Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After high school, I spent a year at the University of Winnipeg, then moved to Calgary to attend Mount Royal College. I graduated with a diploma in Sports Administration and Physical Activity but more importantly also met my future wife, Heather, at the same time. Heather had her sights on completing her education degree at the University of Lethbridge and I wanted to continue in business, so I decided to come to ULethbridge to pursue my bachelor of management. Heather and I were married in third year here in Lethbridge. Upon graduating, I decided I wanted to go to law school and went to the University of Manitoba and obtained my law degree in 2006. We then returned to Lethbridge after I completed my law degree where I was in private practice from 2006 until 2015 when I joined the University legal team.
How long have you been at ULethbridge and what do you do here?
I have been at the University since October of 2015. As General Counsel, I will lead the University’s legal affairs, working with our great team in the General Counsel office, Gail MacKillican and Michelle Brandsma. Before this appointment, I worked in the Provost's Office as the Director of Academic Employee Labour Relations since June of 2022. I moved into that role from being Legal Counsel in the General Counsel.
What's the best part of your job?
What I enjoy most about working at ULethbridge is being involved with a wide array of individuals in vastly different departments. The range of work and types of law I get to be involved in here at the University is second to none.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I have many hobbies and they ebb and flow in terms of how much time I devote to them. First and foremost, I enjoy spending time with my wife, Heather, and our four children (20, 20, 6, and 4 – the twins took a lot out of us … we needed to regain our footing). We love to camp, travel, and the kids are involved in a number of sports activities. At home, I enjoy gardening, cooking on the BBQ & smoker, watching way too much sports (which ironically has brought me very little joy over the decades as I am a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Vikings, Winnipeg Jets, and Notre Dame Fighting Irish (football)), making beer, wood working, and my most recent endeavour - soft ice cream.