I build what I once needed.
I started out studying birds. I trained as a zoologist and tracked songbirds migrating between North and Central America. Then I moved into universities, and I've been helping people find their own route ever since.
I was born in Sri Lanka, studied as an international student, and was the first in my family to go to graduate school. Nobody handed me a map for any of it. Most of what I've built since is the support I wish I'd had.
I've worked at seven universities in Canada and the United States, in international student services, alumni relations, and career development. At the University of Toronto I was the founding director of the Centre for Graduate Professional Development, which I built from scratch and staffed with a team of 15.
Today I lead career development and experiential learning at a university in Vancouver. I'm President-Elect of CEWIL Canada and I sit on the board of CERIC.
About the name.
A friend coined the word. He says it's what happens when someone walks into a conversation with me stuck and walks out moving.
I liked it enough to put it on the door. It also sets the standard for everything here: if you don't leave with a lift and a next step, I haven't done my job.
The route so far.
University of Guelph
Zoology, and research on songbird migration.
Student services and alumni relations
International student services, then alumni relations and advancement.
University of Alberta
Career education for graduate students, and my move into career development.
University of Waterloo
Career education strategy at the Centre for Career Action.
University of Toronto
Founding director of the Centre for Graduate Professional Development.
Vancouver
Leading career development and experiential learning, and coaching people well past graduation.
How I work.
I'm direct and I'm kind, usually in the same sentence. I'll ask you plainly what you want, and I'll tell you plainly what I see.
I use frameworks as a lens, never as a script. The one I return to most is the 6 P's: purpose, priorities, purse, positioning, politics and people.
MBTI Certified Practitioner. Completing a master's in organisational leadership with a concentration in coaching.