I joined Croatoan as a teenager and have enjoyed dancing and participating in this organization ever since. After serving as a teacher for more than 16 years, I found that I had much more to contribute and decided to join the board of this non-profit incorporated cultural arts group and have held positions as liaison officer, program coordinator responsible for all programming of the group, and most recently as president.

 

Croatoan web site

This annual festival is held each year in a different city in Canada and attracts thousands of participants and spectators to the host city. The 39th festival in Ottawa was held at the National Arts Centre and Ottawa Convention Centre and had a record attendance of over 2000 participants from Canada, the USA and Europe. In my capacity as project manager and coordinator, I facilitated all aspects of project planning and execution and managed a budget of $190K and the work of a team of 20 volunteers who acted as project team subcommittee leads. 

 

Festival Facebook event page

E.X.I.T.E is a technology camp run by IBM volunteers. The camp is a week-long hands-on learning experience that inspires girls 11-13 years old to pursue careers in math and science. As Co-chair, I was responsible for secured funding for the camp from IBM, recruiting a team of volunteers, acting as the contact person for participants and school and school board administrators, project managing the work of volunteers to ensure the overall success of the camp.

 

Ottawas Business Journal article about Ottawa E.X.I.T.E. camp