UNB Alumni
Telling our #ProudlyUNB stories

UNBeknownst #37: Victoria LaBillois on economic reconciliation in Canada

UNB Alumni

Posted: March 20, 2024 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: UNB Fredericton , Management , Podcast , Arts



Mi’gmaq entrepreneur Victoria LaBillois (BA’91, MBA’04) is the owner of Wejipeg Excavation Inc. and co-owner of Wejuseg Construction Inc, and oversaw the completion of a major wind park in Gaspesie, Quebec, where the companies trained and engaged over 100 Mi’gmaq tradespeople.   Victoria has served both the First Nation and federal public service, working at the Band, regional, and national levels.  She is currently serving as Vice-Chair of the National...

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Business is blooming for Sophie Sharp (BA/BEd'22)

UNB alumni

Posted: January 26, 2024 12:00:00 AM AST

Category: Young Alumni , UNB Saint John , Arts , Education , Inspiring Stories



From Lower Millstream straight to kitchen tables across New Brunswick, life has become a lot more colourful thanks to Sharp Brook Flower Farm. For UNB recent graduate Sophie Sharp (BA/BEd’22), agriculture has always been an important part of her life growing up on a dairy farm. This passion led Sharp and her sister, Ellen Folkins, to open their own space to the community and share their love of locally grown flowers. Launched in the spring of 2021 and named after the brook that runs...

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UNB Alumni Holiday Gift Guide 2023

UNB Alumni

Posted: November 24, 2023 12:00:00 AM AST

Category: Insights , Law , UNB Saint John , Kinesiology , Computer Science , Inspiring Stories , Science , Education , Management , UNB Fredericton , FOREM , Engineering , Renaissance College , Arts , Nursing , Young Alumni



Share your UNB pride this holiday season! 'Tis the season for supporting ‘local.’ The 2023 Alumni Holiday Gift Guide highlights products and businesses by our very own #ProudlyUNB alumni around the world. UNB alumni are creating and contributing exciting things to their communities and beyond. Get your seasonal shopping done from the comfort of your home, while discovering the unique items created, written, owned or run by talented UNB graduates, like you. Scotiabank Giller...

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The Booker Prize, the Scottish Highlands and a love of writing

UNB

Posted: October 19, 2023 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: Arts , Inspiring Stories , UNB Fredericton



It’s been a big year for Sarah Bernstein (MA’12). Her latest novel, Study for Obedience, was published in the U.K. and Canada in the summer of 2023. It’s now shortlisted for both the 2023 Booker Prize (one of six finalists) and 2023 Giller Prize (one of five finalists). And, she was named to Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 2023 list. Oh, and she’s about to have her first child. But the Montreal-born author, who now lives in the Scottish Highlands, says...

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UNBeknownst #29: Lea Nicholas MacKenzie on championing Indigenous human rights

UNB Alumni

Posted: May 11, 2023 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: UNB Fredericton , Arts , Podcast , Inspiring Stories



Lea Nicholas-MacKenzie (BA’91) is a trailblazer for Indigenous rights: she’s the former special advisor for Indigenous issues to the UN, former chief of staff to then minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, and past chief of staff to the National Chief at the Assembly of First Nations. She also served as director of aboriginal participation and chief of protocol for the Four Host First Nations during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and...

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Preserving the past and making connections on the Miramichi

UNB Alumni

Posted: March 29, 2023 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: UNB Fredericton , Arts , Inspiring Stories



Christine Jean (BA’21) loves to study people and nature – and the connection between the two. An anthropology graduate and current master’s student at UNB, her research focus is on human-nature relationships along the Miramichi River, in particular from Boiestown to Blackville, in the hopes of bettering understanding the community and providing ecologically, socially and economically sustainable ideas and initiatives and environmental stewardship.  Christine has also...

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UNBeknownst #26: Deborah Lyons on being an Ambassador and UN representative in Afghanistan – and why education for women is critical for global stability

UNB Alumni

Posted: February 8, 2023 12:00:00 AM AST

Category: UNB Fredericton , Arts , Podcast , Inspiring Stories



Ambassador Deborah Lyons (BA’71, DLitt’15) is a diplomat with 21 years of professional experience in political affairs, international cooperation and economic development. Her most recent assignment was as special representative and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, having served prior to that as Ambassador of Canada to Israel and before that as Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Ms. Lyons has held several senior positions with...

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UNBeknownst #25: John Leroux on what it means to love a place and why architecture and art are so important in attracting and inspiring people

UNB Alumni

Posted: January 10, 2023 12:00:00 AM AST

Category: Podcast , UNB Fredericton , UNB Saint John , Arts



John Leroux (PhD’20) is an architect, art historian and currently manager of collections and exhibitions at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick. John has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the fields of art history, architecture, visual art, curation, and education. He holds a bachelor of architecture from McGill University, an M.A. in art history from Concordia University, and a PhD in history from UNB. He has worked at award-winning architecture firms in...

