VPFA R.I.S.E. - October 2024

Navigating Change Well

Dear VPFA Community,

Welcome to the October 2024 edition of our VPFA R.I.S.E. Newsletter. I hope you enjoyed a beautiful Thanksgiving together with loved ones.

As we are now well-settled into the fall semester, the changing leaves remind us that nothing stays the same. I want to take a moment to talk about change, and how we navigate it well.

Change is an inevitable part of life, impacting individuals and institutions alike. Whether it’s driven by advancements in technology, the changing seasons, external factors outside our control, or our own aspirations for growth and improvement, change challenges us to adapt, innovate, and emerge stronger. But as we all know, navigating change is seldom easy.

Embracing the Journey Ahead

In the coming months, we are moving through key initiatives designed to propel us forward. These initiatives include the Balanced Budget Plan and the Queen's Renew Program, and they will bring about new opportunities, redefine some of our processes, and challenge us to step out of our comfort zones. It is natural to feel uncertain or even apprehensive about these shifts, but it is in these moments that our collective strength will shine through.

I am committed to ensuring that we navigate these changes with open communication, transparency, and a focus on well-being. Here’s how we plan to help:

• Open Communication: We maintain open lines of communication to keep you informed every step of the way. This includes regular updates via the Queen's Gazette and project websites. You are always welcome to contact my office, and I encourage you to bring your questions to our upcoming VPFA town hall on November 25.
• Transparency: Information on the university's finances is updated regularly and publicly available. As well, senior leaders across the university, including myself, have committed to publishing quarterly summaries of travel and hospitality expenses on their webpages.
• A Focus on Well-being: Navigating change can be stressful. Our commitment to your well-being remains paramount. The university will continue providing support through wellness programs and mental health resources, including those featured as part of Thrive Week in November.

A Shared Vision

Our vision for the future is one where we not only adapt to change but also thrive in it. Let’s embrace the innovation and creativity that change fosters.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your dedication, hard work, and unwavering commitment to the university's success. The journey ahead will be marked with challenges and opportunities, and I am confident that, together, we will navigate it with grace and emerge stronger than ever.

With best wishes,

Donna
Donna Janiec, FCPA, FCA
Vice-Principal (Finance and Administration)

Leadership Highlights 

Joseph holds designations as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and has worked as an auditor for a large part of his career. Following over 20 years in the private sector, he came to Queen’s University about a decade ago.

Auditing provides insights into the entire university’s operations – from facilities to human resources to research – bringing with it variety, interesting people, and intriguing situations to explore.

“On the surface, auditing sounds boring and quite straightforward because you are just checking on everything that people are doing. But it's that back story that makes it interesting,” Joseph says. “The reasons why people do things and don't do things makes our job fun.”

Joseph says he finds it very rewarding to produce a report or recommendation that helps his university colleagues work better.

“One of the things that always surprises me is the ability of people to change if you present them with the right information and a good reason for change. It takes effort to convince people, but chances are they are more open to change than you think.”

Outside of work, Joseph pursues continuous learning by reading up on emerging technology, tinkering with computers, and keeping up with what his teenage son is learning in school.

Joseph’s most recent non-fiction read is Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis, a 2023 book about fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried who founded the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Shelley Rizzo, IT Services

Shelley is a certified procurement specialist who has recently taken on a new position with IT Services. She has a love of learning and a passion for good value, along with a gift for customer service.

Please tell us about your career journey. I’m no stranger to the public sector.

I worked with the City of Kingston in the Finance Department for almost 17 years before I came to Queen’s in 2018. The end of my career at the City was the most challenging. I played a key role in a new financial system rollout as the procurement lead. We automated purchasing at the City for the first time.

As part of the Finance Team at the City, I worked closely with Procurement and was intrigued by the variety of things they touched and all the different people and groups they interacted with. I spent some time shadowing the Purchasing Manger to get a feel for the complexity of the job and decided to take a leap. I didn’t realize how much legislation I’d need to learn, but understanding what people need and negotiating best value for them has become a passion!

I chose to come to Queen’s in 2018 because I was excited about working with a larger procurement team and about some of the unique and interesting things that are bought in support of learning and research here. I’ve learned so much in my five years here.

