October is Women’s History Month in Canada, a time to celebrate the women from our past and our present, who are contributing to a better, more inclusive Canada.
This month, we reflect on the outstanding achievements of women in the BCIT community.
Featured BCIT alumni
Barbara James
Barbara completed the BCIT Trades Discovery for Women program in 2006, and the BCIT Carpentry program in 2023. She serves as Vice President on the Executive Board of Directors for the BC Tradeswomen Society and volunteers with Build TogetHer and BC Centre for Women in Trades.
Dr. Candy Ho
Candy completed the BCIT Leadership Studies program with honours in 2007. An award-winning career development advocate and educator, Candy is the Board Chair of the Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling (CERIC), a charitable organization that advances education and research in career counselling and career development.
Donabel Santos
Donabel Santos is a graduate of BCIT’s Computer System Technology program with over a decade of experience in the data field. Donabelle has garnered over 120,000 YouTube subscribers and over 3 million views on her channel Sqlbelle.com, and is the author of Tableau 10 Business Intelligence Cookbook and Tableau Ambassador.
Dr. Judy Shandler
Judy graduated from the BCIT Information Technology Professional program in 2000. She was a Senior Business Analyst in the BCIT Information Technology Services department, a Performance Development Systems Coordinator at the BCIT Faculty and Staff Association (FSA), and a Director on the BCIT Board of Governors and the BCIT FSA. Today she teaches Flexible Learning courses at BCIT and is an Associate Director with the FSA.
Kristy James
Kristy James is an alumna of the Nonprofit Management Certificate program, and has over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector. As the President & CEO of the Burnaby Hospital Foundation, raised a record-breaking $30 million in less than three years for its first capital campaign.
She serves on several boards, including the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), and chairs boards for Pacific Assistance Dogs Society and St. Michael’s Long-Term Care.
Sally Poon
A graduate of the Computer Systems Technology program, Sally Poon demonstrated strong leadership and community engagement during her time at the Institute. Among her many achievements, Sally was pivotal in the following extracurricular clubs:
- Treasurer & Director of Communications for Women in Computing
- Co-President of the Computing Club
- Set Representative to Chair of the Downtown Campus for the BCIT Student Association
Samantha Bienias
Samantha graduated with distinction from the BCIT Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) program in 2020 and holds a Bachelor of Science from Queen’s University.
She was the Student Representative on the DMS Program Advisory Committee, the Winter 2021 Convocation valedictorian, and at the Health Sciences Centre ground-breaking ceremony.