests.

Featured in this Episode:

• Dr. John Graham, RSW, University of British Columbia Okanagan
• Dr. Peter Kellet, RN, University of Lethbridge

Relevant Links:

• iSTAND
• Neuromuscular – Healthy Exercise and Aging Lab at UBCO
• "The Gender Divide in Social Work," Wiley Education Services
• "Why Nursing is a Great Career Choice for Men," nurse.org
• WWEST Associate Chair Program
• WWEST White Paper: "Mentoring Works"

Hosted by: Maxine van Zyl and Dr. Jennifer Jakobi Theme Music: "Positive and Fun" by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey and Maxine van Zyl

Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

Folks, we have finally done it. We finally interviewed WWEST Chair Dr. Lesley Shannon on Best of the WWEST! Danniele and Lesley dive into many things, including coping during the pandemic and how it is affecting not only women in STEM, but women everywhere; Lesley's experience in university studying Computer Engineering, and even some fun things in the Lightning Round. You don't want to miss this episode and learn all about the person behind everything at WWEST.

Dr. Lesley Shannon P.Eng is a Professor and Chair for the Computer Engineering Option in the School of Engineering Science at Simon Fraser University. Dr. Shannon studies computer systems design. She works in a rapidly growing field that combines custom computing hardware and software to design and implement application-specific computer systems for applications in a wide range of areas including robotics, machine learning, aerospace and biomedical systems, multimedia applications, and cloud computing.

For a full transcription of this episode, click here.

Relevant Links:

• Geri's Game
• Knotology
• Lesley's bio at SFU
• Lesley's bio at WWEST
• Lesley's personal website
• Luddites
• Dr. Paul Chow
• University of New Brunswick
• University of Toronto

Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood) Theme Music: "Positive and Fun" by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

Jennifer Flanagan is an inspirational leader for girls and women in STEM, and in this episode, you are sure to be just that - inspired! She joins WWEST manager and podcast host Danniele to give insights into how it benefits all of us to support women, girls, and Indigenous communities in STEM; how she founded Actua, an organization that inspires future innovators; and she asks and explores the important question "How does a context and environment need to change to be more welcoming and accepting of girls and women?" (Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Jennifer Flanagan is the co-founder, President and CEO of Actua. Actua is a national charitable organization that engages Canadian youth in transformational experiences in STEM and contributes significantly to future innovation in Canada. Jennifer leads this national network of university-based organizations across Canada that deliver interactive STEM programs annually engaging 225,000 youth in 500 communities.

(Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

For a full transcription of this episode, click here.

Relevant Links:

• Actua
• Concordia University
• InSTEM: Actua's Indigenous STEM programs
• Master of Management, McGill University
• Dr. Monique Frize, Carleton University (first NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering in the Atlantic Region from 1997 to 2004)
• University of New Brunswick

Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood) Theme Music: "Positive and Fun" by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

Anne Simonen joins Best of the WWEST host and WWEST manager Danniele in this episode and is keeping it real by telling us about her journey from being a student who wasn't strong in math to a civil engineering technologist who is supporting really important projects in wastewater treatment. She explains why civil engineering and water treatment are super relevant right now, how making big mistakes don't have to cost your career and are great learning experiences, and gives us a glimpse into her life outside of work in the lightning round. (Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Anne Simonen is a civil engineering technologist at KWL in Nelson, BC. She mostly works on projects that help get safe drinking water to people's houses, and the wastewater that goes down drains be safely disposed of, but her favourite part of work is working with contracts and construction.

WWEST and Best of the WWEST would like to thank the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC) for connecting us with the individual profiled above.

Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC) is leading the Advancing Women in Engineering and Technology Project, a Sector Labour Market Partnership project, funded through the Canada-BC Workforce Development Agreement. The project's goal is to increase the participation of women in the engineering, geoscience, technology and technician occupations through the implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies to recruit, retain and support career development of women to lead a system level cultural shift within these professions.