In October, I joined the IT Services team as the Assistant Director, Business Relationships. My focus will be on maturing business relationship management practices and improving digital governance. The opportunity for career growth and continued learning at Queen’s is something I really appreciate.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

The people! I love that I get to interact with so many different people doing so many different, amazing things around the university.

What project have you recently been involved with that you’re most proud of?

I’m excited to dive into my new role in IT Services and enhance the work they’ve done around Business Intake with a goal of streamlining processes and making them a little more straightforward for the Queen’s community.

As well, in Strategic Procurement Services (SPS), I’m proud of the initiative we’ve taken to use our spending power to further the university’s goals around social and sustainable initiatives. Lots of things tend to fall under the procurement umbrella, which is tricky sometimes, but so necessary. What we buy and who we buy from, and the impact our purchases have on people and the economy is a big part of the overall value we try to achieve in SPS.

What motivates you?

Helping and seeing other people succeed. I thrive off recognizing the strengths of others and telling them what I see. A little compliment can make someone’s day and motivate them to keep going!

What have been some of the most important lessons you’ve learned throughout your career?

I've learned it’s okay to be myself! I spent a lot of years trying to be what I thought I was supposed to be, but eventually realized that being genuine, authentic and a wee bit quirky is okay too! Most people respond to people who are real. Teams are made up of many people who should complement each other and ideally, play off each other’s strengths. There’s no point in trying to fit a mold you’re just not. Mistakes are also going to happen. I truly believe in owning them and then learning from them.

Tell me about someone in your life and an important lesson they taught you.

My kids keep me on my toes and teach me so much. Through them, I have a perfect view into myself and can see some things I know I need to change!! As well though, their persistence and humour keep me going. I’d like to say having teenagers keeps me young but sometimes I feel sooooo old around their ways and lingo!

What would you like to tackle next?

I’m toying with rounding out my education to enhance my skills. I’ve also loved the leadership courses I’ve taken here at Queen’s and fully recognizing that leaders come at all levels of the hierarchy. I do hope to soon be in a role where I can focus more on working directly with people and helping them thrive.

What are your future goals/where do you see yourself in five years?

Ideally, I’ll still be here at Queen’s doing things that truly add value to the university. I hope to continue on that path here.

What’s one thing on your bucket list?

I’d love to travel more with my family. My kids are at an interesting (and expensive) age, but I’d love to be able to see the world through their eyes.

What is one skill you’d love to learn?

Paddleboarding. It looks so peaceful and calm. If I master it, it shows that I’ve achieved some fitness goals and made time for things I want to do.

If you could choose one word that sums up Queen’s, what would it be and why?

Complex. These are trying times for Queen’s and I often think about the people behind the scenes trying to make decisions that are best for the university as a whole. I’m hopeful that Queen’s will come out of this difficult time stronger than ever. 

Marina Darling, Human Resources Organizational Development and Learning

Marina is the Organizational Development (OD) Consultant in Human Resources Organizational Development and Learning (OD&L) team. She was recently celebrated as a recipient of the Kingston Young Professionals 40 Under 40 awards.

Please tell us about your role.

As the OD Consultant, I work with teams across the institution to support them in achieving their goals through organizational design and development services, team training, and change management support.  In May, I celebrated two years in this role and five years at Queen’s.

I am also involved in several committees including the Queen’s Women’s Network Logistics Committee, the Wellness Champions Advisory Committee, and an Ontario-wide community of practice for Organizational Development professionals.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

My work in OD&L is project focused, and no two projects are the same! I love the variety and enjoy meeting folks from across the university. I really enjoy building new offerings, usually in the form of workshops, processes, or even visualizing information in a way that is user-friendly and human-centric.

What project have you recently been involved with that you’re most proud of?

Throughout late 2023 and 2024, I had the wonderful opportunity to support the Queen’s University Library in revisiting and expanding their values to advance a priority of their strategic plan: “We will map the library’s values onto the university’s values to guide our actions and behaviors in our workplace. We will define and implement this process in 2023 and widely communicate these values within our organization.”

I am proud of this project because it is a notable example of collaboration – both between OD&L and our embedded HR partners, but also across multiple groups in the library itself to create a link between values and the larger values of the university community.  

Please tell us about your career journey.

