Career Conference
At the 2022 CHS Career Conference, Grade 11 and 12 students had the chance to spend the afternoon with alumnae, parents, and past parents who generously shared their thoughts and expertise with senior students as they consider their next steps and career paths.
Keynote Presentation
Crofton House School welcomed Leila Bell-Irving Grauer ’77 and Stephanie Grauer ’15, both alumnae and part of four generations who attended the School. This mother-daughter pair spoke to students about varying experiences and ways to apply this year’s theme of Agility: Being Comfortable with the Uncomfortable. Read more.
Presenter Bios
Following the keynote presentation, students were invited to select a topic in each of three 40-minute sessions over the afternoon on the theme of "Agility: Being Comfortable with the Uncomfortable". Each session had up to 15 panels to choose from, led by alumnae, parents of current and past students, and community connections. Topics ranged from Architecture & Planning to Health Sciences, Business, Technology, Communications, and more. Students had the chance to hear how panelists cut their paths, and to ask questions that will help shape their own.
We thank all those who volunteered for their time and passion!
- Keynote Speaker: Leila Bell-Irving Grauer '77
- Keynote Speaker: Stephanie Grauer ’15
- Jillian Bice ‘83
- Sarah Bingham ‘03
- Sabrina Dammholz ’17
- Damienne Darby ‘87
- Julia De Pieri ’15
- Catherine Floe (Godwin) ’89
- Nikola Fok ’18
- Dr. Bryn Hyndman ’96
- Katie G. Mak ’05
- Bernice Jim, Ph.D. '95
- Stephanie Jung ‘08
- Dr. Marion MacKay-Dunn ’02
- Victoria Lee ’11
- Joanna (Leung) Binetter ’99
- Jacquelyn Lising ’08
- Katie Lo ’13
- Susan Marinakis ‘90
- Jules Miller ’16
- Ssonia Ong ’00
- Audrey Watt ‘14
- Vivian Yeung ‘93
- Dr. Elaine Wong ’88
Keynote Speaker: Leila Bell-Irving Grauer '77
|
Leila Bell-Irving Grauer ’77 Leila (pictured right) has dedicated her entire career to building strategic corporate alliances. She was the President, Regional Health Enterprises, with the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority building strategic partnerships in the healthcare sector. For seven years was the Vice President of Business for the NHL Canucks, NBA Grizzlies. Leila was the Director of Business Development for Jim Pattison Publishing. For over a decade she has been the Principal of BLDG Naming Rights & Partnerships delivering partnerships and record-breaking revenue results for clients across a broad spectrum of private and public sectors. |
Keynote Speaker: Stephanie Grauer ’15
|
Stephanie Grauer ’15 Stephanie (pictured left) currently resides in San Francisco where she is working in Blockchain and Web 3.0 building strategic B2B partnerships. Stephanie is an Olympic athlete who represented Canada in rowing, and qualified for and medaled for the World Games for three consecutive years. Steph is a fourth-generation CHS legacy alumna who is familiar with the importance of being agile as you set goals for yourself. |
Jillian Bice ‘83
|
CEO & Founder Quantum Lifestyle Consulting - Personal Development Industry As a former Registered Nurse and Sales Trainer, and backed by decades of knowledge in human potential and growth, Jillian is a Personal Development Coach / Mindset Mentor and the CEO & Founder of Quantum Lifestyle Consulting. Adhering to the adage “Your vibe is your tribe”, Jillian helps clients move beyond fear and perceived limits to maximize their potential, then take action to create the life they really want. Jillian's mentoring is typically done online. She loves working with clients from around the world, conducting Masterclasses through social media, and offering in-person speaking engagements for groups. Over the years, Jillian has started three small businesses while raising two daughters who are now 18 and 20. She lives in West Vancouver, loves to travel, and finds her true happiness in the relaxed West Coast vibe. Jillian knows firsthand how liberating it feels to change your mindset, get unstuck and start living the life you truly want. As a Mindset Mentor, Jillian is passionate about helping others do the same.
