UNB Alumni
Telling our #ProudlyUNB stories
UNBeknownst #43: KJ Conyers-Steede on community-centric innovation and creating sustainable policies for rural Atlantic Canada
UNB Alumni
Posted: November 21, 2024 12:00:00 AM AST
Category: UNB Saint John , Arts , Podcast
Kjeld Mizpah “KJ” Conyers-Steede (BA’18) is director of strategy and partnerships for Inspiring Communities, a nonprofit working to build collaborative relationships for social change in Atlantic Canada. A UNB political science alum, KJ is a seasoned systems thinker with a strong focus on areas such as community-centric strategic planning, human-centered design, organizational culture, and governance reviews. From executive director of the New Brunswick Student...
Things we learned: While travelling and working abroad
Andrew Martel (BCS'15) and Kayla Renee Ossachuk (BA'15)
Posted: September 24, 2024 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Computer Science , Arts , UNB Fredericton , Young Alumni
Written and submitted by Andrew Martel (BCS’15) & Kayla Renée Ossachuk (BA’15) Two years ago, we started thinking of the idea of travelling around the world for a full year. To be fair, Kayla had been thinking about it for most of her life, but we only started brainstorming ideas back in 2022. At the time, the thought was that we would save up for a year and continue to work while travelling. I’m a management consultant for a firm out of Toronto – a job that is...
Offering escape in a world of volatility
Kelly Anderson
Posted: September 21, 2024 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: UNB Fredericton , Arts , Inspiring Stories
The world’s most prestigious fashion houses, top winemakers and leading luxury retailers might be surprised to learn that John Gerhardt (BA'85), the retailing visionary and international powerhouse in luxury branding and creative direction, grew up in smalltown Fredericton, New Brunswick. But the award-winning innovator says that his formative years, including those spent studying for a degree in English literature from the University of New Brunswick, were key to helping him...
Volunteers in action: Craig Haynes, Ottawa Alumni Chapter Network
UNB Alumni
Posted: June 5, 2024 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Arts , Young Alumni , UNB Saint John , Inspiring Stories
With a shared love for their alma mater, the dedicated volunteers of the Ottawa Alumni Chapter Network are committed to fostering connections and creating fun experiences for fellow alumni living ‘afar’. At the heart of this group is committee chair Craig Haynes (BA’94), along with members Werner Disselkamp (BBA'92) and Janice Wopling (MBA'13). Craig's journey as a volunteer for UNB began around 2017, when he attended a UNB recruitment event in Ottawa and expressed his...
Never too late to create something new
UNB Alumni
Posted: April 22, 2024 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: Inspiring Stories , Arts , UNB Fredericton
At 94 years old, Virginia Bliss Bjerkelund (BA’51) has claimed the titles of storyteller and successful author. But although she’s travelled extensively throughout the world and lived in the U.K. for a good portion of her life, it’s her ancestry and home in New Brunswick that captured her creative interest. With the publishing of her second book in 2023 (her first was at the young age of 91), Virgina has brought to life the story of Elizabeth Robinson Scovil,...
UNBeknownst #38: Dr. Jen Woodland on integrated health research and the importance of knowledge translation
UNB Alumni
Posted: April 18, 2024 12:00:00 AM ADT
Category: UNB Fredericton , Nursing , Science , Arts , Podcast , UNB Saint John
Dr. Jennifer Woodland (MA’09, PhD’15) is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at UNB’s Saint John campus and an Integrated Health Initiative researcher who teaches within the Bachelor of Health program at UNB. She has a PhD in experimental psychology from UNB, with a focus in multisensory perception. Jen has over 10 years of experience in health research – as a research methodologist for Horizon Health Network and Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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
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...
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...
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...
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...