Movers & Shakers
LATITUDE
ENGINEER TURNS ADVERSITY INTO OPPORTUNITY
Edmonton’s Jessica Vandenberghe, P.Eng. , knows what it feels like to be different. During almost 10 years working in the oil sands, she was often the only woman and the only Indigenous person in the office and field. Although she’s faced discrimination throughout her career, simply for being who she is, Ms. Vandenberghe That endeavour that was recognized with the 2018 Indigenous Resources Leadership Award by the Alberta Chamber of Resources, presented during a gala evening in February at the Edmonton Convention Centre. (Keynote speaker was, by the way, the Hon. Stephen Harper, the former Prime Minister of Canada.) “I feel incredibly honoured to receive this at this point. A lot of times awards are given towards the end of a person’s career, so to be recognized for efforts that I’ve made today, mid- career, means a whole lot to me,” she told My Grande Prairie Now . Ms. Vandenberghe is used to hard work: she was high school valedictorian, holds two engineering degrees and patents, and has sat at national and provincial tables to influence standards, guidelines, regulations, and legislation in her profession. She is, as she sums it up, a “living example of the capability of Indigenous people.” She also has a special place in the hearts of her former colleagues at APEGA. Ms. Vandenberghe held several management positions with the organization, finishing her time with us as Director of Enforcement. As the Indigenous Community Consultant and a project engineer at Urban Systems Limited , she promotes gender diversity and growing the number of Indigenous members in the engineering and geoscience professions. And the job’s not over when she leaves the office: she spends much of her free time promoting education and understanding with Indigenous people, particularly youth. channels that adversity into a passion for supporting diversity in the workplace.
DEDICATED TO DIVERSITY Jessica Vandenberghe, P.Eng., is making a difference in the hearts and minds of those facing—and creating—adversity in the engineering profession. -photo by Rhona Haas Photo & Video
“I hear the same stories, I hear the same themes, I hear the frustrations, and I know that I can play a role in moving forward some of these issues and concerns. Being an engineer has given me the ability to problem-solve and approach things differently and get things done, and so that drives me to keep at this, volunteer-wise.”
SPRING 2019 PEG | 49
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker