Continuing Education
As a member of Council, part of my obligation to residents is to ensure that I keep bringing my best to this role, which includes participating in Professional Development . We all participate in many different opportunities - Just this morning, I attended a 2020 Housing Economic Forecast event with Councillors McKay, Hansen, and Watkins, where the Chief Economists of both Alberta and the City of Edmonton presented trends of and predictions for the economy - but one endeavour has been particularly impactful in terms of my knowledge over the last two years.
In the spring of 2018, I started courses in pursuit of a MBA from Athabasca University. St. Albert is a municipality with “part-time” Councillors, so I’m fortunate that my role allows for the time required to commit to this kind of program. The Athabasca program is also primarily an online/correspondence program, so it allows me to fit in my studies around my Council and family schedules. My budget with the City has paid for one of my three courses from 2018 and about 1 & 2/3 of five from 2019.
The courses I’ve completed so far include:
Strategic Management
Human Resource Management
Financial and Managerial Accounting
Marketing Management
Managerial Economics & Quantitative Analysis
Operations Management
Information Technology Strategy
Corporate Finance
Last summer, I also chose to take a comprehensive exam following the first year of core courses, which resulted in receiving my Graduate Diploma in Management. Right now, I’m in the midst of a course called Strategy and Organizational Analysis.
As I reflect on the ideas I championed during the 2017 election - Community, Accountability, and Sustainable Future - this program has helped me consider these ideas in a more focused light. Each course I’ve taken has improved my ability to think strategically, to reflect on the impact of Council’s focus, and to consider the ways in which St. Albert must perform now in order to be a community of choice when my kids are old enough to want to settle here with their families. I’ve always been able to envision where we need to go, but this program has helped me more thoroughly break down what I, as an elected official, need to ask, what information and relationships I need to pay closer attention to, and the decisions we as a Council need to make if want our city to continue being an exceptional community for decades to come. It has also given me a newfound appreciation of the expertise and dedication of our City staff - We have a wonderful group that is actively working to make sure that this is and will continue to be the vibrant, active, and caring community I grew up in.
(My dog is a very helpful study cheerleader.)
This is a brief and incomplete overview of our meetings and my Council activities, with my personal comments sprinkled in - In no way are my opinions representative of the official direction of council or the City of St. Albert. Please let me know of any typos or errors.
