Leading the charge to ensure the survival of salmon

AgricultureScience and Research
Written By Stuart McNish

Guest: Jason Hwang (Pacific Salmon Foundation)

To become the Vice President for Salmon, you really have to know salmon. These magnificent beings that are part of one of the world’s great migrations are in trouble in the North Pacific. One of their homes is in the rivers and streams of British Columbia.

The Pacific Salmon Foundation is full-on committed to ensuring these beautiful fish survive. The PSF funds a wide range of stream restoration projects and scientific studies to tip the balance of changes in favour of salmon survival.

Leading the charge is Jason Hwang, who takes on his career journey that started with a fascination with fish, through a career in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to his role of VP for Salmon.

Watch more episodes
Growing a clean-tech accelerator and leading a team
Growing a clean-tech accelerator and leading a team

When Jeanette Jackson took over a clean-tech accelerator called Foresight, it was a team of two. Today, that number has grown to 50. To get there, she had to start with a hands-on strategy, doing everything from ideas to pitching them. Over the years, she transitioned into the leadership role that she serves today. Her biggest advice to others is to get a handle on fine details such as numbers for financials and keeping track of projects’ progress.

Read More →
Becoming a plastics expert thanks to great teachers
Becoming a plastics expert thanks to great teachers

When a large company needs a revolutionary new plastic and can’t figure out what to do, they come to Chris DeArmitt. He got into it when a fellow scientist told him that the demand for plastic knowledge is more than the supply of plastic itself, inspiring him to start his journey. And being taught to “use your own brain” growing up and surrounded by great teachers, this career’s pathway seemed to be tailor-made for him.

Read More →
Becoming a diet researcher by not being afraid to fail
Becoming a diet researcher by not being afraid to fail

Dr. David Harper’s specialty is in diet, but he emphasizes that he is a PhD in life sciences, not a medical doctor. His true love is education and teaching, which he has done for more than 40 years, something he sees as an example of giving back to the field that gave him his purpose. He sees himself as an advocate for healthy diet who goes beyond the commercial interests of the industry. To him, the key to success is having a vision, being authentic, being accountable for your own actions, not being afraid to be vulnerable, being empathetic, and having courage to be all of the above. ”Don’t worry about failure,” he says, “but fail fast and fail forward.”

Read More →
Keeping an open mind: Succeeding in the pharmaceutical industry
Keeping an open mind: Succeeding in the pharmaceutical industry

Rory Mullen, as the head of BioPharma and IDA Ireland, meets a lot of people, to say the least. He started studying in business and working in advertising, but wanted to expand his horizons internationally, outside his native Ireland.

Read More →
Stuart McNish
Previous

Creating future leaders: Setting up students for success
Next

Building a life by exchanging ideas and dialogue