For more information on ASTTBC, please visit www.asttbc.org

(Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Relevant Links:

• Anne on LinkedIn
• BCIT Diploma in Civil Engineering
• BCIT Women in Engineering
• Girl Guides of Canada
• GLOWS (Growing & Learning Opportunities With STEAM)
• Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club (book by Megan Gail Coles)

Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood) Theme Music: "Positive and Fun" by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

Working in technology, construction, and engineering often is portrayed in just one way, but Rebecca Sorbara is here to tell us that there are many rewarding non-conventional careers in these fields. She joins Danniele, WWEST manager and Best of the WWEST host, to get nerdy about building science. Everyone comes into contact with buildings every day, and Rebecca explains why her passion for keeping buildings dry and keeping walls doing what they do best is so important. Plus, she tells us all about sustainability and answers the question "what is a passive house?" (Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Rebecca Sorbara is the Director of Building Science at McCuaig and Associates Engineering. She leads a team of engineering professionals and oversees the development and implementation of organizational quality control processes. Rebecca is an Applied Science Technologist with 18 years of experience in building science and project management.

WWEST and Best of the WWEST would like to thank the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC) for connecting us with the individual profiled above.

Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC) is leading the Advancing Women in Engineering and Technology Project, a Sector Labour Market Partnership project, funded through the Canada-BC Workforce Development Agreement. The project's goal is to increase the participation of women in the engineering, geoscience, technology and technician occupations through the implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies to recruit, retain and support career development of women to lead a system level cultural shift within these professions.

For more information on ASTTBC, please visit www.asttbc.org

(Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Relevant Links:

• Construction Management at British Columbia Institute of Technology
• Energy step codes
• McCuaig & Associates
• Passive houses
• Trickster Drift (book by Eden Robinson)
• WinSETT (Canadian Centre for Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology)

Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood) Theme Music: "Positive and Fun" by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

How does Sheryl Cumming, Professional Engineer with the Metro Vancouver Regional District's Planning and Environment Department "pay it back" into the world with her work? For starters, she is a mentor to other women in STEM and leads by example. In this episode, she tells host Danniele how she transitioned from the Philippines into her schooling in Canada, leading to a career she pursues with passion. She also shares advice with future generations of STEM professionals and gives us a glimpse into the local and regional work she is a part of to make sure those in the Lower Mainland can adapt to climate change successfully. (Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Sheryl Cumming works as a professional engineer at Metro Vancouver Regional District's Planning and Environment Department in the Air Quality and Climate Change Division. Her experiences combined led her to her current work, trying to save the world (or at the very least, help prepare the region) through her role in the development of Metro Vancouver's regional climate action strategy called Climate 2050.

WWEST and Best of the WWEST would like to thank the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC) for connecting us with the individual profiled above.

Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC) is leading the Advancing Women in Engineering and Technology Project, a Sector Labour Market Partnership project, funded through the Canada-BC Workforce Development Agreement. The project's goal is to increase the participation of women in the engineering, geoscience, technology and technician occupations through the implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies to recruit, retain and support career development of women to lead a system level cultural shift within these professions.

For more information on ASTTBC, please visit www.asttbc.org

(Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Relevant Links:

• Advancing Women in Engineering and Technology (AWET)
• Air Quality & Climate Change, Metro Vancouver
• Climate 2050, Metro Vancouver
• Immigrant Employment Council of BC

Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood) Theme Music: "Positive and Fun" by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

In our first Best of the WWEST episode in partnership with ASTTBC (Applied Science Technologists & Technicians of British Columbia) and the Advancing Women in Engineering and Technology project, Best of the WWEST host Danniele welcomes Erin Karaim to the podcast. Erin tells us all about what it's like to be a draftsperson - the ins and outs of her education and her career creating technical drawings for engineering projects. You'll hear why being a technologist/technician is a very rewarding career option in STEM. But don't worry, it's not all about work - you'll also learn fun facts about Erin in the lightning round. (Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Erin Karaim is a civil engineering technician at WSP in the sectors of Architecture and Construction, Engineering, and Technology. Erin completed a 1-year drafting certificationin Computer Aided Design and Drafting at Kwantlen College in Surrey, BC. Her work varies from pipe plans and profiles, to road design and ditching and she works with engineers all over the country.