My career journey has been full of twists and turns. After completing my undergraduate degree at Queen’s, I dove into the innovation and entrepreneurship space, working as a consultant specializing in marketing and creative services. During this time, I also traveled extensively, living, and working in New Zealand for about a year.

A few years after completing my undergraduate degree, I came back to Kingston and to Queen’s to complete my Master of Management Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Smith School of Business.

Shortly after, I took a contract at the Centre for Social Impact (now the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Social Impact) at Smith School of Business as a Program Assistant and later moved into the Program Manager role for Certificate Programs there.  

Not long after that, COVID happened, and life looked quite different! 

While being cooped up at home, I took the opportunity to revisit topics I was passionate about from my experience as a consultant and during my master’s degree and engaged in a lot of professional development, notably change management, corporate innovation, project management, and organizational systems.

It was serendipitous that a couple of years later, I joined the Organizational Development team in Central HR as the Organizational Development Consultant.

What motivates you?

I’m driven by passion for learning and working through complex problems. I am motivated by the challenge of learning something new and being able to apply it in my work and in life too. A lot of the work I do involves theory on behaviour change, leadership, and approaches to problem solving that apply in many contexts

What have been some of the most important lessons you’ve learned throughout your career?

I’ll boil it down to 3 important lessons: 

1. Take Leaps: My career journey has been far from linear, and I imagine I will encounter more twists and turns, but I wouldn’t be in this role today if I had not trusted the process of taking a leap out of my comfort zone (more than once!).
2. Embrace Failure: Making mistakes and learning from them is powerful. Failure can be a scary thing, but I do think we have incredible capacity to learn from our mistakes and translate that learning into well-informed lessons learned.
3. Build Relationships: I cannot emphasize this one enough: take the time to build real connections with people around you, and not just your immediate colleagues. Get out and meet people from all levels of the university and even further into the community if you can! Approach networking with curiosity and genuinely learn about people, their journeys, and their goals.

What would you like to tackle next?

I am currently working toward certification in Project Management through the Project Management Institute (PMI) and will be extremely happy when it’s done! Project Management is an evolving field and I’m excited to integrate my learning and knowledge further into my organizational development work. In addition, I am excited for the coming year of workshops in the HR Learning Catalogue and will be facilitating several workshops ranging in topics from project management to delivering business presentations!  

What are your future goals/where do you see yourself in five years? 

I’m continuing to build my skills in my areas of practice – I'm an enthusiastic fan of continuous improvement and enjoy finding new research or techniques to support the work I do at Queen’s, particularly in facilitation techniques, frameworks, or creative ways to approach challenges.

What’s one thing on your bucket list? 

Before the pandemic hit, I was preparing for several open water swimming races. If you’re unfamiliar with open water swimming – it's exactly what it sounds like...competing in a race in a lake or other body of water instead of in a pool. In the years leading up to 2020, I was competing in 1.5 km - 3.0 km races in the summer. A big bucket list item of mine is to complete an ultra-marathon race, which is 15 km of swimming. 

What do you do for fun?

As a proud mum to a toddler, most of my free time is family-focused – there's a lot of joy and excitement in watching my son explore the world around him. That said, I have several hobbies I’m passionate about and schedule where I can – including swimming, horseback riding, photography, and agility with my dog.

When it comes to exploring Kingston – there is SO much to do. This little city has so much to offer, especially if you love nature. I love spending time by or on the lake or exploring trails just outside of Kingston. One of my favourite places to get outside is Little Cataraqui Conservation Area – it has a variety of trails and terrain.

What book/movie/show has made an impact on you and why?

The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmonson is a  great resource on psychological safety, backed up by research and data from organizations. We refer to Amy Edmonson and psychological safety in our work within ODL – it’s worth a read.

Originals, How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant is another book I read years ago and have it on my list for a re-read! It explores concepts on how ideas are generated, put into action, and even tackles myths on creativity and innovation. I really admire Adam Grant as a researcher and thought leader!

If you could choose one word that sums up Queen’s, what would it be and why?

Expansive! Queen’s is such a vast and complex place to be and work. Having done my undergraduate and Master’s degrees here, I feel like I have learned a lot about the intricacies of the institution from the student and staff side. It is an incredible ecosystem with lots of opportunities to connect with colleagues, share best practices, and lean into different career areas.