|
Sarah Bingham ‘03
|
Director of Development and Sustainability, Real Estate Sarah Bingham is the Director of Development and Sustainability at a multifamily real estate company in Vancouver. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, with a major in Sociology and minors in Political Science and Spanish. She received a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from Queen’s University and is now a Registered Professional Planner. Sarah has worked in the real estate industry for over a decade, focusing on multifamily residential communities in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. While Sarah is now in a career that she is passionate about, she took a circuitous route to get there, including many changes to her declared major at university, working in unrelated temporary roles, and traveling overseas. Although it likely caused her parents anxiety, these detours along her path strengthened the qualities required in her current role. Outside of work, Sarah can usually be found outdoors, enjoying the forests and oceans of B.C. |
Sabrina Dammholz ’17
|
Investment Banking Analyst, Scotiabank Sabrina is an Investment Banking Analyst at Scotiabank, where she helps companies grow through debt and equity financing and mergers and acquisitions. Sabrina graduated from Crofton in 2017, and went on to pursue her BCom degree from the UBC Sauder School of Business. At UBC she was a part of the co-op program, led the UBC Strategy Consulting Initiative (SCI), and TA’ed over 1,000 students. One of her favourite quotes is Wayne Gretzky's quote, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” This mindset has propelled her to learn to be comfortable with the unknown and has taken her to Kenya where she taught entrepreneurship in the township of Kibera, to Victoria where she founded an internal podcast series for the pension fund BCI at the onset of the pandemic, and to the bustling entrepreneurial ecosystem here in Vancouver as a Venture Student Analyst as part of the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL). |
Damienne Darby ‘87
|
Crown Counsel, BC Prosecution Service Damienne Darby grew up in Vancouver and graduated from CHS in 1987. She completed her B.A. in English and Philosophy at Queen’s University, followed by her LL.B. at UBC. After completing articles at a civil litigation firm in Vancouver, Damienne followed her interest in criminal law and became a Crown prosecutor. She has worked at the Ministry of Attorney General (now BC Prosecution Service) since her call to the Bar in 1998. Damienne has prosecuted a variety of matters in BC Provincial Court and Supreme Court, focusing on sexual assault, exploitation and human trafficking cases. In 2014, she had the privilege of representing Canada at a United Nations Expert Group Meeting on human trafficking in Vienna and contributed to the resulting publication on the definition of exploitation in the HT provisions of the Criminal Code. Damienne is currently on secondment with the Organized and Major Crime section and has recently completed a lengthy jury trial involving a gang-related murder. |
Julia De Pieri ’15
|
Third Year Medical Student - UBC Julia is currently a third-year medical student at UBC. After graduating in 2015, she decided to head to the University of Ottawa, a place where she knew absolutely nobody. While she was there, she was a member of the Varsity Track and Field team and was able to make some lifelong friends. Throughout her kinesiology degree, she had her sights set on a career in medicine. Despite her best efforts and some family health challenges, she was unsuccessful in her first attempt and was left for the first time without a concrete plan about what to do next. She eventually made her way to UBC to work as a research assistant, which gave her time for self-reflection, exploring her passions, and redeveloping her love for running. She re-applied to medical school and was accepted at UBC, her first choice.
