I've always said I'm like a willow, I'm strong like the willow, I'll bend, but I'm not going to break. How do we set healthy boundaries between our personal lives and our careers?
And how can we advocate for ourselves while maintaining the balance? We'll explore two stories from people who had to define those boundaries in the workplace and the impact of those choices. Deputy Chief of Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, Celene Lemire, talks about advocating for herself in a job interview with the police, telling them what she thought rather than what they wanted to hear.
Donnie Rosa discusses self-advocating throughout their career, from professional hockey player to general manager of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, and the importance of balance and making commitments to loved ones and personal time.
Celene has more than 20 years experience in community service, government relations, strategic design, operational planning, and leadership. Over the last decade, she has focused on equity and inclusion work in large emergency service organizations, addressing systemic issues, supporting membership, and operational teams by identifying inequities in policies, practices, and programs.
Celene has developed curriculum for municipalities, private and public sector, provincial leaders, and for emergency services. Celene is a graduate of the University of Calgary, holds Graduate degree in forensic psychology and is currently the deputy chief of People, Culture, and Equity with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services. Further, they are leading the efforts to determine how to co-manage parks with the local Nations Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh. With a commitment to equity and building resilient communities, Donnie has used their community development skills to meaningfully engage community in service delivery and build long lasting collaborative relationships.
