Heather began her teaching career as a Professor in the English as a Second Language (ESL) department of Mohawk College over 30 years ago. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in English and Sociology from McMaster University, a Bachelor of Education from Brock University specializing in Teaching English as a Second Language, and was an active member and presenter with TESL Ontario for many years. Heather has experience in teacher training, designing and presenting provincial conference seminars, curricula writing, and designing and delivering workplace ESL courses at various companies throughout Hamilton, Ontario.
From 1994-1997, Heather served as the Office Manager, Program Coordinator and Professor of the Mohawk College Fukuyama English Centre, located at the Fukuyama Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Fukuyama, Japan (Hamilton’s sister city). This incredible international teaching assignment left Heather with a profound respect for her ESL students as it was her first experience of living abroad, immersed in a completely foreign culture and language. During Heather’s 3-year tenure, the Centre doubled enrollment, thereby substantially increasing revenue and leading to the Centre’s profitability for the College. Heather shares that she left half of her heart in Japan with her students and the wonderful friends she met there.
Upon returning to Canada, Heather joined the Return To Work Services (RTWS) department of Mohawk College and served as a Coordinator and faculty member there until 2005. In her role in RTWS, Heather assisted clients to complete Return To Work Action Plans in accordance with Human Resources Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) criteria and requirements; developed a Policies and Procedures manual for departmental use; scheduled staff and maintained the Excel database, provided scheduling information to manager upon request; organized team meetings, set agendas and chaired meetings; trained and oriented new team members to RTWS (both sessional and full time employees); served as liaison between the College and HRSDC; and, reviewed, approved and presented Return To Work Action Plans to HRSDC and maintained all administrative records related to clients' RTWAPs on a weekly basis (between 10-28 per week). Heather became certified to use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) in assessment and also received her certification as a Life Skills Coach.
When her RTWS faculty role was reclassified, Heather joined the Language Studies Department (LSD) of Mohawk College to teach ESL and Communication courses. As a Coordinator, she and a colleague were responsible for the creation of the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program in 2006 which continues to run at the College to this day.
Within the College, Heather was proud to be twice elected by her peers to serve two consecutive terms as the Faculty Representative on the Board of Governors from 2012 to 2018. She earned her certification in Advanced Good Governance through Colleges Ontario and also served as a mentor to new Board Members.
Becoming increasingly active in union work, Heather served Mohawk faculty first as a Steward (September 2005) and then in a leadership role as the Lead Steward for Local 240 in September 2013. Today, she is honoured to have been twice acclaimed by faculty into her second term as the President of the OPSEU/SEFPO Faculty Union, Local 240, at Mohawk College. A fierce advocate for members, Heather strives to resolve issues within the workplace through collaboration, advocacy, and building strong relationships. In her words, “I truly love this work and am honoured to be able to support and assist faculty when they need help from their union.”