|
Catherine Floe (Godwin) ’89
|
Corporate Development, Training and Research Manager, Louis Brier Home and Hospital When I became a registered nurse, I felt like the possibilities for my career were limitless. As I became specialized in oncology, as much as I loved the work, it became obvious that this specialization was also a constraint to career growth. I had only been in my master's program for a few months when the pandemic began. This new reality made me re-evaluate how I saw how I could contribute to improving healthcare delivery. Making the pivot from oncology to systems improvement in long-term care was huge, and continues to be a steep and rewarding learning curve. If you want to explore agility in health care delivery, the decision to pursue graduate school, or just learn about if a career in health care is right for you, please join me. |
Nikola Fok ’18
|
Medicine After graduating from Crofton, Nikola was faced with a decision between pursuing a bachelor's in biochemistry or choosing direct entry medicine at the age of 18. Although she has always been interested in sciences, pursuing a career in Medicine only began in grade 11. Wanting to further explore this career and take on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she got out of her comfort zone and attended medical school at Queen’s University Belfast. Nikola was immediately immersed into a hospital environment in her first year, adapting to the responsibilities of a future doctor. With the pandemic emerging, Nikola’s second year ended abruptly due to lockdown and uncertainty around safety. Instead of returning to Canada, Nikola decided to become a front-line healthcare worker to assist the healthcare service. From 2020 to 2022, she has worked as a Health Care Aide, COVID vaccinator, and contact tracer for the National Public Health Agency. In the Fall of 2020, Nikola returned to the hospital as a student doctor. During her medical career, she has been able to experience the pressures of the pandemic while also assisting in the care of patients. Nikola is now in her final year and will be qualifying in March 2023. |
Dr. Bryn Hyndman ’96
|
Self-employed physician/entrepreneur Bryn Hyndman ‘96 is a family doctor, whose career made a swift about-face at age 29, a year after her graduation from naturopathic medical school. Bryn’s new medical studies took her to the Caribbean and the US, then finally home to Canada. She completed her residency in family medicine at the University of Ottawa and moved back home to British Columbia with her husband and their twin boys in 2015. Bryn has a concierge integrative medical practise in Vancouver where she strives to blend the best of both conventional and non-mainstream medical care. She is passionate about lifestyle medicine and enjoys helping others to expand the limits of their comfort zones, physically and mentally. When she’s not working, you might find Bryn and her husband corralling their twin sons for outdoor activities or adventures—come rain, snow, or shine. With two active boys, she has also become a master at dodging Nerf gun bullets! |
Katie G. Mak ’05
|
Partner, Clark Wilson LLP |
Bernice Jim, Ph.D. '95
|
Head of RA Product Development and Marketed Products, Nobel Biocare Bernice heads the regulatory affairs department for product development at Nobel Biocare, one of the leading dental restoration companies in the world. Although she holds a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in biomedical engineering focused in spinal research, she started her professional career as a product manager for DePuy Synthes (Johnson & Johnson), spending time in operating rooms, teaching surgeons how to operate instruments and working together with them to develop implantable devices. Five years later she ventured into regulatory affairs. Through the journey, Bernice has found herself settled in Zurich, Switzerland, enjoying dinner conversations with her husband and two daughters in a mix of English, Swiss German and German. She started long-boarding in her forties, windsurfing in her thirties and snowboarding in her twenties. She continues to teach pottery and mentors post-graduates at McGill University and the Society for Women Engineers. |
Stephanie Jung ‘08
|
Sr. Director, Television Research at Paramount Stephanie has always had a passion for the arts and entertainment and moved to NYC after graduating from CHS to pursue those interests. Stephanie graduated from New York University with a major in Media, Culture, and Communication and a minor in Business of Entertainment, Media, and Technology. Throughout university, she explored the media industry through internships in theatre, fashion, and television, and in different roles of marketing, press, programming, and research. She found herself drawn to entertainment research as it tapped into her analytical skills and natural curiosity. Stephanie is currently a Senior Director of Research at Paramount, working on brands such as MTV and VH1. She focuses on consumer insights for unscripted television content and previously worked in analytics assessing performance and audience metrics. The constantly evolving television landscape and having to rethink methodologies and reassess consumer interests and behaviours are what continues to excite Stephanie about her work. Outside of work, Stephanie loves going to the theatre and traveling, and is co-chair of the Advertising Research Foundation's Young Pros Advisory Board. Stephanie has co-hosted many CHS alumnae gatherings in New York and always welcomes alumnae to reach out to connect with the New York CHS community. |
