PREISS, Bradie
Job title: Mechanical Engineer at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon Campus. Bradie has been with ASPA since September 2021 and graduated the University of Saskatchewan’s Engineering College in 2010.
Prior to working on campus, Bradie worked for a global consulting firm for 10 years. This is where he was a part of their Global Leadership Team which was tasked with providing strategic direction for the company in terms of employee experience, engagement, and training opportunities. Bradie also founded the company’s first national Young Engineering Group. This was intended to create programs and initiatives to engage and retain rising talent within the company.
FILLATRE, Megan
Megan Fillatre has more than 10 years’ experience working in higher education, both in Ontario and Saskatchewan. She has previously worked in provincial (domestic), national and international student recruitment and liaison; student affairs and academic advising; event coordination; international partnership development and presently as an International Research Specialist at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).
Megan’s international expertise in higher education has involved regional relations in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Oceania. She develops and fosters lasting relationships with internal and external campus stakeholders, partners and community. Presently, she concentrates on research and funding opportunities, taking a leadership role to help strategically align university research with partners around the globe. Megan is a dedicated and reliable facilitator to assist researchers across campus in enhancing their international funding success and outcomes.
Ms. Fillatre is fluent in English, Spanish and French and received a trilingual certificate from Glendon College, York University. She earned her BA Honors in International Relations and Hispanic Studies from York; and, MEd in Educational Administration, Leadership in Postsecondary Education from the University of Saskatchewan.
HITCHINGS, Philip
My name is Philip Hitchings. I am currently the Senior Coordinator of Scheduling in Registrarial Services here at the University of Saskatchewan, and am proud to be part of the TLSE team. I have been employed at the University for since 2018, and have been a member of ASPA for these past 4 years. I recently completed my PhD in Anthropology from the University of Toronto, and was an active member of the Graduate Students Union during my time in grad school. My hopes of becoming a member of the ASPA executive are founded on my belief in strong, unified representation as a force for good for employees everywhere. With rising concerns about strained operational budgets, increased operational restrictions, and a general trend of mounting division in the face of these obstacles, I believe that strong, unified representation is more important than ever. I hope to contribute to that representation as a member of your ASPA executive
PETE-CARDOSO, Candice
Candice is a nêhiýaw-iskwêw (Cree woman) from the Little Pine First Nation, Treaty 6 Territory. She is an Alumnus of USask and has a Master’s degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor of Commerce, and a Certificate in Indigenous Business Administration. She has over 23 years of work experience working within the post-secondary sector, within federal and provincial government, and has worked extensively with Indigenous organizations across Canada. Candice is currently the Director, Indigenous Land Management Institute, co-chair for the Indigenous Advisory Circle, and is a member of the ASPA Social Justice Committee.
HAUSER, Patrick
Patrick has over 17 years of experience in safety management system consulting, development and implementation in post-secondary education and research laboratory and fieldwork settings, as well as construction and arboriculture safety. He has worked at the University of Saskatchewan since 2008, and is currently the Safety and Compliance Coordinator at USask Safety Resources and a member of ASPA.
Patrick recognizes that safety management systems must be clear and be easy to empower employees and students to maintain safe and healthful work, research and learning environments to continually improve our proactive culture of safety, and ultimately prevent workplace injuries.
ROBERTSON-FREY, Tanya
As alumni of the University of Saskatchewan, I was pleased to return to campus in 2013 in the role of research analyst with Institutional Planning and Assessment. For the past six years, I’ve worked with the College of Medicine as a program evaluation coordinator in the Postgraduate Medical Education Office. With a growing interest in equity, diversity, and inclusion, I recently joined the College of Medicine’s EDI working group. I’ve also been a member of the ASPA Research Sub-Committee since 2018 and have welcomed the opportunity to meet more members of ASPA (in-person and virtually) and to become more involved in our Association.
MEIER, Simona
My name is Simona Meier and I have been working as a Clinical Research Professional at the University of Saskatchewan for about 14 and a half years. I am interested in being on the ASPA executive to learn more about the workings of the university and also to apply my knowledge and experience in new ways.
I enjoy committee work and am currently on the Executive of the Canadian Chapter of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP). I am also currently a volunteer with the Saskatoon SCAT Street Cat Rescue.
I was invited to join the ASPA Executive a couple of months ago when another member left, and I have been enjoying it so far. I hope to have the opportunity to continue for another full term on the ASPA executive and to join a committee or two.
