Creating better outcomes for at-risk youth

Written By Stuart McNish

Guest: Krista Thompson (former CEO of an organization for at-risk youth)

As the former CEO of Covenant House, Krista Thompson’s driving vision for helping at-risk youth is very simple – will they have a better outcome because of her work? To make that come true, she had to gather talented staff that have the same goals and make sure there are the resources needed to do their jobs, while keeping love and respect at the forefront of the mission.

To Krista, focus is the key to make sure nobody is spread too thin. To help the most youth, she had to be able to see dangers on the horizon, such as the fentanyl crisis, and to make sure her organization is in the right place to help those in need.

Watch more episodes
Cultivating a career in prevention education
Cultivating a career in prevention education

Cathy Peters is an advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. But she would describe her role as being in prevention education, cultivating her passion for the vulnerable. Her work in preventing child trafficking taps into that passion. This is a path that is almost custom-made for her, as an avid storyteller and absorbing others’ stories by learning and listening. “If I sound a little bit passionate,” she says, “I am.”

Read More →
Researching how Canada can learn to live with China
Researching how Canada can learn to live with China

Being an expert on China is a difficult job in today’s political climate – Paul Evans has to constantly explain that he is “not defending China, [but rather] how to live with China.” As a primary expert on Canada-China relations at the University of British Columbia, there is a demand for his insights nowadays, from the media and beyond. This is a career that he has aimed for right from the start. What makes his journey unique from other professors is that his entire education was in Canada, during a time when this was a difficult path to an academic career.

Read More →
A career of knowing what makes people tick
A career of knowing what makes people tick

No matter how much Mike Rowlands checks off his to-do list, the list keeps growing. That’s just the nature of being the founder and CEO of Junxion Strategy, an international social impact consultancy. This is a long way from his younger days, when he didn’t know what he wanted to do. He studied business in university and surprisingly didn’t like it. Over time, he experimented in various other businesses, including a bike shop, which gave him a first career where he learned about customer service, business, logistics, and everything in between – a valuable insight on what makes people tick

Read More →
Enabling the funding the make communities better
Enabling the funding the make communities better

As far as Dara Parker is concerned, she has her dream job. As the vice-president of grants and community initiatives at the Vancouver Foundation, her mission is to distribute the funding to make communities better. Throughout her career, she has worked with people and found that understanding people is fundamental to growing as a person and her current role.

Read More →
Stuart McNish
Previous

Busy but fulfilling: The path to becoming a family doctor
Next

A job without boredom: the path to a clean energy career