Dr. Marion MacKay-Dunn ’02
|
Dr. Marion MacKay-Dunn, MD, FRCPC, is an Internal Medicine specialist with a sub-specialization in Geriatric Medicine. Dr. MacKay-Dunn graduated from CHS in 2002 and then completed her Bachelor of Science degree at UBC, majoring in Cell Biology and Genetics. Dr. MacKay-Dunn’s Medical Degree was completed in 2013 and then completed 3 years of Internal Medicine Residency and 2 years of Geriatric Medicine Fellowship. Dr. MacKay-Dunn has an active clinical practice as a consultant physician for both Vancouver General Hospital and UBC Hospital. Dr. MacKay-Dunn enjoys teaching medical students and resident physicians in her role as Clinical Instructor for UBC Faculty of Medicine. Meanwhile, Marion met and married her husband Robert in 2016, and welcomed their daughters Rosie (2019) and Maddie (2022). With the declaration of a pandemic during Dr. MacKay-Dunn’s first maternity leave, she, like many frontline workers, quickly adapted to care for patients through unprecedented times. Dr. MacKay-Dunn strives to balance her love of medicine and motherhood. |
Victoria Lee ’11
|
Retail, Space Planning Specialist I am a Space Planning Specialist for Home Decor & Home Organization at Canadian Tire. As a student at Crofton House, I gravitated heavily towards the Textiles and Visual Arts classes with a career focus of being in the fashion industry one day. After graduating in 2011, I ended up majoring in Retail Management at the Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University. I graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Minor in Fashion Studies. Studying business was an unexpected, but fulfilling turning point that prompted me to use all sorts of skill sets I didn't know I had or hadn't yet tapped into. I am proud to represent Canadian Tire and the ever-changing retail industry. Today, my goals are to leverage both analytical and creative skills for the next steps in my career and I want to help others achieve the same. |
Joanna (Leung) Binetter ’99
|
Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, Ratana International Joanna graduated from the University of British Columbia, then went on to study Law at City University in London which was followed by a master's degree in corporate and commercial law at Cornell University. After an extensive career in law which saw Joanna progress from her first job at Shearman & Sterling in New York, where she represented financial institutions and public and private corporations, she joined Japan Tobacco International in Hong Mong as their Asia Pacific Legal Counsel before joining CitiBank as the Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel. In January 2016, Joanna left her legal career to join Ratana as their Head of Business Development. Joanna joined the family business to spearhead the brand’s efforts in business development and global expansion making it one of the leading outdoor furniture manufacturers in North America. Since joining Ratana, Joanna’s efforts have been focused on business development working with large institutional clients like the Marriott, Hilton, MGM hotel group, cruise lines like Royal Caribbean and Princess cruises as well as corporate coffee chains like Starbucks. Joanna has often been quoted for her expertise in design in a number of publications like the Wall Street Journal and the Vancouver Sun. Ratana is now one of the leading outdoor furniture brands in North America. |
Jacquelyn Lising ’08
Katie Lo ’13
|
Deloitte, Consulting - Organization Transformation Katie graduated from Crofton in 2013 and pursued a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Guelph, majoring in Tourism Management to merge her love of people and culture with business. After graduating, she spent three years at Expedia managing a portfolio of lodging accounts. Katie's desire for greater challenges led her to an MBA at the Ivey Business School, where she discovered that the project-based nature of consulting work matched her interests. Katie is currently a Consultant at Deloitte, where each day brings new challenges and opportunities. She believes that adaptability is one of her greatest character traits and thrives outside of her comfort zone professionally and personally. Katie has worked as an elf in Santa’s workshop on Grouse Mountain, served desserts in a chocolate café in Australia, and acted as an extra in Apple TV's SEE. Recently, Katie learned to golf and lead climb and is currently training for a five-day mountaineering expedition in the Canadian Rockies. |
Susan Marinakis ‘90
|
Management consulting, marketing and entrepreneurship Susan grew up in Vancouver but, post-CHS, has lived and worked throughout North America and Europe. |
