2022-2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS |  Conseil d'administration

   Mabel Ho

   President | Président

   Director of Professional Development and Student Engagement

   Dalhousie University

   Mabel.Ho@dal.ca 

Mabel Ho is President of the Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Network - Canada (GPDN) and Director of Professional Development and Student Engagement in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie University.  At Dalhousie, she collaborates in various initiatives and programs to support graduate students and post-doctoral fellows’ skill development to help prepare them for academic and career success.  Mabel designed and implemented the Together@Dal: Grad Edition orientation program, Dal GradPD framework, and GradPD Certificate program.  As a facilitator and educator, she has received training from the Stanford Life Design Lab and is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory, an Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) facilitator, and a Facilitator Development Workshop (FDW) trainer.  Mabel obtained her PhD in Sociology at University of British Columbia where she also completed the Certificate Program in Advanced Teaching and Learning and received the Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) Scholar certificate. 

   Aline Medeiros Ramos

   Vice President | Vice Président

   Agente de mobilisation et transfert

   Université du Québec

   aline.medeiros.ramos@uquebec.ca

Aline Medeiros Ramos is the Vice President of GPDN and a mobilization and knowledge transfer officer at the Université du Québec (UQ) headquarters. She is very passionate about her #alt-ac job, which includes kickstarting and promoting initiatives to foster grad student success. At UQ, she cooperates with personnel (staff, faculty, deans) from all ten universities that are part of the UQ network to support the professional and academic development of students. Aline holds a PhD in philosophy from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Previously to joining UQ, she taught philosophy at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition to being fully bilingual (English/French), Aline speaks six other languages. Outside of work, you will find her practicing some of them.

   Angela Rooke

   Past-President | Président Sortant

   Manager, Graduate and Postdoctoral Experience

   University of Waterloo

   a2rooke@uwaterloo.ca

Angela Rooke is Past-President of GPDN, a former board member of the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies, and Manager Academic Success and Retention at University of Waterloo. Previously, Angela was Manager, Graduate And Postdoctoral Experience where she lead professional and academic development initiatives for both graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, and oversaw postdoctoral affairs more generally. Angela developed and launched University of Waterloo’s Professional Skills Foundations program for graduate students, as well as a range of other exciting initiatives, including  a research video competition called GRADflix, and a suite of workshops and online resources for students pertaining to graduate supervision, thesis defences, comprehensive exams and other key aspects of graduate student success. Angela received her PhD in history from York University in 2014. When she’s not working, Angela enjoys travelling, spending summers on Lake Nipissing with her family, watching bad reality television shows, listening to podcasts, and reading historical fiction.

Sarah Howard

   Membership Manager | Directeur des adhésions

   Manager, Postdoctoral Affairs and Programming Development

   University of Waterloo

   sarah.howard@uwaterloo.ca

Sarah Howard is the Membership Manager of GPDN and the Manager, Postdoctoral Affairs and Programming Development at University of Waterloo. In her role at UWaterloo, she develops and oversees programming for graduate students and postdocs, including professional skills programming, research communication showcases, and graduate Work-Integrated Learning. Sarah has an MA in Political Science from the University of Waterloo. Outside of work, Sarah can be found snuggling with her cat and enjoying good coffee!

Teresa Didiano

   Operations Manager | Directeur des opérations

   Graduate Professional Development Coordinator

   University of Toronto

   operations.manager@gpdn-rpesp.ca

Teresa Didiano is the Graduate Professional Development Coordinator in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto (U of T). She champions the strategic vision, growth, and operations of graduate programs for over 3000 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Beyond her role at U of T, Teresa is a member of the Governance Committee and co-chair of the Finance Committee for the Graduate Career Consortium. Teresa has an HBSc, MSc, and Project Management Certificate from U of T.

Alex Liepins

   Member at Large | Membre à titre personnel

   Associate Director (Student Learning and Development)

   McGill University

   alexander.liepins@mcgill.ca

Alex serves as Member-at-Large with GPDN and is the Associate Director for Student Learning and Development in Teaching and Learning Services at McGill University where he oversees teaching assistant training and graduate student teaching skills development, among other initiatives. He is passionate about helping students learn and enjoys working directly with graduate students on the co-development of educational resources. He received his BA from Wisconsin Lutheran College in 2009, MA from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2011, and PhD from the University of Ottawa in 2017.

Catherine Maybrey

   Member at Large | Membre à titre personnel

   Coordinator, Postdoctoral Affairs and Research Training

   McMaster University

   maybrecr@mcmaster.ca

Catherine is the Coordinator, Postdoctoral Affairs and Research Training in the School of Graduate Studies at McMaster University. She has worked with graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in different roles at McMaster since 2010, with a focus on careers and professional development.

Mekala Wickramasinghe

   Member at Large | Membre à titre personnel

   Recruitment and Training Officer

   University of Winnipeg

   mek.wickramasinghe@uwinnipeg.ca

Mekala Wickramasinghe joined the University of Winnipeg in 2022 as their Graduate Recruitment and Training Officer. Previously, Mekala worked in global student engagement and recruitment for more than ten years. She has travelled extensively to destinations in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, where she gained insights on the similarities and differences between Canadian and International education systems and cultures. This knowledge helps her better understand each student’s goals the educational journey.

In her current (and exciting!) role, she leads UW’s graduate recruitment and enrollment strategy, and coordinates professional development training for graduate students. Mekala also manages the Indigenous Summer Scholars Program offered by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. She is excited to be part of this wonderful GPDN community to learn and share ideas. 

Mekala is a proud Sri Lankan Canadian, a traveler, reader and a self-proclaimed foodie and coffee addict.

Wenona Partridge

   Member at Large | Membre à titre personnel

   Graduate Career Educator

   University of Saskatchewan 

   wenona.partridge@usask.ca 

Wenona serves as Member-at-Large with GPDN and is the Graduate Career Educator for Career Services at the University of Saskatchewan. She is an ICF certified coach and instructs GPS 974: Graduate Professional Skills Certificate and its required course, GPS 984: Thinking Critically. Wenona received her MA in Philosophy in 2014, and MEd focussing on Curriculum Studies in 2018.