International Women’s Day: Women who accelerate action
We’re proud to recognize the achievements and contributions of changemaking women within our community and their year-round efforts to advance important conversations on everything from amplifying Indigenous voices to remembering the past and protecting the future of our planet.
This International Women’s Day, we look back at a few stories of the changemaking women students, alumni and faculty members who make up our Royal Roads University community. A key part of this year’s theme, “accelerate action” is to celebrate women’s success. Read their stories and visit our International Women's Day web page for more stories, resources and events.
Place names, narratives and mapping reconciliation
What if, instead of standing in James Bay, downtown Victoria, you understood you were in Whosaykum, known as “the place of the mud” in lək̓ʷəŋən language?
How does the place name Whosaykum change how you think about James Bay? This is a question driving Melinda Quintero’s research. Quintero, a settler and student in the Master of Arts in Tourism Management program at Royal Roads University, is uncovering the stories that Indigenous place names tell about the lands we inhabit—focusing on the shoreline from Cadboro Bay to Millstream in Greater Victoria.
“Tourism has this unique ability to tell stories,” Quintero says. “But the stories we’ve told in the past have often excluded Indigenous voices. Place names are a way to amplify those voices.”
Learn more about the Master of Arts in Tourism Management program.
Seeking simple solutions to climate concerns
When Margot Webster opted to pursue a master’s degree, she wanted a change of pace from her analytical desk job. She wanted to work with her hands.
Now, in the home stretch of that degree, she likely got more than she bargained for. Webster’s backyard has been taken over by kiddie pools full of cattails and bulrush, and she’s a regular at the hardware store, getting tools and advice alongside an unexpected education in construction.
Her thesis for her Master of Science in Environment and Management at Royal Roads University tackles a long-standing problem in Shuswap Lake: algal blooms, caused by excess nutrients in the water.
Learn more about the Master of Science in Environment and Management.
DBA graduate wants to remove barriers for Indigenous entrepreneurs
Despite her impressive resumé, RRU Doctor of Business Administration alum Tasha Brooks was never successful in her attempts to access funding from First Nations Entrepreneurial Support Organizations for her small business. These organizations were created to mitigate the risks of Indigenous business ownership by offering financial support, culturally relevant business advice and education opportunities for her small business.
Brooks, who is also an assistant professor in RRU’s School of Business and member of the Indigenous Scholars Circle, says that experience inspired her to explore the limiting factors impacting Indigenous entrepreneurs in Canada. Her research found that although almost $130 million in funding support exists across all FNESOs in the country, the majority is not accessible due to the barriers Brooks identified.
Learn more about the Doctor of Business Administration program.
A mother’s loss, a mother’s purpose
Faced with the loss of a loved one too young, many ask “Why?”
Faced with the sudden death of her 16-year-old son, Kim Ruether asked “How?”
How did it happen? How could it have been prevented? How can I make sure no other mother has to go through this?
In answering those questions and turning her pain into purpose over the last 12 years, Ruether has saved lives.
To honour her efforts and impact, Ruether, a 2020 graduate of Royal Roads University’s Master of Arts in Leadership and resident of Fairview, in northern Alberta, was presented the Alberta Order of Excellence — the province’s highest honour.
Byte-sized leadership: RRU prof tackles challenges and triumphs of guidance
A Royal Roads University professor with a long career in leading organizations as well as talking about and teaching leadership has a lifetime of experience and wisdom to share on the topic.
And that's what Kathy Bishop is doing on her podcast, The Wonder of Leadership, which she launched earlier this year.
One of the big questions facing leaders is, “How, with all these different perspectives, ideas and peoples, do we pull together rather than pull apart?” Bishop says, and her podcast explores possible answers.
An associate professor and program head in RRU’s School of Leadership Studies, Bishop says she sees leadership as not only essential to building and running successful organizations but, critically, to making change.
Kathy Bishop is the program head for the Master of Arts in Leadership and the Graduate Certificate in Values-Based Leadership programs.
Business for good: Maximizing the impact of social purpose businesses
In our rapidly evolving business landscape, the demand for companies to contribute positively to society is more pressing than ever. Ingrid Kajzer Mitchell, an associate professor and researcher at Royal Roads University, has partnered with the Canadian Purpose Economy Project to explore how social purpose businesses—those committed to making a better world—can mobilize their influence and collaborate to drive systemic change.
The central question driving this research is: How are Canadian social purpose businesses mobilizing and utilizing their spheres of influence to collaborate, deliver on their purpose, and scale impact beyond their own business?
Learn more about how she’s mapping social purpose business interact with stakeholders.
RRU researcher examines “dark tourism” through the eyes of millennials
How can a memorial to a World War II Holocaust atrocity connect with present-day visitors in a meaningful way? It’s a question of increasing relevance in an age of rising racism and divisiveness.
Ann-Kathrin McLean sought the answer in her dissertation for her Doctor of Social Sciences degree at Royal Roads University: Millennials as second-person witnesses of the Holocaust: a case study on the Dachau Concentration Camp.
McLean, an assistant professor in RRU’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, explored the ways that millennials (the generation of people born from 1981 to 1996) engage in Holocaust remembrance, specifically how this generation can deepen their learning of remembrance and obtain an understanding of the victims’ experiences.
Learn more about the Master of Arts in Tourism Management, the Bachelor of Arts in Global Tourism Management and the Bachelor of Arts in International Hotel Management.
Gaia theory inspires future fashion leaders
Having worked in the fashion industry, Master of Arts in Environmental Education and Communication student Lesley Pollard says she’s seen the environmental destruction it’s caused.
Her impulse to help led her to Royal Roads, and also helped inspire her teaching at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Wilson School of Design.
Every year, her design students compete in a themed competition, creating pieces from recycled and found objects and textiles. Last year’s theme was the Gaia theory, inspired by Lesley’s course at RRU on systems thinking.
Gaia Theory suggests that the Earth is a self-regulating, interconnected system made of living organisms that work together to make Earth inhabitable for life.
“I wasn’t sure how our fashion students – many of whom are only one or two years out of high school – would be able to connect with this theme,” says Pollard. “The results blew me away.”
Learn more about the Master of Arts in Environmental Education and Communication.