Jules Miller ’16
|
Digital Producer - Food Network Canada, Media Industry After graduating from CHS, Jules attended Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) to study RTA: Media Production. In her university career, she directed and produced multiple multi-camera and live productions including a live show in collaboration with 3 international universities. Additionally, she went on a 3-week intensive exchange to Los Angeles at UCLA, and interned at both CBC News and CityLine. Jules graduated with distinction and a concentration in Television and Video. Currently, Jules works as the Digital Producer for Food Network Canada. |
Ssonia Ong ’00
|
Social Media Influencer and CEO of Ong Squad Media Inc Ssonia Ong is a social media influencer and CEO of Ongsquad Media Inc. Her digital content focuses on wholesome, funny, and family-friendly videos, which she posts to Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube under the handle @Ongsquad. Ssonia created her first TikTok in May 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic as an outlet for her family's boundless energy. Since that time, she has gained close to 10 million followers and partnered with some of the largest companies in the world, including Apple, Disney, and McDonald’s. Ssonia's videos offer light-hearted takes on marriage and the complexities of modern parenting, drawing from her two previous careers as a stay-at-home mom and mental health counselor at BC Children's Hospital. She holds degrees from Stanford and Harvard University, and lives in Vancouver with her husband Kevin and their five children. |
Audrey Watt ‘14
|
Project Engineer, Peter Kiewit I graduated from Crofton thinking I was meant to be an environmental scientist, and along the way, I learned a few things and I’m now happier than ever and working as an engineer in the construction industry. I started and completed a degree in environmental sciences, and it was along that journey that I realized that being an engineer was what I was meant to be doing. It’s not an easy decision to graduate from university and choose to immediately return to university, but I’m grateful that made that decision. I did a degree in materials engineering as I thought I wanted to work more with composite parts (airplanes, hockey sticks, carbon bikes, etc.), but I somehow ended up in construction. Engineering is a field not full of enough women, and there are even fewer in the construction industry. I am actively working with programs both inside and outside of work that make the effort to educate girls on engineering and construction. When I’m not working, you can find me doing almost anything. |
Vivian Yeung ‘93
|
Optometrist | WestCoast Doctors of Optometry Dr. Yeung grew up in Vancouver, beautiful BC. She completed her science degree at UBC; then moved to Forest Grove, Oregon; to pursue her Doctorate degree in Optometry. Dr. Yeung decided to practice in the USA, intending to stay only one more year; however, one year turned into eight years. She worked in multiple and varied practice settings and has also been involved with Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH), travelling to help those in need of vision care, in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, and Jamaica. While living in the Seattle area, she was on the Board of Directors for CSBPS, a non-profit organization dedicated to those with low vision. Although sad to leave her loyal patient base in WA state, she decided to return back to her Canadian roots; moving back to her hometown, calling it ‘brain-drain back!’ She continues to bring what she has learned from the USA, back to Canada, into her rewarding group practice within multiple Costco locations in the lower mainland. |
Dr. Elaine Wong ’88
|
Elaine is an accomplished senior executive in global oncology drug development. After graduating from CHS in 1988, she pursued her BSc, MSc, and MD degrees. While working at the BC Cancer Agency as a Radiation Oncologist, she followed her curiosity when approached by a recruiter in 2006, and relocated to San Francisco to be a Medical Director at Genentech. While there, Elaine learned about the industry side of medicine, and was soon leading clinical trials and development programs across Genentech’s oncology franchise. In 2009, Elaine moved to Switzerland to work at the Headquarters of F. Hoffmann-La Roche where she was the Global Medical Lead of Roche’s key oncology program. After expanding her global biotech/pharma experience, Elaine returned to the US in 2012, and joined a small start-up, Medivation, in San Francisco where she developed and executed the Medical strategy. After Medivation was acquired in 2017, Elaine took a short break to travel, and returned to the industry as a consultant in oncology drug development. Through consulting, Elaine has worked with companies world-wide, focusing on strategic planning and clinical trials, connecting them to academia, cooperative groups, and even other companies – with the goal of bringing new medicines to cancer patients. |