WWEST and Best of the WWEST would like to thank the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC) for connecting us with the individual profiled above.

Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC) is leading the Advancing Women in Engineering and Technology Project, a Sector Labour Market Partnership project, funded through the Canada-BC Workforce Development Agreement. The project's goal is to increase the participation of women in the engineering, geoscience, technology and technician occupations through the implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies to recruit, retain and support career development of women to lead a system level cultural shift within these professions.

For more information on ASTTBC, please visit www.asttbc.org

(Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Relevant Links:

• Diploma in Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (Kwantlen Polytechnic University)
• Drafter (Wikipedia)
• Quadra Island, BC
• WSP Global, Inc.

Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood) Theme Music: "Positive and Fun" by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

In our second episode of the miniseries by the WWEST Associate Chair program hosted at iSTAND at the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO), host Maxine (iSTAND Communications and Resource Design Assistant) speaks with a panel of experts on Indigenizing STEM education. This discussion is an eye-opening glimpse into the lives of Indigenous women in STEM and integrating the new Truth and Reconciliation mandates in education in Canada. You'll also hear about developing curriculum in schools for Kenyan indigenous populations, decolonizing classrooms, teaching indigenous perspectives embedded in school courses, and so much more. Dr. Jennifer Jakobi, WWEST Associate Chair, introduces us to the panelists in the beginning of this episode as well. (Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

iSTAND is the Integrative STEM Team Advancing Networks of Diversity, which is creating a network to recruit, support, and increase underrepresented persons in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). You can learn more about their program here and about the WWEST Associate Chair program here. The panel in this episode features Shaylene DeKock-Kruger, Isha DeCoito, and Desiree Marshall-Peer.

Featured on this episode are Dr. Deborah Buszard, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Principal of UBCO; Dr. Bowen Hui, instructor in Computer Science of UBCO; and Dr. Mina Hoorfar, professor of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering at UBCO.

Hosted by: Maxine van Zyl and Dr. Jennifer Jakobi Theme Music: "Positive and Fun" by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey and Maxine van Zyl

Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

Yuka Takemon joins Best of the WWEST host Danniele in a socially-distanced interview to talk all about bioinformatics and why research in the field can give quick rewards. Yuka also dives into her identity as a member of the LGBTQIA and STEM communities and the importance of being visible in both. Plus, she reveals how she kicks stress to the curb and other fun facts during the lightning round! (Please excuse any audio hiccups in this remotely recorded interview.)

Yuka Takemon is a PhD Student in the Genome Science and Technology program at the University of British Columbia. Yuka is also a member of Marra Lab at Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, where she conducts her research.

Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood) Theme Music: "Positive and Fun" by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.

This time on the podcast, Danniele introduces us to a very special guest - her wife, Claris. Danniele asks Claris about her work as a the Consultancy Director of Silverstring Media, a small video game studio in Vancouver, BC. You'll hear video game recommendations (perfect for social distancing), Claris' view on the importance of storytelling not just in video games but in society at large, and so much more. Plus, you'll get a taste of the music Claris has produced in quarantine! Stay safe everyone, and don't forget to wash your hands!

Claris Cyarron is the co-founder of Silverstring Media, a small videogame studio in Vancouver, BC that also offers narrative consulting and expertise for hire. Claris is a storyteller, multi-disciplinary designer, and an ever-aspiring adventurer.

Relevant Links:

• Cosmo D
• Cribbage with Grandpas
• Dark Souls
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Nathalie Lawhead
• Off-Peak
• Silverstring Media

Hosted by: Danniele Livengood (@livengood) Theme Music: "Positive and Fun" by Scott HolmesProduced by: Vanessa Hennessey

Please consider leaving us a review on iTunes or Stitcher! For more from Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology, you can follow us on Twitter at @WWEST_SFU, on Facebook at @WWEST.SFU, and subscribe to our biweekly newsletter at wwest.ca.