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UNBeknownst #23: Donald Savoie on the centralization of power in Western governments, lack of public trust in our leaders, and what government IS good at

UNB Alumni

Posted: November 10, 2022 12:00:00 AM AST

Category: Podcast , Inspiring Stories , Arts , UNB Fredericton



Donald Savoie (MA’72) holds the Canada Research Chair in Public Administration and Governance at the Université de Moncton, as well as the Clément-Cormier Research Chair in Economic Development. Over his career, he has served as an advisor to federal, provincial and territorial government departments and agencies, the private sector, independent associations, OECD, the World Bank and the United Nations. In 1986, at the request of the Canadian prime minister, he undertook a...

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Terry Malley rewarded for innovation, lifelong learning and giving back to the community

UNB Alumni

Posted: October 27, 2022 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: Management , Arts , Inspiring Stories , UNB Fredericton



It was a big year for Terry Malley (BA’81) in 1979. Two years into a business degree at UNB, he and his father, A.J. Malley, decided to start a business together by opening a small manufacturing facility in Moncton to build truck caps, campers and van conversions for the recreational market. Two weeks before that, he had met Kathy (BEd’79), his soon-to-be-wife, at a dorm party on the Fredericton campus. He walked her home on a snowy night and the two talked business until early...

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UNBeknownst Episode 21: Josh O’Kane on Sidewalk Labs and “the city Google couldn’t buy” 

UNB Alumni

Posted: September 6, 2022 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: Podcast , Arts , UNB Saint John , UNB Fredericton



Josh O'Kane (BSc/BA ‘09) is a reporter with The Globe and Mail who has covered the technology sector for much of the past five years. His coverage focuses on the relationships between tech companies and human beings, governments, economies, and each other. His latest book, Sideways: The City Google Couldn’t Buy, investigates the failed effort by Google sister company Sidewalk Labs to build a future-focused neighbourhood in Toronto, the many institutions that company won over, and...

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UNBeknownst Episode 20: Mitch Cobb on purpose-driven entrepreneurship and making a positive community impact

UNB Alumni

Posted: June 23, 2022 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: Podcast , Arts



Mitch Cobb (BA’02) is co-owner and CEO of Upstreet Craft Brewery on Prince Edward Island. But Upstreet isn’t just a brewery - even though it's grown to become a major player in the Atlantic Canada brewing industry. It’s a Certified B Corp, intent on doing business differently and making a positive impact in its community. Mitch has been named one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 50 CEOs by Atlantic Business Magazine. He graduated from UNB with an arts degree in anthropology...

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UNBeknownst Episode 19: Julia Wright on finding your path through trial and error, and journalism in challenging times   

UNB Alumni

Posted: June 9, 2022 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: Young Alumni , Podcast , Arts , Inspiring Stories , UNB Fredericton



Julia Wright (BA’07) is host of CBC Information Morning on CBC Radio 1 in Saint John, and is also an award-winning writer and photographer. Born and raised in Saint John, New Brunswick, Julia was a contributor to Vice, Buzzfeed, and various local and provincial newspapers before taking on radio hosting duties in 2019. Earlier, she founded and edited two independent Saint John creative writing and art zines: Hard Times in the Maritimes and The Tempest. In her spare time, she loves...

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UNBeknownst Podcast Episode 9: Matt Anderson and Chris Simpson on leading healthcare in a pandemic and adapting to change

UNB Alumni

Posted: December 16, 2021 12:00:00 AM AST

Category: Podcast , Science , UNB Fredericton , Arts



UNBeknownst Podcast Episode 9 Matt Anderson and Chris Simpson: Leading healthcare in a pandemic and adapting to change Matt Anderson (BA’92) and Chris Simpson (BSc’90) took very different routes to get to top executive positions in healthcare in Canada. Matt graduated with an arts degree and began his career in data analytics and IT. He went on to earn a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration and Management from the University of...

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UNB mental performance coach says to choose 3 things each day

UNB Alumni

Posted: June 30, 2020 12:00:00 AM ADT

Category: Insights , Kinesiology , Arts



Ryan Hamilton (BA'00, MScExSS'03, PhD'11) spends the bulk of his time teaching psychology at UNB Fredericton, but he’s also a mental performance coach, having worked with Canada's junior men's hockey team and as an advisor to an NHL franchise. He’s a sport psychology consultant to the UNB Reds, and is also with the Canadian Sport Centre in NB, offering mental performance coaching to both elite athletes across Canada and young athletes in the Maritimes who are coping with...

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