PENG, Christine
What I want to bring to ASPA: Innovative solutions & Passion
How I plan to achieve that:
- Professional experience: Christine is a Tech Transfer Officer within the Unit of OVPR (Office of Vice President of Research). She believes if she could assist in mobilizing creations within the university community, then she could be a great fit in spreading the value of this union. Through her connection building skills and business savvy mind, she always finds new angles to tackle challenges. She comes from a research background, but had successfully acquired essential skills in managing business evaluations and assessing opportunities.
- Personal trait: She has a “BIG” heart, you can see from all the trees as the background of her picture. She loves helping out in difficult situations and bring encouragement and joy.
- Education: Christine had her M.SC in Agriculture and Bioresources from the University of Saskatchewan and is working on professional certifications towards business communication and project management.
Christine’s unit is named “Research Excellence and Innovation” and Christine wants to bring both innovation and excellence to this union as well!
FAFARD, Alain
I was raised on a mixed farm near the proud French-Canadian hamlet of Ste-Marthe, SK which is located in southeastern Saskatchewan between Rocanville, SK and the Manitoba border. At a young age, I developed a very strong appreciation and love of nature, animals, and the environment. The values of honesty and being a hard worker were also instilled in him. I spent my youth working on the farm, training and riding horses, playing hockey, and studying hard. Though I excelled in academics, I initially had no desire to pursue post-secondary education so I entered the workforce after high school and worked at numerous jobs for several years such as road construction, operating heavy equipment, in a metal fabrication shop as sandblaster and forklift operator, farm labourer, grain elevator employee, oil rig worker, steam- and vac-truck operator, cook’s helper, and waiter. These experiences allowed me to save up some money and gain valuable work and life experience which I would not trade for the world. These jobs also helped persuade me that attending university was probably the right way to go in life!
I graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon in 2005 and worked in private mixed veterinary practice as an associate veterinarian until 2011. I served as a member of the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association (SVMA) Executive Council and on numerous SVMA committees during this time. I was also selected as an Emerging Young Leader by the SVMA and Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. In 2011 I opened my own ambulatory mixed animal practice and operated it for eight years. In June of 2019 I was hired on as a Clinical Research Veterinarian at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) on the U of S campus.
After two and a half years at VIDO, on February 1st 2022 I moved on to a position as a Clinical Veterinarian with the U of S Animal Care and Research Support (ACRS) team, also sometimes referred to as the University Animal Care Committee. It is an exciting job with a lot of varying duties working with many different animal species. I help ensure that all research animals used on campus are treated humanely and that animal welfare is always a top priority in all areas of animal research.
At VIDO, I was not a member of any unions, but with my new position at ACRS I consider myself lucky to be a member of ASPA and I would like to volunteer on its Executive as a way of giving back and interacting with interesting people.
I remain passionate about nature and animals, spend time outdoors whenever possible, and try to keep physically fit at the Fitness Center. When not at work, I enjoy spending time with my spouse and our three year old son, as well as creating, building, and fixing things in my workshop. I thank you for your consideration as a possible member of the Executive!
MAIER, Julie
My name is Julie Maier and I am an Instructional Designer with the Distance Education Unit, which I joined in June of 2017. In my current role I work with faculty and instructors in the design, development, and support of online and technology-enabled teaching and learning. I really enjoy serving as an advocate for students by ensuring high-quality learning experiences, and helping the best teaching practices and brightest ideas of the teachers I work with come to life in their digital classrooms. I am an alumna of the University of Saskatchewan, where I have earned a B.Ed. (Secondary Math and Science), B.Sc. (Biology), and M.Ed. in Educational Technology and Design. In other activities in my time around campus, I have been a Graduate Teaching Fellow and Seminar Instructor with the Department of Curriculum Studies, provided website support for the College of Education, and worked as a Teaching Assistant in the first-year Biology labs.
Outside of the university, I have spent time volunteering with CFCR 90.5 FM (Saskatoon’s community radio station), where I was an On-Air Host and Host Trainer from 2012-2018. I’ve also been a volunteer organizer and bass guitar instructor with local youth arts camp Girls Rock Saskatoon, where I served on the Marketing & Communications Committee from 2017-2020 and sat as a Board Member in 2020. My time with both of these groups helped me learn a lot about the work that goes into community organizing, and gain a deeper appreciation for the value of contributing to such work – something I would love to continue by serving as an ASPA Executive Committee member.
Lately, I spend most of my free time playing bass in a local rock band (The Garrys), or on long walks with my husband and our pup Rosie. Thank you for reading and for considering voting for me!
ASPA (Administrative and Supervisory Personnel Association) 